In this darkly comedic story, you are the hero of an unfinished fantasy game, and your designers have failed you. Steal the power of a game god - trap their creations, swap behaviors and body parts, crafting your own unique solutions to free-form puzzles. Can you release a game ...from the inside?
All Reviews:
Very Positive (1,034) - 91% of the 1,034 user reviews for this game are positive.
Release Date:
Jul 9, 2015
Developer:
Publisher:

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Reviews

“If you love games at all - or just like poking fun at how they're made - you cannot miss this gem.The Magic Circle is the best "broken" game you've ever played - and a rich satire of the industry to boot. The hype is real. Play this game.”
4.5/5 – The Escapist

“Not since Portal 2 has a game so expertly taken you on that emotional journey from pure bamboozlement to sharp, bright, blissful clarity.”
Gamespot

“I've been amazed. I've been dumbfounded [...] Few games have done that to me - so I would immensely recommend that you get and play this game.”
Skyzm (Let's Player 114k subs)

About This Game

You are the protagonist of an unfinished 1st person fantasy game, trapped in development hell. The designers (played by James Urbaniak, Ashly Burch, and Karen Dyer) are god-like, but so indecisive that they've given you no powers whatsoever. With the help of a mysterious disembodied voice (Stephen Russell) you must seize the tools of game development from these unworthy 'gods', uncovering more of the darkly comic story as you go. Rather than traditional puzzles with a single solution, the incomplete state of each environment is a question that you answer in your own way. Trap the designers' creations, steal their behaviors, and re-mix them to explore and master this world-in-progress. Can you out-think the game gods? Can you ship The Magic Circle from inside it?

Warning: Some strong language and references to adult subject matter.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

There is just a smattering of foul language throughout the game. There is one audio log where a character thinks that an invitation to a party might have sexual overtones, but that is quickly revealed to not be the case.

System Requirements

Windows
macOS
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • OS *: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
    • Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+ 2.4Ghz or better, Intel Pentium 4 530 3.0Ghz Processor or better
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA 7800GT 256MB graphics card or better, ATI Radeon X1900 256MB graphics card or better that supports Shader Model 3 and has at least 256 MB of VRAM
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0C compliant sound card or onboard sound
    • Additional Notes: NOTICE: Intel HD 4000 chipset is not supported
    Recommended:
    • OS *: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
    • Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Dual Core 2.60Ghz, Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Dual Core 2.13Ghz
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA 8800GT 512MB graphics card or better, ATI Radeon HD4830 512MB graphics card or better
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0C compliant sound card or onboard sound
* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.
    Minimum:
    • OS: OS X v10.7 Lion or higher
    • Processor: 1.80GHz Processor
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3870 / NVidia Geforce 640M
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: NOTICE: Intel HD 4000 chipset is not supported
    Recommended:
    • OS: OS X v10.7 Lion or higher
    • Processor: 1.80GHz Processor
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5870 / NVidia Geforce GTX 775M
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
* Starting February 15, 2024, the Steam Client will no longer support 32-bit games or macOS 10.14 or lower.
    Minimum:
    • Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+ 2.4Ghz or better, Intel Pentium 4 530 3.0Ghz Processor or better
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA 7800GT 256MB graphics card or better, ATI Radeon X1900 256MB graphics card or better that supports Shader Model 3 and has at least 256 MB of VRAM
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: Some users have reported issues with Intel HD 4000 series cards. Also, users using open source graphics drivers such as Mesa have had problems. We recommend installing the manufacturers drivers for the most robust compatibility.
    Recommended:
    • Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+ 2.4Ghz or better, Intel Pentium 4 530 3.0Ghz Processor or better
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA 8800GT 512MB graphics card or better, ATI Radeon HD4830 512MB graphics card or better
    • Storage: 2 GB available space

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