If I'm being honest with myself, the opening sequence of Indiana Jones And The Great Circle had me worried sick for a while. Rather than jumping headfirst into the newest adventure starring Dr. Jones and his archaeological exploits, The Great Circle instead places its tutorial level in a digital version of one of the movie franchise's most iconic scenes. I won't say which one for spoiler reasons, but once it was over, I started having doubts.
Granted, being able to play through that sequence is fun, and it's a nice way to draw longtime Indy fans or casual gamers into this new story. My worry, though, was that the game would rely too heavily on nostalgia, rather than let this tale have a chance to breathe on its own. Thankfully, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle does emerge as a fun and fitting entry in the overall saga, even though it certainly does fall victim to a curse or two.
To begin, MachineGames absolutely nailed the flow of an Indiana Jones movie through its dialogue. The banter between Dr. Jones and whoever might be standing in front of him – be it his friend Antonio from The Vatican or a hulking behemoth trying to punch his face in – is quick-witted, thought-out, and for the most part pretty funny. Troy Baker, to no one's surprise, nails Indy's voice throughout the game, though in some moments of shouting or shock we hear more Baker than Indy.
What knocks the voiceovers down a notch, unfortunately, is what some call the "Horizon Forbidden West" problem. I like the guy, but Indiana Jones never shuts up. You take a picture, he has a comment. You find an item, he has a quip. An NPC is talking to him directly, and he begins to talk about something else. It's a lot, and most of the time it's fine, but there are moments where I just wish he would stop it already.
Adventuring through The Vatican, Gizeh, and the other key locales of The Great Circle is split into three key elements: Puzzle-solving, combat, and exploration. Each of them is a mixed bag, with moments of brilliance intertwined with some unfortunate frustrations. There's fun to be had, sure, but each of these elements comes with at least one caveat.
Exploration is the best of the three, as each area offers plenty of side opportunities to solve mysteries and find neat items. Some of those items are helpful, like books that increase Indy's abilities, while others are simply collectible tchotchkes for the game log. Wandering through claustrophobic, winding tunnels is super cool too, especially when you can bring a torch and then light more torches along the way to mark your path.
The Great Circle also has, in my opinion, the best use of a map mechanic I've played in some time. The main map of each area is a book, that when opened Indy holds out in front of him in real time – no time stoppage to look at the map. While the map is active, your objective appears as a dot not only on the map itself, but in the world around you. Then, you can walk map-in-hand to the spot, and continue the story from there. Indy will even flip a page in the book when he travels up or down stairs to show that level's map, it's marvelous stuff.
The problem with exploration, however, is two-fold. The first is something we mentioned earlier; NPCs love talking to Indy, and he loves talking back. Secondly, however, is the use of extra controller inputs that really don't add anything to the experience. If I select a key to open the door, I expect the door to open; I don't need to watch Indy insert the key, and then press a direction on the left stick to open the door myself. It's a key, I know how it works, move on already. There are more examples of the game requiring more button presses than it needs to, but keys in doors stick out to me.
Next up is the puzzle-solving, and man there are some neat puzzles here. I like how hints are laid out via inscryptions, and you can take a picture with your camera to get a tip on how to solve – the one time I'm fine with Indy talking my ear off. I like when some puzzles present themselves by simply appearing in the wall or something like that; it adds a lot of flair and magnificence, and it really makes you feel like you're Indiana Jones for a bit.
The problem, however, is in the execution of solving the puzzles. Sometimes I want to pull a chain once, but for some reason Indy pulls it twice. Other times, I want to turn a dragon statue in a circle, but when I get to a certain point, the controls get confused and I end up turning it back the other way. Little frustrating things like that pop up every once in a while with some puzzles, and I have to stop myself from audibly groaning.
This actually speaks to a particular curse that's befallen Indiana Jones here: Jank. While I didn't experience any game-breaking or save-destroying bugs in my playthrough, there's a noticeable bit of technical tomfoolery that surrounds the game. Transitions between cutscene and gameplay aren't the cleanest, with Indy just standing and staring into the distance for a second or two before the cut. Once in a while, a hand will bend the wrong way, or a leg will lift up for no particular reason. Like the relics in Indy's collection, the game could have used a bit more polish, but there's nothing that kills the game's momentum here.
Combat is, unfortunately, my least favorite part of the game. It's not that it's bad – I enjoy the fistfights in particular – it's that there's nothing of real significance here. Stunning an enemy with the whip is cool, but after that I'm right back to punching and blocking. The best part of fighting an enemy is when I sneak up on him and bonk him on the head, immediately knocking him out – and yes, I just said my favorite part of combat is when I use stealth to skip it. If that doesn't tell you how run-of-the-mill it is, I'm not sure what will.
However, I'm willing to put up with combat like that in The Great Circle, because the story is just that dang good. I mentioned Troy Baker's performance earlier, but even though you'll hear that voice a lot, the rest of the voice cast does a tremendous job. Alessandra Mastronardi is terrific as Italian investigative journalist Gina Lombardi, especially when she's throwing zingers at Indy while exploring. Marios Gavrilis is absolutely vile as Emmerich Voss – and that's a compliment, I assure you – with his biting delivery oozing charisma through the screen.
Ultimately, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle comes out greater than the sum of its parts. The story kept my interest throughout, no doubt aided by the stellar voicework all around. Exploring these big areas and searching every nook and cranny for a hidden tomb or lost relic is a ton of fun, and solving puzzles gives your brain a challenge at the same time – jank and all.
MachineGames sure loves taking it to the Nazis, and Indiana Jones was a natural fit for the team's next game. I'm happy to report that they've added a fine entry to the franchise, warts and all.
Full Disclosure: A copy of this game was provided by PR for the purposes of this review. Reviewed on Xbox Series X.
