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Subsurface Circular is a text adventure from Bithell Games and is out now

Subsurface Circular

Sneaky Mike Bithell, of Thomas Was Alone and Volume fame, has announced and simultaneously released Subsurface Circular today. It’s a brief text adventure that puts you in the metal shoes of a robot detective trying to find out what happened to a bunch of missing robots. It’s also the first in a series of shorts that Bithell Games will be conjuring up. 

Looking for more like this? Here’s our list of the best indie games on PC.

Subsurface Circular isn’t your typical text adventure, in that there’s a novel puzzle layer where you must amass words and phrases which can then be used in dialogue puzzles. It’s almost a throwback to parsing and verb lists, but equally it’s inspired by modern dialogue systems where the real puzzles are in conversations.

As it’s a short, single-session game, the Steam page also tackles the whole “I can finish and refund this game” problem.

“You’re browsing Steam, which means you understand the work that goes into games, and are in principle up for paying for ones that entertain you. We hope that after a bit of time with Subsurface Circular, you’ll feel good about the price you paid.”

In summary, don’t be a dick.

Subsurface Circular is out now on Steam for £3.83/$4.79.