Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Developer: MachineGames
Publisher: Bethesda
Platforms: Xbox Series X, PC, PlayStation 5
Release Date: Available Now (Xbox Series X, PC), TBA (PlayStation 5)
Price: $69.99 USD – Available Here $119.95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
When it comes to video games created off of already existing properties, there is always some level of trepidation involved. Many have experienced their favorite franchise receive a video game adaptation or brand new entry only to discover it to be a soulless cash grab. This feeling has shifted in recent memory as the standard cycle for game development has seen many of these attempts dwindle and actual effort be put into creating great stories off of beloved properties. Still, this concern remained. Then, when Bethesda and MachineGames announced a brand new story for Indiana Jones, many wondered if they could hope for a new great entry following a few less than well-received movies. With MachineGames’ skilled Nazi slaying devs at the wheel hopes were high for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but have they pulled it off?
Story
Set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade in the year 1936, Jones is slumbering at his office at Marshall College when he hears a commotion in the museum area. Upon investigating the noise, he finds that a giant of a man has broken into the college and, despite his best efforts to stop him, escapes after stealing a recently obtained artifact. With Indiana doing a bit of investigation, he learns that the stolen artifact was, oddly enough, a mummified cat and that his assailant was perhaps just a bit too big to get away scot free as the man left a pendant with the Vatican Secret Archive’s emblem on it.
With the help of an old friend in the Vatican, Indiana begins to investigate despite the place being populated by Mussolini’s Blackshirts and finds that there is far more to that cat mummy than meets the eye. In fact, it is shockingly important as Indiana learns that it is tied into a globe-spanning religious mystery called the Great Circle, with various religious locations forming a perfect circle and containing mysterious stones that could lead to untapped power. With the help of a reporter named Gina Lombardi, who is searching for her kidnapped sister, Indiana must track down the other sacred sites and what they contain before their mysterious power is gathered by Hitler’s allies and potentially dooming the world.
MachineGames makes it quite clear from the very minute players press start that they know exactly what fans of the franchise want and how to deliver it. This is done by giving players a brief run through of the famous opening moments from Raiders of the Lost Ark complete with avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and even running away from a giant boulder. Of course, this is all quickly revealed to be a flashback dream of Indy’s when he awakes at the real start of the game but using this iconic moment as a tutorial of sorts is perfect for fans. From then on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels like a proper Indiana Jones adventure, complete with mysteries that need to be solved, many of which are tied to religious artifacts or locations, secret societies to uncover, and of course plenty of Nazis to take down or avoid along the way all while trying to prevent a possibly world ending artifact fall into the hands of the Third Reich.
It’s not just the plot that feels right at home in the Indiana Jones franchise but all of the characters that players meet will feel like natural fits for the series, be it Indy’s often eclectic allies, the spunky sidekick that is Gina, and of course the dastardly villains that are countered by Indy’s quick wit and quicker whip. These interactions between characters feel as natural to the franchise as a fan could hope for and it helps create an engaging story from beginning to end, with some excellent pacing throughout. Sure, the story can slow a bit when players are navigating through the open locations in the game, but this is also where players can often undertake most of the title’s side-quests or, as the game calls them, “field work.”
Calling field work side-quests in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle almost does them a disservice since they are actually full-fledged questlines. Nearly all of them feature cutscenes, expand upon the lore of the location or current events where Indy is at or perhaps even historical elements, and brand new characters that players would miss otherwise. These side-quests vary in type and quality a bit, with some being a bit less than others but even then they are generally always a bonus to the already stellar storytelling. Combine this with the generous “Adventure Points” they reward among the occasional extra bonuses along the way and they are always worthwhile.
Gameplay
One of the first things that raised eyebrows with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was the fact that MachineGames was taking an iconic character like Indy and putting players not in a third-person action adventure, but into a first person game instead. Ironically however, this has worked out quite well as the majority of the game will be played in first-person, giving players an up close and personal look with various puzzles and traps that they will need to solve and avoid, brutes and guards that they need to beatdown, and of course a great view at the various wonderful vistas Indy will be traveling to. The game will shift to third-person view whenever Indy is climbing around the environment, be it using his whip to pull himself up to a new vantage point or lower himself down safely or sliding around on ledges to navigate everything from the rooftops of the Vatican to ancient crumbling ruins of a nearly forgotten religion. This creates an impressive blend for an adventure game, and one that works so well thanks to nearly all of its elements being refined perfectly.
Another interesting aspect of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the way it paces out its exploration. The game is linear in nature but as players progress through the storyline they will find themselves in standard straightforward missions that have an objective to complete, or a ruin to navigate to reach a certain destination, and between these missions they will often be either brought back or brought into a new largely open location that encourages a massive amount of exploration. this can range from exploring the Vatican, parts of Egypt, and more. These open areas feature the aforementioned “Field Work,” a store to buy things, and a ton of optional things players can track down ranging from simple collectable postcards or magazines to documents containing lore, hints towards mysteries that can then be solved, and even photo opportunities to take pictures using Indy’s camera for documentation.
All of these little activities and finding things award players with small amounts of Adventure Points. These adventure points are used as the primary way to upgrade Indy’s various abilities as, during his travels, Indy will acquire various books either from finding them in the world or buying them and these books all add various effects and have an Adventure Point cost to unlock that ranges depending on the usefulness of the book. Some of these books provide simple bonuses such as increasing Indy’s health and stamina or giving him a second chance in a fight if he falls in combat. Others are more unique and a bit more situational, such as increasing Indy’s climbing speed and various other bonuses. It is interesting to note that as players explore and progress the story in these open areas, players will generally also be able to purchase books or locate books that pinpoint the positions of various collectables as well, making it easier for those who want to aim for a full completion.
