Beebom Score
It was years ago my dad got me a spanking new PlayStation 2 and many other games with it. One of them was Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. I had not seen the classic Indian Jones movies by then. Nonetheless, I found myself completely lost in the heroic adventures of Indy. In fact, this simple PS2 game was my gateway to the Indiana Jones franchise, and I began a lifelong relationship with it. And while I loved all the movies, a part of me always dreamed of a modern Indiana Jones game to experience the finest globetrotting adventures all over again.
Thanks to Bethesda and Machine Games, my dreams have finally come true in the form of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. I rewatched all of the films beforehand to get ready. Then I donned the leather jacket and grabbed my trusty fedora hat and the whip to go on a treasure hunt. After spending over 20 hours posing as Indy, here’s my full review of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Indiana Jones and a Templated Odyssey
Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that all of Indy’s mystical adventures always sound plausible? The Great Circle is a first-person adventure story where you step into the shoes of the iconic archaeologist Indiana Jones. You are set on a global-level treasure hunt to uncover the secrets of the Great Circle in a race against Nazis and Fascists.
This game follows the same template as Spielberg’s classic Indiana movies, which the master has perfected over the years. Like a typical Indy expedition, you make your way around the globe, raiding tombs and solving puzzles to secure ancient power before it ends up in the wrong hands of power seekers.
The newest Indiana game takes place in 1937, bridging the gap between the first and third films, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, respectively. Therefore, we get to embark as Indy on thrilling adventures (filled with great humor, of course) worldwide in Spielberg-style, living out our dream. After playing the very first mission, which recreated the iconic opening scene of the Raiders of the Lost Ark, I knew this would be a special ride.
Characters Made out of Indy Movie Magic
The Great Circle doesn’t mark the return of all the fan-favorite characters from the Indiana Jones franchise. The game only brought back Marcus Brody for a minor role, but there were new characters who felt very authentic and were interesting additions to the franchise.
Well, Indiana is the same old Indy we knew, charismatic hero making up things along the way. Gina, the investigative reporter, was an excellent sidekick who hopped along with Indy in his adventures. The chemistry between the two was a joy to watch, and it grows on you.
Moreover, I have to talk about the main villain of the Great Circle, Emmerich Voss. He is a remarkable inclusion to the list of unmatched villains in the series. The Nazi archaeologist reminded me of Arnold Ernst Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark but with a nice spin. Voss was an old-school Indiana Jones villain who was outright menacing and hilarious at the same time.
Masterful voice-acting performances from the cast powered all these genuine characters. Everyone was fantastic in their roles, Alessandra Mastronardi as Gina, Marios Gavrilis as Voss, etc, but there was one who caught my eyes (and ears), which was none other than Troy Baker.
The voice-acting legend gave an impeccable performance as Indy, and his voice & accent were indistinguishable from Harrison Ford in the movies. I still can’t wrap my head around how he brought a pitch-perfect Indiana Jones from Hollywood to this video game.
Even Ford praised his performance at the Game Awards recently, saying, “If I had known he was so good, I would have done it myself!” Now, I totally get what Harrison said at the awards, and Troy deserves one.
An Exhilarating Race Through an Exceptionally Detailed World
If you aren’t aware, the Indiana Jones movies were primarily shot in prominent locations of our world and also in practical sets. In line with the movies, the Great Circle painstakingly recreated famous locations to take us on a globetrotting adventure. Be it the alluring architecture of Vatican City or the lush jungles of Sukhothai, the game swiftly lets you immerse in its beauty.
The game was built on the ID Tech engine used by the Doom and Wolfenstein games. Furthermore, the upgraded visuals are simply mindblowing. For someone who has never gone out of my country, I was completely immersed in the Great Circle’s world, exploring various places I’ve been wanting to go.
Good Old-Fashioned Stealthy Gameplay
Like in the movie Indy, you will be heading to multiple ancient locations around the globe and exploring the mysteries. In this game, you are tasked with collecting the numerous relics of the Great Circle and uncover the secret. Therefore, the gameplay followed a pretty simple loop of making your way through tombs stealthily and occasionally beating down the Nazis and Fascists.
Combat and Stealth
Indiana Jones was capable of turning anything into a weapon in the movies. Thus, be it a pan or a guitar, you can literally wield almost everything around you as a melee weapon. If you don’t have anything near you, don’t worry, as Indy’s hands are ready to knock out enemies. Indy also gets his classic revolver, but I suggest you use it sparingly. Stealth is your best friend in the game if you want to have a trouble-free adventure.
Of course, you can go into John Wick mode, but the swarm of enemies ranging from scrawny soldiers to muscular fighters can give you a hard time, no matter your chosen difficulty. I suggest you try out the hard difficulty to have a challenging combat experience, as it could sometimes feel tiresome.
