There’s nothing quite like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. There aren’t many quality licensed games outside of the superhero genre, but this one incorporates decades of movie lore. And, frankly, the Xbox Series S is a bit of a mess. While some of the scenes are great, it’s also rife with resolution issues, mechanical glitches, and silly animation bugs. For most other games, the combination of these issues would make you toss the controller and uninstall it.
Still, “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” is endlessly endearing. The game’s tone is perfect, offering moments of serious beauty, and Troy Baker’s Harrison Ford impersonation is a joy to witness as well as embody. In fact, all of the actors in the game are great, and the writing, voice, and direction feel like classic Spielberg and Lucas work. But this time, it’s all in a first-person interactive format, courtesy of Wolfenstein studio MachineGames.
I can’t say enough about the writing in The Great Circle. Indy feels like a genuine extension of the movie character, with his cocky remarks and fatherly complaints spilling out in hilarious bursts throughout the game. His sidekick, Gina, is as resourceful, mysterious and independent as Dr. Jones himself, played expertly by actor Alessandra Mastronardi. The main villain, a Nazi archaeologist named Emmerich Voss (played by Marios Gavrilis), is the most unsettling character as he commands his troops and monologues to his captors, making every word he says There is a dark sense of entitlement in the air.
The story is set in 1937, between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, and players travel to Rome, Giza, the Himalayas, Shanghai, and the ancient kingdom of Sukhothai in north-central Thailand to seek salvation. I travel in search of it. A world of ancient and powerful magic.
Of course, that includes punching a bunch of Nazis in the stupid faces.
Bethesda Softworks
There are moments in The Great Circle where music, environment, lighting, and text come together to create memorable scenes, such as Indy’s first real conversation with Gina on the balcony of the Vatican. They banter back and forth, the music making little trills in response to their strategies and banter, as the afternoon sun glistens on the golden roofs and the Nazi airships dock in domed turrets behind them. . For a moment, this game feels indistinguishable from the classic Indiana Jones movies, and it’s really fun. The Great Circle has some cutscenes and gameplay that feel similarly, but Series S has just as many things that seem unpolished, like stiff animations and harsh lighting. However, the writing and tone are consistently top-notch.
This game feels like it was made by two studios, but one of them was much better at taking advantage of the Xbox Series S hardware. The visual imbalance is strange, with animation and resolution quality changing from scene to scene. Interspersed with gorgeous scenery are sequences that feel like remakes of Xbox 360-era games. That’s strange. However, I think the resolution and stability will be much better when played on Xbox Series X or a capable PC.
Mechanically, the game is also hit and miss. Combat relies primarily on hand-to-hand combat, and while guns are present, they are generally not the most powerful weapons Indy has at his disposal. His whip is useful for stunning, creating distance, or bringing enemies closer for punches, and he can also pick up items like shovels, candlesticks, bottles, and batons to use as projectiles or melee weapons . Random one-on-one battles with Nazis and fascists work well, with solid sonic punches and sharp whip cracks, but scripted melee combat can often feel stagnant. is. Enemies have no health bars, and there’s little to indicate how much damage Indy is dealing at any given time. Evasion is a key element in these battles, but it’s not the most responsive or forgiving system. Inputs can be delayed or ineffective, and enemies can power up big hits even while being punched.
Bethesda Softworks
Combat may be slow, but I had a lot of fun playing The Great Circle as a stealth experience, crouching like a fedora-wearing ghost and weaving my way through Nazi and fascist guards. Stealth is a valid option in basically every scenario and is a simple and effective mechanic. As long as you stay away from the enemy’s line of sight, don’t shine your light in the enemy’s direction, and crouch down, you’ll be fine. There is usually plenty of time to adjust your position if you are spotted, and the guard will quickly move once you are properly hidden again. I really enjoyed planning sneaky attack routes and weaving my way through the guards, throwing the occasional bottle as a distraction. Xena is so bad at stealth that it’s a bit silly to accompany her on these missions, but the game never punishes NPCs for their failures. Enjoy the ridiculousness of the very obvious bros and keep sneaking around.
Puzzles are a major element of the game, and they’re perfectly appropriate. None of them are particularly challenging or innovative, but they’re built on smart ideas and executed well. There are light-reflecting puzzles, matching games, spatial awareness tests, and simple logic riddles that always end with a cool item or dramatic reveal. You may have missed some of the more advanced puzzles in the sidequests, but now that you’ve completed the mainline, you’ll want to go back and see what you missed. This is definitely a sign of a successful game.
Bethesda Softworks
Exploration is Great Circle’s most important mechanic, and thankfully, it feels great. Indy can use his whip to climb and swing through gaps, and there are plenty of ledges, rocks, ladders, and platforms to climb. Curiosity is richly rewarded at every turn, with secrets, side missions, and rewards hidden throughout the map. Missions take Indy and Gina to snowy mountain tops and murky waters filled with monsters. There you will find moments of true horror and true beauty. The game world feels alive and vertical space is utilized well. If you feel stuck in one area, look up if possible.
There was one game-breaking bug in The Great Circle. I’m about 80% of the way through the story and board a boat in the gunner’s seat as the enemy shoots down the river and from the shore. I couldn’t move the camera up or down, which I thought was a weird limitation of the gunner mechanic. But it continued even after I got off the boat and entered the next scene. Never mind the combat, sneaking, and interaction issues, I couldn’t find any climbing opportunities. I tried restarting the game and console to no avail, and ended up having to restore an old save and replay about 30 minutes of content. This worked, but the experience left me a little crazy and a little sad (i.e. not that different from my baseline).
Bethesda Softworks
The uneasy feeling didn’t last long. Because soon I found myself in the middle of a raucous thunderstorm exchanging punches and insults with a Nazi karate master — you know, Indiana Jones type shit. This was the rhythm of my playthrough. Moments of satisfying climbing, puzzles, and stealth gameplay were interrupted by some very stupid glitches. What makes these bugs interesting rather than frustrating is the game’s tone, writing, and acting. With The Great Circle, MachineGames leans into Indiana Jones’ easy-going charm, emphasizing his sleaze and the wild, unbelievable scenarios you’d expect from a popcorn action movie.
This game would make a great movie.
And maybe that’s what the Great Circle is about. MachineGames made a great classic-feeling Indiana Jones movie, but they could have polished that aspect of the game a little more. So please set your expectations accordingly. Roll with the bugs, absorb the story, find all the secrets and laugh at Gina’s silly running animations dressed as a nun.
