Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2013
The Novelist
Developer Orthogonal Games
The Novelist is a 2013 independent video game by Kent Hudson through his company Orthogonal Games. The game was first released on 10 December 2013 through Steam. The Novelist can be played in two formats: in stealth or storytelling mode. The game's story line is told through the viewpoint of a spectral figure that oversees the Kaplan family's daily life while on vacation. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
196 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Sep 25, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
68
Fresh
131 positive · 62 negative
95% range 61–74%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 131 | 62 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
773 of 1,038 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed reception: praised for story and choices, criticised for repetition.
Many players praised the game's story and meaningful choices, with some calling it "a great exploration game" and "touching and creative." However, others found the gameplay repetitive, noting that "it became repetitive" and "the repetitive nature of the gameplay overshadows the strength of the story." [1][11][3][35]
Some players appreciated the unique concept and the way choices affect the story, with one saying "choices do really matter." Others criticised the characters as selfish and the game as slow, with one stating "Everyone is really whining and only really cares about themselves." [4][31]
Praised story and writing · meaningful choices
Criticised repetitive gameplay · selfish characters
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 196 · most liked firstIntro: I am sorry I have to say this, but I need to be honest. I believe "The Novelist" is a brilliantly written and emotional story, but I personally failed to engage with this narrative in the way that it was presented and the way I experienced it. Pros: Short and sweet moments of emotional storytelling with writing that earns the game's novel title. Unique way of perspective by being present and not present in the narrative presented. That's a lot of presents. The voice acting of notes…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a great exploration game. I want to put this in front of designers of shallow exploration games, as an example of building depth of story and characters. The half-dozen rooms are scoured over and over, with new parts of the three storylines unearthed at each pass. Observe, learn backstories, and give knudges to the in-game characters. I appreciated the two game modes: a simple exploration mode or play adding an element of stealth, however the simple exploration mode difficult enough.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Novelist does a great job of telling it’s story. You play as a ghost who gets to influence their choices throughout a summer. You do this by roaming about the home looking for clues that are highlighted as well as exploring their memories. It’s a simple concept but it works well. This isn’t a game that is meant to be difficult but focuses more on the story and characters. The game handles the choices very well in that there will always be consequences but I will say that sometimes the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I liked the concept of being some kind of ghost in a summer house spying and helping a little family of three. However, it became repetitive. Just one location which you will go through over and over again trying to find new notes and objects. You also go into memories where you're exploring the same house, finding the same people with each one just saying one line. Should have been more and actual dialogue. I liked reading the notes outside the memories, though. They were well written.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I cannot recommend this game, for a number of reasons. The game *is* visually pleasing, with a pleasant art style, the story seems to be well-written, and the game runs well on a Windows 10 machine with no tweaking needed (no need to run in compatibility mode). That said: Accessibility is bad. Very small text, difficult to read, even at 2560 x 1440 . No Text or UI scaling options. Only resolution options (max is 2560 x 1440). The game uses several different fonts, some of which are hard to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Summary The Novelist didn't seem to arouse emotion like I was expecting it to. The concept of trying to balance three characters' desires and motivations sounds interesting on paper, but in execution it ended up being sloppy and forced. Each character is very selfish throughout each chapter. They show their appreciation when they get what they want, but fail to give leeway or understanding when things don't go their way. It made it hard to connect with these characters. I would prioritize a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the concept of The Novelist is compelling, the characters ultimately fail to make an indelible impression as intended by the developer through their capricious, even selfish interactions. It is difficult for the player to find compromises between the wants and needs of the protagnists since each character prioritizes their individual goals above all others, thus compounding the problems that led them to the cabin in the first place. The story may benefit from a patch that rewrites some of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A short story-driven experience of about 3 hours in-average where choices do really matter. In fact, the whole game concept is about making decisions that will alter the direction of the story. The game has a unique mechanism in where you, as some kind of a spirit or some kind of supernatural being, lives in a beautiful house. A new family moves into the house for the 3 months of the summer. The father is a writer who spends most of his time working on his next book and not giving any…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept is original, but the game becomes repetitive pretty fast. All you do is sneak around the house, find out about the residents' thoughts and desires, then make some decision at the end of the day. The story, while interesting, is just not compelling enough to keep me playing after day 3.