Journey of The Broken Circle

Journey of The Broken Circle was reviewed on a PS4

What is Existential angst? Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to that question because a cluster of sentient balloons will give you the answer in Journey of the Broken Circle. All of the characters you meet in this game are going through the same issues that all of us are going through. They’re heartbroken, tired, looking for love, and struggling to cope with their own insecurities and anxieties.

A Special Journey

Journey of The Broken Circle is about a circle that’s looking for that special someone to fill the empty void. Circle is literally missing a piece, and its road to happiness is through filling that piece with the perfect soulmate.

Accompany circle in its journey to find love through dozens of varied locations. You’ll roll across snowy mountains and icy lakes, through lush green jungles and dangerous, dark caves filled with molten lava.

All of these locations are delightfully drawn. They’re colorful and boast a minimalistic aesthetic that suits the overall presentation of the game. Circle will be able to overcome its obstacles thanks to the partners that accompany it along its journey. It’ll soar through the skies, stick to surfaces and roll through mud and ice.

Since Circle is looking for its missing piece, it often settles for anyone that crosses its path. If that sounds like someone you know then that means the game achieved what it set out to do. All of the characters are well written, intriguing and relatable.

A talking tree that sticks to its roots because it doesn’t want to be apart from its family and an owl that teaches us how to treat others and ourselves. A sticky “thing” that doesn’t want to leave its comfort zone and an overly attached snail that invades everyone’s personal space. My absolute favorite though was the worst one of them all, the sentient balloon bush that keeps rambling on and on about existential angst.

All of these characters were memorable and relatable. I was able to relate to circle and understand the emotions it felt. I’ve been in that dark cave before and I was chased by my dark cloud of insecurities and anxieties. I did think at one point that the missing piece was the only way I could be happy, and I did end up having the same revelation that circle had at the end of its journey.

The overly attached snail was funny but pitiful, since I couldn’t help but be reminded of myself and how I used to be foolish enough myself to think that loving someone meant suffocating them and not giving them enough room to breathe. I also loved the talking tree as I’m attached to my roots, and the fear of moving on paralyzes me as well.

An Introspective Experience

What I’m trying to say is that playing Journey of the broken circle was an introspective and reflective experience. A few years back, I would have loved to experience a game like this, as it tackled the same emotions that tormented me in the past.

It conveyed so many emotions in its short playtime, and left a considerable impact on me. Similar to the mountains you’ll explore, the circle’s emotions will go through a number of ups and downs. During its adventure, it’ll suffer from anxiety, go through a breakup and even contemplate suicide.

The gameplay is simple though, and doesn’t offer much in terms of difficulty, aside from a few frustrating sequences. It does tend to keep things fresh throughout its playtime. The partners that circle pairs up with provide him with a variety of special skills that enhance the gameplay and provide a bit of variety. For example, an early partner called sticky, will enable circle to stick to almost any surface and a red balloon will allow him to bounce off clouds.

It’s unfortunate though that the gameplay felt at odds with the stellar writing, as it was often too repetitive. Some of the locations definitely overstayed their welcome, and since most of them were a breeze to roll through, a few of the sequences felt like a bit of filler. My only motivation for pushing through the game was to meet the rest of the diverse and peculiar characters.

A range of memorable tracks accompanies the different levels quite nicely, and amplifies the range of emotions experienced by our melancholic circle. There’s also a few mushrooms to collect sprinkled around each stage which when collected, open up two different bonus stages. The bonus stages are the best stages in terms of gameplay because of their creative approach.

Overall,

Journey of the broken circle is an emotionally impactful platformer that keeps things moving at a smooth pace. This journey is filled with wonderful characters that are complex and unforgettable, and the circle’s 6 to 7 hours journey thankfully ties up in a satisfying ending.

If you’re looking for an entertaining platformer with deep and complex gameplay elements, then look elsewhere. The focus of the game is its narrative, and even though it’s wonderfully written, the gameplay left a lot to be desired. It lacked any remarkable puzzles or gameplay elements and some of the levels were a drag at times.

However, if you’re in the market for a game that will make you think and contemplate life. A game that holds up a mirror for you to stare back at your own real life issues, then Journey of the broken circle is definitely for you.

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Special thanks go to Nakana.io for providing us with a review code.

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You should play Journey of The Broken Circle if you

• Enjoy an introspective experience
• Enjoy simple platforming
• Would love the colorful locations
• Don’t mind the lack of challenge
• Don’t mind a bit of repetitiveness

Journey of The Broken Circle’s Score

7.5/10