Review - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

"You'll Have One Hell of a Story to Tell"

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

• Bethesda, MachineGames

• PC, Xbox Series Consoles

• Played on Xbox Series X

Writer’s Note - This is the first of my slightly tweaked review style. For starters, I will try to shorten my review, as I feel you can always find reviews talking about mechanics and that sort of thing. Instead, I will focus on how much I liked the game and specific subjects without sounding like I’m ranting. Second, I’ve changed my review system. I know it’s been done a few times already, but I wasn’t a fan of my S-grade making an A-grade or B-grade game feel lesser, so I’m going to drop the S ranking and have my top 10 lists at the end of the year do the talking for the ones that stood above the rest. I will also add + and - to the grades, except for an F or D grade.

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The Plot - Following the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark, after a late night, Indiana Jones wakes up to find a tall stranger stealing an artifact from a recent archeological dig. Jones finds himself traveling the world, meeting allies, and chasing the Nazis in locations such as the Vatican, the mountains, jungles, and the Middle East. They all search for the mysterious great circle.

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Characters and Story

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s greatest strength is its story and characters. Troy Baker performs incredibly, which is so good that you must remember it’s not Harrison Ford. It’s not just the voice; the character feels and looks like the iconic hero in every way, down to his body language and tone. It doesn’t feel like you’re playing a knock off Indiana Jones, you ARE Indiana Jones. Add to this a great cast of side characters like reporter Ginetta "Gina" Lombardi, who has her character arc and teases a will they or won’t they romance. You also have the villains in Emmerich Voss and Nazi general Viktor Gantz. Gantz is a bit of a comedic character, but one to take seriously, while Voss is a genius mastermind who also can be comedic but evil. Voss is, without a doubt, one of the best villains I’ve seen in a game recently, and I even dare say the best villain of the entire franchise when including the films.

The story is like an Indiana Jones movie. You’re off on a globe-trotting adventure punching Nazis. However, what I liked about the story in this entry to the franchise, it does a better job conveying the coming storm and evil of the Nazis. One issue with the portrayal of the Nazis in many films is how cartoonish they can come off (and I believe there’s a debate to be had there as to whether that’s helped a rise in fascism today). Still, in this game, Gina and side characters like Father Antonio remind Indy that a more profound, darker movement is going on here. The final act felt like a roller coaster, and the final reveal of the mystery of the Great Circle was pretty awesome for me personally. When you play this, you’re right in the middle of a damn good movie.

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Gameplay

The gameplay decision by the studio to go for a first-person perspective was a bold one, but I think it worked out. The game is much less action-focused than I hoped, focusing more on stealth. It follows a semi-linear pacing, giving you the option to explore your location, find treasures, and do sidequests, but you can also mainline the game pretty easily. It took some time for me to get used to the stealth and the temporary weapons, but once I did, it was a reasonably well-executed experience. I will say the guns felt like a waste of time. You can go in guns blazing, but that’s just going to have a mob come in and kill you quickly. I didn’t see why they were even an option.

The game's puzzle mechanics fit the world's setting and character. While most puzzles in third-person adventures can get repetitive, this one gives you puzzles that really feel like you are an archeologist discovering something. Puzzles can rely on notes you find, photos you take, wording in temples, and some old-fashioned platforming. It’s so well done that when you complete a puzzle, it feels like you just made a discovery, and it should feel that way while playing an Indiana Jones game.

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Graphics, Presentation, and Music

This is one of the more beautiful games you’re going to play. In what I describe as a technical miracle, the game runs at 4K 60 with ray tracing on. It’s a huge credit to the developers that they could make this happen, considering all the other games seem to struggle to hit that goal, and man, does it show. There are parts of this game that had me looking around in awe at the insane details and graphical fidelity. That being said, I did see plenty of pop-ups, and in one area in particular, I saw some buggy moments, and the pop-up was really noticeable. The facial animations are solid, but now and then, it looks a bit off to me. Even with all that, it’s one of the more gorgeous games you’ll play today.

The score to this game knocked it out of the park. It puts you in an Indiana Jones adventure, like the characters and story. The classic theme shows up at the right moments, doing a good job not to be overused. The composer nails every moment and adds to the experience. I would say John Williams would be proud.

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Final Verdict

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the definition of being put into a movie. While some fans of the iconic character haven’t been happy with the recent two films - this one seems to capture the spirit of the originals and more. You’ll be punching nazis, getting some chuckles, collecting treasures, and solving puzzles - all while in the middle of a great story. I did find some bugs, and I wasn’t crazy about some of the gameplay mechanics, but overall, I had a fun experience and felt like I was in an Indiana Jones film. I’m adding this one to the list of well-done IP-based video games. As Jones tells Gina, "You'll Have One Hell of a Story to Tell.”

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