Quarantine Circular Review: Who Are We, Really?
Much like its sudden release, Quarantine Circular aims to surprise. The second installment in Mike Bithell's short-story series doesn't have a direct narrative connection to the first game, Subsurface Circular, but it carries over the same sharp writing and intriguing central premise. This time the story jumps between characters instead of delivering its tale through a single lens, and while this structure leads to some tonal inconsistencies, Quarantine Circular is still a thought-provoking experience worth seeing through.
Like Subsurface Circular, Quarantine Circular is a straightforward narrative adventure. You never take control of its characters beyond determining how they respond to others during a conversation. A directed camera does a good job of keeping you engaged, utilizing sharp cuts and slow pans to evoke tension and serenity at the right moments. Its soundtrack, too, does an excellent job of setting the tone of each scene, especially after a sensational opening sequence.
Humanity is facing an extinction event in Quarantine Circular, which makes the simultaneous arrival of extraterrestrial life both inconvenient and suspicious. Taking place aboard a vessel tasked with maintaining a quarantine in a vulnerable city, you shift between multiple perspectives while trying to determine why the aliens have arrived and if they might be linked to the plague that's ravaging life across the globe. Although you never see the effects of the plague in action, Quarantine Circular ramps up the stakes quickly with a trail of clues that hint at what's happening outside the ship's confines. There's a palpable sense of urgency befitting the impending collapse of civilization.
Despite its brief two-hour runtime, Quarantine Circular manages to raise intriguing ideological questions about evolution, human nature, and tribalism. The arrival of extraterrestrial life opens questions about life beyond our planet at a time when there's little chance to preserve it. Issues concerning evolutionary fate and the human race's mistakes act as a centerpiece for the core conflict, which has some surprising twists before somewhat stumbling to a deflating conclusion. But it's a tale that will have you laughing moments before pondering deep existential questions, and it manages that balance with grace throughout.
Without the ability to see characters' expressions due to their bulky biohazard suits, dialogue has to do most of the heavy lifting.The color coding of each character helps keep things from getting too confusing, and it doesn't take long for Quarantine Circular to establish a strong sense of identity for each concealed face. Marc Peréz, for example, is a great early-game character with a contagious sense of optimism, and his inquisitiveness when coming face to face with the alien visitor for the first time mirrors your own. He eventually gives way to a set of characters with varied ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, all of which introduce differing yet surprisingly relatable perspectives for you to consider.
Conversational choices are often linear, giving you a handful of responses that sometimes loop back to the same outcome. They always align with the personality of the character you're guiding; you can't, in other words, role-playing however you see fit. You can't make a brooding security specialist suddenly sympathetic to a cause she doesn't believe in or work around the naivete of a young scientist. Quarantine Circular lets you make choices that affect events in some unexpected ways (so much so that you'll be enticed to replay certain sections to see alternative outcomes) but it never lets you mistake your role in its tale.
You also have the option to dive into alternative points of conversation that flesh out the premise and surrounding events. Sometimes you'll be limited as to how many of these conversational diversions you can take, and some choices lock out others. You'll never feel as though you're missing out on anything specifically crucial with your decisions, but your curiosity is often rewarded with morsels of information that influence more important choices down the line.
Infrequently, these focus points are used to inject some light puzzles into the story, which doesn't always work in the dialogue-heavy structure of the rest of the game. There's a section at the end that is specifically guilty of obstruction, bringing a powerful decision-making moment to a crawl as you rummage through character notes to hunt down a password. It breaks the flow of the game, but thankfully it's not a persistent hindrance.
What is slightly more annoying is the frequent hopping between characters. Quarantine Circular can shift perspectives multiple times in a single act, which gets confusing with the strict response options you have to choose from. The cuts feel jarring, and the writing is sometimes forced to acknowledge it. One scene cuts so rapidly that the responses are sign-posted to ensure you know who you're replying as. It's disappointing, too, when you're forced to change your perspective on a given situation during its potential climax, as it undercuts the emotional resonance the scene had built up all along.
Quarantine Circular's endings also struggle to prop up the stories that led to them. They aren't as surprising as the tales that they're meant to be rounding out, often concluding in transparent ways. They might factor in small decisions you considered inconsequential at the time, but the endings fail to encapsulate all the questions the story asks into a thought-provoking final message. Quarantine Circular ends too abruptly, and without much impact.
But it's still a tale worth giving the little time it asks of you, if only to be entertained by its intriguing characters and inspired by their existential pondering. Quarantine Circular is a mostly well-written sci-fi tale that doesn't succumb to tired tropes or obvious plot contrivances to draw you in. Instead it uses its limited working space to deliver a captivating tale about human nature and our theoretical place within the universe.
Happytime Murders Creators Issue Response to Sesame Street Lawsuit
The Happytime Murders creators STX Entertainment have responded to Sesame Street's lawsuit with a puppet lawyer.
Last week Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind the beloved children's TV show, filed a lawsuit against the upcoming R-rated puppet comedy for the inappropriate use of the Sesame Street brand in the film's marketing campaign.
