Line #21 VideoGame/SubsurfaceCircular


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/subsurface_circular_header.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"When the truth is buried, go underground."]]
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4	''Subsurface Circular'' is a text-based adventure game developed and published by Mike Bithell and his company Creator/BithellGames (the creators of ''VideoGame/ThomasWasAlone'' and ''VideoGame/{{Volume}}''). The game was released for Windows-based [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer personal computers]] in August 2017, for [[Platform/{{iOS}} iOS devices]] in October 2017, and for the Platform/NintendoSwitch in March 2018.
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6	The game sees you play as a detective "Tek", a kind of robot, assigned to the [[TitleDrop Subsurface Circular]], a looping subway line in an unnamed futuristic City. Upon learning about a series of disappearances of your fellow Teks, it's up to you to investigate passengers and try to get to the root of the problem, even if it's not a case assigned to you by Management.
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8	See also ''VideoGame/QuarantineCircular'', another Bithell short that is similar to this game.
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10	'''WARNING:''' As a narrative-heavy game, reading the spoilered text below before playing may negatively impact your experience.
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12	!!The game provides examples of:
13	* AfterTheEnd: The tourist Tek in the second sequence implies that there are some aspects of this in the game's setting, such as Mumbai being flooded over, and wanting to visit a "Fall Palace" where the previous government of the unnamed City collapsed.
14	* AgeIsRelative: The oldest Tek encountered in the game, whose body was one of the originals and who is seen as elderly by the player character, is about 30 years old. It's [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] when they mention that you "age" quicker when your body can't fix itself.
15	* ArtificialIntelligence: All of the Teks you encounter have self-awareness, classified under three levels of high-intelligence.
16	* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou: PlayedWith. Humans are treated fairly, but the Management of the city the game takes place in still views most Teks as tools rather than individuals ([[SecondLawMyAss due to fear of the opposite]]), and monitors their status on the surface.
17	* BookEnds: The game's first and last sequences see the train approaching the Gateway station [[spoiler:and the player character speaking with Alpha Seven, a.k.a. "Red"]].
18	* BrickJoke: At the beginning, you can sarcastically tell Alpha Seven that your detective work gives you time to paint portraits. If you do, [[spoiler:the Red Tek will bring it up if you ask about his "change of profession"]].
19	* ButThouMust: Many decisions, such as breaching protocol to take on the missing Tek case and [[spoiler:reporting your findings via communicator Tek and subsequently getting into trouble]], are mandatory to make progress.
20	* CelebrityEndorsement: {{Parodied}}. An Athlete Tek you encounter had its speech behavior modified to constantly shill the Tek equivalent of sports drinks in exchange for better treatment in the industry. You can't actually discuss the disappearances with then until you reset their speech programming.
21	* ChekhovsGun: Alpha Seven, the Tek that gives you the case, mentions that he [[spoiler:carries a gun effective on both humans and Teks for its safety. You see it, and fire it, in the final sequence, making it a very literal trope example]].
22	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:Alpha Seven, AKA "Red",]] is a recently-employed recruiter for LaResistance.
23	* ClosedCircle: Befitting a story with "Circular" in its title, the entire game takes place in a single subway car on a closed-loop line, as Management has restricted the player to that position.
24	* DeusEstMachina: Not present, but it's the goal of [[spoiler:the revolutionaries, believing that human management is far too faulty in comparison to Tek overseers]].
25	* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:The Tek that gave you the case at the start]] was the "Red" Tek, unsure if it's doing the right thing and wanting a Tek with higher intelligence than it to decide.
26	* DoNotSpoilThisEnding: There's a button on the Main Menu that leads to a message asking [=YouTubers=] and Streamers to only show the first three "sequences" if they don't want to ruin the experience for others.
27	* DoubleMeaning: In almost every sequence, one of your fellow passengers are of one subset of Teks, called "Listeners", that seemingly do nothing but head-bang to the music in their headphones. [[spoiler:Except, they're actually Listening to ''you'', discreetly hacking into your conversations and reporting on your actions to "Red".]]
28	* EmotionSuppression: When two Tek cops interrogate the player about their unassigned investigation, their emotional states are linked, so that one can focus on staying stoic while the other does their job without emotional bias. The puzzle is [[spoiler:manipulating the suppressor and getting the suppressed locked into different emotional states to get information out of them]].
29	* EntertaininglyWrong: The Tek cops, with the player's help, reach the conclusion that [[spoiler:"missing" Teks are a byproduct of managerial error, with more Tek bodies claimed to exist than actually produced]]. But the player knows that [[spoiler:there are Teks that ''actually'' existed that have gone missing]], leading to the last parts of the game.
30	* ExactWords: When the player first learns of the Red Tek, it is as "a Tek called Red", but the Detective Tek immediately assumes it's a color descriptor, as the focus point gained from this conversation is labelled "Red Tek". [[spoiler:It turns out the "Red Tek" is, in fact, not colored red, but yellow.]]
31	* FantasticRacism: There are humans, such as the Human Protection Collaborative, that are anti-Tek, partly out of fear of being replaced by them.
32	* FantasyPantheon: There are Teks that believe in one, known as "The Architects". See StealthSequel below.