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wouldn't waste your money on it. I got it when it first came out, played it then and forgot what the game was like so I downloaded it and replayed it today. I understand the idea of the game and it is interesting... but it just misses the mark for me. It's so drab and sad. It's like this broken sad loveless marriage that just can't seem to be happy. And I find the characters frustrating and outcomes unrealistic. The fact that the choices make such dramatic changes for the other characters in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Everyone is really whining and only really cares about themselves. No matter what you do is all for naught.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wish I could recommend this game. Unfortunately the repetitive nature of the gameplay overshadows the strength of the story. An excellent concept that I think could have been executed in a different and more appealing way. Watch a Let's Play if you're curious, but I wouldn't recommend adding it to your library. Even if you're a strong indie fan like myself.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quite repetitive and slow. I always felt guilty when making the choice on who to disappoint. Linda is a miserable b*tch no matter what you choose, there's no way to make her happy even if you choose to make her happy. Spoiler: When it comes to the camping choices, I thought okay I'll choose camping at the beach which was Dan's choice because Linda wanted to camp anyway so it's six and two threes but apparently she waned to throw a b*tch fit anyway and get angry because she wanted to go to the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Prop Hunt With A Story The only interesting aspect of the game is it's story and the impact Your choices make, but The Novelist fails to make itself interesting. Every week you have to make decisions by searching for clues which gets old very fast. Soon the game becomes a hide and seek and the story loses it's function. The graphics are mediocre but the game doesn't need better graphics and the current one serves it well. The gameplay is mediocre, but also gets old fast as there are not many…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't think it's fair to give negative reviews for games where i dont like the genre, or if there is a weird and/or annoying game mechanic in it. But "The Novelist" really is a "game", which deserves a negative review. I dont mind Walking Simulators that much, when the story is on point and if there is a certain depth to it, but the interaction possiple, in this one, equals zero. And on top of that, the story is uninspired and boring until no end. You are playing as a "ghost", observing a 3…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game really reflected the very typical push-pull demands that make up a family. There has to always be some compromise... no one gets exactly what they want but they get what they need, to paraphrase the Stones. I played stealth mode and I thought it made it easy to get around the house quickly. The characters were pretty self-focused and somewhat selfish at times, but that’s the way most people are until you communicate. I found little Tommy’s complete reliance on his father to play -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You explore the house as an unknown entity, a ghost, up to you what you want to pretend you are. You must not get caught by being seen, you can possess light fixtures. You can turn off the "cant get caught" part in a mode called Story Mode. Exploring the house for clues to be able to make 1 decision in favour for 1 of the characters each chapter was not mind numbing the first time, after that it was very boring. The house is lifeless, just some assets pasted about and that's it. The only thing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed this game. It was very interesting to help determine the best choices for the family to make. I feel like I got a "good" ending, possibly the best ending, although now I'm curious to see what would have happened instead if I was a not-so friendly ghost while spooking the people aka an "evil" playthrough. Although, I don't think it's too possible unless you deliberately choose the worst choices. But, how do I know for sure it's the wrong choice? How do I know for certain that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not a huge fan. I really like the theme (can't think of another game that deals with writer's block) and setting, but it feels like too many things are reused (like the child doing the same drawings over and over) and stretched out. There really shouldn't be any filler in a game this short in my opinion.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A choose your own adventure from the point of view of an artist. While I don’t agree with the exclusive dichotomy of the outcomes presented here, it is a worthy game for reinforcing the idea of life being a series of choices and consequences, often without clearly defined junctures.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →clearly designed with a feminist bias. No matter what sacrifice the husband makes, the wife will be unhappy and take actions to break the family up. Sign of the neurotic times we live I guess
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is pretty nice, but not wonderful. Concept is nice, the story as well, it's interesting but... it's a bit repetitive and slow. Lack of dynamism is a bit annoying, all is a bit ferfetched cause there is no good choice. You do your best to make them happy but they're never satisfied è_é maybe it's the aim of this. We can't all be happy at the same time? Our happiness depends on others's? ...i don't know! Anyway, what i know is: it's a nice game anyway that worth a try! (wait for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is mostly a depression trip that prevents you making one. I wanted a brutal sad divorce end and to ruin the novelists life with making him work himself to death at his typewriter and drink to oblivion. The game prevented me doing this by offering compromise and I actually saw the goodish ending.. I suppose for 12 years ago it's probably aged finely..
