Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Preview: Like Stepping Into The Movies

Stepping into the boots, jacket, and fedora of Indiana Jones was always going to be tricky, as reinventing the character for video games has been a uniquely difficult challenge in the past. During an extended demo attended by Screen Rant, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle got a great chance to showcase all the ways it adapts the tenor movies. At its best, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels like stepping into the movies, the highest compliment a game adaptation of the character could ask for.

I Don't Know, I'm Making This Up As I Go

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Is Chaotic In The Best Way Possible

Something that always separated Indiana Jones from other adventure heroes is the sense of improvisation baked into the franchise, something The Great Circle recreates faithfully. While Indiana Jones may be confident and capable, he's often overwhelmed in dangerous situations. For film audiences, this ensured his exploits could always be surprising. The developers at MachineGames recognize this trait as a strength and have done a terrific job replicating it in game form. In the extended demo played by Screen Rant, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle made each encounter feel like a genuine brush with death.

An early boss confrontation sets the stage, with a seemingly unstoppable figure highlighting that sometimes, fighting isn't the way to go. Although the combat mechanics are solid, it's easy to get surrounded and taken down if players aren't careful. This is a keen reflection of the films, which rarely had Indiana Jones sprinting into rooms guns blazing. While it's easy enough to bring down one opponent with some well-timed punches or hits from a whip, it's far more effective to use stealth to sneak around and take them by surprise, turning various tools and litter into effective improvised weaponry.

Nothing Shocks Me, I'm An Archaeologist

How The Element Of Surprise Becomes Crucial To The Great Circle

The stealth mechanics in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are a key element of the gameplay, forcing players to adopt new disguises and inventive methods to survive their unexpected encounters with enemies. There are several ways around any given situation, ranging from quick bursts of violence to inventive exploration. However, stealth is the preferred approach in most cases. It also invites a natural sense of exploration, as players can find themselves encountering different types of enemies across the environment that quickly shift from silent and empty to bombastic and chaotic.

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One of the more clever applications of this quickly shifting tone is how quickly weapons break upon use. Bottles can take out an unsuspecting guard but will shatter afterward. This forces players to locate new tools while avoiding detection, a clever touch that increases the tension of every encounter. Guns are present, but bullets can be hard to come by. Each fight is a natural means by which players are encouraged to embrace stealth, exploration, and improvisation, without feeling like the game forces the player to do so. It's an ideal recreation of Indiana Jones in video game form.

It's Not The Years, Honey, It's the Mileage

A Great Game Adaptation Of The Indiana Jones Universe

One of the hardest aspects of any adaptation of Indiana Jones to video games was going to be recreating the cinematic tone of the films without becoming an adventure on rails. MachineGames' stated objective with the title was to create something that reflected the original films and placed the player within that world. In terms of execution, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle accomplishes this with flying colors. The look and texture of the game world is reflective of the pulp-inspired movie universe, with set pieces that feel like a natural progression rather than check marks that the story must burn through.

The presentation alone would be worth the price of admission for fans of the films, but the naturally adventurous gameplay makes Indiana Jones and the Great Circle a blast to explore. This in turn highlights the well-constructed world-building that's built into the very core of the game. Settings like Fascist-occupied cathedrals or Egyptian dig sites are brimming with life and little surprises. Small touches like lounging enemies or curious locals flesh out the world, making it somewhere players genuinely want to explore.

It's an impressive feat and highlights what makes Indiana Jones and the Great Circle such a fun game. Whether you're a fan of Indiana Jones or just adventure games in general, this is one title you should have on your radar when it releases on PC and Xbox, December 9, and PS5 in 2025.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a first-person action-adventure game developed by the creative team at MachineGames. Set in 1937 between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, players take on the role of the titular globe-trotting adventurer/archaeology professor Dr. Indiana Jones, as he races across the world to stop a dangerous organization from utilizing the power of the mystical Great Circle.

Platform(s) PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released December 9, 2024

Developer(s) MachineGames