Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Looks Like a Worthy Addition to the Franchise [CNET]

After the last two disappointing movies, I’m finally excited about a new Indiana Jones title.

After the last two disappointing movies, I’m finally excited about a new Indiana Jones title.

Fans have been excited but cautiously concerned about how Machine Games (best known for the modern, hyper-violent Wolfenstein first-person shooters) will put their own spin on the archeological adventures of Indiana Jones. But in a recent preview, I saw the studio pull back the curtain a bit on what the game has in store for players, and I was pleased to see the the weathered professor use his brains as much as his brawn — unearthing treasures, disguising his way behind enemy lines and yes, using his trusty whip to get in and out of danger.

In early August, I sat down for about an hour with Bethesda and Machine Games in a digital preview and live Q&A session for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the first major game set in the storied franchise since 2011. This sneak peek was a hands-off preview of everything attendees of Germany’s Gamescom event will be able to experience on the showfloor. We also had an exclusive look at some additional areas.

The game is set shortly after Raiders of the Lost Ark and promises to be the biggest game Machine Games has ever worked on. As someone who didn’t enjoy the last two Indiana Jones movies (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dial of Destiny), I’m happy to say this title finally has me excited about the whip-cracking, fedora-sporting adventurer again.

The demo began as our hero entered the fictional Sunspark Chamber, a hidden ruin full of secrets and artifacts. Indy was seen destroying a small statue to reveal a golden treasure within. The chamber began to fill with quicksand and the player had to escape the area before being submerged — a classic adventure moment. This led to a short chase sequence down a narrow hallway that required the player to pull out Indy’s trusty whip to swing over a chasm, one of several moments throughout the preview when the whip was used. It functions as both a tool for traversal and a weapon in combat.

During the Q&A with Jerk Gustafsson, Machine Games’ game director, and Creative Director Axel Torvenius, the developers stressed that the combat scenarios can be approached in a number of different ways. The preview showed that while you can go in guns blazing, this is often the less ideal approach. A bit of planning can go a long way. 

The directors pointed out that surveying the area beforehand by using your whip to scale the walls and environment would reveal different ways to tackle these combat scenarios. One recommendation from Gustafsson was to use the whip to initiate combat, switch to the game’s robust hand-to-hand fighting, and only take out the gun if you get backed into a corner. They pointed out that using the gun can be dangerous and you don’t have that much health.

In one of the more humorous nods to the movies, we were shown what happens when Indy fails a combat section. He was knocked to the ground, initiating the True Grit mechanic: Indy’s trademark hat gets knocked off and the player must crawl and retrieve it. Doing so will revive Indy, allowing him to spout out a quippy one-liner before giving the player one last shot at defeating the enemy.

The exclusive part of our preview, which won’t be shown to Gamescom attendees, took place in a hidden area under the Great Sphinx of Giza. It involved Indy working alongside his new companion, Gina. The sequence began with Indy fighting off a few foot soldiers who follow Emerick Voss, the game’s main antagonist. After he met up with Gina inside, it was revealed that she and Indy would need to find a talisman to open a locked door.

The preview then introduced something we haven’t seen before: a disguise mechanic, which players will employ throughout the game to sneak into areas incognito. Instead of the classic hat and leather jacket, Indy is seen in a turban and robes, more akin to the locals of the area. He moved into a hut full of enemy generals strategizing around a table, and one of them yelled for a bottle of wine. This key moment allowed the player to access the back area, where they could steal the missing talisman before returning with the wine and leaving the tent. 

This disguise mechanic sounds like it will be used often throughout the game as the preview also included a segment where Dr. Jones dressed up as a priest to walk undetected throughout a church. But we were cautioned that this isn’t an invisibility cloak — certain enemies will still be able to see through your veil if you aren’t blending in well enough, so make sure to act the part, too.

Back under the Sphinx, we were introduced to the game’s journal and camera mechanics. The journal is a log of your adventures and all the clues you’ll collect as you progress. The Great Circle is a game about deduction and puzzle solving, and your journal and camera are key to this. Using the camera will reveal clues and hints about the obstacles you’ll face. 

Deducing clues will also award the player with Adventure Points, which are cashed into the Adventure Books that are found throughout the game. Each contains a skill for Indy to unlock and use going forward. Unfortunately we didn’t get any specific details on what kind of skills you’ll uncover, so we’ll have to wait for Machine Games to explain how Indy will develop his adventuring capabilities.

Using the whip to scale down a ledge, crawling through a narrow corridor and turning mirrors to bounce light around the room are just a few of the puzzles you can expect in The Great Circle. Machine Games didn’t give a specific hour count to the game’s length, but it said that even if you mainline the story, it’s still longer than any game it’s made in the past. 

The company’s two previous games, Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, both take around 11 hours to mainline. We can take that as a clue to speculate on the length of this adventure.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming out later in 2024 and will be available immediately for Game Pass subscribers.