Circut's Edge

About

You play as Marîd Audran a private detective navigating the Budayeen a gritty district blending Middle Eastern and New Orleans vibes. Framed for a murder you didn’t commit you investigate a web of crime and corruption while balancing favors for allies and evading threats. Dialogue choices and investigation shape the story as you uncover secrets in alleys markets and seedy bars. The DOS interface handles inventory and interactions with a text parser driving the noir detective tone. The Budayeen’s layered setting stands out mixing cultural references with a cyber-noir edge years before similar trends. With branching paths and moral dilemmas it feels like an early experiment in narrative-driven RPGs. Though dated by modern standards fans of classic interactive fiction might appreciate its ambition. Released at the end of 1990 it predates many genre staples but holds a niche cult following among DOS RPG collectors.

Storyline

The player assumes the role of Marîd Audran, a private detective. The game is set in "The Budayeen", an entertainment/criminal quarter in an unnamed city somewhere in the Middle East that is based on New Orleans. While running a series of errands/"business deals" for "Saied the Half-Hajj", a friend of Marîd's, Marîd is framed for the murder of a man named Kenji Carter. Although Marîd's influential patron Friedlander Bey clears him with the local police, Bey asks him to look into Carter's death. Doing so leads Marîd deep into the criminal underworld of the Budayeen.