Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review: An Outstanding Action Adventure

It has been 15 years since Doctor Jones last graced the screens in playable form. Bethesda and MachineGames are now bringing the adventurer back with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. In an unusual perspective, but with the typical Indy charm and as a really good game, as our test proves.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at a glance

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Test: Indy is back

As a child of the early 1990s, the films about the adventurer Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, were a must-see for me. When Indy fought off the Nazis with a lot of charm and wit, searched for treasures and defied all dangers, it was great fun for me.

From a gaming point of view, however, the adaptations of the smart archaeology professor with Fedora and whip were often of manageable quality. Until now, because with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the Wolfenstein makers at MachineGames have impressively managed to capture the heart of the original and inspire fans of the films and newcomers alike.

The game is set in 1937 between the events of the two films Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. After an adventure in the South American jungle, which serves as a tutorial in the game, we find ourselves in Marshall College, where Indy is woken up at night by strange noises.

When we go to investigate, we are suddenly surprised by a giant burglar and knocked out in a fist fight. When we come to our senses, we realize that a cat mummy has been stolen from the exhibition.

A medallion that the burglar lost during his escape leads us to the Vatican City in Rome, where Indiana Jones and the Great Circle takes its course. We soon find out that the Nazis around antagonist Emmerich Voss also have an interest in the mummy. However, the game will not reveal why this is the case until much later.

This is the prelude to an exciting action-adventure game that captures the atmosphere of the original excellently and kept us entertained for the entire playing time of around 20 hours.

Incidentally, we only find out what the eponymous Great Circle is all about after a few hours of play. For spoiler reasons, we don’t want to reveal that here.

Adventure action from a first-person perspective

From a gameplay perspective, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also breaks new ground. The gameplay is made up of various core elements. Sneaking has top priority, as Indy has no chance with his whip in direct confrontation with the numerically superior enemies in open combat.

Although we find a revolver relatively quickly, the ammunition supply is so limited that the shooting iron is more of an emergency solution. Especially as shots alert all the henchmen in the area, who then finish us off in a fraction of a second.

In addition to combat, exploration and climbing passages as well as varied and exciting puzzles make up a large part of the gaming experience. You can imagine Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as a mixture of Assassin’s Creed and Tomb Raider, while the stealth gameplay reminded me of Dishonered at times.

This is because you explore Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from a first-person view and usually see nothing more than Indy’s hands – at least until the camera pans to the face of the adventurer, who is also played by Harrison Ford in the game, for a cutscene.

However, you shouldn’t expect a high proportion of action, because the developers describe their game as “adventure action”, in which the adventure and exploration part enjoys a much higher priority. And it really is a unique game, especially as the implementation is excellent.

In search of the cat mummy

So we pack our suitcase at home in college and set off on our journey to Europe. In typical Indy fashion, this is of course marked on the map and accompanied by iconic music – goosebumps for fans of the films.

Once we arrive in Italy, we first have to make our way through the heavily guarded Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome before we can meet up with our friend Father Antonio in the Vatican.

With the help of our whip, we climb the high castle wall, distract enemies with glass bottles and hide behind cover to sneak past them unseen. We can find useful objects everywhere, such as wrenches, shovels or mandolins and guitars, which we can pull over our opponents’ heads to put them to sleep.

Unconscious bodies can be hidden like in Hitman and Splinter Cell so that patrolling guards don’t raise the alarm when they are found. It quickly becomes clear that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does stealth gameplay extremely well.

Unfortunately, the battles are rather average fare, partly because the artificial intelligence of the enemies is rather weak. Our opponents don’t even see us behind barely protective cover, and if it does come to a massive fistfight, henchmen in the immediate vicinity are unimpressed and don’t raise the alarm.

Lots to discover

The level design is pleasantly open and always allows multiple approaches. Only the occasional backtracking and the rather rudimentary fast travel function are a little annoying. In Egypt, I would sometimes have liked to be able to cover the long distances on the back of a camel. The unusual first-person perspective also makes it clear that we can’t turn the camera at any time to look behind our cover and see where the guards are.

