Bringing the Fedora Back to Glory
Licensed movie tie-in games have a rocky history, littered with rushed cash grabs and forgettable experiences. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle shatters that stereotype completely. Developed by MachineGames, the studio behind the modern Wolfenstein reboots, this is a confident, meticulously crafted adventure that finally gives one of cinema’s most iconic heroes the video game treatment he deserves.
Set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, the story follows Indy as he chases down a mysterious ancient relic tied to a group of Nazi occultists. It’s classic pulp adventure territory, filled with globe-trotting locations, ancient temples, secret societies, and, of course, plenty of Nazis to punch. The plot won’t reinvent the wheel, but it captures the tone of the films with remarkable precision, right down to the witty one-liners and improbable escapes.
First-Person Adventuring Done Right
The decision to present the game entirely from a first-person perspective was a bold one, and it pays off spectacularly. Rather than feeling like a shooter wearing an adventure game’s clothing, the camera choice makes every punch, every climb, and every narrow escape feel intensely personal. You feel every scramble up a crumbling ledge and every desperate swing of your whip because you’re seeing it through Indy’s own eyes.
Combat leans heavily into improvisation and environmental interaction rather than gunplay, which fits the character perfectly. Indy is at his best when he’s grabbing a nearby frying pan, tipping over a bookshelf onto an unsuspecting guard, or using his whip to disarm an enemy before laying into them with his fists. Guns are a last resort, loud and limited in ammo, encouraging you to play like the resourceful archaeologist Indy actually is rather than a one-man army. It’s a refreshing change of pace in a genre often dominated by endless firefights.
Exploration and Puzzle Design
Where the game truly shines, however, is in its exploration. Levels are large, dense, and packed with secrets, striking a satisfying middle ground between the tight linearity of a cinematic action game and the open freedom of a full sandbox. Hidden behind locked doors and obscure levers are optional side objectives, collectible relics, photo opportunities, and lore-rich journal entries that reward players who take the time to poke around every corner.
The puzzles themselves are consistently clever, drawing heavily from the archaeological and historical themes of the franchise. You’ll be deciphering ancient scripts, aligning astronomical instruments, and manipulating light and shadow to reveal hidden passages, all while Indy mutters historically-flavored commentary that makes the whole experience feel like an interactive history lesson wrapped in a blockbuster adventure. Crucially, the difficulty curve on these puzzles feels well tuned, challenging enough to satisfy without ever grinding progress to a frustrating halt.
A Visual and Technical Triumph
Built on id Tech, the same engine that powers the recent Doom titles, the Great Circle is a surprisingly gorgeous game given its unconventional genre pairing. Locations ranging from the dusty markets of Egypt to the misty peaks of the Himalayas are rendered with remarkable texture detail and atmospheric lighting. Character models, particularly Indy himself, are impressively expressive, capturing subtle facial nuance during cutscenes that helps sell the emotional beats of the story.
Performance is similarly strong across the board. On Xbox Series X, the game runs smoothly at a locked 60 frames per second in performance mode, with only minor dips during the busiest set-piece sequences. Load times are minimal, and the game’s day-one inclusion in Xbox Game Pass makes it one of the most accessible must-play titles of the year for subscribers.
Voice Acting and Presentation
A significant amount of credit has to go to Troy Baker’s central performance as Indiana Jones. Rather than attempting a straight impression of Harrison Ford, Baker captures the essence and cadence of the character while making the role his own, delivering both the gruff bravado and the underlying warmth that made Indy such an enduring hero. The supporting cast is similarly strong, with memorable villains who feel suitably menacing without tipping into cartoonish parody.
The game’s presentation also leans heavily into cinematic staging, with dynamic camera work during cutscenes, era-appropriate music cues that recall John Williams’ iconic score without directly reproducing it, and a genuine sense of pulpy spectacle during its many set-piece moments, including a thrilling mine cart chase sequence that longtime fans will immediately recognize as a loving homage.
