There’s been a bit of a gap in the “searching for artefacts while solving puzzles” genre, with several years since we last saw a mainline Tomb Raider or Uncharted game. I’m always down to re-live my childhood treasure-hunting fantasies from movies like The Mummy and National Treasure, but the grand-daddy of them all of course is the man in the hat, Indiana Jones. Well, the icon is back, in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, from the talented folk at MachineGames, known for their recent work on the Wolfenstein series.
We were invited to a hands-on preview of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ahead of its release later this year, and after checking out a couple of hours, it’s an adventure that we’re eager to embark on.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is said to be a game designed around charm and resourcefulness, according to Ezekiel Virant, Lead Game Developer at MachineGames, who was on hand in Sydney as part of our session. He mentioned that they wanted exploration to feel rewarding and that the game was designed around “Adventure-first” gameplay. Exploring through ancient crypts and lost civilisations, this first-person frolic is certainly not a shooter, focused more on puzzle-solving and wit, instead of gunfire and chaos.
Keen to get on board, I put on my Federation IV Fedora, grabbed my whip, and got cracking. Not literally, of course, but that would have been pretty cool, right?
The first part of our preview was in the Vatican, using a bit of stealth to avoid enemies, and taking on some light puzzling. For example, I found a map with a circled wall, implying there was something behind it. A quick solution later and I was through, onward to the next stage of my escapade. Your trusty whip certainly comes in handy, used as a grappling hook to fling you to higher areas, and useful for grabbing the leg of an enemy and whipping them to the ground. Cleverly, when whip-grappling or climbing, the game shifts to a third-person perspective, helpful for knowing where you’ll land or surveying the scene around you.
“You can grab all sorts of items to use as melee weapons, too. A nearby broom, a bottle, or even a violin? Go for it.”
If you do get stuck into combat, being scrappy is advised. Fisticuffs are the order of the day here, although you do have a gun you can pull out if you’re desperate, which will alert everybody nearby to your whereabouts. With left and right hooks, blocking and parrying, hand-to-hand battles feel good, particularly with the satisfying thud when a punch connects. You can grab all sorts of items to use as melee weapons, too. A nearby broom, a bottle, or even a violin? Go for it. It’s not quite Dead Rising levels of props, but it’s just silly and fun enough that I couldn’t help but keep an eye out for different options to smash my enemies in the face. A large bell was a favourite, eliciting a deep gong when making contact.
Photos you can take will reveal insights, or even give hints, and your journal that you carry with you is a detailed archive of sketches, documents, photographs and maps. You can even have this open while you walk around, to keep oriented, but not obscuring your viewpoint, which is a nice touch. There are some nice “gamey” features, too. Adventure books can be found to expand your skill set and learn new abilities; Lucky Hat, for example, allows you to come back from a fatal blow, if you crawl towards the legendary Fedora once you’re downed.
What came next was a larger biome, Gizeh, which felt like more of a playground to run around in, uncover mysteries, and solve puzzles. In this non-linear section of the experience we were left to our own devices; though a main quest certainly guides you, I was pleased to see side-quests and distractions delivered organically. For example, after finding a Wanted poster in the street, some footstep tracks led me around the place and eventually culminated in a grizzly discovery inside a cave.
Field Works are a whole different ball game; a whole mission in and of itself, we were told that they’re entirely optional, but in reality it made up for the majority of my playtime and was a real highlight. A self-contained quest in the centre of the map, I first had to acquire a disguise so that I wouldn’t stand out among the various workers in the area. Get too close to them, or act strangely, and they’ll find you out. Then, I had to go off-site to find a key item that would open the tomb, where the real adventure really began.
With my trusty companion Gina by my side, we avoided traps, solved puzzles together, like moving mirrors to redirect beams of light, and used flaming torches to shoo away scorpions that were snapping at our heels. The Field Work reminded me of the Challenge Tombs seen in the Tomb Raider reboot; if they maintain the same level of quality throughout, they’ll easily become something I seek out as soon as I uncover new areas. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle being in the first-person perspective actually makes the shifting of switches and moving of objects feel even more tactile. While the puzzles here weren’t too taxing, this is an early stage of the game, and I can’t wait to see how challenging they may become as it rolls on.
MachineGames was also proud to point out the authentic recreation of the 1930s, with specific details in the levels, the props, vehicles and even light fixtures. They went for accuracy, including voices and food in particular regions, like the Vatican and Gizeh that we saw in our hands-on time. They noted that it’s important to set the tone for the adventure, and I’d agree. Everything has its place, and the highly detailed areas I explored felt fantastic to rummage through as I stumbled upon clues and uncovered mysteries.
It’s all delivered in that trademark Indiana Jones style. Gina, searching for her missing sister, is a worthy running buddy, with good banter between her and Indy, and the man himself has the personality you’d expect, making jokes, having an infectious enthusiasm for adventuring and harbouring a deep fear of snakes, which resulted in one particularly comical moment in a cutscene.
Combining exploration, puzzles and mystery, it scratched an itch in the adventurer inside me that I hadn’t felt since the last time I spent with Lara Croft or Nathan Drake. Any hesitation I had about an Indiana Jones video game in 2024 has been promptly removed; it just feels good, man, and I can’t wait to continue the caper later this year.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is releasing on December 9 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and sometime in 2025 for PS5.
—
Checkpoint Gaming was flown to Sydney, courtesy of Bethesda ANZ, for the purpose of this preview coverage.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
