Indiana Jones is a franchise that helped define an era of movies. In the 43 years since the franchise launched it’s been referenced, parodied, and has inspired many other franchises. Including two of gaming’s greatest in both Tomb Raider and Uncharted.
While Indy is no stranger to gaming, having a few solid titles such as the Infernal Machine, back on the N64, and a couple of fun Lego games, he hasn’t really had a truly exceptional game come out before.
That changes with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Machine games really showed out and finally gave the franchise its truly defining gaming experience. With great globetrotting exploration, challenging, but not frustrating puzzles, surprisingly varied combat, and a good story with excellent performances by the voice cast, Machine games has created their best game yet with very few flaws all around.
The game takes place a year after the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark. A gigantic man breaks into Marshall College where Indy teaches and steals a cat mummy after defeating Indy in a fight. Indy promptly sets off after the man and quickly jumps down a rabbit hole involving the Great Circle, and a number of religious sites that perform a perfect circle around the planet. After finding out a rival archeologist and Nazi leader, Emmerich Voss, is trying to unlock the Great Circle. Jones sets out to unlock its secret before he does.
Pros
Graphically, the game is impressive as each of its locales, all based on real world locations and are captured very well. From the Vatican city and its beautifully crafted buildings, to the deserts of Egypt, and even a war-torn Shanghai. It was great to stop and look into the horizon when the game allowed it. My personal favorite was the Himalayas, due to the unique twist of the level.
I say, when the game allowed it, due to the variation of the levels. Which resembles the tone of the first three movies themselves. While most of the levels are heavy on exploration, puzzle solving, and archeology, much like first and third movie, others are more linear and filled with more action. Similar to the Temple of Doom. This isn’t a bad thing at all, as the more linear levels are a nice change of pace and feature many of the game’s best set pieces as well as some call backs to some of the series most iconic moments.
The exploration heavy levels are where the game truly shines however. The game isn’t open world but many of the levels are quite large and densely packed with plenty of secrets to unlock. These range from various tombs and ruins to find, secrets within enemy camps. There are also a strong amount of side quests as well as collectables to find.
While you can just play straight through the main missions, you’re encouraged to explore. You can find disguises to help you get through enemy camps easier as well as things like magazines which Indy can use to upgrade his abilities. Indy magazines can give you better punching power, add more durability to weapons, and food items that can give you extra health and stamina. Maps also have to be found within the level, and although they’re not hard to find, it could possibly be easy to miss if you just plow through. It seems like there’s a secret to find or a new quest to unlock around every corner in many of the levels.
Personally, I was at around 32 hours when the credits rolled and I still had more to go back and do after I was done. For those that may feel a bit overwhelmed trying to find everything, the game does have options to make the exploration easier by adding more markers and making puzzles a bit easier as well.
Speaking of the puzzles, I’m usually someone who hates puzzles in games, as some can feel random or really obscure. But I found myself enjoying how the puzzles were designed in this game. They aren’t overly easy but it never feels like the game wants you to just search for one miniscule little clue that’s difficult to see to figure out. It’s a great balance between being challenging without seeming tedious or making your head hurt.
I also think the decision to go first person made exploration even better as it makes things feel more tense, although the game will occasionally switch to third person when Indy does things like using his whip to climb up things or swing. Many of the ruins you explore are very dark and look haunted due to everything around you being hundreds to thousands of years old. Coupled with a classic Lucas arts score and the intensity can really ramp up at times, including one section in particular that some may find difficult to get through if they share Indy’s famous fear of snakes.
One thing I was surprised by is the number of ways you’re able to approach encounters with enemies. As I mentioned earlier you’re given various disguises in some levels and the harder ones to find will make you undetectable to anyone but the higher ranking captains. If you choose to forgo the disguise however, the game can be played as a competent stealth game that reminded me of Thief. There are often multiple ways to enter an enemy camp and Indy can create distractions by throwing objects, cracking his whip, or running to make enough noise. He can also use random items as makeshift weapons to one hit KO enemies ranging from things like hammers to… guitars and plungers. And yes smashing someone over the head with a guitar never stops being funny.
Unlike Thief however, getting caught isn’t the end of the world for Indy as he’s more than capable of handling himself. Indy always has his revolver on hand and although ammo is a bit scarce, many enemies don’t carry guns so it can turn the tide pretty quickly. Hand to hand combat reminds me of the Chronicles of Riddick game back on the OG Xbox (which makes sense since the design director for that game was bought in) Indy can throw quick punches as well as charge his punches up to stun as well as grapple enemies. His whip is also used in combat as it can be used to disarm enemies, stun them, drag them to the ground, as well as knock them off cliffs. He can also take his revolver or other gun and use them like clubs if he finds himself getting overwhelmed.
I never felt like I was really forced into one playstyle at all times, although there are cases where one may be better than the other I.E. if you encounter multiple enemies with guns, you may just want to avoid them or play it quiet as opposed to going loud. However, I was still able to go about it how I wanted to even in scenarios like that.
On top of the great exploration, well designed puzzles, and solid combat, the game also features a good story that ranks itself up there with the best movies in the franchise. Not to mention, it has a great cast of characters. Indy is as likeable a protagonist as ever and Troy Baker nailed it in this role. He captures the character’s sarcastic nature perfectly and the comedic timing of the game was on point as there were multiple moments in the game where I truly laughed out loud. He also commands more than a few emotional moments throughout the game.
Outside Indy, the game just features a great cast overall including Gina Lombardi, a reporter looking for her missing sister who teams up with Indy and proves to be an invaluable ally to him throughout the game. She doesn’t really play a damsel in distress role as she fights right alongside Indy and the two of them often save each other.
The game’s primary antagonist, Emmerich Voss is also probably one of my favorite villains in a game this year. While likely taking some inspiration from Rene Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Arc, he’s not a carbon copy. Voss is smart, a master at psychological manipulation, at times funny, and just downright ruthless. He’s the kind of villain that you love to hate and can’t wait until Indy finally gets to punch him in the face.
Cons
I didn’t have a lot of major complaints with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but there were a few small ones. One being it felt a bit weird when I’d smash someone over the head with a weapon like a guitar and an enemy near by just didn’t seem to notice at all. It could sometimes make playing stealth a bit too easy even on higher difficulties. Also while the combat is generally fun, it can feel clunky sometimes.
Lastly, I feel due to the size of the levels, maybe one or two fast travel points could’ve been added as you will find yourself back tracking a lot.
There were also a few technical issues too, such as the game soft locking. But this only happened once or twice.
Final thoughts
Minor complaints aside, I did go in expecting Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to be a good game, as Machine games has always been a solid developer but the game ended up exceeding my expectations. It blends its various gameplay styles together quite well, has an enjoyable story with a great cast of characters that finally gives Indiana Jones his definitive game without ironically being a carbon copy of the two gaming franchises he inspired heavily.
Reviewed on the Xbox Series S. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is available now on Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X/S and is set to later release on the PS5.
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