Indiana Jones and the Great Circle shoots for the cinematic Indy experience

Over the past few decades, Indiana Jones has continued his search for impossible treasures and mythical phenomena around the globe. With his theatrical exploits seemingly behind him for good, the character is now returning to another familiar stomping ground: video games. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle sees the famed archaeologist travel halfway around the world in search of the impossible. Publisher Bethesda and Wolfenstein: The New Order developer MachineGames have set out to make the quintessential Indiana Jones experience, which means making it both a great game and also emulating aspects of the classic movies. Shacknews recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with Xbox's upcoming blockbuster for the first time.

For those who don't know the game's story, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. A mysterious artifact has been stolen from Indy's workplace of Marshall College and it's up to Indy to find out exactly what's so interesting about this thing. Along the way, Indy meets a variety of characters who help him on his journey while also running into the Nazi scourge behind what's happening. Those interested in learning more can check out our recent coverage from this year's Gamescom.

The hands-on portion began with that prologue section from Marshall College. Dr. Jones is settling back into life as a university professor, but a robbery in the nearby gallery gets his attention. He runs into a hulking brute, which allows for a quick tutorial on the game's hand-to-hand combat. Indy will frequently throw hands with enemies with the shoulder buttons used to throw punches, juke, and block. It's not as deep as a typical boxing game, but smart brawling is emphasized over mindless button mashing.

Marshall is also where the puzzle-solving side of The Great Circle pops up for the first time. Before going further, Indy has to determine what was even stolen to begin with. A logic puzzle has players line up artifacts spilled on the floor back on their displays, arranging them next to their country's flag of origin. Only after solving this puzzle and realizing what's missing can Indy begin to piece together what's happening.

Players soon journey to the Vatican, where the congregation of priests has rapidly filled up with those loyal to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Indy must rendezvous with his old friend Antonio, but this means getting through the outside courtyard without being detected. Players must move carefully, because if they're spotted by a guard, he can blow a whistle to rain down unwanted attention.

The key to avoiding detection, as it turns out, is clubbing foes with blunt objects. Players don't have to look very hard to find objects like wine bottles, shovels, or even a broom that can be used to knock out foes from behind. Guards are constantly on patrol, so the other thing to note is that if Indy knocks anybody out, it would behoove the player to move the body to a place where it can't be seen. The last thing to note about stealth sections is that players do have Indy's trusty revolver available to them, but it becomes a last resort in a situation like this, since the loud bang can attract suspicious patrols.

While The Great Circle will feature linear stages like the Vatican, sometimes players will find themselves in more open settings. The second half of this preview session jumped to Gizeh, the scorching desert city in Egypt. This is a larger section that contains civilian marketplaces, military encampments, and mysterious sections begging for exploration. The first objective was to meet up with Italian journalist Gina Lombardi and her contact in Gizeh, Dame Nawal. This is where it's time to explain some of the game's more omnipresent mechanics.

The first thing to note is that in every level, Indy can find a map of his current location and note it in his journal. Pulling up the map is done in a more realistic fashion with Indy manually pulling the hand-drawn map in front of his face. It's handy for finding objectives, but be aware that because of the manner in which it's pulled up, the bottom part of the map is usually obstructed.

The other inventory item of interest is Indy's camera. Players find the camera sometime after the Vatican stage and mostly use it in open areas like Gizeh. Taking pictures of specific sites gains intel, but also functions as an ongoing side mission with players gaining Adventure Points for every photography task completed. A camera icon will pop up on-screen whenever a picture needs to be taken. Adventure Points collected through tasks like picture-taking can be used towards new abilities, which are found throughout the world by collecting scattered Adventure Books.

With all of this said, Bethesda and MachineGames are largely aiming to convey the spirit of an Indiana Jones movie. The hand-to-hand brawls are an element of that. The Lucky Hat ability, unlocked with Adventure Points, is executed with a cinematic flourish. And, naturally, the cutscenes are executed in a way that emulates the films. Upon finding Dame Nawal, for example, players learn about what central villain Emerick Voss' is seeking out in Gizeh. As they're provided this valuable exposition, Indy can be seen in the background trying to feed Nawal's pet snake. Those who have seen an Indiana Jones movie can probably envision just how this scene plays out.

Another component of an Indiana Jones adventure is the occasional need for a cunning disguise. To help breach the nearby encampments, Indy can shroud his identity at a designated disguise station. Posing as a native worker, Indy can enter the encampment without drawing hostility, but players still need to be careful. Doing anything out of the ordinary can raise enemy suspicion and they'll eventually see through Indy's ruse.

There is one thing about The Great Circle that is uniquely suited to video games. While a movie will have Indy focused on the main plot, a game allows him to split his focus. Multiple opportunities for side missions (called Fieldwork) arise and allow for Indy to search for other rare artifacts, mythical phenomena, or anything else that might belong in a museum. These will sometimes consist of involved searches that span multiple stages or they'll be smaller treasures that can be found off the beaten path. These will also have their own distinct puzzles and lateral thinking sections, with one example containing a wall that needed to be breached with a nearby sledgehammer and a moss-covered door that could be burned down with a lighter purchased from one of the merchants in the Gizeh town square.

Lastly, it's not Indiana Jones without his whip. The whip can be used to stun foes, but it's mainly used for traversal. Players can latch onto parts of the environment and pull themselves up or swing across. It's crucial in areas like the aforementioned hidden area where Dr. Jones needs to swing across a dangerous bed of spikes while also carefully aiming for a puzzle switch one level below him. While this sounds simple, there is a stamina system in place and (surprisingly, considering how often he's on the run) Indy doesn't have a lot of it.

Bethesda and MachineGames have done intense research in hopes of recreating the 1937 time period, but they've also been working hard to make this feel like an authentic Indiana Jones adventure. Whether this is a tale that can stand alongside classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark or a disappointment on par with... well... this, remains to be seen. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will come to PC and Xbox Series X|S on December 9. PlayStation 5 owners can pick up that version in Spring 2025.

This preview is based on an early demo played on PC at a private press event held in Los Angeles, CA. The final product is subject to change.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?