Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review

After developing a slew of Wolfenstein games in which you slaughter as many Nazis as you feasibly can, you might have thought that MachineGames would have had enough of them. But no: the Swedish studio has now tried its hand at an Indiana Jones game, in which you’re going up against the Nazis once again – although in a much less violent manner. Perhaps the key thing you should know about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, though, is that it isn’t just another action game; it’s actually much more varied, encompassing puzzles, exploration, stealth, and more.

Set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finds the archaeologist embarking on another adventure after the college he works at is broken into and a cat mummy statue is stolen by what appears to be a giant. The only clue he has to go on is a medallion left by the thief, which leads him to the Vatican Secret Archive. Though as you can get guess by the game’s title, his adventure ultimately becomes a race against the Nazis to collect relics associated with the Great Circle.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gets off to a great start, letting you basically play through the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, rolling boulder and all. But after that, and once Indy’s adventure has begun proper, you’ll find that there’s much more on offer here than raiding tombs. Mixed in with the more linear missions that often provide thrilling cinematic set-pieces are numerous open world environments where you’re given a great deal of freedom. It makes for a game with a bit of an uneven pace, which might irk some, but it’s so entertaining on the whole that it’s hard to feel too raw about it.

The worst thing about the open areas is that you’re occasionally tasked with completing missions that are essentially fetch quests. You never saw Indy having to take numerous photos or collect steles to progress the narrative in the films, did you? Thankfully such tasks aren’t all that time-consuming or arduous if you do just want to push on with the game’s story, and some of the side-quests on offer are genuinely fun to complete, especially if you love solving puzzles.

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In fact, I think solving puzzles might just be the most enjoyable aspect of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. There are loads of them, and they’re all wonderfully designed, teasing your brain but too much to make them frustrating. Some of them, such as those found in underground temples, need to be solved to progress. But others, found out in the open environments are entirely optional but reward you with valuables such as coins, adventure books or adventure points for their completion. The latter of which are important if you want to enhance Indy’s abilities.

Other aspects of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle impress as well though. It’s fun exploring tombs and temples, for example, using your whip to swing across gaps as well as other tools to overcome various obstacles. And the stealth here is entertaining, too; making use of pretty much anything you can get your hands on to take down Nazis unaware of your presence in comedic ways never gets old. I mean, why would you not want to introduce a fly swatter to a fascist’s face, or break a guitar over their head?

It’s perhaps a good thing that the stealth here is so entertaining, however, as combat is easily the weakest aspect of Indy’s adventure. While you pretty much always have your pistol available and can make use of firearms found lying around or whip-cracked out of an enemy’s hand, going loud is rarely a good idea; you’ll usually attract so much attention that death is inevitable unless you can quickly escape and find somewhere to hide. Meanwhile, hand-to-hand combat can simply feel messy at times, making it not quite as fulfilling as it should be.

But this is an Indiana Jones game; it’s understandable that he’s not as capable in combat as the likes of B.J. Blazkowicz. And it captures the essence of the films perfectly. There’s a real sense of adventure, with you visiting some wonderfully picturesque locations around the world. The story is brilliant; better than that of the last two films. And there are some exhilarating set-pieces that will have you on the edge of your seat. throw in some humour, spectacular visuals and excellent performances from the likes of Troy Baker who really does do a good Indiana Jones impression, and you have a genuine blockbuster experience.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t perfect, then, but the issues here don’t really detract all that much from the experience on the whole. If you’ve ever wanted to step into Indy’s shoes, this is the game for you, letting you crack his whip, thwack Nazis in the face with shovels, and inadvertently cause the destruction of numerous temples and tombs while unearthing their secrets. Only those expecting a full-on action game will be disappointed, as it actually requires a much more restrained and stealthy approach. And its plentiful puzzles will get the cogs in your head turning on a regular basis.

This review of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is based on the Xbox Series X version, with a code provided by the game’s publisher. It’s available on Xbox Series X/S and PC, and will launch on PS5 next year.