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Opinion : NEUTRAL. A novelist just moved to a isolated house with his wife and his kid. The dad is struggling to write his next novel, meanwhile his relationship with his wife and his kid is going downhill. The gameplay is extremely simple, you have to navigate inside the (small) house and and look for clues about each character's wishes or events, then decide which characters wish/choice to follow, which change the next chapters story (and game's ending) The main idea is pretty good but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I honestly hoped to enjoy this game, but something really isn't there. The pacing feels terrible. How many times have you heard about 90-minute long games that _require_ multiple launches, just because the pacing is so boring you have to hold on to your yawns? Provided the enjoyable qualities of this game are supposed to come from texts, I still found the local writing lacking some depth. And the voice actors didn't do well in terms of supplying life in these texts. The choices you make in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was... OK. The thing is: it's a $5 indie game that explores an offbeat game concept, so I can excuse a lot, like how it's almost entirely devoid of gameplay. The game has five actions, and they get stale FAST: 1. Be a spooky ghost who jumps from light to light in a house avoiding the people. This is fine, but once you know what the goal is, there's no challenge and it's not particularly fun. I used the lights more often to just get places fast than to hide, because ghosts don't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game tries to make you feel guilty for your every decision. No matter what you do, other people believe you did the wrong thing. And yes, that's the point, but... well, it isn't a pleasant experience. And other than that, the game is quite ugly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So, I thought The Novelist was a very good game-- maybe even excellent. It's an indie game that actually provides meaningful choice, where your choice actually affects the outcome (unlike other games). Basically, you get to make a primary choice (whom to support) and-- if you are successful in your stealth-- a secondary choice that is a "compromise." You truly get to shape the story with your ghostly whisperings, which I found satisfying. Yes, perhaps they are all "selfish", but Tommy is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very dull repetitive game. Sneak around the same level every time, find a bunch of items without being seen, then make a contrived choice between three options to prioritise: the husband's novel, the couple's relationship or the child's happiness. But it's all about the story, right? I wasn't impressed by that part either. The title character is a litfic cliché, the middle-aged alcoholic writer in an unhappy marriage, and the other two just react to him in completely predictable ways. To be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good basic idea and gameplay... but the story is terrible. We follow a normal family in all its boringness. The big "challenge" of the game is for the husband to write his book and give some attention to both his wife and his son. Clearly he can only realistically accomplish ONE of these three incredibly difficult tasks. Even if you fully finish a level in order to get a "better" ending, you only unlock the ability to _badly_ do two tasks instead of succeeding at one. Anyway, every success…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I shamelessly admit that I dropped this game a bit over an hour into it. The concept is interesting, don't get me wrong: you play as a phantom inhabiting a gorgeous house when a family of three moves in. Both parents are artists pursuing either a deadline or a dream alongside their personal problems, whilst their child struggles with his unusual and uncertain upbringing. You are to analyse the different situations that the family is being put in by searching for clues and hints around the house…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't get how anyone could not like this game. It's one of the best games I have played in a long time. It has a unique perspective. Something I've never seen in a game before. You play as an outside "force" so to speak that has the power to change the thoughts and emotions of the characters. I realize I've only played through the first chapter (52 minutes of gameplay for me), so I will visit this review again at the end of the game, but right now I can truly recommend this to anyone who…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game, because I always enjoy games where choices matter. But the pace of the game was too slow for me, and I hated having to keep re-searching the same rooms over and over again. Frankly, I was bored, and didn't like any of the characters.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend the game, because I finished it and it was OK. But the story is all the game has. The gameplay as ghost is just busy work, so I'm glad the game is really short (2-3hours), because I almost loose interest. The choices in story are OK, but there are no real actions, stuff just happens. Kaplans (the main characters) are just puppets and I kind of do not like it. However, there are some strong points and the narrative through memories and journal is well executed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →6.5/10 - Like Tommy's best reading grade on my playthrough. I think what is going to determine whether you like it or not is how much you can connect with the weakest narrative (the kid's) at the weakest point (in the second to last chapter). The game has a nice pacing but fails to deliver on very impactful decision making and the fact that all you get are stills that illustrate your decisions is disapointing. Having said that, I liked the 2 other characters and I found their dilemmas to be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR I found this game touching and creative. For those who want to experience how a decision can affect others, this game is for you. If you do not enjoy experiencing a story without a "true" ending, this game is not for you. First Impressions -Pretty suprised with the mixed reviews, I found this game meaningful. Plot -Do you pursue a career or leave behind your loved ones? - What can you do when a compromise between decisions need to be made? - How can you find a solution where…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Novelist. A great lyric game.
unlabelledView post →Very fun and unique game. Also the main character's voice actor is goated.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One more #AceWeek guest stream before the week ends!! Tonight, Satan is joined by Sweeney, an aroace writer working on a novel, to play a very fitting game, The Novelist. Let's see how well two writerly folks can play a ghost directing a writer's life...?
