Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review for Xbox Series X, PC

Like many, I remember hearing the iconic John Williams song “Raiders March/Indiana Jones Theme” for the first time during the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. I wanted to be Indiana Jones very badly, and the thought of having these globe-trotting adventures was exciting, and that song filled me with bravery and the belief I could conquer anything. Unfortunately, I haven’t had those adventures, so I settled on the next best thing – Indiana Jones video games. For the most part, history hasn’t been very kind to my guy and there has been a fair share of lackluster offerings recently outside of the LEGO Indiana Jones titles and a random Fortnite appearance last year. Brave adventurer, I am happy to announce that MachineGames, the studio behind the most recent phenomenal Wolfenstein series, has made a game that captures the thrill-seeking adventures that will have you reaching for your whip and fedora. The open-world real-life locations will give you things to do for hours as you get to the bottom of the mystery of the Great Circle. Filled with puzzles, collectibles, charming sidekicks, and dastardly baddies, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels like a long-lost Indiana Jones adventure that was recovered from the 1980s.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle takes place in between the events of the 1981 film Raiders Of the Lost Ark and the 1989 Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. However, the game opens up as you replay the event of the opening of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (jump scares and all). You’ll awaken from your dream of reliving the events of Raiders to discover there has been a break-in at Marshall College. Indy discovers an artifact is being stolen from the college’s collection by a rather large man named Locus (played by the late, great Tony Todd). After getting into a fisticuffs with the intruder, Indy doesn’t get the best of it and is knocked out. With the aid of Marcus Brody, you uncover what Locus’ objective was and you’re off on another globetrotting adventure. Marcus provides you with a journal so you can keep tabs on your adventures and it acts as your codex for the duration of your adventure. It is at the Vatican that you are introduced to the main antagonist of the game, Emmerich Voss.

Voss, a Nazi archaeologist with obsessive ambitions who will do anything in his power to get to the bottom of the mystery of The Great Circle and will use his unlimited resources to get what he wants. He serves as a great foil to Indy, and thankfully Indy won’t have to face him alone. Gina Lombardi is an undercover reporter who is looking into the disappearance of her sister, Dr Laura Lombardi while researching the mysteries of The Great Circle. That’s the beauty of Indiana Jones, the cast of characters you meet on your adventure, and whether they are ally or foe, they are filled with personality. Most of the characters you meet in this game are memorable and endearing.

Those characters fit into an open world that hides many secrets. Take for example Vatican City. On the surface level, you think you’re dealing with the Catholic institution but there are many hidden dungeons and underground passageways, turning what looks like a small tiny sandbox into a multi-layered puzzle box. That was maybe my favorite thing about this game, the ability to play how you want. You can either focus on the main story adventure or do fieldwork, which serves as the side quest for each location. You can discover notes and postcards that trigger mysteries which give you even more to do while you explore whatever location you’re in.

The Great Circle is a visually stunning game. At times I felt like I was on a digital tour of Vatican City and this is the first instance where I felt I was Indy. The game is played from the first-person perspective of Indiana Jones, with third-person being employed for contextual elements such as environmental interaction and cut scenes. I remember when this was announced and all the noise it made, but to its advantage it just made the experience better for me. You can also set the screen to a more cinematic aspect ratio which sometimes confused me because I still thought I was in a cut scene.

I enjoyed having to change up my play style depending on where I was located, and I could stealthily sneak around a Nazi base using the melee weapons lying around. I don’t know if the devs intended to sway you away from using firearms, but I felt more inclined to punch a Nazi in the face or crack the whip. Enemies wouldn’t shoot at me unless I used a firearm, and this made it easier to get out of stickier situations, though enemies would attack if they saw through your disguise or if you caused a commotion. The combat is very simple and fun, and at times felt unresponsive when I would awkwardly be standing still as I was awaiting an enemy to throw a punch. There would also be moments at times when I caused havoc in front of a group of enemies and nothing would come of it and I could just escape. Health and stamina can be replenished by picking up and finding food scattered around town. Each food represented the culture of whatever location you were in.

In general, I think Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does a great job of respecting the languages and cultures of each location, given the sensitive time frame this game takes place. You can boost your stats by finding adventure books lying around which unlock perks you pay for with the in-game adventure points you get for exploring and completing side missions. None of the side missions feel repetitive and the open-world exploration gives you incentives to discover more.

Scattered around the world are random lock boxes that sometimes were just there with no hint or instruction on what to do. To the Great Circle’s credit, the game lets you set how you want to experience this game. The difficulty options relating to The Great Circle Action and Adventure experience can be set independently from each other. Light mode lowers the intensity of enemy battles and guides you on how to solve puzzles and where to go. As you go up the game gets more difficult and you’re left on your own. These settings are a perfect on-ramp to get new players into this genre of game.

The voice and motion capture performances in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are phenomenal. Troy Baker does his best Harrison Ford impersonation, and it’s funny to me, you can very much tell there are times he is trying to replicate Ford, but all I can hear is Troy Baker. That doesn’t take away from his performance though as the one-liners and quips are all there and are sensational. Alessandra Mastronardi also gives a great performance as Gina. The chemistry is there and she never feels like a damsel in distress. I was happy to see Tony Todd in what I believe may be one of his final roles, and it’s great that after all these years I can still feel intimidation from the Candyman himself. Marios Gavrillis’s Emmerich Ross is a classic Indy villain down to his core and he just has this villainous look that you would expect to see in an Indiana Jones adventure. I can’t give enough credit to Gordy Haab, The Great Circle’s music composer. I understand there is a monumental task of doing justice to one of the greatest composers of our time, John Williams, and Haab and his team crushed it. Creating original pieces and repurposing old Williams songs the immersion is never broken.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does to Indiana Jones, what the PlayStation’s Spider-Man games did for Spider-Man, and what the early Arkham games did for Batman. My biggest worry was that MachineGames would try and replicate Uncharted, and it thankfully does not, nor does it need to. This game is a near-perfect love letter to any Indiana Jones fan. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle offers easy-to-pick-up gameplay, an engaging story, and sensational performances that will keep you busy for hours and unlock that inner explorer in you.

Bethesda Softworks provided us with an Indiana Jones and the Great Circle code for review purposes.