Traveling around levels is an interesting aspect in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as the game’s level design is fantastic in the way it will keep players on their toes. Thanks to Indy’s whip, there is a lot more vertical exploration than one would expect for a first person title and the whip comes into play quite often as players can use it to swing across gaps or use it as a makeshift rope to climb up or slide down to a location. Alongside this players can also find various, often hinted at with white rubbings, ledges or climbable objects to shimmy around or navigate a location in third-person by climbing. Surprisingly, the first-person viewpoint doesn’t hinder exploration in any way, in fact it makes some elements more exciting such as swinging between areas and the shift from first-person to third-person is incredibly smooth to ensure players can quickly move if needed.
There is a certain level of stealth available in the game but it isn’t quite the best for a few reasons. Indy can sneak around and avoid detection from guards and even use disguises to blend in with the regular populace of a location, though trained officers can see through these disguises. Eliminating guards stealthily is a limited option, requiring one of the many melee weapons scattered in the level to knock out a guard from behind or, if they are near a cliff, simply shoving them off. Players can also pick up and move bodies to hide them from being discovered. The iffy part with stealth comes from the inconsistency of guard awareness. Often Indy can sneak right by a guard in a way that would likely have him discovered only to get by scot free while other times might see guards starting to notice and come to investigate him even when he’s in cover or at a far distance, making for some inconsistent stealth.
Thankfully, stealth is optional. Indy’s always been a skilled brawler and that remains true here. Players will almost always find themselves in melee combat of sorts when fighting enemies as firearms are few and far between and even Indy’s own revolver has a limited amount of ammo and is hard to come by. Shooting enemies with firearms, be it Indy’s revolver or an acquired gun, is an effective way to take down an enemy but will also alert everyone to Indy’s location. The title does offer a fun and unique way to use guns though, as players can swap their hold on a firearm and use it as a melee weapon instead, useful if players are out of ammo. The guns, just like any other picked up melee item be it a hammer, lute, or even a fly swatter have pips of durability that deplete when used and will break after they are gone, leaving Indy to fight with his fists and whip.
Fisticuffs is an intuitive and fluid combat mechanic. Players can guard and dodge incoming blows from an enemy to directly attack a weakpoint or even counterattack if they block at the proper time. It is worth noting that Indy’s stamina meter will deplete with every punch thrown and blocking slows his recovery time. Chaining together left and right swings using the triggers feels visceral and weighty, with enemies even having facial bruising and damage from being beaten up. Indy’s whip can also be used in fights in various ways. Using the whip to smack an enemy holding a weapon can force them to drop it, aiming at their head can temporarily stun an opponent, or wrapping up a leg and tugging can pull them from their feet, leaving them wide open for punishment. There are various types of thugs Indy will battle against and the whip wont work on some of them. Along these same lines it is worth noting that while getting in a firefight might be exciting and the guns do control well, if Indy is shot he is almost always going to instantly die, meaning guns should always be a last resort or, if an enemy has a gun, must be the first one targeted. In a bit of a unique approach to a certain enemy type, dogs cannot be killed by Indy and he will instead either shoot his gun away from the canine or players can use the whip to scare them into submission. Dog enemies are ruthless though so players will need to be vigilant for them and not turn their back even if they seem subdued as it is entirely possible for the dog to start attacking again.
As for the puzzles throughout the game, they will come in all shapes and sizes and can even vary a bit if the player feels like they need a bit of help. Players can select the “puzzle difficulty” when starting their game to make things more accessible and even if they don’t Indy can use his camera to unlock clues to solving a puzzle faster. The puzzles themselves range from simply solving a riddle or hunting down clues using the environment to deciphering elements that are far more complicated and can actually be quite challenging. This is especially true in the latter half of the game where some of the puzzles become real head-scratchers and given the nature of Indiana Jones, this is a good thing, especially since none of the solutions are obtuse and can be figured out naturally if players put their mind to it.
Audio & Visuals
It must be said that MachineGames has gone above and beyond to recreating Indiana Jones in this title as well as the locations that players will be exploring. The character models are incredible, especially in cut-scenes to the point that they are borderline movie quality with their facial expressions and reactions to conversations. As mentioned before, enemy faces will even bruise and deform slightly as they are beaten up, adding an extra level of weight to the already hefty feeling of combat. The environments are heavily detailed with plenty of unique aspects to discover and explore and that doesn’t even cover the specific set-pieces designed into the more linear levels.
While the developers were able to make use of Indy’s signature appearance with permission from Harrison Ford, the voice actor for Indy here is Troy Baker. Despite not being the man himself, Troy Baker does an exceptional job sounding just like fans remember, with only a few occasional words sounding a bit off. Alongside Troy Baker the rest of the English voice cast, and foreign voice cast as well that speaks up during the English dub, handle their characters perfectly here. The sound effects are nice and crisp, especially in terms of whip cracks and the meaty thunking of punching out an enemy or breaking a mop over their head. As for the background music the title features some of the classic theme songs reworked to fit the game better and they all sound incredible as those who love the Indiana Jones franchise will adore the soundtrack, especially certain tracks that play during key moments.
Overall
There was some concern with how MachineGames was going to handle Indiana Jones, especially with their choice of first-person perspective but it must be said that the developers have created perhaps the most interesting and engaging Indiana Jones storyline since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. With such an enjoyable storyline and some exceptional gameplay mechanics that all work amazingly well outside of some issues with stealth mechanics, any fan of Indy or even a fan of adventure games in general must check out Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
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