This makes the sneaking passages wonderfully tricky and tactical, but don’t worry: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t too difficult. At least if we proceed carefully and always plan our steps well.

What mysteries are hidden in the catacombs beneath the Sphinx?

The game world is divided into several large and largely open areas, which are peppered with puzzles, side missions and secrets and reward those who keep their eyes open. For example, we find books with which we can improve our skills, locked doors whose keys need to be found first, ancient relics or documents and other collectibles.
All of this really provides long-term motivation and sometimes even unlocks new side missions that we can tackle. If you only follow the main story, you can complete the game in around 15-20 hours, but if you also complete all the side missions, you can almost double the playing time.

Varied puzzles

One of the greatest strengths of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is undoubtedly the puzzles and skill passages. Some of the best the game has to offer are hidden in the side missions.
Here, Indy can use his whip to swing across chasms or climb up to reach higher areas. It becomes clear relatively quickly that the advanced-age archaeology professor is not a nimble climber like Lara Croft, Nathan Drake or Ezio Auditore. The Great Circle plays rather leisurely and relaxed, which I find very pleasant.

From classic slide and switch puzzles to dangerous pressure plates, absolutely everything is on offer. The variety is pleasing and ensures that no task feels like the previous one. One of our highlights awaited us in Giza in the catacombs beneath the Sphinx with a mirror puzzle in which we had to direct the incoming light at the right angle onto reflecting mirrors while scorpions made life difficult for us. This is also just a side task that could be left out.

Fortunately, Indy meets journalist Gina Lombardi in Italy, who helps us in some missions and quickly proves to be a useful and smart sidekick. The camera we bought in Italy is just as helpful. It not only allows us to take snapshots, which reward us with experience points, but also gives us additional clues for the puzzles.

In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the individual components of the game interlock perfectly and come together to form an absolutely coherent and gripping adventure that captivates to the end and is skillfully distinguished from similar titles such as Uncharted or Tomb Raider by the first-person perspective alone.

The technical side

From a technical point of view, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also cuts a fine figure. Even the PC version we tested has no significant bugs or stutters. On the other hand, the environments score with a high level of detail and harmonious lighting effects, which are supported by successful effects such as the heat shimmering in Giza or realistic shadows.

Only some of the NPCs’ faces show a sharp drop in detail and some animations are a little stiff at times, but this does not detract from the fun of the game.

The soundtrack also deserves great praise, with very good German (and excellent English) voice actors and the typical Indy music creating a dense atmosphere. As connoisseurs, we couldn’t help but hum along to the iconic main theme the first time we heard it.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Review: Conclusion

I admit it openly: I didn’t have too many expectations of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (for whatever reason), but the adventure-action game gripped me so much in just a few hours of play that I enjoyed the game to the very end.

There are many reasons for this. Of course, there’s also a good dose of nostalgia for me, because I grew up with the films about Doctor Jones – the game captures the atmosphere of the cult films brilliantly and fits seamlessly into the Indy universe.

From a gameplay point of view, the Great Circle doesn’t make any major mistakes either, with the possible exception of the weak enemy AI – the battles are not the game’s strong point. Above all, the exciting mix of free exploration, captivating stealth passages and varied, sometimes really crunchy, puzzles is a lot of fun and makes up for the few slip-ups. The whole thing is garnished with harmonious graphics and an excellent soundtrack.

PRO

• Exciting stealth gameplay
• Varied puzzles
• Motivating side quests
• Coherent technology
• Convincing scope

CONTRA

• Weak enemy AI
• Dull battles
• Partly annoying backtracking

 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Story

Gameplay

Balance

Scope

Graphics & Sound

90/100

A gripping adventure game from an unusual first-person perspective, with excellent sneaking elements and tricky puzzles to keep you glued to the screen.