The Indiana Jones franchise hasn’t had an easy time, judging by the audience reception to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny movies. As Indy would remind you, “X never, ever marks the spot.” That might’ve been the case for many years. However, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a masterful and redeeming swashbuckling adventure that is worthy of donning Indy’s legendary fedora. Developer MachineGames and publisher Bethesda have struck gold here.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is an incredibly faithful action adventure that captures the Spielberg-era sense of wonder and fun. The title impresses with its first-person exploration and immersion, set pieces, level design, storytelling, and presentation. Enemy AI inconsistency, the lack of manual save points, and occasional performance mishaps leave just a few dents into this otherwise engrossing experience.
In many ways, the game is the antithesis of the over-stylized action of Uncharted and the platforming of Tomb Raider. The Great Circle confidently stands proud on its feet to provide players with a different and unique identity that will please the most die-hard and new Indy fans alike. I daresay it may be an action adventure classic in the making.
“Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory…”
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set in 1937, sandwiched between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The adventure starts with a break-in at Marshall College where Indy is a professor. A relic is stolen, and Indy is off across the world to figure out how this ties into the grander scheme. Without spoiling anything, the story kept me engaged and guessing throughout. The Great Circle is one of the absolute best globe-trotting Indy adventures. I believe it surpasses Temple of Doom and sits right behind the greatness of Raiders and Crusade. Indy travels to lavishly designed places like the Vatican, Egypt, Himalayas, and more. MachineGames brings a meticulous approach to what makes Indiana Jones tick, such as developing painstaking details in set design, environments, framing of cutscenes, the lighting of sets, original score, and more. As a result, the Great Circle feels like the long-lost Spielberg masterpiece that never came to be. The main story is well-paced at around 12-15 hours, although doing the side content will bring the playthrough to about a hefty 30 hours.
The side missions (called Fieldwork) are another impressive take on the Great Circle’s worldbuilding. That’s because these are given equal attention to detail in terms of storytelling. They are not fetch quests and are quite diverse. I was impressed to pick up a few side missions alongside the main story and realize how well they tie together in terms of narrative and objectives. While these side missions are optional, I highly recommend you take your time to explore them. Don’t worry if you miss some, because you can always come back to them after you complete the main story.
The highlight of the storytelling experience is the characters. Indy often shows a different, more humane side of him than what the movies allow. Gina, Indy’s friend and side-kick, displays sufficient complex characterization and motivation to become more than a storytelling placeholder. All of the characters, from Indy to the villains and supporting cast, are believable within the Indiana Jones universe. That is helped by the excellent characterization, although topped off by high-caliber performances from the likes of Troy Baker as Indy and the late great Tony Todd, who does an outstanding job at playing a nuanced character. In true Indy fashion, however, we still have the mustache-twirling Nazi villains every now and then to satisfy our amusement.
“I’m making this up as I go“
The gameplay of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle rests upon four pillars — stealth, combat, exploration, and puzzles.
The Great Circle can be described as stealth-heavy. Stealth is the safest and most indicated way to approach encounters without being overwhelmed by enemies. Indy can sneak up on foes and use various objects found in the environment, like brooms, pans, hammers, and so on, to perform takedowns. This makes for a very fun and clumsy way to fight enemies in true Indiana Jones style. Of course, you can let Indy’s fists do the talking if you so choose. Most encounters are also optional. Using disguises, such as a clerical suit in the Vatican, is the most effective way to walk past enemies and gain access to restricted areas. It is a light form of stealth that is accessible, so don’t expect complexity. However, there are several enemy AI inconsistencies I have experienced. The enemy vision cones are inconsistent. Enemies seem to be blind or exceptionally attentive to my movements, leading to ridiculous encounters. In a few situations, I somehow managed to alert guards that I had yet to see. I understand it is the developers’ intention to purposefully “dumb down” enemy AI to make stealth more accessible and less punishing. However, stealth sometimes feels unfair because of the hit-and-miss enemy AI.
The combat involves melee and gunplay. Melee is the default approach to fighting enemies. You can use objects in the environment that will eventually break after multiple uses, the whip to stun enemies, and Indy’s fists. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle features a health and stamina bar that can be topped up by eating food. Collecting ability books and unlocking them using adventure points (you receive these for completing story objectives, fieldwork, and finding collectibles) serves as the skill progression system. It is a simple system to understand and use, and encourages exploration to find more books. The fist fighting is incredibly satisfying as it has plenty of heft when throwing punches. The often clumsy approach to fighting is a defining characteristic of the Great Circle. For some that prefer snappier combat, it may lead to frustration and accusations of an underbaked combat system. Others, including myself, may appreciate how the clumsy fights make way for some truly hilarious and exaggerated situations. Your mileage may vary.
