Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a fantastic action-adventure game that takes advantage of the franchise’s allure to go on another worldwide adventure. Set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones (Troy Baker) has a decent task on his hands. After a break-in at Marshall College (where the story truly begins after an incredible introductory mission), Indiana has to track down a giant man Locus (Tony Todd), who stole an artifact and tries to discover the truth behind the legend of the Great Circle.
Releasing on Xbox and PC as well as being available on Microsoft’s GamePass, read on to find out why Indiana Jones and the Great Circle should be on your must-play list for Indiana Jones fans and beyond.
Main gameplay highlights of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
The gameplay structure of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has a couple of optional elements. You’re presented with an area such as Vatican City or Giza to do your “Adventure” which is the main quest line, along with “Field Work” which are side quests that provide you with “Adventure Points” within said area. But after a quick entrance to each of the cities, you are then able to roam freely and explore. After speaking with Father Antonio you’re given a disguise to move around Vatican City which has been recently infiltrated by Mussolini’s thugs. Here is where the game opens up a lot more beyond the first area of Marshall College.
Stumbling around, you can find notes, photographs, letters, and other collectibles that can help you get extra skills and perks to make your journey easier. There are also “Mysteries” which are some puzzles that also provide Adventure Points for level-ups. “Adventure Books” are what you have to discover to unlock these extra abilities using the “Adventure Points” you’ve earned throughout the game. Some of these abilities allow you to hold more healing items, do more damage while fighting with your fists, or increase the rate of stamina recovery. Since this is Indiana Jones, there’s a variety of options that will urge you to do some wandering rather than powering through the main missions.
A decent portion of the gameplay seems to revolve around stealth, which is not my favorite gaming mechanic in the world, but one I can tolerate if it’s forgiving enough. Luckily, for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, it very much is. Aside from one mishap at a checkpoint chock-full of Blackshirts, even when I was caught, I could easily and quickly fist-fight my way out of trouble.
Even with the heavier emphasis on stealth, just the sense of discovery keeps the game engaging. At times, the intelligence of the enemies can be weird, I could walk right up to an enemy and before the alert for being spotted was filled, I was already up in their face squaring up.
The disguises mentioned above also help you remain inconspicuous, unless you find yourself passing an officer who possesses a little more paranoia about who you are and what you are doing. There is more than one way to go about being stealthy. You can wait for the guards to make their rounds, or help speed things along by throwing random objects to make noise and have them leave their posts. Random objects can assist in knocking out enemies for a single use, as they break upon takedowns, but can cause an audible commotion and bring even more unwanted attention from the other patrols.
Translating Indiana Jones from the big screen to the game
Aside from his hat, Indy’s whip is arguably his most famous tool. The devs over at MachineGames truly understand this and incorporate it into precisely what you’d hope to do with it if given the chance. In combat, it can be used to disarm enemies from a distance, which can also stun and damage them. And with enough strength, you can even hold down and yank them towards you to close the gap.
But where the whip truly shines is in its utility for traversal. As shown in the films, Indy can swing across open gaps with it as well as allowing you to climb up the side of a railing, or even as a grip on zip lines of rope that connect structures. Other tools like a camera or lighter help you discover more areas and are useful in backtracking spots you may have previously missed or overlooked.
Indy’s revolver is also available as a weapon, but one that should be used very sparingly. Two factors to keep in mind are that 1) bullets are actually rather scarce, and the revolver only holds a small amount, and 2) after enough use, the revolver will break, which means you’ll have to find and use a repair kit.
There’s also the whole noise aspect, which could alert enemies to your location and cause higher numbers to rush you all at once. One thing I did enjoy was the ability to use a gun dropped from knocked-out enemies, as well as the limited use of said weapon. When I snuck up and knocked out one of the Nazis, his gun fell to the floor and the bullets he had already used were consumed from the magazine, leaving me with less than a full mag to shoot from. This forced me to be a little more thoughtful in using the gun and trying to go for accuracy, as I only had 15 bullets to utilize against a handful of enemies.