Pacing and Structure
The campaign is structured around several large hub-like regions connected by more linear, story-critical sequences. This structure allows the game to have its cake and eat it too, delivering focused cinematic set pieces during main story beats while giving players room to breathe and explore during the quieter moments in between. A full completionist playthrough, chasing every hidden relic and side objective, will comfortably stretch past 25 hours, while a story-focused run can be completed in roughly 15.
Where the Game Stumbles
No game is without its flaws, and the Great Circle does have a handful of rough edges. Stealth mechanics, while serviceable, lack the depth and reactivity of dedicated stealth franchises, occasionally leading to enemy AI that behaves inconsistently when detecting Indy’s presence. A few mid-game chapters also slow the pacing considerably compared to the thrilling opening and closing hours, leaning a bit too heavily on fetch-quest style objectives.
Exploring the Hub Regions in Depth
It’s worth spending extra time on just how rewarding the game’s larger hub regions are to explore. The Vatican chapter in particular stands out as a series highlight, layering rooftops, hidden catacombs, and guarded archives on top of one another in a way that constantly rewards vertical thinking. Sneaking across sun-drenched rooftops while guards patrol the courtyards below, before dropping down through a skylight into a forbidden archive, captures a sense of forbidden discovery that the series has always been chasing, and finally nails here in full 3D form.
Side objectives within these hubs are rarely padding for padding’s sake either. Many unlock new gadgets, additional lore about the game’s central mystery, or amusing optional vignettes that flesh out Indy’s personality outside of the main plot, such as an extended sequence where he must talk his way out of a misunderstanding with local authorities using nothing but charm and a fabricated cover story. These little digressions do a wonderful job of reinforcing the character without ever feeling like filler.
Photo Mode and Immersion Options
A surprisingly robust photo mode rounds out the package, letting players pause mid-adventure to frame cinematic shots of Indy scaling a temple wall or squaring off against a rival treasure hunter. Combined with a suite of optional immersion settings, including adjustable HUD elements and a first-person-only cutscene toggle for players who want the camera to never leave Indy’s perspective, MachineGames has clearly put real thought into letting players tailor the experience to their preferred level of immersion.
The Adventure Book and Collectibles
Tucked into the pause menu is Indy’s Adventure Book, a running journal that automatically catalogs every relic, photograph, and piece of historical trivia uncovered during your travels. Far from a simple checklist, each entry is written with genuine care, offering short, flavorful blurbs about the real-world history behind ancient artifacts and locations, blurring the line between video game collectible and miniature museum exhibit. It’s the kind of thoughtful touch that rewards curious players without ever feeling mandatory for those who just want to follow the main story.
Puzzle notebooks scattered throughout each region add another layer of optional depth, containing partial clues to some of the game’s trickier environmental puzzles for players who want a nudge without resorting to a full walkthrough. It’s a smart, elegant solution to a problem that has plagued adventure games for decades, letting the game offer help without breaking immersion or feeling condescending toward more experienced puzzle solvers.
Performance Across Platforms
While the Xbox Series X version represents the smoothest overall experience, the Xbox Series S version holds up admirably as well, targeting a stable 30 frames per second with only minor concessions to texture resolution and draw distance. The PC version, meanwhile, offers extensive graphical customization for players with high-end rigs, alongside ultrawide monitor support that further enhances the game’s already impressive sense of scale during its grandest set-piece moments.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Outstanding first-person adventuring that makes every action feel personal
- Clever, historically-flavored puzzle design
- Strong central performance from Troy Baker
- Gorgeous, well-optimized visuals
- Faithful to the tone and spirit of the films
Cons:
- Stealth mechanics feel underdeveloped compared to the rest of the game
- A few mid-game chapters suffer from pacing lulls
The Verdict
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a triumphant return for one of adventure fiction’s most beloved heroes. MachineGames has crafted a confident, endlessly charming experience that understands exactly what makes Indiana Jones tick, wrapping it in inventive first-person mechanics and gorgeous production values. It’s easily one of the best licensed games in years, and a must-play for Xbox and Game Pass subscribers.
Topody Score: 9/10 — A pulpy, polished adventure that finally does Indiana Jones justice.
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