Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: exhilarating old-school action

As an adaptation of its source material, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is nothing short of a resounding success. It captures the overall look and tone of the film franchise perfectly, delivering a globe-trotting adventure that will delight even those with just a passing knowledge of it. It’s also just a sheer joy to play thanks to some incredibly well-realised locations that are brimming with enough secrets to occupy you for hours at a time.

I’ve had some reservations about the first-person combat system since the game was originally revealed, but I can confidently say that developer MachineGames has masterfully made the jump from bombastic shooters to a much scrappier melee system. Whacking legions of Nazis has never been more satisfying and the focus on improvisation practically generates memorable moments, especially if you’re not afraid to experiment with all the tools at your disposal.

There are some things that hold Indiana Jones and the Great Circle back, however, namely a noticeable lack of polish. Progress-blocking bugs are common, although these are thankfully never a huge concern due to an extremely effective auto-save system. There’s also the visuals that, while stunning on Xbox Series X, are simply not up to standard on the less powerful Xbox Series S. Patches are almost inevitably going to address this in the weeks and months to come, but it does dampen an otherwise strong launch.

Popcorn flick

Set right after the events of the first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tells a self-contained story that, aside from a brief flashback segment and a sprinkling of references, stands on its own two feet. After a hulking man breaks into Marshall College to steal an ancient cat mummy from the university’s archaeology department, Indy is thrust into a race to uncover the secrets of the titular Great Circle, a series of connected ancient sites around the world, and protect it from Nazi archaeologist Emmerich Voss, who wants to harness its power for the expansion of the Third Reich.

The pair have a fantastic dynamic, with a believable and engaging rivalry that easily puts Voss up there with the most memorable villains from the films. A few hours in Indy is joined by Gina Lombardi, a journalist searching for her missing sister. She makes for a great companion, her initial misgivings gradually transforming into a genuine friendship as the plot progresses. The narrative is nothing groundbreaking by any means, but it’s all well-told and conveyed through absolutely stunning cutscenes.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle benefits from some of the best motion capture and animation work that I have ever experienced, surpassed only by the truly boundary-pushing cinematics of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Characters move almost eerily realistically, with sublime faces that make it easy to forget that you’re not seated at the movie theater. Of course, this would mean very little if the voice acting wasn’t also pitch-perfect.

Luckily, the ever-reliable Troy Baker delivers a masterful Indiana Jones and Alessandra Mastronardi seems just as at home dispensing witty retorts as anguished cries at emotional climaxes as Gina. Cutscenes are presented in a near-constant stream, neatly woven between moments of play, and can go on for minutes at a time, but it’s impossible to complain about their hands-off nature when they look and sound this good.

Thinking cap

The plot guides you through a string of varied locations around the world, from a war-torn Shanghai to a frozen Nazi ship wrecked on top of a mountain in the Himalayas. Each is brilliantly recreated, filled with authentic 1930s details and countless objects to pick up and examine. The choice to accurately represent regional languages and accents is also a great one, really giving each area its own flavor and massively increasing immersion.

While most sections are rather linear, there are three huge open-world areas to sink your teeth into. The first is a stint in Vatican City, where Mussolini’s Blackshirts are exploiting the weakness of an ailing Pope to hunt for ancient relics. This is, without hyperbole, one of the greatest environments I have ever explored in a video game.

I spent almost seven hours in it in my first playthrough, plowing through optional objectives and tracking down collectibles, and feel like I barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer. There’s something new to discover every few steps and it’s all interesting and well-designed, rather than just filler. Puzzles are abundant and, for me, perfectly balanced – requiring just the right amount of thought but never becoming frustrating on the moderate difficulty.

The same is true for the ones that you encounter in the story, though these also have an intelligently integrated hint system if you get stuck. Snap a photo of any story puzzle with Indy’s camera for a quick hint or, if you keep going, a detailed explanation of what you need to do. It’s not a system that I needed to use, but I’m glad it’s there for players who would prefer to focus on the action.

Unfortunately, the puzzles are also where I experienced a number of frustrating progress-blocking bugs. Sometimes items required to complete them would simply not spawn in, rendering progress impossible. There were also a number of occasions where Indy’s hands would become stuck – unable to interact with the world. One note made reference to a fireplace, so I climbed into it thinking there might be some kind of hidden door only to fall through the floor and die – I guess you could say I was almost right?

All of these problems were solved by reverting to my last autosave, which are mercifully very frequent, but did once require me to go back even further and agonisingly lose almost an hour of play.

Button masher

Puzzles and exploration are only part of the picture, though, as combat is a key pillar of the experience too. There is a basic stealth system here, but I always opted to go in as loud as possible whenever the situation would permit it, an approach that I would thoroughly recommend. Thanks to meaty, satisfying punches and a lightning-fast dodge, the melee system leads to thrilling fights. You also have Indy’s trademark whip, which can be used in a number of ways depending on where you aim it.

A quick strike to the hands will disarm most foes, giving you the chance to sweep in and grab their weapon. Aiming for the leg while will see Indy yank it, perfect if you want to send an unsuspecting guard flying off a ledge. You can also pull enemies towards you, grabbing them for a violent beatdown. Almost any object you find can be used as a weapon and bashing Nazis with everything from feather dusters to frying pans is just as cathartic as it sounds.

Guns are also present, though always represent an engaging balance of risk and reward. They are much quicker than fists, but loud and prompt enemies to draw their own – putting you out of action in just a few hits. It’s a well-thought-out dichotomy that makes them ideal in a pinch but stops running and gunning from ever becoming a consistently viable approach. Factor in the numerous upgrades, which are presented as books hidden throughout stages, and you have a formula that has me eager to dive back in for more even after the credits rolled.

That said, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can suffer from one inescapable shortcoming depending how you play it: its visuals on Xbox Series S. The game looks phenomenal on Xbox Series X, but is just not up to snuff on Microsoft’s weaker machine. Framerates are smooth, but the muddy textures, blurry resolution, low-detail models, and unpleasant lighting spoil most environments – even with the optional high resolution texture pack installed. It’s not impossible to enjoy like this by any means, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect more from a first-party game given the system’s huge user base.

I have my fingers crossed that some kind of visual overhaul is on the way, as this is really the only thing holding me back from much more unreserved, truly glowing recommendation. If you own an Xbox Series X, a powerful gaming PC, or are able to try the game through an Xbox Game Pass subscription, then there’s no reason not to dive in.

Should I play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has a good suite of accessibility options. The size of the UI can be increased for added visibility, or swapped between a few color presets.

There are are number of color filter modes, in addition to high contrast effects and customizable high contrast color options for key items, weapons, and more.

This is on top of multiple difficulty levels for both combat and puzzles or exploration.

How I reviewed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I played Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for more than 20 hours on both an Xbox Series S 1TB and Xbox Series X.

During that time I completed the entire main story and spent a significant duration exploring each environment. I endeavored to find as much extra content as possible, mastering a number of side quests and optional activities, and plan to dive back in for even more.

On Xbox Series S, I played the game using a 1080p monitor while on Xbox Series X I relied on a 4K Sony TV. In both cases, I used a standard Xbox Wireless Controller. For audio, I brought out my trusty Astro A50 X on Xbox Series S and a SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 on Xbox Series X.

First reviewed December 2024.