Whip it good.
After wrapping credits on The Great Circle, I had to simply admire the dedication MachineGames had in crafting such an authentic Indiana Jones experience. I also thought about how challenging it must have been to achieve such a nearly flawless adaptation of its source material while also ensuring that this adventure felt entirely new. And while many of its elements contribute to what makes it an incredible experience, a lot has to be said about Troy Baker’s impeccable performance as Indiana Jones.
It's not often that a voice actor has to step into the role of such an iconic character, especially when you're looking to adapt what their voice sounded like nearly 40 years ago. Some actors can certainly pull off an impression, but few can carry the voice to the lengths that Baker does here. I certainly suggest watching interviews with Troy Baker about the casting process as it’s quite the story, but even as Todd Howard was apprehensive about having Troy in his game, the blind tests saw each focus group pick Troy’s performance every time. While this meant good things for the game, as well as allowing Baker to step into the lead role, it also came with a huge responsibility to honor the legacy of this beloved character.
From the smallest grunt to the vocal admiration of history the character is known for, Troy Baker expertly pulls off the voice of Indiana Jones with almost no wavering in the performance. I would honestly believe that if you showed this game to someone unaware of who was voicing Indiana Jones, that their first instinct would be that of Harrison Ford. Troy not only pulls off the voice but pulls it off based on what Harrison Ford sounded like as Indiana Jones some 40 years ago. And given that the game starts with a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, it allows you to hear the same lines and compare the two; to shockingly good results.
MachineGames is no stranger to building an experience around killing Nazis, so tasking them with crafting an Indiana Jones game felt like a no-brainer. However, making an Indiana Jones game and making it feel like Indiana Jones is a whole other matter in itself. While playing the theme can do a lot of the heavy lifting, the entire game feels so perfectly tuned to how an Indiana Jones movie feels and how it is filmed. They even brought in a Director of Photography during the motion capture process to capture the proper framing, attempting to match the vision of Douglas Slocombe, the cinematographer of the original trilogy. Troy Baker has mentioned in interviews that he hopes this becomes the industry standard. Given how it affected the performances and framing of the action, I hope it will.
Set a year before the events of The Last Crusade, my favorite in the trilogy, we catch up with Indiana some short time after he brought back a mummified cat from a Siwa expedition. However, as an intruder breaks into Marshall College in the middle of the night and takes the artifact, Indiana Jones must not only track it back down but discover the reason for the break-in in the process. In typical fashion to the films, the slow opening few hours starts the world-building of the journey as well as finding its cast and then setting the pieces in motion to allow for those big moments to really stand out; and boy do they ever. In fact, I would put some of these set pieces alongside Uncharted’s best, especially the scene that has you leaving the Himalayas.
Indiana Jones has had some memorable villains and characters throughout the films, and The Great Circle continues that tradition. Early on, we meet Gina, a woman dead set on tracking down her sister. Gina is delightful and driven, often leaving Indiana Jones in the rearview to catch up. The two have remarkable chemistry, and Gina is present with Jones for a large chunk of the game, playing off his dialogue as the two playfully banter between themselves. Gina may give off a few too many hints for some of the puzzles, but having a second character there to aid in manipulating the solutions, it helps make the puzzles seem bigger than just what the perspective offers in first person.
As Gina’s path crosses with Indiana’s mission to discover the truth behind the robbery, the two get caught up in the path of another; Emmerich Voss, a Nazi archaeologist for the Third Reich Special Antiquities Collection. Emmerich is as over the top as you want, but also a man devoted to his ideals. What helps is the strong performance and the almost goofy side of the character, making him feel more realized as a person, especially as the villain. While the game does have some predictable moments due to how the films usually play out, Voss was always entertaining to watch from beginning to end.
While several secondary characters are truly wonderful, such as Father Antonio, and Nawal Shafiq-Barclay, I have to give props to Tony Todd, as this game marks his final appearance. At first, I assumed he would play a forgettable villain, given his introduction in the game’s opening hour, but the way in which his character is used throughout the story, really made me happy with the direction they took him. All in all, this is an incredible cast with performances that fit perfectly in-line with what you would expect from an Indiana Jones movie around the era of The Last Crusade.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle takes us all over the world as Indiana Jones attempts to stop Voss from enacting his plan. While we start the adventure in South America and then right to Marshall College, the journey of the story takes us to the Vatican, Gizeh, The Himalayas, and beyond, giving us the absolutely memorable sequence of seeing that red line dart all over the globe. The largest areas present in the game are the Vatican, and Gizeh, two areas that are built to world-build allowing you to grasp the controls, the use of the whip, and meeting the cast of characters. These areas are also plentiful with side quests, collectibles, and even secret fight clubs, should you find the outfit to sneak you in. In fact, outfits play a huge role here as you’ll use them to infiltrate areas that Indiana Jones cannot freely explore. Wearing the outfits reminded me of the scene in Last Crusade where Indiana Jones, sneaking away with a book, stumbles into Adolf Hitler, causing him to grab the book, sign it, and then hand it back over.
