‘Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’ Early Hands-On Preview 

Warning: This article contains spoilers about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle™ 

We’re just over a month away from the release of “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark™  and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade™! As part of an early preview, I had the opportunity to play two and a half hours of the latest game from MachineGames which has been in development for the past few years in close collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. Players were given the option of playing on PC with an Xbox controller or mouse and keyboard. For this preview, I chose an Xbox controller.

To help set the foundation for the game’s story, as well as allow players at the preview to explore different aspects of the gameplay, we were able to play and explore three different locations during the demo: Marshall College, the sights of the Vatican and the Great Pyramids of Gizeh.

We begin with Professor Jones awoken by a break-in at Marshall College. Here is when you realize exploring every corner of the map uncovers new and exciting items that will eventually aid your progression throughout the game by earning Adventure Points that can be used to unlock and upgrade skills and abilities you will discover throughout your journey. I encourage players to take their time and appreciate the thought and details that went into every flyer on the bulletin boards, scraps of paper on office desks and relics safely stored away in their displays. When you do, you can uncover some fun lore and easter eggs to note in your journal. Fans of Indiana Jones will be treated to an easter egg early on in the game if you look in the right place.

After encountering the mysterious trespasser, we are thrown into our first puzzle to help determine what priceless relic has been stolen. If not for the number of great details I previously mentioned, the emphasis on being able to examine items and rooms up close to solve puzzles immediately made me understand why first-person POV was the best decision for the game. TIP: Listen and pay attention to character dialogue as it can offer some clues and hints to solving puzzles.  But before we set chase on another grand adventure, we regroup with Dr. Marcus Brody in Indy’s office to pack the essentials, including the iconic whip.

Our next mission is to meet up with a contact within the Vatican, but getting there requires stealth, traversing, and our first test at hand-to-hand combat.

Moving through towns, buildings and rooftops requires skill and patience as you make your way to your primary objective. Exploring and scavenging will be rewarded as you may come across items such as keys that can unlock a new path and rewards, as well as Adventure Books you can find that offer new abilities and skills you can unlock with your Adventure Points. 

Ultimately, it’s up to you if you want to distract, stun or sneak up behind an enemy and take them down with a nearby wine bottle. If you prefer a good fight, you can go toe-to-toe which can attract other nearby enemies and guard dogs. Yes – there is parrying in “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle”! The left and right triggers serve as your two fists for quick jabs and combos or you can long hold for a stronger punch. If successful in taking down an enemy, you may want to pick up and move them to a hidden area of the map so they are out of sight of nearby enemies that may be walking by and be alarmed.

What about the iconic whip? Just as important as Indy’s whip was in the films, the whip combat in “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” is a key tool with its own dedicated button and looks as real as the movies. During the playthrough, some of the gameplay functions include traversing obstacles by swinging, ziplining and/or climbing to your next point of interest, stunning or disarming enemies and even scaring off guard dogs hot on your trail.

Here, we get the game’s true sense of scale as this open map is BIG, full of details, characters and where most of us at the early preview spent our time. Yet, I feel like I barely scratched the surface with the options of routes, tunnels and restricted camps to explore and infiltrate. We also gained access to more abilities and versatile tools that will be introduced earlier in the campaign, including Indy’s camera where you can snap photos of landmarks, items and characters to reveal historical insights and important clues that earn you additional Adventure Points. You can also use your camera to receive puzzle hints as well.

We also meet Gina Lombardi, an Italian journalist with a quest of her own to find her sister. She helps us meet up with an ally who provides guidance and additional quests we can pursue, including helping to feed her pet (you guessed it) snake. This is where the humor we know and love from the films plays out in front of our eyes in a perfectly subtle way executed by the talented writers, along with the many lines of dialogue Indy has to offer during his encounters.

While I’ve never explored the ruins and tunnels of Gizeh personally, I’m sure it gets pretty dark and would be nearly impossible to find your way around without light. What’s true in reality also holds true in the game as we were encouraged by the MachineGames team to purchase a lighter in the local marketplace to help navigate our way through the various hidden dark tunnels and caves we might discover during our limited time. Boy did that come in handy when I stumbled upon a tomb and my next puzzle that had a distinct wall of bricks that could only be taken down using a nearby sledgehammer.

This was the first map where I had a chance to test out the shooting mechanics and learned player style preference and strategy is key. Let’s not forget, rarely in the Indiana Jones films do we see Indy use his revolver. This is why the iconic marketplace scene in “Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark” was brilliant and memorable. Indy’s wits, fists and whip are his most powerful weapons and MachineGames makes that a key difference compared to other action-adventure games. 

If you like to go in guns blazing, just know it will alert all nearby enemies as soon as you pull the trigger. Weapons I uncovered during my quest included a revolver, rifle and machine gun. While the gameplay felt great, I feel like stealth will be a key strategy for many areas of the map. Especially enemy-restricted bases where even your disguise, which you can acquire through discovery or meeting up with Gina as part of a side mission or “Field Work,” will not fool everyone.

Some additional items you can find across the maps are bandages to heal yourself, bullets for weapons and food items that can boost your stamina or buff your health meter. Just when you think you’re down and out, the best use of a self-revive ability that embodies the Indiana Jones character is the need to find and pick up your fedora before time runs out.

Troy Baker, who voices Indy in “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” has delivered an astounding performance of the famed archeologist. Paired with the beautiful screen-accurate character models, the cutscenes no longer feel like part of a game, but make you feel like you’re immersed in the world of Indiana Jones.

Composer Gordy Haab has returned to the Indiana Jones franchise to score the game’s soundtrack, who pulled inspiration from the film scores by the legendary composer, John Williams. One of the key characteristics of the film’s scores is the recognizable theme songs for its characters, delivered brilliantly at key moments. One of those moments at the start of the game nearly brought me to tears the first time I heard Marion’s Theme song which made me flashback to the last time we saw the two together at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and established in the new game where Indy and Marion’s relationship stands at this moment in the Indiana Jones timeline.

I’d like to thank MachineGames, Bethesda, and Lucasfilm Games for inviting us to preview “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.” Growing up watching the Indiana Jones films repeatedly on VHS tapes (shout out to those that still remember VHS) until they no longer worked and seeing Indiana Jones perform stunts live in front of my eyes at Walt Disney World, I dreamt about how cool it must be to travel internationally and search for hidden treasures that belong in a museum. Now, 35 years later, I feel like I can live that dream and play out my own Indiana Jones adventure thanks to the talented team behind “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.”

I can’t wait to continue the adventure this holiday season when “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” releases on December 9, 2024 for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and in Spring 2025 for PlayStation 5. Pre-orders are now open.