Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review

With the goal of making players feel like the Fedora-wearing, whip-cracking protagonist, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle developer MachineGames was faced with a tough challenge. There are so many idiosyncrasies to capture when it comes to the Spielberg films and Harrison Ford’s performance, and all of that needed to translate into a game that is also as fun to play as as it is to experience. After having spent considerable time with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I can say that MachineGames has delivered a mostly successful adaptation that, despite some flaws, features an adventure that fits right alongside Raiders and the rest of the Indy canon.

Storytelling in The Great Circle is Top Notch

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s story sees the Marshall College professor thrust into a globe-trotting adventure to solve a complex mystery. While it’s not worth spoiling the ins and outs of the Great Circle’s core narrative, I was thoroughly immersed in uncovering the whys of it all. The story and the sequences do defy logic (and physics) more than the movies might, but it still feels like a true Indiana Jones experience, right down to the red line moving across a map signifying a change in location.

The Great Circle’s narrative stands on its own but it’s made even better thanks to the cast and performances. Troy Baker is, oftentimes, uncanny as Indiana Jones, doing his best to represent the tone and mannerisms of Harrison Ford. There are times when the performance skirts dangerously close to imitation, but it is handled with a reverence for the character (and the actor) that ensures Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn’t feel like a knock-off.

Everyone else in the cast is equally great, but as with any great Indiana Jones tale, the supporting players are what truly make each adventure sing. Alessandra Mastronardi’s Gina Lombardi is a fantastic companion for Indiana Jones, giving Baker someone to play off of and to offer the outsider’s perspective on this world. The late Tony Todd turns in a performance that, on the surface, might seem one-note but becomes more nuanced as the plot develops. And Marios Gavrilis as Emmerich Voss is such a great, scenery-chewing villain – the perfect adversary for Indiana Jones.

Normally, story and performance might not get so much attention in a game review, but Indiana Jones and the Great Circle deserves the extra praise. There are so many cutscenes in the game (more than MachineGames has ever done) that the story and acting pull a lot of weight alongside the gameplay. If this were just an Indiana Jones movie, I think fans would be very satisfied with the experience.

The story and performance in
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
deserve as much praise as the gameplay.

These performances are brought to life with some great character animations as well. Obviously, bringing Indiana Jones to life in this way was a challenge, and while there are some moments that veer towards uncanny valley territory and a virtual representation of a real person will always have some disconnect, a lot of the performance comes through as if it really is Harrison Ford. Above all, nailing the tone of Indiana Jones the character is a rousing success for MachineGames.

The Beautiful Adventure of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

As a whole, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a striking video game. From the temples, crypts, and caves to the open desert of Gizeh to the lush, swamp-y jungle of Siam, MachineGames punctuates the adventure with some eye-catching venues. The detail in those environments, the intricate nature of the puzzles, the fidelity of the characters are all truly impressive, regardless of the scope. Even the more intimate, climbing sections are a joy to look at because of how rich the design work is. I played on PC and although Ray Tracing was not available during the review period, the game was still consistently stunning. There is an appropriate sense of wonder to those moments in Indiana Jones where he uncovers hidden structures and The Great Circle nails that feeling through its art.

Gameplay is where Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is likely to be most divisive. As a first-person, stealth-focused, melee combat game with puzzles and exploration, there are a lot of plates for MachineGames to keep spinning. Of that breathless summary, the puzzles and the exploration are the clear standout and fitting of the Indiana Jones character. Whether it’s the big, story-focused puzzles with elaborate solutions and tons of moving parts, or the small, find-the-combination-for-this-chest puzzles, the game has some of the best I’ve ever experienced.

The main puzzles in Indiana Jones are just challenging enough that they don’t feel obvious – although there is a helpful hint system – and the variety and narrative connections will leave you eager to find the next. Some puzzles might have a little exploration and backtracking, while others are all right in front of you. Whatever the case, it is a joy to seek out how each puzzle functions and then work towards its solution.

Even puzzles that are simple, like the aforementioned chest lock, require consulting Indy’s notebook and doing some dot-connecting. In fact, some of the puzzles can require a “put the controller down and think” moment, and they are arguably the most satisfying to solve. It is that aha moment that either rewards you with the next step in a quest, a collectible, an upgrade item, or currency, and, where the campaign is concerned, those exciting moments where a pathway or treasure is revealed. The animations associated with the puzzles deserve a hat tip as well, for feeling so intricate and cool.

