Introduction
Indiana Jones is no stranger to video game adaptations, from early PC adventure titles to so-so attempts at third-person action-adventure on console. Yet after an almost two-decade absence, with Uncharted’s Nathan Drake arriving on the scene and Tomb Raider‘s Lara Croft being rebooted, the original whip-smart archaeologist might feel like he’s in danger of being the imitator.
Fortunately, in the hands of MachineGames – the studio behind the acclaimed Wolfenstein series reboot – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle stands out by going against the grain of the genre’s expectations, not least with its choice of perspective. A leap in graphical technology since the last adaptation certainly helps too, but this is arguably the first game that truly lets you become Dr. Jones – and importantly the one from the original film trilogy’s time period.
So is this what we could call the big Indy hit of the year, or does it feel too much like charted (or Uncharted) territory? Grab your hat and whip and let’s find out.
Indy spirit
The Great Circle‘s 1937 starting point puts it right between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. It faithfully captures the spirit of those original films, including the iconic music: the score comes from Gordy Haab, heir apparent to John Williams, who also scored the most recent Star Wars games.
The plot stays true to the movies too, with Indy in pursuit of a legendary artefact from biblical myth. Naturally the Nazis have the same goal, and the game also throws Italian Fascists into the mix. Because you can never have enough black-shirted stormtroopers to throw right hooks at.
It’s the first person viewpoint that immerses you in the story – controversially, perhaps, for a cinematic blockbuster that resolutely isn’t a shooter. But the perspective choice isn’t a huge surprise, given MachineGames’ previous efforts (several company founders worked at Starbreeze on movie tie-in/prequel The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay). And just like with Wolfenstein: The New Order, it actually switches between perspectives when performing actions like climbing and swinging. It succeeds in letting you both be Indy and see him.
Prolific voice actor Troy Baker absolutely nails his performance, providing a very convincing circa 1980s Harrison Ford sound-alike, and the Hollywood star’s likeness is also rendered faithfully, without any of the uncanny valley awkwardness of photoscanned characters from previous console generations. In other words, it’s an even better digital rendering of Indy than Ford’s digital de-aging in the most recent film.
He’s in good company too, with well-written characters like journalist Gina Lombardi in search of her missing sister, and Third Reich archaeologist Emmerich Voss – a compelling Nazi villain who loves lording his intellect over others, even when a gun’s pointed at him. Add that to the mythical macGuffins you’re after that send you across the globe (a perfect excuse to include those trademark map sequences) and you’ve got the ingredients of an Indy adventure worthy of the films.
World of exploration
The Great Circle also makes a major left turn from Uncharted‘s formula for tightly scripted blockbuster action setpieces by leaning into the more cerebral side of Indy’s adventuring, which calls for plenty of exploration. This is especially the case for the Vatican, Gizeh in Egypt, and Sukothai in Siam (or Thailand, as we know it today) locations, which are structured like open worlds with their own share of sidequests and secrets.
You can easily spend many hours in each one – in the Vatican’s case, you can even visit the Sistine Chapel and just look up to admire all of Michaelangelo’s masterpieces faithfully replicated. But even the critical path of underground secret tombs and temples, laden with a good mix of head-scratching puzzles and nefarious traps that don’t repeat themselves, are substantial affairs in their own right.
Sniffing around the same areas as power-hungry fascists means you’ll often have to take a stealthy approach to avoid getting spotted, but for the highlights like the Vatican and Gizeh, but it also feels like first-person Hitman, just without the assassinations. You’ll don a disguise partway through, allowing you to explore while blending in, but still having to navigate restricted areas or avoiding Nazi captains who will see through your disguise.
On the other hand, a few locations are of a briefer and more linear structure, which helps mix up the pacinge, even though it’s the big sandbox environments that play to the game’s strengths. But if you feel the urge to hurry along with the story, you also have the option to fast travel back to any previously visited location to mop up sidequests or upgrades – continuity be damned.
Bringing a gun to a fist fight
The Great Circle might come from the folks who let you butcher Nazis in gloriously ultra-violent fashion, but stealth really is the optimal way to play here. Even if you can technically try to gun your way through, limited ammo means you’ll be quickly outnumbered – and the combat is surprisingly underwhelming. Instead, it’s better to take down enemies from behind, usually with a makeshift weapon, then watching the hilarious and occasionally wincing takedown animation. Of course, you can also just move completely undetected, with the option to lob objects to create a noisy distraction.
But when you do get caught and have to fight, you’re usually just fighting with your fists, which just isn’t a lot of fun. You can do the usual block, parry and dodge, but you’re really just flailing about and getting knackered before repeating until your foe gets knocked out. That you’re sometimes forced into these as what can barely count as boss fights is a particular low point.
You can argue that it’s necessary for the combat to feel so comparably duff because Dr. Jones is an archaeologist, not a super soldier; his whip is used as much for traversing and interacting with the environment as it is for stunning or disarming enemies. So you have to give some kudos that the game never reduces itself into becoming another murder simulator where you’re gunning down hundreds of enemies.
Indeed, the rare occasions you’re strapped into an on-rails shooting gallery sequence are arguably the weakest moments, having the energy of a Hollywood exec coming in and saying, ‘We need car chases and explosions!’ That does however mean for some of its big story and action moments, the game fails to find a way to add a meaningful interactive element, and you’re just watching a lengthy cutscene instead. Well performed and choreographed for sure, but still sequences where you can just put your controller down. I’m also not sure there’s a better way to present these moments either without dragging it out making it overtly gamey.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle verdict
After a long hiatus from the gaming world, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is probably the best Indy game ever made, thanks to the power of modern technology, faithfully captured performances and period details. Shrewd game design choices distinguish it from the other globe-trotting gaming icons who’ve been riffing on his adventures for decades.
For Indy fans, this is a delight that succeeds even more than the recent Hollywood films, which you really can believe sits within the canon of the original trilogy. It’s also a much needed holiday hit for Xbox owners starved of great exclusives all year, which even the knowledge of a PS5 release next spring can’t deflate. It’s a (whip) cracker.