Exploration and discovery are a major focus here, fitting for an archeologist. You’ll find hidden relics and documents, which fill out the world MachineGames has crafted. You’ll also purchase a camera that aids in fleshing out more of the world and contributes to providing hints at puzzles should you get stuck. Each discovery grants you adventure points that you spend upgrading skills throughout the adventure books you’ll find. These books are hidden around each location and contribute to building up Indiana Jones to be a stronger fighter or other upgrades to provide more depth to combat and survival. From allowing your melee weapons to deal more damage on their final hit, adding a boost to your stamina recovery speed, or simply increasing your health, these books come in handy and are worth seeking out.
Building up your combat skills will help as you slug your way through countless Nazis, punching or using an arrangement of melee weapons. From hammers, mallets, spades, to guitars and even a fly swatter, each comes with a unique animation as you perform it quietly behind them. Guns also come into play with pistols, machine guns, and more, each with their own melee attack as you use the gun as a brute force weapon. Weapons in all forms have their own ammo of their own, either in the form of bullets or the damage meter before the weapon breaks. While there are repair kits, you are rarely without something provided to you. Larger weapons like shovels and sledgehammers can be used to break down damaged walls, perfect for old tombs that need a bit of fresh air.
Regardless of the weapon, or even your own bare fists, combat feels purposeful and hard-hitting. Whether it is the stealth strike attack or winding up a punch, everything that contributes to combat works extremely well here. Using your whip to disarm a Nazi and then pushing in for a few punch attacks, only to grab a pipe or hammer and then finish them off is awesome and honestly reminds me of several of the brawls that Indiana Jones would have in the films. It’s incredible and had me seeking out battles instead of relying on the more stealth-focused nature of some of the level design.
Your whip is a multi-purpose tool as well. From lashing out at Nazis to pulling the gun from their hands, you'll also use it to ascend or rappel up to out-of-reach areas or swing across gaps and chasms. While it is unclear if the popularity of Zorro led to Lucas giving the character a whip, it's actually become one of the most recognizable traits of the character and likely making Indiana Jones the character best known for the weapon. The use of whip here is present across all aspects of the game. From exploration to combat, to causing dogs to run away, the whip is as essential as anything you'll utilize for combat.
Part of what makes this a great experience is the clever puzzles that you'll encounter. In fact, it's quite possible to miss some areas entirely, with some more intricate puzzles a lot harder to find. Regardless, there are several that are part of the main story. From rotating relics to tilting reflective panels to shining a light to key locations, many of these are simple, often elegant, and provide just enough design to make you feel satisfied at figuring it out. This rings true for the chests that are locked by codes where the clues are nearby. What I appreciate in the options menu as well is the ability to simplify the puzzles if you are finding them too hard. There is a puzzle later on that requires that you instruct several people to step on specific stones. On easy, most of the group will automatically move to their respective spots, allowing you to only need to move a lesser amount of people.
From Gizeh to the Himalayas, the environments serve the gameplay extremely well. Whether it is rowing a boat through the jungles of Sukhothai, or even exploring the infamous Marshall College, each location has something to offer, explore, and engage with the story. There are countless secrets to discover, including a series of relics that lead to a puzzle that while enjoyable to solve, the reward was extremely lacking. Regardless, these environments are stunning, showcasing the impressive tech behind the custom id Tech 7 engine renamed to Motor. Each location is dripping with detail and whether it is lighting a torch to explore a lost tomb filled with scorpions, or even just infiltrating a Nazi camp and killing every last one of the bastards, you'll easily find reasons to go off the beaten path and find things to discover.
Ever since its reveal, a lot of the discussion around The Great Circle was the fact it was going to be a first-person game during gameplay and a third-person experience during cutscenes and traversal. Honestly, MachineGames is a master at providing thrilling first-person shooters as well as having a history with many of the team being involved with The Chronicles of Riddick; Escape from Butcher Bay, making it ideal for them to handle bouth view points during the story. This perspective also shifts away from simply being a copy of the Uncharted and Tomb Raider games and feels more linked to games like Thief, Dishonored, and of course, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Franky, the perspective works, and has flawless transitions between the different perspectives.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a stunning example of a licensed game that absolutely nails the source material. From incredible performances to jaw-dropping visuals, MachineGames clearly built this game with passion and respect for the franchise's legacy. While Troy Baker may have been at the bottom of the list to take over the role, his performance is honestly stunning and does a lot to immerse you into this beloved world. This isn't just the best Indiana Jones game, it's one of the best licensed games ever made.
Developer - MachineGames. Publisher - Bethesda Softworks, Microsoft. Released - December 9th, 2024. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, Windows. Rated - (T) Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was downloaded and played on Xbox Game Pass.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.