33	* FullCircleRevolution: The purpose of LaResistance: [[spoiler:replace the human Management with Teks able to compute the best course for humanity, and replace the worker Teks with human labor. Bear in mind that the revolution is led by humans sympathetic to Teks and ''want'' to have them rule humanity.]]
34	* HelloInsertNameHere: The detective's first name can be one of four options the player can choose: Theta, Beta, [[VideoGame/ThomasWasAlone Claire, or James]]. The rest of their name is always "One One".
35	* LaResistance: The [=HPC=] group sees itself as one, though a more traditional example is [[spoiler:the group responsible for the Tek disappearances.]]
36	* LoopholeAbuse: LaResistance was founded by [[spoiler:humans that will be harmed if the secret's out, so Teks cannot stop them directly. Additionally, the group has been giving their Teks military designations, as the "Do no harm" law of robotics doesn't apply to Teks designed for combat.]]
37	* MultipleEndings: Decided by a LastSecondEndingChoice. Do you [[spoiler:kill Red and report the revolutionaries to Management]], or [[spoiler:kill yourself and let the revolution proceed]]?
38	** BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Both of 'em]], as both Teks and humans will be harmed regardless of what happens next.
39	** This sequence is set up so that the player can [[spoiler:change their mind, and who they shoot, at the very last second, adding an implied wrinkle to the player character's final decision.]]
40	* NoBiologicalSex: None of the Teks have genders, and names such as "Claire" or "James" are merely interpreted as religious.
41	* NonIndicativeName: The "Red Tek", in addition to being more than just a RedHerring, [[spoiler:isn't colored red; they're yellow, with a few red details. It's just that they're ''called'' by the unofficial moniker of "Red".]]
42	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Management [[spoiler:strips you of your Detective designation]] because you breached protocol to take on a case.
43	* OverlyLongGag: In Sequence 6, [[spoiler:you can ask the Priest Tek for a story. The Priest Tek proceeds to recount the events of ''VideoGame/ThomasWasAlone''...by using the narrated text from the first few sections of that game. Eventually, the Priest Tek stops the re-telling, telling you that it's just not the same without the rest of the game, [[TakeThatUs mediocre gameplay included]].]]
44	* ThePlace: The entire narrative takes place in the titular [[TitleDrop Subsurface Circular]] subway line.
45	* RedHerring: As a detective, part of your job is to identify these and rule them out. PlayedWith in that one deemed this in-universe, the Red Tek, is later [[spoiler:revealed to be working with the culprits]].
46	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: All of the characters in the game, including the player, are ascended [=AI=] in robotic bodies. Though they lack features such as faces, they take on many human mannerisms to put people at ease, such as simulated breathing.
47	* RunningGag: There's a Listener Tek in nearly every sequence, that always refuses to communicate with the player. [[spoiler: Red apologizes for their silence, as they are singlemindedly focused on listening in on your conversations to actually respond to you.]]
48	* ShoutOut:
49	** There's a hidden achievement you can get by quoting ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' lines at a Listener. You can also quote ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' and ''Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar'' in the same conversation, though they don't come with achievements. [[spoiler:It's also subtle foreshadowing that the end of the game involves whether or not you "throw away your [[ChekhovsGun shot]]".]]
50	** With the right option picked, there's also a reference to ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' (as well as a comparison to the Creator/StephenKing novella that it's based on) during TheReveal that [[spoiler:the Red Tek isn't colored red, but yellow]].
51	** One of the Circular subway stops, Lovelace, is a shout-out to mathematician and computer programmer [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace Ada Lovelace]].
52	* SlaveLiberation: Prior to Management taking over, Teks were considered private property in this city, and they still are in other cities. [[BigBrotherIsEmployingYou Not that their current situation is a major improvement...]]
53	* StealthSequel: To [[spoiler:''Thomas Was Alone'']], whose [[{{Precursors}} characters]] are seen by religious Teks as "[[FantasyPantheon The Architects]]".
54	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: All of the conversations are Private Messages between [=AIs=], [[JustifiedTrope justifying]] how much information can be gained just between subway stops.
55	* ThreeLawsCompliant: Asimov's work is directly referenced a few times by Teks, mainly when discussing interactions with humans.
56	* TurnInYourBadge: The robotic equivalent. For investigating the case without permission, the player character [[spoiler:is reformatted and stripped of their "detective" designation. Their refusal to give up the case afterwards leads to the endings.]]
57	* VideoGameCaringPotential: At one point, you can give job advice to a Nanny Tek who is heading for a system reset following the end of her previous job.
58	* WasItAllALie: During TheReveal, the player can ask if they were lied to about [[spoiler:Tau Thirteen, Alpha Seven/Red's "missing friend". They did exist and go missing, but Red didn't really know them, and it wasn't the main motivation for getting the player to investigate missing Teks]].
59	* WhamLine: In Sequence 6, you have to play the part of priest for an Infantry Tek who wishes to confess. [[spoiler:He confesses to helping the revolutionaries amass an army of thousands of Infantry Teks that are about to attack the City, ''and very soon''.]]

Context VideoGame / SubsurfaceCircular