I have had my VHS copy of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade worn out for more than 30 years. The movie franchise has been in a state of escalation ever since. After discovering the actual Holy Grail, where do you go? Time machines, then aliens, presumably. The ideal remedy for all of this is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which transports us back to Indy’s heyday through its own symbolic Dial of Destiny. With meticulously detailed environments, incredibly atmospheric tomb raiding and puzzle solving, a flawless soundtrack, and perhaps the best punch sound effect in the industry, the result is unquestionably one of the best Indiana tales in both video games and films.
As a schoolboy, I was enthralled by The Great Circle, a huge and beautiful globe-trotting adventure, despite its occasional stumbles as a stealth-focused sneak ’em up. Indeed, it was probably a bad idea to bring Indiana Jones back to the big screen twice after he rode off into the sunset. But having MachineGames create an Indianapolis experience that draws inspiration from all of the greatest games ever made by that development team?
The modern Wolfenstein series is MachineGames’ greatest direct legacy, and The Great Circle undoubtedly features part of it. The Great Circle is first-person and heavily narratively focused, much like The New Order and its fantastic precursor and sequel. I am willing to bet that if anyone despises Nazis as much as Indy, it is the SS-slaying, Gestapo-gutting BJ Blazkowicz. However, the Great Circle is not a savage exercise in lead-throwing, double-fisted rage. Guns are rarely (if ever) a practical choice in The Great Circle, which, in contrast to Wolfenstein, focuses on deliberate, slower-paced exploration and stealth.
However, it must be acknowledged that MachineGames’ roots are even more extensive than Wolfenstein’s, as its original members were all from the Swedish studio Starbreeze. Many members of the team trace it back to the fantastic and much-praised The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, which came out in 2004. It is refreshing to play a game like Butcher Bay again, especially when it is done with this much vigor and dedication to a legendary series. Riddick’s first-person fisticuffs and exploration components seem to have been a significant inspiration for The Great Circle.
To be clear, I doubt anyone would have been surprised to see an Indiana Jones game that was a clone of the popular Uncharted series come out in 2024. It most definitely would not have been the first time. Ultimately, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999) and Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb (2003) both adhered to a very rigid Tomb Raider blueprint. It would not have been shocking to turn to honor the man who supplanted Lara as the most prominent grave-robbing outlaw of contemporary video games, especially given how uniform games have become in general.
The Restoration’s Genius
The Great Circle has an amazing sense of size because of the first-person viewpoint. Staring out at a massive Nazi battleship atop a Himalayan peak or gazing up in wonder at the Great Pyramid simply has a stronger impact at eye level. Additionally, it considerably improves immediacy, which is especially beneficial while solving puzzles. It feels as though you are physically inside some of the priciest escape rooms in the world as you pick up and go through documents and clues, manipulate and place objects directly, and watch the outcomes unfold before your eyes.
There are frequently primarily easy puzzles, but I have come across a few that are a little trickier, which made me feel proud that I was not stuck. A built-in tip system will only interrupt if you snap an additional picture of the problematic puzzle using your in-game camera. It is a clever and polite method of just helping when requested, which will keep players away from their phones and focused on the game.
Furthermore, it is the best example of how MachineGames has packed an amazing amount of fine detail into almost every surface in The Great Circle. Things that you would not notice from any other angle include streak markings on recently cleaned glass and the gradual flow of wax from a candle illuminating your way down old stairs. Are they required for The Great Circle to be a fantastic game? Perhaps not, but if they add even a tiny bit of authenticity to the universe, they do depict a project in which no flourish is too minor.
Aid our resuscitation
Speaking of knockouts, The Great Circle’s fight scenes are satisfyingly severe without being overtly violent, which is consistent with the show’s swashbuckling adventure serial roots and appeal to a broad audience. I adore how visceral the first-person fighting is, and I adore the incredibly amazing sound design, which makes every hit sound like a golf club slamming into a massive bunch of celery. You unleash fast jabs and powerful punches, and you block and parry blows at the right times. Additionally, foes can be swiftly disarmed with Indy’s bullwhip, which will stun them long enough for you to either whack them or pick up their discarded weapon and use it to beat them.
Although I like the fighting near Butcher Bay, I am not entirely convinced by the stamina mechanism that governs it, which wears out as Indy puts forth effort climbing, running, and throwing hands. You will be forced to wait for a beat or jog backward while a group of goose-stepping idiots marches towards you with their dukes up throughout the action’s pauses. Other than the ability to be updated at will until it is no longer an annoyance, I can not tell what it adds.
Furthermore, especially in Vatican City, it rarely seems reasonable that powerful adversaries within the levels can see past disguises. I am used to this mechanic from games like Hitman, which I will admit is another game I adore, but it is a bit more ridiculous here. The idea that a random Italian police would physically assault a stranger who is essentially a visiting priest is completely absurd.
However, this is a minor irritation, and to be fair, The Great Circle takes a rather clever approach to difficulty in general. You can fiddle with much more than just changing one option from easy to very hard. Because enemy qualities are divided into multiple categories, you can adjust them to make adversaries more difficult but less common. Perhaps you wish to increase their awareness while making them as feeble as wet paper. (This is something I might give another go at.)
On normal difficulties, stealth is rather basic; adversaries have relatively limited vision and are easier to sneak past than I initially thought, so, fortunately, these choices are available. Once I realized that, if I moved quickly enough, I could slip across potentially dangerously exposed areas, I became less careful.
However, even when the main adventure is finished, The Great Circle lets us go back to places we have already been to finish all the optional side objectives, so I could concentrate on that rather than beginning over. On my first pass through the plot, which took me approximately 17 hours, I only managed to cross off a few of the auxiliary objectives; I imagine I have many more hours to fill.
Verdict
From Harrison Ford’s finger waggle to the title card and location fonts, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle captures almost every aspect of the iconic property it is based on. However, its popularity goes far beyond its fidelity to the movie’s subtleties. With a focus on slow-paced exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving (interspersed with a few high-voltage action scenes), exciting combat that relied on jaw-dropping haymakers, and an abundance of stunning and intricately designed levels
Fans of Indiana who have felt let down by games like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dial of Destiny will find The Great Circle to be an engrossing and immersive worldwide treasure quest. Additionally, it distinguishes itself from the increasingly standardized third-person action games of this decade by using a traditional first-person viewpoint influenced by titles such as The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Its relatively simple stealth mechanisms will expose fractures if you push your head against them, but when used properly,
The tale of The Great Circle is more reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade than anything that has come since, and it instantly ranks among the greatest Indiana Jones games ever. It should be in a museum, according to some commentators, but museums are for dusty old artifacts you should never touch. The Great Circle belongs on your hard drive, where you may play with it endlessly, not in a museum.