Beyond his combat prowess, it’s Indy’s intellect that has endeared him as a fictional character, able to sniff out danger and manage himself in dangerous historical sites. Thankfully, this plays a huge part in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, as the puzzles are especially satisfying and entertaining.
At one point I had to force myself to break away from doing them just so I could progress the main quest line to open up the next area after Vatican City, Giza. Just like in the movies, there’s history and intrigue wrapped together to put Indy in a position to think things through to solve the barriers ahead of him. A nice touch is the addition of voice-over lines from Indy that provide a little context and lesson, along with him translating any Latin text into English.
The voice acting of Troy Baker and the in-game visuals are brilliant
Harrison Ford not only brought the character to life with his portrayal over the decades, but enamored a worldwide audience with his cinematic entries. Troy Baker is an immense talent who absolutely shocked me in voicing Indiana Jones, there were a few lines that were nearly indistinguishable from Harrison Ford’s. The gruff and sarcastic tones were on point, along with the charm we have known and loved over the decades of watching Indy. Baker is a little closer to an older Indy voice, but even then, to get that close to the original was a delightful experience.
Another imposing performance was that from the late Tony Todd as Locus, the Latin-speaking giant who sets the story events in motion with his theft at Marshall College. Gina Lombardi (Alessandra Mastronardi) is Indy’s companion in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as she accompanies Indy to find her missing sister. It wouldn’t be a complete Indy adventure without a capable woman tagging along for the ride.
The graphics in the game are spectacular, from the main character models to all the exotic and international locations you get to explore in the adventure. The interiors in Vatican City had meticulously detailed recreations of paintings, such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Large banners of Mussolini are featured over a couple of sections of the city along with the patrolling Blackshirts in a way that brings history to life as you stroll around looking for clues and treasures.
While exploring Giza, the distant heat waves and plentiful sand make the Egyptian landscape stand out as you walk amongst the locals. Even Indy’s office and classroom are perfectly ported over from their film counterparts.
Overall impressions of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
I only recently got into the Indiana Jones franchise in the last few years, but quickly fell in love with the concept as a whole due to its blend of history, adventure, supernatural elements, and all the creative talents involved. When the game was first announced, it did excite me initially, but it quickly left my mind as there weren’t constant updates until earlier this year.
That worked out for the best, as MachineGames focused on showing rather than telling. The amount of effort put into this title is simply astounding, and the number of things to do in the game is much higher than I anticipated. The freedom to do things beyond the main quest paired with the ability to go back to missed areas gives Indiana Jones and the Great Circle a lot of depth and replayability.
At times, I just walked around aimlessly to see what I could spot and absorb a little history through the lens of Indiana Jones. It even felt like an interactive history tour with some of the knowledge he was spouting as I used the in-game camera to photograph things of interest (another mechanic I loved, seriously, walk around with the camera in hand and thank me later).
There were only a couple of things I didn’t love about the game, and they’re rather insignificant. When walking around with Gina, sometimes the collision of paths would be weird and force you to walk at a really slow pace. The other thing was that sometimes while doing puzzles, she or Indy could repeat the hints several times over if you weren’t solving them fast enough. These are honestly minor gripes, instead, being more like trivial annoyances.
If you are or know an Indiana Jones fan, this game should be on your radar/wishlist! The story itself rules and would have fit in nicely between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade as a classic Indy feature. Since it’s on GamePass, there is the option to play it through the service if you’re not committed to shelling out the big bucks for a copy to keep. Do you like puzzles, fisticuffs, history, or just a good plot? Indiana Jones and the Great Circle should be your holiday pick-up!
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is now available to play via Early Access on Steam and Xbox! The regular release is on December 9th, with a Premium edition that contains The Order of Giants DLC and the Temple of Doom outfit. Are you planning on playing the game when it comes out? Are you a huge Indiana Jones fan? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus or join our official Discord to chat about this game and so much more!
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