Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a faithful but flawed experience

While a new look at Indiana Jones and the Great Circle revealed some clever gameplay systems that nail the tone of a classic Indy adventure, I can’t escape the concern MachineGames is having to rush this one out the door.

It’s been 15 years since the last Indy game hit store shelves. As a lifelong fan of the franchise, the break has been nothing short of excruciating. While Uncharted no doubt helped fill the void, the announcement of Bethesda’s new project back in 2021 was the most exciting news that year.

Finally, a new Indy experience on modern hardware. Better yet, it’s helmed by some of my favorite developers at MachineGames. The rebooted Wolfenstein series is absolutely peak, and I won’t hear otherwise.

Since that reveal three years back, however, the team has remained relatively tight-lipped. Until now that is, as we’ve been able to see a good chunk of raw gameplay for the first time, teasing a globetrotting, Nazi-punching romp much like you’d expect.

It’s got a blend of clever mechanics that not only look refreshing for a mostly first-person adventure game but also fit the IP tremendously well. There’s the expansive cast of characters, all written with that trademark wit, you’ve got some hard-hitting brawls Indy would be all too familiar with, there’s no denying it’s representing the source material incredibly well.

But coming out of the preview, I couldn’t look past one thing. Still quite rough around the edges in terms of presentation and performance, the game nonetheless remains committed to a 2024 release. I certainly hope this one isn’t being rushed out the door before it’s truly ready.

Adorning the iconic fedora

First things first, let’s be clear: this is an Indiana Jones game through and through. Everything you’re doing in the moment to moment is completely authentic to the legendary archaeologist.

You’re not exactly mowing through dozens of Nazis like you would in Wolfenstein. It’s a clear departure from MachineGames’ previous work, and the experience looks all the better for its unique approach.

At the center of it all is Indy’s journal. Serving as a menu system of sorts, it’s here where you’re able to collate various scraps of information throughout your journal. Say you find a note tucked away on one table, then a key elsewhere in a bar; reflecting over your journal may help you piece together how the two are related and what secrets they may unlock.

Indy also carries around a camera, letting you snap quick pics of various artifacts, enemies, or particular sites of intrigue. In doing so, you’re able to learn a bit more about the subject in focus, further pushing not only the narrative, but tons of optional content too.

Rather than holding your hand through much of the game’s adventure, the onus appears to be on the player more often than not. It’s on you to figure out solutions for puzzles. It’s your job to unravel bigger mysteries by connecting the dots. While the golden path is sure to lay things out in a simple enough manner, tons of optional content may be completely missed if you’re not exploring every nook and cranny and intuitively figuring out the next steps, just as Indy would.

Just like the films, the game is indeed very heavy on puzzles. Expect plenty of head-scratching as you reflect light in the right directions, place the right artifacts on the right pedestals, adjust paintings to the correct angle, it’s all core to the overall pace of the game.

All up, it looks to be an authentic take on the heroic figure, one that places much more of an emphasis on this adventure-style gameplay than the action. Though that’s not to say there isn’t still plenty of Nazis to rid the world of.

Whip-cracking combat

Set between Raiders and the Last Crusade, this is Indy at his best. Then 38 years old, he’s seen a great deal already and just at the tail end of his physical prime, so there’s plenty of action at hand and he’s not shying away from any of it.

Hand to hand combat is the biggest focal point, with far more to it than just button mashing. Indy has an array of different strikes to throw, with timing and combinations both vital. Of course, enemies can block and dodge before returning some strikes too, so there’s a balance of offense and defense in any one on one encounter.

Mixing up your attacks, you’ve always got Indy’s trusty whip to fall back on too, and he does carry a revolver around. Just don’t expect this to be a true FPS with Indy carrying around a dozen magazines for a full-auto rifle, that’s not true to the character and not what MachineGames is striving for here.

