Indiana Jones and the Great Circle It was established in 1937 Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusadeand it is being developed by MachineGames, the studio behind the latest Wolfenstein installments. So, of course, the main enemies of the game are the Nazis, and obviously it has a strong Nazi bashing mechanic. What does The Great Circle Even after a 30-minute viewing, it’s a light-hearted interpretation of classic Indiana Jones tropes that builds on the series’ humorous tone and adds twists to Indy’s repertoire, such as open-handed Nazi slapstick.
When it comes to fighting, Indiana has whips, revolvers and fists (or fists). His whip seems to be the most useful tool in his belt, allowing him to cross gaps, activate levers, and pull in enemies nice and close for a punch or two. Whipping a fascist incapacitates them for a short period of time and creates a favorable melee situation. Hand-to-hand combat requires precise timing to execute knockout combos or finishing moves, and in addition to throwing punches and slaps, Indy can block and defend. In fistfights, the game’s first-person perspective yields extra tightly, filling the screen with squishy Nazi surfaces and ratcheting up the tension behind every punch and dodge. He can also pick up objects and shoot enemies with them, and everything looks pretty satisfying in the pre-recorded gameplay footage.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle not just an action game. Many of his encounters can be approached with stealth mechanics, where players sneak past guards and perform silent strikes without ever punching or firing. Game director Jerk Gustafsson and creative director Axel Torvenius said the revolver is really the last option in every scenario. Otherwise, puzzles are the main component of the game.
Indiana is joined in his adventures by Italian journalist Gina, who is searching for her sister, and together they encounter various logical and spatial puzzles. Some are quick, like finding an alternate entrance to a sealed room, while others are more involved, requiring a few minutes of attention to fully understand.
The preview focused on the Egyptian city of Giza, showing bustling open-air markets, a depressing Nazi boardroom, and a living temple hidden beneath the sands of the Great Sphinx. Here, Indy and Gina had to capture the sunlight with a series of ancient mirrors, aligning them one by one until the beam bounced off the right spot. This particular puzzle room seemed simple and somewhat clever (although maybe that’s why Mummy one of my favorite childhood movies), but apparently there are more difficult puzzles in the game. The most complex puzzles are hidden, require some light exploration in different areas, and are not necessary to complete the main storyline. These bonus puzzles are just some of the many secrets to find in the game world.
“I don’t like very hard puzzles myself,” Gustafsson said. “I just like to enjoy the experience and not be too hard on them. So we have a mix [of puzzle difficulties] because I like a lot of variety. It’s not unlike our unique puzzle mechanic that permeates the entire game. We tried to create each puzzle in a different, unique way.”
There are also difficulty options for the puzzles in general, allowing players to choose how complex they will be throughout the game.
Indiana has a notebook full of evidence, goals, and photographs he took while exploring various remains around the world. A camera is an important tool The Great Circleand each picture taken can open up new clues and paths to follow. Indy also carries a lighter that acts as a flashlight and can ignite stationary torches. Its gameplay is customizable, with dozens of upgrades available as the game progresses. One potential upgrade is True Grit, which allows him to recover from a fatal blow by crawling towards and holding the fedora for a certain amount of time. You know, classic Indiana Jones stuff.
I’ve seen some angry chatter online from people who don’t like the first person view The Great Circlereferring to the desire to actually see Indiana as it does all these wonderful things, like in the movies. I guess those people don’t need to worry too much – not only are there plenty of cutscenes featuring Troy Baker doing his 1980s Harrison Ford impression, but parts of the game are third-person.
“When it comes to a character like Indiana Jones, I want to play the character and be the character, I want to see and explore the world through his eyes,” Gustafsson said. “To me, that’s a very important part of what we do here. It was a very easy choice for me. That said, we’re mixing in some third-person elements here. we have returned a lot to our history with games like Riddick and Darkness here we also did this mix between first person and third person perspective. That’s what we do for this game. While the main experience is first-person, not everything is first-person.”
Torvenius added: “There’s a great opportunity here for us too, because we have a big part of the game that’s a mystery, it’s solving puzzles, ahead and close to ancient relics, ruins and scriptures. So it adds an intimacy aspect to the adventure, you can actually get up and close and actually check things out, which is actually pretty cool how it plays out in the game.
Even in first-person scenes, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looks, sounds and feels so far. Baker’s Indiana Jones is almost indistinguishable from the early film versions, with a catchy voice and gritty sarcastic bite. Fittingly, there is a dry humor to his interactions. In one scene, he introduces himself to a woman with an intricately designed eyepatch; he appears to be a native of the jungle where they live.
“I’m an archaeologist,” says Indiana.
“Another one,” he says, clearly unimpressed.
It’s a brief moment from the preview, but it sets a solid tone for the game as a whole: dry, light-hearted, and a bit punchy in between all the actual punches. Or you could say I’m happy with a little slap in the middle of all the slapping. Either way, these Nazis won’t know what hit them.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC on December 9th. It will be available on Game Pass Ultimate and it also Coming to PlayStation 5 in spring 2025.
