One of the most pleasant surprises in gaming from last year was the success of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Developed by MachineGames — the studio behind Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus — Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a first-person action-adventure game whose gameplay heavily emphasizes stealth and puzzles. The Great Circle received praise thanks to Troy Baker's performance as Indiana Jones and the game's adherence to the tone and atmosphere. Even though the game is a timed Xbox exclusive, it still reached a wide audience by launching on Xbox Game Pass.
Disney itself has apparently picked up on the positive buzz surrounding The Great Circle's release. According to a recent rumor, Disney "wants more Indiana Jones" from MachineGames. A sequel seems like a sure shot given The Great Circle's success, and the demand is certainly there. If MachineGames does revisit the world of Indiana Jones, one gameplay element from its first foray is begging to be updated.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and RoboCop: Rogue City Should Spark a Revolution
Though they are rather different, Robocop Rogue City and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Circle share a similarity that other games can learn from.
How Other Stealth Games Could Inspire The Great Circle's Successor
Stealth plays a much bigger role in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle than it does in MachineGames' previous games. While Indiana Jones can handle himself in a fight, he isn't some super soldier like B.J. Blazkowicz. Indiana Jones starts out the game with limited stamina and low health, meaning that prolonged fights can easily lead to his death. Therefore, he primarily relies on stealth to navigate the game's many maps.
How Stealth Works in The Great Circle
Stealth in The Great Circle is fairly basic and will feel familiar to anyone who has played a first-person game with stealth mechanics. Initiating stealth while crouching, Indiana Jones has to avoid his enemies' lines of sight and can throw glass bottles to create distractions. While this system is lacking in nuance, the simplistic stealth is in line with the rest of the game's design and provides a forgiving experience for anyone playing on the default difficulty. That said, one aspect of the stealth gameplay is perhaps a little too stripped down.
When players kill or knock out an enemy while sneaking around, they have the ability to then pick up the enemy's body in order to hide it. This prevents other enemies from stumbling upon the body and sounding the alarm. This is a common mechanic in stealth games. The only problem is that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn't give the player a clear idea of what to actually do with the body.
The Issue With The Great Circle's Stealth
Other stealth games like the Assassin's Creed series provide players with an ample number of designated body disposal areas. These can come in the form of hay bales, bushes, crates, and more. If a player drops a body in one of the areas, they no longer have to worry about other enemies finding this evidence.
The Great Circle expects players to hide bodies in such a manner, but the game offers no indication of where the bodies are meant to be hidden. Players can pick up the body of a defeated foe, but all they can really do is throw the figure on the ground around a corner and hope that it isn't discovered. Carrying a body also drains Indiana Jones' stamina quickly, which discourages players from leaving the immediate vicinity of where they knocked out the enemy.
These elements make the otherwise sufficient stealth system feel dated and can lead to frustrating situations where the player is discovered by the enemies simply because the game didn't clearly convey that an enemy's body had been hidden. If MachineGames does make another Indiana Jones game, these issues can easily be resolved by adding the body stashing system present in most popular stealth games. An occasional crate or leaf pile could go a long way in improving players' experiences.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- December 9, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- MachineGames
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- id Tech 7
- Franchise
- Indiana Jones
- Number of Players
- 1
WHERE TO PLAY
Uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them - Indiana Jones™. You’ll become the legendary archaeologist in this cinematic action-adventure game from MachineGames, the award-winning studio behind the recent Wolfenstein series, and executive produced by Hall of Fame game designer Todd Howard.
YOU ARE INDIANA JONES
Live the adventure as Indy in a thrilling story full of exploration, immersive action, and intriguing puzzles. As the brilliant archaeologist – famed for his keen intellect, cunning resourcefulness, and trademark humor – you will travel the world in a race against enemy forces to discover the secrets to one of the greatest mysteries of all time.
A WORLD OF MYSTERY AWAITS
Travel from the halls of Marshall College to the heart of the Vatican, the pyramids of Egypt, the sunken temples of Sukhothai, and beyond. When a break-in in the dead of night ends in a confrontation with a mysterious colossal man, you must set out to discover the world-shattering secret behind the theft of a seemingly unimportant artifact. Forging new alliances and facing familiar enemies, you’ll engage with intriguing characters, use guile and wits to solve ancient riddles, and survive intense set-pieces.
WHIP-CRACKING ACTION
Indiana’s trademark whip remains at the heart of his gear and can be used to distract, disarm, and attack enemies. But the whip isn’t just a weapon, it’s Indy’s most valuable tool for navigating the environment. Swing over unsuspecting patrols and scale walls as you make your way through a striking world. Combine stealth infiltration, melee combat, and gunplay to combat the enemy threat and unravel the mystery.
THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY
Venture through a dynamic mix of linear, narrative-driven gameplay and open-area maps. Indulge your inner explorer and unearth a world of fascinating secrets, deadly traps,and fiendish puzzles, where anything could potentially hide the next piece of the mystery – or snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- December 9, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- December 9, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- April 17, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 14 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 134 GB (December 2024)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
