Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review

I was hoping so badly that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was going to live up to the name of the famous archaeologist’s previous adventures. The original trilogy was filled with action, adventure, and humour, and knowing this was set after Raiders of the Lost Ark meant there was a lot of expectation on the shoulders of MachineGames. While it’s not without its issues, I thoroughly enjoyed how well it maintains the tone of the series, and with an intro mission that replicates an iconic scene almost identically, I knew I was going to enjoy the adventure that lay before me.

In true Indy fashion, you embark on an adventure across the world in search of a collection of stones that contain enough power to transport their holders to anywhere in an instant. In the wrong hands, specifically the Nazis, they could end the upcoming war in a heartbeat. While Dr Jones once again uses his intelligence and wit to uncover these stones, he is constantly racing against Emmerich Voss, a German archaeologist working directly for Adolf Hitler. It’s a dangerous cat and mouse chase that will see you visit Gizeh, Shanghai, and the Himalayas to name a few places, with an adventure that never gets old.

The acting across the board is exceptional. Troy Baker has done such a fantastic job of making you believe Harrison Ford is the actual actor portraying Indy, with the same suave and surly personality, sprinkled with the warmth and kindness he can occasionally show. He is accompanied by Gina Lombardi, an Italian journalist who has her own reasons for unravelling the mystery of the Great Circle, and is so much more than a sidekick. They have a great rapport and share some wonderful moments on screen together. Voss is as sinister as they come, and the late, great Tony Todd brings a majestic presence in the form of Locus.

It’s a gorgeous game, and every location is a pleasure to explore. From sunken pyramids to a huge German warship balancing on the edge of a frozen mountain, MachineGames has brought such an engaging and and detailed world to life. While Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can be finished in around 12 hours, many of the locations contain plenty of places to explore and secrets to uncover, as well as side missions known as Fieldwork, and other mysteries to solve that can add multiple hours onto your playtime. Some can take a good hour to finish, making your time with Indy feel anything but short.

Playing as Indiana Jones provides plenty of authenticity to the experience, even if it’s not a smooth as it could be. Climbing is a touch janky, and combat can be frustrating. It’s relatively simple when stuck in a fist fight, but some enemies pack more of a punch and can floor you quite quickly if not blocking successfully. A flurry of fists can knock Nazis to the ground, but there’s no silent takedowns, which means you have to consider whether it’s worth engaging or just sneaking past. The AI is quite unbalanced. Sometimes enemies won’t spot you when you’re inches away from them, and other times they see you from great distance.

You begin to gauge their intelligence the more you play, and it becomes less of an issue when you realise that combat is considered a last resort. Indy is an archaeologist, not a fighter. He will only fight is he absolutely needs to. Stealth is a better option in almost every situation, and while there are plenty of makeshift weapons hanging around to hit and distract enemies, a bit more support when a fight does begin would be more appreciated. It’s not bad by any means, but you’re never completely comfortable that a fight is going to go in your favour. Using a gun doesn’t always mean you’ll succeed, as enemies can take quite a lot of bullets to kill them.

Using your whip is always enjoyable, whether swinging across chasms, yanking levers, or knocking enemies off guard. There are plenty of puzzles that require you to turn pillars, use pressure plates, and solve riddles in plenty of clever ways. Sometimes they’re environmental, sometimes they’re restricted to finding codes to unlock doors or safes, but they’re always well thought out. The balance of combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving is perfect, and there’s always something fun to do. The story carries the same tone as Raiders and Last Crusade rather than Temple of Doom, and I’m more than happy with how exciting and true to the source material it is.

I loved the story, and while it’s filled with humour and authenticity, it stands tall as one of Indy’s most exciting adventures. While there are nods to the franchise and some cool references to Indy’s adventures, it feels like its own story. When you aren’t heading to the next tomb or artefact, there’s plenty to do, and finding Adventure Books scattered around the world give you new abilities or make you even stronger. There are also tools you’ll unlock that help you on your adventure, such as a lighter to help you in darker locations, a contraption to help you breathe underwater, and a camera that unlocks hints to puzzles and let’s you snap pictures that give you points to sink into new abilities.

Despite some of the issues with combat and traversal, I thoroughly enjoyed every second. A lot of love has been put into making it feel authentic, whether in the excellent score or the visuals, like when seeing that red line move across the map in front of a moving train or aeroplane. The story is exciting and the acting is superb, leading to a finale that rivals the opening of the Ark from the first movie. If you’re a big fan of the movies, or just want to go on an adventure filled with thrills and great storytelling, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle never misses a beat.