Reviewed by Brandy Shaul
Around the turn of the century, games like Bejeweled and Collapse exploded onto the scene and reinvented the way consumers see casual gaming today. The popularity of puzzle games has skyrocketed since and shows no signs of slowing down. Adding another offering to this industry is Circulate, an addictive puzzle game that turns whatever you may have been expecting upside down.
Circulate challenges players through 120 levels of complex and strategic gameplay unlike anything I’ve previously experienced. Playing either in a window or full screen, each levels focuses on brightly colored orbs of various sizes that must either be cleared from the screen or placed in appropriate color-coded vessels by various means.
With so much going on in a small package, training levels are a must, and have graciously been provided to help players get the hang of the unusual gameplay here. Using the mouse, you right click and drag your mouse in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to spin the circular game board, setting the orbs into motion. Most levels contain some sort of stationary barrier that blocks the path of the orbs, requiring you to think ahead before rotating the board.
Each level is timed and ends when the set goal has been completed. Goals vary greatly, and can be something as simple as eliminating all of the green orbs by making them touch (thus clearing the group from the board) or can be as complex as moving a large group of small metallic balls into a hanging container by using magnets to help draw the orbs up the screen.
Not only do the levels vary greatly, but the orbs do as well. While most levels do focus on your basic, simply colored orbs, other spheres represent fire and ice, which clear from the screen when fused. In addition, bombs must be used to clear heavier orbs from the screen, while avoiding blowing up another bomb in the process.
Adding even more variety to the game are the ingenious level designs. In addition to the aforementioned stationary barriers which you have to navigate around, sliding doors move with the aid of gravity and block off whole paths entirely. There are of course more obstacles to avoid, but listing them here is almost impossible. Add these challenges to the fact that orbs come in varying sizes and can in themselves become obstacles to avoid (when trying to get tiny ice orbs into their container without running into a large fire orb, for example), and you have a recipe for addictive, albeit a bit frustrating gameplay.
Luckily, if you find yourself stuck on any one puzzle, you can skip it entirely and move onto the next. However, the game is made all the more enjoyable when you come back and complete said frustrating level.
As you progress through the game, you will be graded on your success on a scale from one to five stars, with five being the highest score available. Achieving a five-star ranking on every level from 1 to 120 may seem like an impossible task, considering the fact that the challenge shoots up greatly in later levels, but the addictive gameplay here is more than enough to make up for the time you’ll spend replaying levels.
Even if one has the determination and time to achieve a five-star ranking on every level, the overall sensitivity of the mouse movement might stop you from doing so. Even the slightest movement of the mouse is registered as a large rotation on the game board, giving some levels a very dizzying feeling, so every movement must be planned ahead of time. To combat this, there is a speed setting which can change the speed of the gameplay, but in doing so, you heighten the affect gravity can have on your orbs, so you must choose beforehand which consequence you would rather experience.
All in all though, the speed of the board’s movement does little to take away from the fun that can be had with Circulate. In fact, the game is a greatly enjoyable experience from beginning to end, whether focusing solely on gameplay, or on the game’s extensive graphical appeal.
Being that Circulate focuses so greatly on color as a way to distinguish one type of orb from the next, it should come as no surprise that the graphics contain bright, intense colors. However, the overall look of Circulate contains much more than vivid hues. Each level is comprised of a different theme, whether it is industrial, arctic or futuristic in nature, with each theme being detailed enough to please the eye, but not so intricate as to be distracting.
Likewise the music and sound effects throughout the game fit well with the entire mood presented throughout, that mood being one that combines calm problem-solving with frantic movement that seems better suited to your washer’s rinse cycle.
In the end, Circulate is a breath of fresh air in the casual gaming market today. Where so many companies have become complacent and satisfied with releasing clones of the same puzzle game formula, Circulate offers new and exciting gameplay perfect for those who aren’t afraid of a challenge.
Special thanks to Kristen McCowall and Slave Circus Entertainment for providing a copy of this title.