I’ve been an Indiana Jones fan my whole life. My Dad introduced me to the movies when I was a kid, and it was on from there. Gaming-wise, there were a number of Indy titles over the years. However, I gravitated towards the N64’s Infernal Machine, which was Indiana Jones with a Zelda filter slapped over it. Fast forward a couple of decades, and here I am reviewing Bethesda and MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

‘INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE’ UNDERSTANDS NOSTALGIA

The game starts off in classic Indiana Jones fashion. No, really, It’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. You’re immediately in Indy’s shoes, led through the jungle by your guides. Though you play through the opening of the first movie, it’s not distracting. I never felt like it was a quick nostalgia grab. It was just part of the story and a great way to nod to longtime fans of the series.

That’s huge considering the game is all in first-person perspective. It’s easy to fall into the “check the nostalgia boxes” mentality. Of course, I had to do the obligatory fit check. And, yes, you can see Indy’s whole body. Something about not just being a floating voice and hands makes a first-person view much better.

The opening minutes also serve as a quick tutorial to learn the basic functions of gameplay. The game uses a stamina mechanic, allowing six upgradable squares that get depleted while using your whip, sprinting, punching, or climbing.

VOICE ACTING TAKES THINGS UP A NOTCH

This review will be as spoiler-free as possible. I won’t get too into the story as it simply has to be experienced. Once the opening section is over, Indiana Jones wakes up at his desk to the sound of a break-in. What he discovers sets him off on a global adventure to find the secrets of The Great Circle. 

The writing in this game is superb. At no point did I have an immersion-breaking moment listening to the dialogue. Every character is believable and has their own motivations. They don’t just exist to push Indy further along. It’s every bit of an Indiana Jones adventure. The voice acting has to support that, and Troy Baker’s version of Indiana Jones is nearly indistinguishable from Harrison Ford’s voice. Given that the game takes place between Raiders and The Last Crusade, Baker needed to lose himself in the role. Though I will say, he does occasionally lose the trademark Harrison Ford growl when he speaks.

We’re also treated to the last voice acting role for the late, great Tony Todd (Candyman, Spider-Man 2), and he’s amazing as usual in his role as Locus. And this applies to everyone involved. The entire voice cast brings everything they have, and The Great Circle is better for it. I’m particularly fond of Marios Gavrilis‘ portrayal of Emmerich Voss. It’s perfectly sinister yet playful — as good as Troy Baker is, to me, Gavrilis is the MVP.

HOW DOES ‘INDIANA jones and the great circle’ FEEL?

One thing I was curious about based on gameplay snippets from the trailers? How much “gaming-up” of Indiana Jones would be present. I mean, this is a video game, after all. But, I ended up pleasantly surprised at how grounded the game is.

MachineGames took great care to replicate Indy’s moment-to-moment exploits. The stamina system isn’t nearly as restrictive as you would think upon initially seeing it. It especially gets to shine in an innovative sequence involving some scorpions. 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a reminder of where Nathan Drake got his style from. The set pieces are insane. But Indy is an adventurer first, someone who gets into crazy situations in the pursuit of knowledge. So, there are slower, exploratory moments keeping in line with the movies. He knows his way around a gun and does well in a fistfight, but it’s about his brains. To that end, this game is a resounding success. There’s a parry system in hand-to-hand combat that accurately reflects the dirty, “accidental” style of brawling prevalent in the movies. I can count on one hand how many times I actively sought out a gun to settle conflicts.

STAY LOW AND DIG

I spent most of my time requesting fades and sneaking around. The stealth aspect of the game is pretty solid. Of course, there are some slight exploits of the detection system that can be done. And the most important thing here? Stealth is an option, not a requirement. There are no auto-fails. But overall, sneaking around with a glass bottle — or any object littered around — and popping someone in the back of the head is satisfying every single time.

All this being said, when the game does decide to give you that big set piece, much like the movies (the first three), it delivers every single time. My favorite in my time playing involves the inside of one of the Great Pyramids and a quickly filling chamber of sand. It felt perfectly in place, and the way the sequence plays out brings forward the correct amount of Courage the Cowardly Dog’s “What do I do?!” feeling. 

A TRUE INDIANA JONES GLOBAL ADVENTURE 

The work done to recreate Harrison Ford’s face is incredible. Most of the facial modeling is pretty good, even though the lip-syncing with the audio is a little off occasionally. But it’s not too jarring. 

The environments, though? Immaculate. Walking up to one of the Great Pyramids feels appropriately daunting. I spent about 20 minutes just walking to it and looking straight up. The scale of it was insane. Exploring each area left me more and more impressed with the work done to recreate these historical settings. 

The best parts graphically are the caverns and tombs you explore. They’re appropriately dark, and even sometimes creepy. The first-person perspective immerses you within these long-abandoned, untouched sites. The light of your lighter or a torch bounces off walls perfectly. The sound design is equally incredible, with ambient noises and the right amount of quiet to really hammer in the isolation and relative emptiness of these areas. 

brains over brawn

I saved this part for last because I believe it to be the most important thing about this game. As I said, Indiana Jones is an adventurer, not Rambo. The effort MachineGames put into nailing the intelligence of Indy, whether in cutscenes or in the game’s puzzle hint system (cleverly hidden in the game’s camera), is very much appreciated. The puzzles are incredible and require some legitimate thought. One of my favorites involves a board game that had me stuck for about 20 minutes trying to work out its rules to get the code to open one of the game’s many safes.

One of the best touches? When a foreign language is spoken, the translation is in the subtitles. However, a character you’re with will get it translated by someone else. It’s a great attention-to-detail aspect as, of course, Indy would know what’s being said. 

The collectibles play off that intelligence in the form of various journals and notes found throughout the game. They function as not just extensions of in-game lore, but they’re also a source of Adventure Points, used to upgrade Indy. I found myself actively looking for them more and more as the game went on and not once did it feel like a chore. Even the upgrades take place through a series of Adventure Books. In-game, they’re just like volumes of literature Indy would read in his spare time. Everything is crafted as carefully as possible.  

YOU HAVE CHOSEN WISELY

And that’s the best part of this experience. It doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. Normally, I’d say that about a game that’s just “okay.” But, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a near-otherworldly exception to that rule. MachineGames understands what makes this franchise special.

It’s a legitimate and worthy entry into the Indiana Jones canon. That’s the best compliment I can give this game. It makes me feel the way I did when I first saw the movies. It could even serve as the fourth one (Crystal Skull doesn’t count in this house). I was thoroughly enthralled with this game from beginning to end. It rolled through the door at the buzzer, dusted off its hat, and announced itself as one of the best games of the year. 

Verdict: Strongly Recommended

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is available now on Xbox Series X|S and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on Xbox Series S.