This is such an excellent video game that I put thirty hours into without thinking. There was a moment when I had to stop and appreciate how much genuine joy the experience gave me. It was proof positive that I’d finally come back from the cancerous influence of my time as a livestreamer. I was no longer hoarding unplayed video games in the hopes that I could someday convert them into “content”. I was sitting for hours in pure focus on a single task.
I was back where I belonged.
Now, The Great Circle isn’t perfect. There are bugs, and fundamental issues with animation/transition/rendering that can’t be fixed without an engine overhaul. There are small, nagging quirks with a few of the characters that will have the savvy gamer questioning whether they were suffering from identity politics or not. There is also—as of this writing—a major, game-breaking issue that prevents travel during the post-game achievement clean-up. I hope they address this one, because I’m three achievements shy of a completion on Xbox Series and there’s zero reason to replay the entire game to get them.
While I’m still planning to stop subscribing to Game Pass when the current sub runs out, this game makes a great case for the “get a month’s worth when there’s something worth playing”. If nothing else, it’s a chance to play a heterosexual while male character in a video game... an experience that’s becoming rarer and rarer these days.
2024.12.08 – 2024.12.17
Previous: Pillars Of Eternity Xbox
Home