Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

It’s been a disappointing roll for the latest games and films released in the Indiana Jones franchise. But not with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. For once, we can bathe in the delight of Indy’s action-cracking whip in the most authentic and faithful ways we remember. In fact, the game kicks off with the famous boulder-rolling sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark, sandwiching itself between the events in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). 

Right off the bat, it’s easy to see just how much adoration MachineGames has for the franchise, how much they revere Harrison Ford and the very essence that baptized us into such treasure-hunting fanatics. Both developer and gamers have aligned goals: to see the franchise restored to its former glory in ways that even if Indiana Jones and the Great Circle becomes the place we bid goodbye to the bullwhip, we’ll all be satisfied. 

Whether or not we’ll get our hands on a sequel, here’s the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review for when the launch day finally arrives and you’re deciding whether to check the game out for yourself.

At A Glance

Very few games manage to live up to their hype. And sure, The Great Circle isn’t always spot-on; it’s the many balls it tries to juggle, all at once. You’ll sometimes catch wind of finicky and quite frankly, questionable design choices. The AI can be inconsistent and at times, downright stupid. Further, it’s made apparently clear just how straightforward the gameplay intends to be. This isn’t the kind of game to rack your brains with. 

Yes, even with the puzzles. It doesn’t aim to torture you with complexity and steep learning curves. And for some gamers, it may be exactly what you need to enjoy globe-trotting around the world. However, in all its mishaps, they hardly compare to the wholesome fun you experience by the credits roll. And even then, you will be tempted to jump back in for another go at the side quests and secrets you might have missed.

The Great Circle

Briefly, the story of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a mystery-solving one. You start off at Marshall College, where Indiana Jones works as an archaeologist professor. However, as he famously quotes, “If you want to be a good archaeologist you gotta get out of the library!” we soon find ourselves entangled in yet another historically-defying mystery. The story, set in 1937, begins with the theft of a mysterious artifact at Marshall College. Indiana Jones travels to Vatican City to investigate, only to discover the titular Great Circle. 

The Great Circle is an alignment of various sites around the world. It may contain destructive energy that a group of power-hungry Nazis, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan intend to use to gain an advantage in the upcoming World War II. It’s all a web of complex narratives that leads you down a most invigorating path. Soon, you’ll be globe-trotting to Peru, Shanghai in China, Connecticut, the Sukhothai temples in Thailand, the snowy Himalayas, and the Egyptian pyramids in Indiana Jones fashion.

Buddy Up

Character-wise, MachineGames has done a great job of compiling a capable and worthy cast for nearly all significant roles. Even Indiana Jones voiced by Troy Baker has been so faithfully depicted, he looks and sounds just as charming, and often quirky, as young Harrison Ford. Meanwhile, you often have a companion, Gina Lombardi (Alessandra Mastronardi), to bounce off ideas to, and sometimes, flirt with to a respectable degree. She’s an investigative reporter who manages to, well, support Indy while still remaining compelling to listen to. 

But it’s Emmerich Voss’ (Marios Gavrilis) performance that can sometimes be too good enough to steal the spotlight away from Indy. He’s so bad and easy to hate in the best ways a villain can invoke vile in you. Voss and nearly all of the other villains you come across play their parts to perfection in sincere and authentic ways, you find them believable almost always.

The cast’s impeccable performance is, of course, supported by impressive character design and sound. While some animations can be finicky, the score manages to tighten the loose threads with such immersive beats, you’re often always sucked into the atmosphere.

Ambiance is Everything

Speaking of atmosphere, God it feels so good to be pacing down some of the ancient temples and tombs in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Most especially, the detail and intricacies of the places you visit have been so meticulously designed. There’s something old-fashioned about the mini open-worlds you explore, with their relic-y vibe. And yet, the retro design never feels outdated, particularly with stunning ray-tracing and intense shadows adding further immersion. 

