Developed by a studio comprising of a single man named Kenny Sun and published by RedDeerGames, Circa Infinity is a challenging circular platformer where your main goal is to reach the middle of every level. Unlike most platformers, your goal here is the middle of the level instead of the end. Going to the middle however is not as easy as it sounds and in this review, we will tell you exactly how hard it is. This is our review of the brilliant Circa Infinity on an Xbox Series X in which we get inside some circles and have our brains twisted in more ways than one.
Circa Infinity is a platformer on its core however instead of regular side-scrolling, you are found mostly out the outer rims of circles or inside these circles. Your goal is to reach the middle of the ‘core’ of each level which is depicted with yet another circle however it features moving lines to create psychedelic effects and play games with your mind. The game starts slow and gives you a small intro to how you can play the game. The art style is really unique right from the menu as you have to get around in circles and this gives you a small taste of what you can expect in the full game.
Jumping into the first level, you start getting in sync with the game as the starting levels are really easy and I love how the game eases you into its flow before devouring your mind like a spinning beast. As you clear level after level, the game continues to push new mechanics and throws the old ones with a twist as well. The circles become smaller and sometimes faster. Your main goal is to survive in each level as well. It is not just about reaching the core of each level.
Various types of enemies start to appear in the circles and the game does a great job at introducing them as well. It teaches you how to handle each type of enemy in the game and then suddenly throws a bunch of them in the mix and twists with your brain so hard that you just keep playing it one level after another. Normally, these levels start getting harder and harder but if you continue playing Circa Infinity for some time, you somehow start getting so good at it that you just keep completing levels in a frenzy that is really hard to explain.
The flow becomes so smooth and even with the game throwing everything at you, your mind, hands, and eyes adjust to the patterns, and you just start seeing everything from a different perspective. It is a simple game, yet it is a really beautiful game. The enemies, levels, and backgrounds all play around with colors with white and black dominating most of the level designs. Some of the later levels feature additional colors as well but white and black still reign supreme throughout the game with sometimes red coming in the mix as well.
Black and red combined with red depicting threats really trains your mind to avoid at all costs in the game and this is one of the reasons why you get so good at the game if you keep playing it. Your mind starts to accept white and black as safe colors and red as a threat, so you automatically start avoiding the color red. The enemies come in all shapes and sizes as well. Some run along the rim of the circles while some fly inside them making it harder to jump to reach the next circle. As you progress in the game, you start seeing additional patterns of these enemies which increase the challenge significantly causing you to use different strategies.
There are five chapters in the game and each chapter comes with 10 levels. The initial 9 levels add new mechanics to the game and give you a fair chance of mastering them before the game puts you in front of a boss where you must use everything that you have learned to use in order to survive and move on to the next chapter. While the game does not really force you to complete the level in the shortest time possible, but it does offer a no-death challenge and if you complete a level without dying, you earn a red skull.
There are no lives in the game and dying simply takes you back to a safe circle before you can try it again with a different strategy. Apart from the gameplay, I absolutely loved the visual art style of the game as well. Circa Infinity heavily plays with patterns and colors so to get better, you need to understand the patterns and throw yourself inside them without hurting the pattern to survive in the game. This is the trick to mastering every level. An upbeat soundtrack ensures that you are always on the move as well.
I loved playing Circa Infinity. When I jumped in the title for this review on my Xbox Series X, I did not know that I would get hooked so much that I would complete the game within a single sitting. I did complete the game and yes, I managed to do it in a single sitting as well. This is how addictive I found the game. Some of the levels did frustrate me plenty however overall, I had an amazing time playing Circa Infinity. This game deserves to be in your library if you love fast-paced platformers and titles that really tickle your senses with their brilliant art style.
Final Verdict:
Circa Infinity is both challenging and satisfying at the same time. To ace it, you have to get in the grove and learn the patterns of each level. You need to be really fast with both your hands and your mind at the same time to play Circa Infinity along with you remembering all of the enemy patterns. All of this works in tandem and you have to be at the top of your game to reach the end of Circa Infinity. It is a crazy game and deserves its spot in your library due to its simplistic yet extremely challenging gameplay. The art style is simple as well however it is psychedelic, and you will often end up spinning your mind. In short, this game is brilliant, and you must play it.
Final Score: 9.0/10