Exploration is somewhat standard by first-person platforming standards, but the jump to third person for certain climbing sections helps remind you that you are playing as Indiana Jones, and that adds a bit of fun factor. Still, jumping over chasms, swinging from Jones’ whip (basically a grappling hook), and climbing marked surfaces isn’t anything that gamers haven’t seen before.

It’s in that familiarity, or lack of originality, where Indiana Jones and the Great Circle faces its biggest struggle. It wants to offer fans of Indiana Jones who might not be big gamers an experience that’s enjoyable and never frustrating, while regular gamers will be looking for moment-to-moment experiences that are mechanically complex and engaging.

Combat In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

In a lot of ways, the combat feels cut from the blockbuster cloth in that it is passable but never takes any major risks. The stealth features multiple paths and solutions, but most involve avoiding enemies’ prescribed pathways and sightlines. You can silently take down a foe to clear a path or bypass them altogether, and that’s the same in the beginning as it is in the end.

If things do go awry, hand-to-hand combat is an option and its pretty straightforward as well. You can block, parry, or dodge incoming attacks, and then wail on an enemy with your fists. There are a lot of melee items to give yourself an advantage, and the whip allows you to disarm baddies should they brandish a baton or hammer. There’s a visceral snap to the sound of Indy’s fists connecting – and the crack of his whip is pitch perfect, for that matter – but the melee combat also doesn’t evolve much. You get stronger thanks to upgrades and you find different melee weapons with better durability, but I found that the parry-counterattack combo was a simple route to success throughout.

Guns make things interesting, but they are also ill-advised. Should Indy choose to fire some of his limited revolver ammo or pick up an enemy rifle and let loose, the entire camp is usually alerted and then it’s pure chaos. It’s fun chaos, if you can defeat everyone, but it leaving a camp with a heap of bodies also feels like sidestepping what the game is trying to offer. And when the enemies start having their own ammunition, a single gunshot is enough to leave Indiana Jones riddled with bullets.

Mixing stealth with melee is a formula that works well for Indiana Jones, but the lack of depth in the combat leaves something to be desired. There are interesting ideas, like using fruit or bread to bolster the health and stamina meters, but they are built into an unintuitive UI. It’s all serviceable and can be fun, but it’s also one-note. Even the addition of the whip, which can pull enemies into a grapple or knock them to the ground, doesn’t significantly change things up.

Hub and Spoke Environments Encourage Exploration

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is structured in such a way that it feels like a grand adventure. There are three key locations that act like mini open-world areas, each with their own set of side missions, mysteries, and more; as well as a few linear levels sprinkled in between. These larger areas are wonderfully diverse, like the Vatican, and they offer plenty of opportunities to poke around every nook and cranny. Crucially, that exploration is usually rewarded, as MachineGames makes great use of the space to support side content. You’ll meet new characters, enrich your relationship with existing ones, or tap into the history of the space – there’s a good reason to do a lot of exploring. And where Sukhotai is concerned, the introduction of a boat adds a new wrinkle to getting from point A to B.

As you might expect, having more puzzles to complete was a major plus and had me exploring these areas more than I might if I was just blazing through the story. Within the side missions (called Fieldwork) and mysteries of each mini open world, you typically explore areas unrelated to the campaign and solve unique puzzles there as well. Although you could beat Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in close to 10 hours, completing all the side content and finding everything could take closer to 30-40, and a lot of it would be worth doing in my opinion.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Final Thoughts

Taken as a whole, there is a lot of variety in what Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has to offer. There are highs and mids, but never any lows. I found the experiences that tap into what makes the character great were also among its most memorable. The logic-defying action sequences, the tomb-raiding, and the relationships between the characters were all compelling enough to have me engaged from beginning to end. Stealth and combat are never boring, but they also don’t challenge the player in any meaningful way.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has elements that match right up with any of Spielberg’s movies. Its puzzles are a genuine highlight, its story fits the type of adventure that only Indy would go on, and it’s bolstered by some standout performances from its cast. Even though the combat and stealth are middle-of-the-road, the entire presentation is strong enough that fans will have a great time donning the hat and whip.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle releases on December 9, 2024 for Xbox Series X/S and PC with an Early Access period starting on December 6th. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.