Ambiance is everything; rather than complement your playthrough, it immerses you fully into what feels like playing through an Indiana Jones movie. While in other games it may have hurt to highlight ambiance as the best part of the game, in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, it achieves the opposite effect. That’s because the rest of the gameplay, which we’ll talk about in a bit, feels like an add-on to an already complete game.

It feels like the purpose of The Great Circle is to reignite the passion for hurling yourself down claustrophobic tombs and swinging across rather terrifying bottomless pits. It’s playing a movie, put simply; and in that respect, MachineGames nails it both in story and worldbuilding.

Hands Dirty

But if you’re here for emptying rounds of ammo into enemies and claiming bragging rights to the king of combat, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle may disappoint. As an archaeologist, Indy’s focus has always been treasure hunting. While it means you’re likely to run into bad guys, you won’t particularly have the best gear and weapons to take them out. Plus, the game focuses primarily on stealth, with its most thrilling combat being sucker punching enemies in the face probably two/three times, before proceeding with treasure hunting. 

So that means you’ll often be choosing to crouch your way past guards, sneak behind them to take them out one at a time or engage them in a gunfight. Crouching past guards seems like the easiest alternative, with often enemy AI letting you have your way through most enemy-ridden territories. Seriously, though, you could play the whole game sneaking around, and only scarcely have to wield your arms up in a fight.

Sneaking behind enemies is the most fun because of the multiple ways you can take them out. There’s the obvious tap on the shoulder before punching them in the face. And the accompanying fist punch sound effect is so delicious, you’ll want to sucker punch enemies any chance you get. 

Whip Crackin’

You can grab nearby melee, uhm, stuff, to smack enemies with. Stuff because they can literally be anything: bottles, pans, guitars, spades, etc. But keep in mind the stuff you pick up will break easily. So, you always have to be ready with a backup plan in case more enemies stream in, which is where your bullwhip comes in. You can sling the whip to grab enemies’ legs and topple them over. You can sling the whip around an enemy’s neck and pull them in for a final fist blow. Or you can use the whip to stun enemies or knock weapons out of their hands. For all the ways the whip comes in handy, though, it never feels as iconic as Indy’s thrilling whack. 

Oh, well, the final option to engage enemies in a gunfight is a no-no. Your revolver, for one, is oddly weak, far weaker than the one-shot kill it takes for enemies to put you down. Ammo is also quite limited, although you can turn the revolver and use the butt to smack enemies’ heads in. There are more ways to engage enemies; strategic ways, I mean, like pushing enemies off ledges. Or the more creative, positioning yourself behind a ladder and shooting off enemies one by one as they come up the ladder. 

Mishaps

There’s an odd structure to the behavior of enemies when your position is exposed. You’ll see them steamrolling in your direction from one angle and as a result, make it easier for you to deal with them. You’d think they’d be more intelligent, perhaps stationing themselves with snipers and some sneaking behind you, but no. Also, it’s nearly comical how enemies will choose to use their fists over their guns strapped to their holsters, in solidarity I guess.

See, the thing is, there are mishaps in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Like the wall climbing sections in 3D that can be finicky. And the puzzles can be inconsistent. Some are genuinely fun to decipher and truly make you feel like a genius. Others, though, are simply frustrating or straight-up obvious. 

Verdict

Look, at the end of the day, the pros of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle exceed the cons by a long mile. For fans of the franchise, everything you expect is there: the fedora, leather jacket, bullwhip, breathtaking sceneries, and more. These are all integrated into the story and gameplay in engaging ways, whether in references via dialogue or action sequences. Locales sure look jaw-dropping with meticulous attention to detail and stunning textures. The same goes for the story that easily beats a blockbuster rendition of an Indiana Jones franchise. 

That said, you’ll run into some hiccups. Some finicky features here and there. Some inconsistencies with AI and puzzles. All “some” level of mishaps that never become too frustrating to detract from the overall experience, and that’s all that matters.