Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review

If it wasn't for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would be my game of the year. It's that good. What Machine Games crafted in this 20-hour globetrotting adventure is nothing short of remarkable. 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle manages to capture the true essence of the iconic Indiana Jones blockbusters from the 80s and on top of that, tells an excellent story, that delivers better characters, setpieces and narrative than the recent film Dial of Destiny. 

Once it gets a hold of you, it never lets go and it does it with such a simple but incredibly rich story which is a breath of fresh air in today's industry when studios push for narrative complexity, hoping to achieve something special but ultimately, fail with the basics. 

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I'd say that Indiana Jones has everything that makes a story great - a mystery, a memorable villain, a sense of adventure, immersion, a set of likeable characters and most importantly, it's believable, it's writing never feels like its out of place.

The game takes place across seven locations. From the meticulously crafted streets of the Vatican to the sands of Giza, the mountain peaks of the Himalayas and the lush jungles of Sukhothai - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is memorable and often an adrenaline-filled journey that delivers a strong sense of the classic Indiana Jones films but packed into an exceptional well-crafted video game experience.

When it comes to gameplay, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is comparable to The Chronicles of Riddick video game series, especially Escape from the Butcher Bay. I'd describe it as a stealth adventure where you're encouraged to dispose of enemies in a quiet fashion or avoid them completely and find alternative routes to reach your objective. 

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

In my 25-hour playthrough, I think I used guns only once just to see how the shooting feels but it was never my preferred way of playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. 

I always found myself searching for pans, brooms, hammers and similar objects that allowed me to get rid of enemies quietly since firing just one shot would alert pretty much every enemy in the surrounding area. The ammo is also scarce, which is another way the game is telling you that shooting enemies is not the way to go.

The level design in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also encourages stealth approach. You'll always have different ways to reach the objective, you just have to be creative and explore a little bit. If you see a door that is firmly guarded by soldiers, you can bet that there's a different path somewhere close, allowing you to sneak unnoticed and get inside the building. 

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

One thing that some will find to be a major frustration (it bugged me too) is the enemy AI. I'm not sure if the AI is meant to be dumb or if it's just a case of bad design but most of the time, the enemies won't pose any threat.

For example, I slammed one enemy with the shovel but his buddy who was standing just a few metres from him didn't hear a thing. Or, you'll make a pile of bodies in one place as AI soldiers are dumb enough to keep coming to check on their fallen comrades without any awareness, only to end up on the pile themselves.

There are plenty of examples like these but I really think MachineGames wanted the AI to act like this and feel less challenging so players could focus on exploration more.

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Speaking about exploration, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is packed with things to do. From solving various puzzles to searching for lost treasures in underground tombs, there's plenty of side content here that will take your playthrough close to 50 hours.

And these are really engaging and fun, too. While the actual puzzles are not that challenging, I think they strike a great balance between requiring a bit of thinking and simplicity to leave the frustration out of the door. 

Each of these areas looks wonderful too, regardless if it's just a side quest or a main story path. Generally, the game looks incredible with realistic lighting and highly detailed environments. 

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I played the game on PC for this review and can say that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looks like a true next-gen title. With Path Tracing enabled, the game is almost lifelike, especially in the Sukhothai level, which features some of the most breathtaking views I've seen from games in this generation.

The music and voice acting are both exceptional too. A big hats off goes to Troy Baker for his portrayal of Indy but the rest of the cast did a wonderful job too, making every main character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle believable. 

The soundtrack does a great job of capturing the theme of the Indiana Jones franchise so you'll have this feeling of being inside the films all the time. Just like the rest of the game, it's crafted with so much passion and love.

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

CONCLUSION

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a must-play video game regardless of your preference for the iconic films. With a great story, character, exploration segments, music and visuals, it's an exceptional package well worth the price tag. With Game Pass, it's a no-brainer to try it out. 

It's the best game Xbox released in this generation of consoles and a strong game of the year contender.