These
days
there
are
less
and
less
things
we
can
collectively
agree
upon,
it
seems.
Even
something
simple
like
which
way
toilet
paper
should
be
placed
on
the
holder
seems
to
generate
instant
division.
But
surely
the
one
thing
we
can
all
agree
upon
as
a
species
is
that
there
are
three
Indiana
Jones
movies,
right?
The
series
just
stopped
right
there.
Well,
until
now
that
is,
because
I’m
pleased
to
report
we
have
a
fourth
Indiana
Jones
movie
and
it’s
a
videogame
from
the
talented
folk
at
MachineGames.

They
could
have
played
to
their
greatest
strength
and
turned
Indiana
Jones
into
a
shooter,
and
while
that
would
have
really
gone
against
the
movies
it
would
make
perfect
sense;
Machine
Games
are
known
for
gunning
down
Nazis
in
brutally
spectacular
fashion,
after
all.
And
they
could
have
gone
down
the
boring,
obvious
route
of
making
a
set
piece
heavy,
balls-to-the-wall
action
game
in
the
same
vein
as
Uncharted
and
Tomb
Raider.
It
would
have
been
entirely
justified
–
Indiana
Jones
inspired
both
of
those
franchises.
Either
of
those
routes
would
have
been
understandable.

But
that
isn’t
what
Machine
Games
did.
This
isn’t
an
action-packed
adventure
romp
full
of
games
and
destruction.
It’s
a
slower,
more
immersive
experience
that
has
hints
of
Disohonored,
Prey
and
Ghostwire
Tokyo.
It
even
has
elements
of
The
Chronicles
of
Riddick:
Escape
from
Butcher’s
Bay,
because
as
you
might
know
the
creators
of
that
game,
Starbreeze
Studios,
went
on
to
found
MachineGames.
It’s
almost
like
an
immersive
sim
lite.
There
are
epic
set-pieces
sprinkled
throughout
and
even
the
occasional
shoot-out,
but
mostly
this
is
a
slower
game
that
focuses
on
stealth,
puzzle-solving
and
disguises.

The
opening
sequence
is
a
1-to-1
recreation
of
Raiders
of
the
Lost
Ark,
immediately
transporting
me
back
to
a
magical
time
when
I
first
watched
Indiana
running
from
a
massive
rolling
boulder.
But
I
admit
that
I
was
worried:
was
the
game
just
going
to
be
re-treading
the
first
movie?
As
iconic
as
the
boulder
scene
is,
it’s
not
quite
as
effective
when
you’re
playing
in
first-person
and
can’t
see
the
thing
you’re
running
from.
My
fears
were
unfounded
though,
as
this
sequence
was
just
Dr.
Jones
dreaming.
This
is
actually
a
wholly
new
adventure
that
fits
canonically
between
the
first
movie
and
The
Last
Crusde,
even
going
so
far
as
to
offer
a
little
more
insight
into
what
happened
to
Marion.
But
like
the
other
movies
it’s
also
a
standalone
adventure
that
can
be
enjoyed
without
much
prior
experience,
although
naturally
a
passion
for
the
films
will
drastically
increase
the
enjoyment
factor.

Indiana
is
back
teaching
students
when
an
impossibly
large
man
(played
by
the
late
Tony
Todd)
breaks
into
the
university
and
steals
an
artifact.
Having
unsuccessfully
gone
toe-to-toe
with
the
giant,
Indy
sets
out
to
retrieve
the
relic,
dragging
him
into
a
globe-trotting
adventure
that
pits
him
against
Voss,
a
Nazi
archaeologist
hellbent
on
acquiring
the
power
of
The
Great
Circle.
But
he
does
have
an
ally
in
the
form
of
Gina,
an
intrepid
journalist
searching
for
her
lost
sister.

Easily
the
most
impressive
aspect
of
The
Great
Circle
is
how
seamlessly
it
taps
into
the
Indiana
Jones
vibe,
telling
an
entertaining
romp
that
feels
like
it
was
ripped
straight
out
of
a
forgotten
Indiana
Jones
movie.
There
are
heaps
of
lavish
cutscenes,
including
in
all
of
the
side-content,
that
capture
the
framing
of
the
movies
along
with
the
often
slapstick
style
of
comedy.
Seriously,
this
game
made
me
properly
laugh,
especially
a
fantastic
scene
early
on
involving
Indy
dressed
as
a
priest
having
to
listen
to
a
Nazi’s
confession
about
getting
his
mother-in-law
pregnant.
Sure,
it
doesn’t
always
manage
to
replicate
the
feel
of
the
films,
but
it
nails
it
far
more
often
than
not.