Mission Design and Puzzles
For most of the game, you will visit a diverse set of tombs, sanctuaries, caves, pyramids, etc. Thus, almost all missions will require you to solve puzzles and platform your way up in case of danger. The puzzles are simply good and won’t leave you scratching your head. You can adjust the puzzle difficulty in the settings if you have a tough time. With well-formed levels, exploration feels rich and immersive at the same time.
I was thoroughly impressed by how the developers managed to weave the side quests into main missions, so they equally felt like playing a primary expedition. For example, I needed to find four stelae in Gizeh for the main story mission. Then, I was presented with an expanded version of this mission as a side quest where I had to collect the remaining stelae to get rewards.
As I mentioned earlier, the game’s story follows the footsteps of the story of the movies. Exploring and platforming your way through ruins gets even more intriguing, with unknown perils lurking around every corner of the places you visit. You can always return and finish the tons of side quests available through the cities you visit at your pace, which is a big win in my books.
Leveling-Up
This game doesn’t feature a typical skill tree but uses a reasonable and fun mechanic. As Henry Jones Jr, aka Indy, is a professor and an archaeologist, numerous adventure books are dispersed throughout this world for you to find. Complete missions, take photos, and collect these books to earn Adventure Points. You can spend these to unlock new skills, such as increasing your melee and weapons’s power.
Additionally, you can complete quests and earn in-game items such as medicines. This will help you purchase books to increase your health and stamina. If you are having trouble finding these adventure books, you can buy a separate map that will reveal the locations of these adventure books in each region. Thus, the developers had every query in mind already and built around a meaningful system that suits an Indy game.
John William-Esque Soundtrack Enlivening the Globetrotting Journey
Steven Spielberg once said, “Without John Williams, bikes don’t fly, nor do brooms in Quidditch matches, nor do men in red capes. There is no Force. Dinosaurs do not walk the Earth. We do not wonder, we do not weep, we do not believe.” That’s the same for Indiana Jones as well. Indiana Jones will feel incomplete without John Williams’s iconic theme.
Now, returning to the Great Circle, Gordy Haab, who worked on the previous Indy game, the Staff of Kings, returned to deliver an outstanding soundtrack for the new Indy game. For those unaware, he is the composer behind the Star Wars Jedi Franchise games Fallen Order and Survivor. I initially thought there was no way the game’s soundtrack could match the movie’s level, but Gordy left me in awe.
Gordy has flawlessly grasped the heart and soul of John Williams’s background score. He successfully recreated soundtracks for the game that evoked the true spirit of Indy’s adventures, which you can feel while playing. Undoubtedly, he deserves another Grammy for his extraordinary work in the Great Circle, which is reminiscent of the franchise’s original score.
Performance
My Setup:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D @4.20 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER
RAM: 32 GB (2×16) DDR5 @6000MHz
SSD: Samsung 990 PRO 1TB
Monitor: 1440p @170Hz
Everyone, including me, was worried when we heard about the system requirements of The Great Circle. Nevertheless, the game ended up running sweetly after the release. I completed my entire playthrough in 2k resolution and supreme settings with full Ray-Tracing. At first, without turning on DLSS, I was hitting the 60 FPS mark with frame-gen enabled.
However, as I entered more graphically demanding regions such as Vatican City, I had to switch on DLSS (set in quality) and frame-gen to have a trouble-free experience. I then averaged around 120 FPS constantly and had a buttery smooth performance.
However, enabling DLSS and frame gen came at a cost, resulting in some visual artifacts such as shimmering and flickering. Overall, it was a good experience with one of the first games with hardware raytracing.
Final Verdict: Is it Worth Grabbing the Hat and Whip?
Whenever I think of the word adventure, the first person to pop into my mind is Indiana Jones. He has always been the embodiment of a heroic adventure for generations. The Great Circle has everything I (and the millions of Indy fans) loved about the franchise, such as the sense of awe in exploration, high-stakes & over-the-top action sequences, witty humor in serious moments, etc. Even little things, such as the map transitions, snake jokes, etc, have been brought in, and this game feels like one of the best Indiana Jones movies that was never made.
Machine Games has meticulously crafted an Indiana game for modern gamers that perfectly captured the spirit, charm, magic, and whatnot of the Indiana Franchise. You will enjoy every moment of it with a big grin on your face. For a longtime Indiana Jones fan, this game will hit the right feels in every aspect, and the first person was the right choice to relive as Indiana Jones.
For gamers unfamiliar with Mr. Jones, it will still feel like a classic, old-fashioned adventure game that you won’t see coming out these days. So, if you are wondering whether you should pick up the brand-new Indiana game, I assure you it’s totally worth donning the legendary fedora hat and the whip to go on one of the best adventures of Indy’s life.