The gunplay is perhaps the most underutilized main mechanic in the game. Don’t expect Wolfenstein levels of action. Guns are usually a last resort in the Great Circle, especially on higher difficulties where enemies are plentiful and they can easily overwhelm Indy. Sometimes, this means drawing your trusty revolver to make a last stand. However, firing shots will alert nearby enemies, making things extra tricky. Enemies can also be bullet sponges, and ammo is scarce. I rarely used Indy’s gun, opting for the stealthy approach. On easier difficulties, gunplay is a more viable strategy. However, melee also becomes easier. In turn, this reduces the need to use Indy’s gun. The decision of which way you want to go rests entirely with you.
Exploration features a first-person perspective with an occasional third-person camera when Indy swings from or climbs on platforms. The transition between the perspectives can be jarring at first, although I quickly got used to it. The first-person perspective and exploration are similar to the approaches found in titles like Thief, Dishonored, and Deus Ex. That’s because Indiana Jones and the Great Circle often plays like a light immersive sim. This gives it a unique identity compared to more recent third-person action adventure titles like Uncharted. Nonetheless, this particularity works very well. I was thoroughly immersed in the exploration and world because of the first-person perspective despite initial reservations.
Credit for this immersion is due to the outstanding level design. Exploration is set within semi-open areas that are surprisingly large and detailed, allowing players to tackle objectives in a variety of ways. This keeps exploration engaging and varied. Nonetheless, the large areas and shared objectives often led to backtracking in a few situations. I would have appreciated a fast travel system to make Indy’s adventuring more immediate.
Puzzles are, for the most part, well-developed and accessible. These are related to decoding pieces of information, opening locked boxes, moving objects from the environment to gain access to secret areas, taking photos of significant places, and so on. The puzzles are not particularly innovative since these have been featured in one way or another in other games. Nonetheless, the puzzle difficulty is just right. I didn’t feel cheated or felt as if I had to scour the environment for some very rare object to use. More often than not, finding the answer to a puzzle felt satisfying and earned. The Great Circle also features a puzzle difficulty slider and camera hints in case you are stuck.
“X never, ever marks the spot”
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looks outstanding and performs great on the Xbox Series X. The Motor Engine is a modified id Tech 7 engine that I hope to see widely adopted for more first-person titles due to its visuals and optimization. It runs at a stable 4K resolution that is upscaled from 1800p and at a 60 FPS framerate. The game is optimized to only run at 60 FPS, so you won’t be seeing a 30 FPS option on console at launch. Textures are high resolution, and environments are some of the most detailed I’ve seen in recent history, leading to an absolutely faithful Indiana Jones atmosphere.
The original score by Gordy Haab brings proper Hollywood fanfare and tribute to John Williams. The score is lively, personal, and nostalgic.
While the title runs very well, for the most part, I’ve encountered some minor technical mishaps. I recommend turning off the Motion Blur since the game relies on a more aggressive blur every time I slightly turn the camera. I’ve heard from other players that this may cause some motion sickness. I hope MachineGames implements a less intrusive blur setting, especially with the locked 60 FPS framerate. The save system is automated, meaning that the game does not have manual saves. Luckily, save points are frequent, although they can still cause some minor backtracking. I would have appreciated an option for manual saves. I also encountered a game crash in the Vatican level when resuming the game using Quick Resume on Xbox. Fortunately, this was the only crash I experienced in my playthrough. All things considered, this is a great technical showcase with minor inconveniences.
Summary
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a masterclass in faithfully adapting and elevating a beloved franchise. The title impresses with its first-person exploration and immersion, set pieces, level design, storytelling, and presentation. However, enemy AI inconsistencies, the lack of manual saves, and occasional performance mishaps leave just a few dents into this otherwise engrossing experience. While X may not usually mark the spot, MachineGames and Bethesda have struck gold here in what is one of the very best titles of 2024. I daresay the Great Circle may be an action adventure classic in the making.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is now available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass Ultimate. The title will also release on PS5 sometime in 2025.
The Review
Masterpiece