That said, you can indeed pick up weapons in the environment. So if you’re quick on your feet, whipping an SMG out of the hands of a Nazi can make it yours in short order. Beyond guns, a great deal of work has been put into combat environments too, giving you plenty of options in how to approach any given fight.
In one stage you might pick up a beer bottle and bash it over the head of an enemy nearby. In another, you might find a brick, a wrench, whatever it might be. There’s almost always something to grab to put the odds in your favor.

Much like the Wolfenstein games too, stealth is a key component here. While it’s unclear if combat is entirely optional in some scenarios, it does look like you can sneak past certain encounters if you time things right.

Making this a true Indy experience, however, devs have taken some inspiration from the Hitman franchise with a clever disguise system.

Much like how Agent 47 can don different attire to suit the mission at hand, Indy can dress himself up in different outfits to help approach whatever sticky situation he’s in. Not only can this help you access areas you otherwise wouldn’t be able to, but it seems to help avoid combat as well, as you simply walk right past enemies without them batting an eye.

While it all comes together to form a well-rounded package that represents the hallmarks of the franchise, it’s not without its downsides too.

In particular, traversal does look quite rigid in the gameplay we’ve seen. Not that Indy’s ever been a parkour expert, but maneuvering through the environment isn’t quite as smooth as you’d want it.

The worst offender is when the whip comes into play while moving through the stage. Anytime you’re latched onto a surface, the game jumps from first-person to a third-person perspective.

While this camera trick seems solid enough in slow-paced, purely exploration-focused chunks of the game, it simply isn’t appealing in the opposite scenarios. When intensity ratchets up and you’re swinging from one ledge to another to quickly get the jump on an enemy, having this bizarre pullback and push forward in the span of a few seconds is far from ideal.

The same applies when in fast-paced action set-pieces too, especially if you’re jumping across gaps one after another. So while it’s quite rough as it stands today, hopefully there’s a solution before the game’s finished off.

It’s worth mentioning the ‘Adventure Points’ system too. Clever naming, right? Unlike other games that do away with progression systems and virtual currencies, Indy is weirdly leaning into it. Every relic you unearth, every activity you complete, it all accrues a certain amount of Indy XP, so to speak.

These Adventure Points can then be exchanged for new skills and upgrades that make Indy even more Indy. Admittedly, it’s a core pillar in plenty other contemporary titles, but the lack of creativity here leaves plenty to be desired. Can’t we just have a regular globe-trotting adventure without the need for progression systems?

As for the rest of the game’s issues in this preview build, well on that, I’m not so optimistic about a quick fix.

Running away from that boulder

Release details for The Great Circle have been oddly hard to come by. When the first proper gameplay dropped earlier this year, Microsoft committed to a 2024 release. We’re now in August without a set date, yet even in this preview, devs remain steadfast.

That gives us a four-month window to work with from this point, obviously not much time at all in the world of game development.

While we’ve praised the authentic game design and its consistency with the overall franchise, it’s crucial to note an evident lack of polish this close to its planned launch.

For a current-gen-only title, it looks to be struggling quite a bit when it comes to performance. Texture pop-in was extremely noticeable throughout the presentation, as was overall render distance. There looks to be some odd motion blurring and depth of field effects to try mitigate the issues, but they’re nonetheless apparent.

Obviously this is an early build and there’s still time, but not much of it. With the window closing on 2024, I’m just not entirely confident this one will be in the best shape at launch, should it be pushed out in a few short weeks. A delay to 2025 could help immensely.

Not for nothing, I also tried asking four relatively straightforward questions about the game in a developer Q&A. Not a single one was approved, so make of that what you will. To me, it shows the team is still oddly keeping cards close to their chest, despite now being the time to really start divulging information, if it is indeed committed to a 2024 release.

We’ll just have to wait and see how it all pans out in the coming weeks. For now, Indy fans can rest assured they’ve got an authentic Indy experience on the way here. As a lifelong fan, I’m thrilled with how it’s all been approached. But for everyone else, as a fan of the industry, I’m concerned The Great Circle may need a little more time in the oven, and it’s not getting it. I’d love nothing more than to be proven wrong later this year.