The
prolific
Troy
Baker
took
the
unenviable
task
of
donning
Indiana
Jones’
hat
and
whip,
and
with
it
the
choice
between
imitating
the
iconic
Harrison
Ford
or
giving
the
role
his
own
twist.
Baker
and
MachineGames
opted
for
imitation
and
I’m
glad
they
did
because
Baker
is
surprisingly
talented
at
capturing
Harrison
Ford’s
voice.
Perhaps
if
I
had
sat
down
and
watched
the
original
trilogy
right
before
picking
up
the
game
I
could
hear
a
more
pronounced
difference,
but
that
wasn’t
the
case.
I
can
hear
Troy’s
voice
in
certain
words,
but
for
the
most
part,
I
can
close
my
eye
and
believe
it’s
Harrison
Ford
reprising
the
role.

As
for
the
facial
modeling,
it’s
an
intriguing
mix
of
Harrison
Ford
and
Troy
Baker.
You
can
definitely
see
Baker’s
face,
but
it’s
mostly
Harrison
Ford.

Outside
of
Indy
the
supporting
cast
is
strong,
a
simple
but
memorable
bunch
who
come
and
go
throughout
the
adventure.
That
is,
aside
from
two:
Gina
serves
as
the
standard
love
interest
for
the
bulk
of
the
game
as
well
as
being
Indy’s
sidekick.
She
is
much
more
involved
than
Indy’s
lady
companions
though,
and
by
making
her
a
journalist
Machine
Games
ensure
she
can
contribute
to
the
adventure,
often
jumping
in
when
Indy’s
historical
knowledge
can’t
help
out.
It’s
just
a
shame
that
because
the
game
takes
place
in
the
middle
of
the
movies
we
already
know
she
doesn’t
stick
around.
And,
of
course,
we
also
know
Indy
isn’t
in
any
real
danger.

Without
a
doubt
though,
it’s
the
game’s
antagonist,
Emmerich
Voss,
who
proves
the
most
memorable
character
in
the
game
outside
of
Dr.
Jones.
Voss
is
the
Nazi
mirror
of
Jones
in
some
respects
but
also
plays
up
the
buffoonish,
over-the-top
qualities
of
the
Nazi’s
in
the
original
movies.
He’s
highly
intelligent
and
takes
an
almost
perverse
delight
in
mentally
bullying
the
idiotic
Nazi’s
that
surround
him.
He
clearly
holds
Indiana
Jones
in
deep
regard
and
seems
to
want
to
be
able
to
talk
to
the
man
archaeologist
to
archaeologist,
but
of
course
that’s
impossible.
The
dynamic
between
the
two
is
excellent,
and
Marios
Gavrilis brings
a
manic,
menacing
and
yet
goofy
energy
to
the
role.
This
might
be
MachineGames
best
villain
to
date,
which
is
saying
something
given
their
pedigree.

The
game
is
mostly
made
up
of
smaller
hub
worlds
like
the
Vatican
and
Gizeh,
each
an
open
environment
where
you
are
free
to
explore,
find
collectibles
and
tackle
optional
side-content.
Missions
which
don’t
involve
clambering
around
ancient
monuments
tend
to
feature
plenty
of
ways
to
reach
your
objective.
To
get
into
a
Nazi
holding
area,
for
example,
you
might
zipline
down
to
the
roof
and
sneak
in
through
an
open
window,
or
maybe
you’ll
find
a
gap
in
the
fence,
amble
through
and
then
slide
underneath
the
building
where
a
handy
hatch
will
lead
you
straight
to
your
objective.
It’s
not
quite
Dishonored
or
Hitman
in
terms
of
flexibility,
but
nonetheless
there’s
a
decent
amount
of
options
available
for
tackling
areas.
It
should
make
my
inevitable
second
playthrough
on
PlayStation
in
2025
more
enjoyable.

Or
you
could
go
for
a
disguise.
Sometimes
you’re
handed
one,
other
times
you
have
to
go
looking
for
it,
but
regardless
of
how
you
get
one
a
disguise
is
absurdly
powerful,
letting
you
sidle
into
areas
without
fear.
It’s
almost
too
strong,
because
avoiding
the
few
officers
who
can
see
through
the
disguise
is
pretty
easy.
I’m
glad
disguises
in
the
later
areas
at
least
take
some
effort
to
acquire,
because
otherwise
it’d
almost
feel
unfair
to
the
Nazis.
Almost.

