Circus Electrique mini-review

2016’s Darkest Dungeon delivered a rousing interpretation of card-driven, turn-based combat. As with most breakout hits, the title inspired an array of indie developers to code their own deviations. From Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager, Iratus: Lord of the Dead, to Slay the Spire, each game replicated Red Hook Studios’ basic formula while contributing their own distinct play mechanics.

Budapest-based Zen Studios is the latest team to tackle battles where success is built around shrewd party member management, effective unit positioning, and an ability to interpret enemy weaknesses. Set in an alternative Victorian setting, the cast of the Circus Electrique plans to commemorate their revival with the illumination of a grand monument. But the event inadvertently affects the minds of Londoners, causing them to become murderous. Hoping to put an end to this disorder referred to as ‘The Maddening’, the unaffected circus performers band together to quell the chaos.

Play takes place on a series of days, as the troupe travels to six different areas. Across each date, there’s a requisite battle, where four of our performers take on adversaries, with each faction positioned in a linear arrangement. Like Darkest Dungeon, each unit’s place in line determines what of the six available attacks they can use and who they can target. So, while your Clown can hit any aggressor with a ball, he’ll have to be in either of the two front positions to pummel foes with his hammer.

Like its contemporaries, victory comes from being able to best harness the capabilities of each character. Whether it’s the tanky Strongmen who can smack opponents with his weights or the Snake Charmer who can poison foes, every circus performer fits into the equation somehow. Beyond health points, the other variable that players will need to monitor is called Devotion. Allow this to zero out, and a unit will flee the battle- which affects both allies and adversaries. Fortunately, Circus Electrique extends multiple difficulty options, with an Easy tier allowing for a greater margin of strategic error since it boosts health at the end of each day. But you’ll still have to worry about permadeath. Although replacement performers are readily available, losing a skilled veteran can feel suitably disheartening.

As such, daily battles don’t veer too far from Darkest Dungeon’s foundations, with the novelty rooted in a stimulating storyline and an eclectic cast. Not all of the advancements are flawless, however. Circus Electrique’s plotting can get caught up on digressions while tricks like palette swaps pad the pool of enemies. For better or worse, there’s a lot of number crunching in the game, with nine unit attributes, twenty different status effects, as well as plenty of passive skills to keep track of. If you’re a stat geek, chasing the best probabilities will be fun across tense protracted battles. But if you favor quick and less cerebral fights, Circus Electrique isn’t for you.

The game’s most interesting departure is found in the performances your troop puts on. While The Madness corrupts the streets of old London, the Circus Electrique still manages to put on a daily show. So, you’re tasked with choosing which cast members will entertain, keeping a steady influx of gifts and income from audiences. In execution, planning the line-up for these shows offers another administrative conundrum. Each performer has their own quicks from being the opening or closing act as well as how well they bond with other members of the cast. While a second managerial burden might not seem like an inconvenience in description, Electrique’s long game will inevitably require these resources.

If you don’t appreciate the Darkest Dungeon style of conflict, where unit positioning and abilities endow turns with tactical depth, you won’t be charmed by Circus Electrique. Instead of offering a complementary system, that offers an administrative break, it doubles down on character management. That’s not a ruinous concept, but know you’ll have to be a very specific type of player to be beguiled by this circus.

Circus Electrique was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher