Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review

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Hot buttered popcorn and the crack of an archeologist’s knuckles against a Nazi’s jaw are a match made in cinema heaven. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is strongest when wearing that same halo. It’s comfy in its ’80s action-hero tropes. Though it follows a jungle trail first blazed by Raiders and Temple of Doom, Uncharted left almost as strong an impression. It’s a bone-crunching action game splashed with puzzles, drama, and a bit of mystery. Nathan Drake might’ve shown us many of the same sights first, but for a second tour, there’s no better guide than Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and a friend stand side by side

The fedora-wearing child of Uncharted and Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a rollicking action adventure without any pretense. MachineGames had a vision as clear as the Crystal Skull Indy found that one time, and it brought that vision to life. You’ll swing over chasms, dodge dastardly traps, and slide under doors in the nick of time. It’s unselfconscious, and I love it for that. Some IPs deserve revivals more than others, and here there’s no question. Though I sometimes wish it were braver in its creative decisions, Great Circle gets blockbuster results.

Story: The Giant’s Tale

Indy confronts the giant in a museum at night in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Like many Indiana Jones stories, the plot of Great Circle can be summarized as “Hey, nobody steals that but me!” Indiana has spent a lifetime diving in jungle ruins, desert crypts, and forgotten caverns, retrieving the artifacts and treasures of countless cultures. Most of those artifacts now rest on velvet cushions behind glass at a museum. Bearing in mind the obvious issues of colonialism and cultural exploitation, Jones at least thinks he’s doing the right thing. Then a giant breaks into the museum and steals a rare cat statue.

Lost Ark and The Last Crusade are both examples of this kind of storytelling. So is The Da Vinci Code. Given the Vatican conspiracies, secret societies, and political entanglements, Dan Brown’s Langdon and Great Circle‘s Jones are functionally the same hero. Indy’s never met a problem he couldn’t beat into submission with his brain, daring, and actual fists. That works out splendidly, of course, since that’s exactly how the player’s expected to behave. The story isn’t shy about railroading you from one set piece to the next, but given the quality of those set pieces, I can’t complain.

A close-up of the villain from Great Circle smiling

The Great Circle‘s story benefits from some excellent villains and strong acting all around. Troy Baker is such a good Jones that I forget Harrison Ford isn’t playing him. Locus (voiced by the late great Tony Todd) and Voss (Marios Gavrilis) are dynamic and interesting foils, even when Voss’s writing leaves him flat. Great Circle also sees the return of Jones’s friend Marcus Brody, a curator of Marshall College. It’s Baker’s performance and the game’s writing more than anything else that makes it all feel authentic to the franchise. With a few cuts and tweaks, you could give The Great Circle the live-action treatment tomorrow.

If Great Circle stumbles in its story, it’s in the oversimplification of its themes and character motives. Of course, that’s something the franchise has struggled with since Lucas and Spielberg helmed Raiders. Indiana Jones is much more concerned with swiping golden idols from Peruvian temples than it is with saying anything of substance about fascism or even just archeology. It doesn’t hurt Great Circle in any major way, but some scenes (Mussolini and Voss meeting underground to twirl their proverbial mustaches) could only work with this kind of pulp action treatment.

Gameplay: Whips and Ancient Wonders

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle drinks deep from the franchise well. It’s Classic Coke, predictable but still lip-smacking. That means punching fascists, whip-cracking fascists, throwing frying pans at fascists, uncovering fascist secrets, and generally giving the Axis a terrible time. Few games this side of CoD and Wolfenstein do it so well. The Great Circle bounces back and forth between semi-linear exploration, moderate puzzle solving, light stealth, and bombastic combat. It’s all well done, and no moment overstays its welcome.

If there’s a not-so-secret ingredient in this archeological sauce, it’s the pacing. Whether you’re helping nuns at the Vatican, rotating dragon statues to open a hidden door, or hole-punching Mussolini’s troops with your trusty revolver, it all flows. Overall, the side quests aren’t as compelling as the main story beats, but you’re rarely obligated to deviate from your core objectives. Those who explore off the beaten path, however, are rewarded with items and upgrades to Indy’s skills. It’s no Path of Exile, but the handful of choices all feel impactful.

Indy pours puzzle into a bowl as part of a puzzle

Neither the puzzles nor combat are hard by default, but you can adjust them in either direction. As someone who flounders when faced with simple pressure plate puzzles, I loved the dynamic hint system. If you want to sleuth it up unassisted you can, but hints (and outright solutions) are never more than a few clicks away. In a game so reliant upon a brisk pace and streamlined storytelling, the decision to keep the action front and center could not be more welcome. Side quests tend to be short but engaging, too.

You can use Indy’s whip to scale walls, swing across gaps, and even snap items out of enemy hands. Combat is both literally and figuratively punchy, simplifying dodges and letting you focus on mashing your fists into noses. It’s one of the few games in which I will always choose melee over guns, not because it’s better but because it’s far more satisfying. Fights remain approachable even when you’re facing down half a dozen goons at once. Boss fights, such as your boxing match against the towering Locus, are also fun despite suffering from some undercooked AI.

Graphics & Audio: Old Tomb, New Light

Light streams in through the museum's windows in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Shadows burn away like cobwebs beneath the light of your torch, revealing crumbling stone stairs leading upward. Even before you round the corner and creep into the dig site, you know what you’ll find. The guards are chatting, bored by their sweep through subterranean ruins. The cavern’s mouth is a white blaze, but the light simmers down and dies halfway in. Brushing past faded frescoes and dust-cloaked pottery, you pause long enough to grab a worker’s abandoned sledgehammer. Today it finds a new purpose.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is often breathtaking. Even when you aren’t exploring the Vatican’s grand streets and libraries, you are surrounded by sights to see. It’s the rare game where you can stop and stare at any random wall or patch of cobblestone and be blown away. Textures, models, and lighting don’t get much more detailed or polished. Combined with the excellent mo-cap and voice acting, even small scenes hold a lot of weight. It’s a testament to the team’s research, as well, that every sight and sound fits the franchise. It all feels like Indy, and not Crystal Skull Indy, the good stuff.

A dingy gray ruin with light filtering in through a circular opening

It’s worth asking if The Great Circle‘s graphical quality justifies its hardware demands and install size. The answer is “Mostly.” Its realistic environments aim for a different kind of quality than a stylized game like Neva, but they’re almost as successful. From the Egyptian pyramids to the sunken temples of Sukhothai, the settings feel fresh even when they’re familiar. Though it’s no Metroidvania, hub areas like the Vatican weave back upon themselves in pleasing ways. It gives you ample reasons to explore and enjoy the sights. It’s no accident that you unlock a camera so early on. It’s a small miracle that the sound design keeps up as well as it does.

Conclusion: Fedora-Worthy

Indy and his companion walk through the jungle in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I experienced few glitches and no crashes during my time with the game. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle stands beside Lost Ark and Temple of Doom as the pinnacle of the franchise. Though I wish some of the mechanics were bolder and less imitative, there’s something to be said for doing a familiar thing well. Troy Baker and MachineGames have done the near impossible, picking up the symphony from Ford and Lucas without missing a note. Short Round couldn’t ask for more.