Without
a
disguise
you’ll
be
doing
plenty
of
sneaking
around,
evading
patrolling
guards
and
performing
stealth
takedowns.
Indy
isn’t
capable
of
just
knocking
someone
out
though;
he
needs
an
item
to
clobber
them
with.
It’s
a
good
thing
the
levels
are
littered
with
hammers,
bottles,
broomsticks,
wrenches,
sticks
and
other
assorted
items
that
are
highly
effective
at
bonking
Nazi
skulls.
There
are
some
great
takedown
animations,
too.
That
said,
the
stealth
aspects
are
somewhat
let
down
by
the
stupidity
of
the
Nazis.
Yeah,
their
apparent
blindness
and
unwillingness
to
immediately
use
their
guns
kind
of
fits
into
the
Indiana
Jones
vibe
of
Nazis
being
clowns,
but
it
also
makes
the
stealth
weaker
than
it
could
have
been.
Still
fun,
just
not
as
good
as
possible.

The
other
type
of
gameplay
that
MachineGames
focuses
on
is
classic
Indiana
Jones
adventuring
across
and
through
ancient
ruins,
temples,
monuments
and
other
assorted
old
stuff
in
the
name
of
archealogy!
Or
grave
robbing,
if
you
prefer
to
think
of
it
that
way.
Point
is,
these
sections
are
more
linear,
making
fun
use
of
Indiana’s
iconic
whip
which
can
be
used
to
swing
from
the
scenery
and
clamber
up
walls.
Sadly,
you
can’t
just
use
it
wherever
you
want
like
Spider-Man
except
with
Harrison
Ford
under
the
mask
instead
of
Peter
Parker,
but
that
limitation
aside
it
feels
bloody
great.
And
the
noise
the
whip
makes
is
*chef’s
kiss*
fucking
fantastic.

Puzzle
solving
is
a
big
part
of
messing
around
in
tombs
because
apparently
ancient
civilizations
loved
nothing
more
than
ensuring
that
anyone
coming
for
a
visit
would
have
to
spend
30
minutes
figuring
out
an
elaborate
series
of
hints
and
mechanisms
just
to
get
to
the
bloody
bathroom.
What
impressed
me
here
is
that
almost
every
single
puzzle,
including
those
in
the
side-content,
feels
different
to
all
the
rest.
Yes,
there
are
general
concepts
that
are
repeated
like
identifying
symbols,
but
even
then
the
game
does
an
excellent
job
in
dressing
those
ideas
up
in
ways
that
make
them
seem
less
familiar.
And
who
doesn’t
like
a
puzzle
dressed
up
in
a
sexy
outfit,
eh?

Given
MachineGames
history
of
making
bombastic,
badass
Wolfenstein
games,
it
feels
like
a
ballsy
choice
to
make
guns
the
very
last
resort
in
The
Great
Circle.
A
lot
of
the
Nazi’s
you
clobber
wield
bang-sticks
of
varying
type,
but
ammo
is
limited
and
gunning
someone
down
usually
results
in
a
fascist
tidal
wave
heading
your
way.
Which
is
exactly
why
tapping
X
while
holding
a
gun
causes
Indy
to
flip
the
weapon
over
and
use
it
as
a
club
instead.

If
stealth
has
failed
and
unleashing
a
hail
of
bullets
isn’t
an
option,
you
can
also
always
put
up
your
dukes!
It
wouldn’t
be
an
Indiana
Jones
adventure
without
some
punch-ups
after
all.
You
can
block
incoming
strikes
and
hit
back
using
the
triggers,
or
shove
or
clinch
opponents.
There’s
no
much
to
the
fighting,
but
the
sound
effects
make
landing
a
punch
particularly
satisfying,
as
do
the
excellent
animations
of
Nazis
staggering
around
before
slowly
collapsing
to
the
ground.
It’s
a
little
detail
that
pays
homage
to
the
movies.

The
main
storyline
offers
up
a
thrilling
adventure
packed
full
of
fun
character
moments,
dramatic
revelations
and
plenty
of
scenes
where
Indiana
looks
thoughtfully
off
into
the
distance
before
stunned
realisation
washes
across
his
face
as
he
finally
pieces
something
important
together.
It
also
has
some
rather
cool
set
pieces,
including
a
fucking
mental
sequence
involving
a
battleship
and
a
mountain
that
morphs
into
a
quick
journey
to
Japan
so
that
Indy
can
hijack
a
plane
in
mid-air.
Does
that
sound
insane?
That’s
because
it
is.
But
it
also
fits
neatly
into
the
craziness
that
happens
in
Indy’s
adventures,
as
well
as
way
in
which
Dr.
Jones
pinballs
from
one
piece
of
serendipity
to
the
next.