unlabelledView post →TLDR: NOT A GAME ALARM BLARING! General Thoughts/Overview: The Novelist (TN) is a decision sim disguised as a walking sim which also offers you optional additional game mechanics. I’m not entirely sure why you would want to slow down this already snail paced choose your own adventure novel… but it’s nice to be given the option to. You are the poltergeist. An evil entity haunting an isolated cliff top house. Your quest? To destroy the lives of the people who spend their time there. Drive…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not a bad game, there has been some effort put into this, but it's too slow paced for my personal taste and I can't recommend it because of this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think I would enjoy watching someone else play this, but I can't bring myself to play it on my own. I was able to get about an hour in before I lost interest, and I just couldn't get myself to open the game up a second time to get back in it. The mechanics are very interesting, and the story had my attention for a bit, but it just couldn't hook me. Maybe some super cool VTuber will do a Let's Play and I'll finally be able to experience what this game has to offer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Novelist is a seemingly easy game in which you learn about a family of three and decide between their wants, You chose one and then can compromise with one other, the last person won't have their want happen, after that you find out how the choices affect their lives. I really enjoyed this story and I was very interested in how my choices affected the family.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is extremely minimalistic and that could work. But I don't buy it. It's a small empty house with a boring family. There's nothing to explore and it feels like baby's first house modelling project. It's just all so uninspired. We don't see anything that happens. and, sure, you could do it by showing results and clues, but the game is nowhere near pulling it off. Small changes around the house are entirely not enough. It's creepy but not creepy enough. Could have been about possession…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A slow-paced graphic novel where the hard choices you make matters. The story, however, is a bit too familiar: The family man focusing on his career whilst his family is suffering, the wife focusing on the family whilst her career is suffering and the kid that gets stuck in the middle. A unique experience that makes you feel a lot (like: I will Never marry!). -------------------------------------------------------- Play this game if: - You want to be told a story about an average family trying…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting experimental concept but it gets old pretty fast. I don't know what could be done to fix it :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really wanted to like this game. Unfortunately the execution is not great. Choices are too limited. Has this dad never heard of compromises? Maybe if his work ethic was better he'd get his novel done—and not destroy his relationships in doing so.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried twice with this game because I really wanted to like it. Such a great concept and really would have been a good game had they fleshed it out a bit more. Unfortunately the lack of controller support and inability to use arrow keys just frustrated me even further with this game. It's tedious and boring and you wonder around quite a bit not knowing what to do, even with the clues. Feels like the ability to jump into light fixtures was an attempt to make it a little more interesting but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game puts you in the shoes of a "good" stalker observing a somewhat broken family. You have the chance to change their relationships and make them happier. The idea is nice, but I found its realisation a little boring. I am sorry for not recommending it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just finished the game and its awesome. Shows me how hard it is balancing career goals and family life. And the whole story is with one kid. Now I can only imagine how it would be if they had two... In my ending he failed to get a good book, but makes me wonder if he got it right could he save his family as well? Guess I'm gonna have to Google it to find out :) Altogether, game which is more of an experience, filled with and emotions and decisions which you don't have to answer for but have a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't wanna finish this game, even though it's probably short and looks like I'm close to the end. I'm bored with it and can't care at all about the story and characters, also the movement or graphics or whatever makes me dizzy. There are some interesting ideas gameplay-wise, but they should've been improved or discarded, because they don't really work. Here's how it goes: the game divided in chapters, in each one of them you have to "sneak" around the same relatively small house in order to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It was interesting at first, but after few chapters it got boring and repetitive. I was impressed at some choices, that felt stupid. Many of them could be easily done simultaneously in real life, without that negative and depressing impact. For eample: washing up the sweater Linda had from her parents. Does it really require to be any choice? Couldn't she just do it by herself wihout any attention? Second example: Closed doors rule: couldn't it be announces togheter with commiting to dinners…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crushingly depressing, despite getting a good ending, but it certainly captures marraige and parenthood.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Indie game. Its great how it makes you reflect on real life, about the general choices we have to make, while living in a family home where you have to deal with other people’s desire and yours too, and how hard it can be considering every person’s individual will and making a suficiently happy life for everyone at once as the concept of family tries to attend. In the end it may not be quite ideal, as the game shows.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall 73/100 Game length 2 - 3 hours Gameplay 7/10 Graphics 7/10 Story 7/10 Notes Light easy gameplay. Family vs. Work sim.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Repetitive. 2 floors roughly 6 rooms... that you walk (you cannot run) again and again. Become boring watching same rooms for over 100 times. Developed story that can give you some interest sometime. But I don't think you can get a 100% happy ending. When you make a choice, it's always against someone else ideal. Black or white. Shades of grey aren't available. As Shining_Falcon said: "The Novelist" is a brilliantly written and emotional story, but I personally failed to engage with this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heyo folks, End World Gaming here to share an excerpt from my review for The Novelist by Orthogonal Games. The Novelist is a first person adventure game with some stealth elements. The game puts you in the role of an unknown creature/ghost that, more or less, spies on the inhabitants of the house. The creature can impact the inhabitant’s life choices but it’s neither benevolent or evil, but based on your choices, it can impact their lives in good or bad ways. The current inhabitants of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →do you know the kind of feeling you get once you finish the game and you know there are multiple endings so you have to go through the boring and unimportant parts of the game that you've already finished, so there's nothing new, only game grinding and annoyance? well, this whole game is only about that. except there is nothing else before. yep, just the annoying part. you have to plot the story of a whining family, "struggling" to get through life full of first world problems. do i go…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't know what's more depressing, the story or the gameplay/UI...but thanks to both, I just ended up removing this from my account.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intriguing and with a very human story line.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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