Per Huffington Post, STX Entertainment issued a statement on the matter saying puppet lawyer Fred, Esq. will represent the studio in the lawsuit. The studio even provided a photo of Fred.
Free FIFA 18 World Cup Update Available Today
To celebrate the upcoming 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, Fifa 18 has been updated with a host of new features.
A number of game modes have been added to the game including a replica structure of the tournament starting on June 14.
Players can pick their favourite from the 32 qualified teams and make their own course through the fixtures.
Further, if your national team didn't qualify, the custom FIFA World Cup Tournament mode will let you rewrite history and make them champions.
Each of the 12 official Russian stadiums have been added to the game complete with World Cup match balls and team banners.
Other game modes have also been added including a FIFA World Cup-themed Kick-Off mode and an expansion to the popular Ultimate Team mode.
Roseanne Canceled by ABC
ABC has canceled the reboot of Roseanne.
The network pulled the plug on the hit show after Roseanne Barr made controversial comments on Twitter Tuesday morning about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. The tweet has since been deleted.
The following statement was provided to IGN by ABC:
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show." - Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment
Barr has since issued an apology on Twitter which reads, "I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste."
Hands-On With Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion
Splatoon 2 has seen a fair share of free content updates since its initial release last summer. There's no doubt that Nintendo has been relentlessly hard at work keeping the game feeling fresh with new weapons, stages, and gear, not to mention a healthy amount of balance tweaks to the game itself. Now, as year two quickly approaches, the first paid DLC for the game is finally on its way and comes in the form of Octo Expansion.
In every other mode of Splatoon 2, you play as your very own custom Inkling known only as Agent 4. You’re on the job for Salmon Run, you’re the one splatting away in Turf Wars, and you’re the hero in Hero Mode. But, that’s not the case in the Octo Expansion - players will assume the role of Agent 8, an Octoling who wakes up with amnesia in a strange subway station that's connected to a series of research facilities hidden under the city.
Fortnite Fans Share How Building on Impulse Is Affecting Other Games
Fortnite players have developed an innate desire to build, and this sensation is starting to slip into other games.
A thread on Reddit shows just how ingrained Fortnite's building has become. User HooninAround started the thread when building didn't help a mishap in World of Warcraft, saying, "I accidentally got too close to a cliff when farming mats in WoW and I instinctively looked down and hit my ramp button."
User Lokkman explained, "I jumped on H1Z1 and instead of running to cover my initial instinct was to build. This resulted in death." Another user AdzziiFIFA said, "Overwatch had a free trial this week and I kept thinking to build, so I just played Mei."
Nintendo Announces Hylian Shield Edition New 2DS XL for North America
Nintendo has announced the latest addition to its ever-expanding list of cosmetic options for its 3DS family of consoles. Again, we see another Legend of Zelda themed console, only this time it's for the New 2DS XL, and it's quite the looker.
The Hylian Shield Edition New 2DS XL will launch exclusively in GameStop stores on July 2 and will be available for $159.99. The console is designed to resemble Link's iconic shield and will come pre-loaded with The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
Nintendo has not yet commented on if the console will be available in other regions, though its exclusivity to GameStop indicates that it may not reach Japan and Europe anytime soon.
Ex-Star Wars Director Reflects on Time Working on Episode 9
Colin Trevorrow has reflected on his brief time working on Star Wars: Episode IX.
Trevorrow was fired from Episode IX and was replaced by J.J. Abrams last year. In an interview with Empire, the filmmaker explained despite being let go from the project, he still cherishes the experience he had developing the movie.
Trevorrow also revealed he shared his Episode IX script with George Lucas and Mark Hamill.
Top Comics to Buy This Week: Man of Steel #1, Amazing Spider-Man #800 and More
With dozens of comic books to choose from, let us show you which are the best coming out this week. Take a look at this list spotlighting our favorite comics that we know are money-well-spent and new books that look cool and are backed by some top-tier talent.
Once you check out our picks, head to the comments to let us know what you’ll be buying this week!
Man of Steel #1 -$3.99
Writer Brian Michael Bendis | Artists Ivan Reis & Jason Fabok (DC Comics)
We Happy Few Wants to Make ‘The Leap’
We Happy Few, which creative director Guillaume Provost describes as “an action adventure game with lots of weird stuff in it," has been around for quite some time in the form of a drug-fueled roguelike. But its stock rose significantly in the wake of its E3 2016 presence at Xbox’s press briefing, where it showcased a BioShock-esque narrative campaign. It’s been mostly quiet ever since before finally re-revealing itself this month. I played a good 45 or so minutes of it and came away mostly impressed. It is clearly doing everything it can to make “The Leap,” like a superstar athlete, from raw potential to polished All-Star.
Developer Compulsion Games and creative director Guillaume Provost explained that over 40 people are now working on We Happy Few – far more than before – and that the past nine months have been spent focusing almost solely on this single-player campaign, which Provost claims is clocking in at around 20 hours long. My demo picked up shortly after the 2016 demo ended, in the shoes of Arthur, the same chap we already know from the last demo.