But
let’s
not
forget
all
of
the
side
content.
There
are
plenty
of
smaller
mysteries
to
tackle,
but
the
meaty
stuff
comes
in
the
Field
Work.
These
missions
include
lavish
cutscenes
equal
to
anything
found
in
the
main
storyline,
as
well
as
chunky
sub-plots
which
expand
and
flesh
out
the
overarching
narrative.
In
fact,
some
of
this
stuff
is
so
important
it
feels
like
it
should
be
mandatory.
Like,
most
of
the
side-content
with
Gina
fleshes
out
her
character
so
much
that
without
it
she’s
wouldn’t
be
anywhere
near
as
compelling.
The
point
is,
the
optional
stuff
feels
like
it
has
had
just
as
much
time,
love
and
passion
poured
into
as
the
main
storyline.

Throughout
the
game,
you
earn
Adventure
Points
by
completing
quests,
solving
mysteries,
picking
up
relics
and
snapping
photos
of
interesting
subjects.
These
points
can
then
be
spent
on
purchasing
new
abilities
and
upgrades
for
Indy,
but
there’s
a
fun
catch:
the
skills
are
all
physical
books
that
have
to
be
discovered.
Some
are
placed
in
your
path
like
little
gifts
from
the
gods,
but
the
majority
are
hidden
away,
encouraging
you
to
wander
off
the
beaten
path.

Indiana
Jones
being
flawed
and
taking
hits
that
leave
him
out
of
breath,
dazed
and
stumbling
is
one
of
the
best
part’s
of
the
films.
He’s
imperfect
which
makes
him
a
far
more
relatable
character.
However,
this
is
one
area
in
which
I
wish
the
The
Great
Circle
hadn’t
replicated
the
movies,
because
the
game
is
most
certainly
flawed
in
one
key
area:
polish.
The
longer
I
played
the
more
technical
snafus
I
noticed,
ranging
from
button
presses
not
registering
to
characters
sliding
along
the
ground.
At
one
point
I
even
got
stuck
in
an
infinite
loop
where
I
had
fallen
to
my
death,
only
to
respawn
in
mid-air
and
die
again
until
I
manually
reloaded.
Most
of
the
glitches,
bugs
and
hiccups
were
small
and
sometimes
outright
funny,
but
that
doesn’t
excuse
the
fact
that
the
game
is
in
rougher
shape
than
Indy’s
jacket.
The
good
news
is
that
MachineGames
are
already
working
on
the
issues.

As
a
side-note,
I
did
review
this
game
on
the
Xbox
Series
S.
Unsurprisingly,
Microsoft’s
cheapest
console
isn’t
exactly
pushing
the
boundaries
when
it
comes
to
graphical
fidelity,
especially
compared
to
the
Xbox
Series
X
and
PC
versions
of
the
game
which
look
drop-dead
gorgeous.
The
Series
S
has
a
much
lower
resolution
and
blurrier
textures.
And
don’t
bother
downloading
the
optional
high
resolution
texture
pack
because
the
Series
S
can’t
use
it,
making
it
all
the
more
baffling
that
MachineGames
lets
Series
S
users
download
it
at
all.
That
said,
the
raw
performance
is
actually
solid.
The
game
runs
at
60fps
and
while
it
does
drop
on
occasion,
it
hits
the
target
most
of
the
time.
And
even
on
the
weaker
hardware,
the
game
still
looks
quite
good.
Just
keep
in
mind
that
the
images
adorning
this
review
are
the
official
ones
provided
by
Bethesda
Games
because
Xbox
likes
to
make
transferring
screenshots
needlessly
obtuse.

Quite
simply,
I
love
Indiana
Jones
and
The
Great
Circle.
It
is,
quite
possibly,
my
favourite
game
of
the
year
or
–
at
the
very
least
–
right
up
there.

However,
I
also
have
to
concede
that
it
isn’t
going
to
be
for
everyone.
The
slower,
more
methodical
pacing
and
the
emphasis
on
keeping
you
immersed
in
the
game
gives
The
Great
Circle
a
speed
that
might
bore
some
people,
especially
anyone
wanting
a
more
bombastic
adventure.
For
me
though,
the
pacing
was
exceIlent.
I
adored
the
slower
style
of
the
game,
the
sneaking
about,
the
fist-fights,
the
slow
exploration
of
massive
underground
structures
while
holding
aloft
a
burning
torch.
Forgive
the
horrible
cliche,
but
does
make
me
feel
like
Indiana
Jones
for
a
few
moments,
and
that
feeling
is
god
damn
awesome.
Indy
was
my
hero,
and
this
game
absolutely
nails
the
vibe
of
the
movies
on
almost
every
level.

But
it
does
have
flaws.
It’s
a
bit
rough
around
the
edges,
a
bit
clunky
in
some
of
its
execution
of
its
ideas
and
some
of
the
contrived
moments
go
from
capturing
the
tone
of
the
movies
to
being
a
little
much.

I
don’t
care
though.
I’m
having
too
much
fun.
And
my
excessive
use
of
the
whip
might
be
bordering
on
problematic.