Indiana Jones and the Great Circle PS5 Review – Belongs in a Museum

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The current gaming landscape can often leave one with a jaded perspective. With rising prices, microtransactions, ongoing live services, and more, even a seemingly straightforward action-adventure game set in the universe of Indiana Jones might raise eyebrows. Given the recent struggles of the film series, these doubts are understandable. To make matters worse, MachineGames’ previous release, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, didn’t meet expectations. This growing cynicism is hard to ignore.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn’t merely show MachineGames and Bethesda understanding what makes the franchise and its legendary protagonist unique; instead, it stands out as an exceptional action-adventure game in its own right. By skillfully integrating the genre with hints of immersive sim elements and a cinematic presentation that is both detailed and natural, it checks all the necessary boxes. Here’s a rundown of its key features:

1. It successfully captures the essence of the Indiana Jones franchise and brings the iconic hero to life in a video game format.
2. The action-adventure gameplay is smooth and engaging, making it enjoyable for players.
3. It incorporates light immersive sim elements, adding depth and variety to the gameplay experience.
4. The cinematic presentation of the game is meticulously crafted and organic, creating an immersive atmosphere that feels like a movie come to life.

The opening scene, skillfully echoing the style of ‘Raiders,’ manages to be both respectful and free from excessive nostalgia or kitschiness. It gives us a taste of what’s ahead: stunning landscapes, vivid lighting, intricate shadows, and a smooth and steady frame rate.

The characters are charismatic, with Troy Baker doing an exceptional job as Indiana Jones, capturing Harrison Ford’s smarmy yet endearing charm remarkably well (and delivering one of the most realistic portrayals of a character conversing with themselves in quite some time). Furthermore, the game maintains a smooth flow regardless of whether you’re fighting off Nazi soldiers or exploring a dark tomb, allowing for careful examination and documentation of your surroundings to find the optimal solution. In short, both boxes are ticked.

Exceptionally intuitive controls, ensuring each move – whether it’s a step or a punch – feels authentic (eliminating any doubts about transitioning between third and first-person perspectives)? An interface that elevates basic functions like opening the map or reading Indy’s journal into an engaging experience, enhancing your bond with the character and the environment.

Offers remarkable environmental design, featuring engaging side missions, enigmas, items to gather, and brain-teasing puzzles for when you’re not uncovering breathtaking secrets. The music is exceptional, evoking an undeniable sense of adventure reminiscent of Indiana Jones, despite the absence of John Williams’ iconic theme (which is delightfully included, by all means). Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Without a doubt, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game is highly acclaimed – the overwhelmingly positive feedback from critics is hardly surprising. It masterfully recreates the captivating cinematic experience of the classic films while creatively turning elements like combat, exploration, puzzle-solving, and platforming into engaging gameplay mechanics. The main curiosity lies in how well it runs on PlayStation 5. Remarkably, its performance is seamless.

Right from the start, “the Great Circle” stands out as a visually stunning game. The Prologue, which tastefully echoes “Raiders” without veering into excessive nostalgia or campiness, gives a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come in terms of lush landscapes, vivid lighting, intricate shadows, and consistent performance. It’s hard to imagine that future settings could boast any more detail, whether it’s in character animations, ambient chatter from NPCs, or the sight of small creatures darting about in deserted catacombs.

While it’s not guaranteed that you won’t enjoy “The Great Circle” if you’re fond of “Uncharted“, keep in mind that despite some shared elements, the gameplay and structure are significantly distinct from one another.

MachineGames continuously enhances the game with advanced ray-traced ambient occlusion, making the impact on surroundings and characters more vivid. This is evident not only in the gameplay but also in the beautifully animated cutscenes where characters’ body language, facial expressions, and even eye movements are realistically portrayed. Remarkably, despite these improvements, the overall experience remains balanced, though some dark areas required adjusting the HDR brightness for better visibility, particularly when no torch was available.

The stunning visuals are mostly impressive, but there can be occasional minor issues such as pop-in effects, noticeable primarily in the shadows and textures while moving around. Given the abundance of details and the game’s smooth performance, these occurrences are relatively infrequent and usually not too distracting. Therefore, I find myself able to overlook them quite easily.

For those who play on PlayStation, the game that most readily comes to mind when thinking of “The Great Circle” is probably “Uncharted”. The protagonist, Nathan Drake, has often been likened to Indiana Jones since his debut. This seems like it would be a perfect match for long-time fans, but it’s crucial to remember their key differences, particularly in terms of the style of action.

In contrast to Drake’s frequent confrontations involving gunfire, The Great Circle generally advocates stealth and using firearms sparingly due to the scarcity of ammunition. Solving puzzles is more diverse here as taking photos of clues is just as crucial as activating levers or switches with your whip. Notably, photography plays a significant role in accumulating Adventure Points, which can be used to enhance abilities.

While it’s not guaranteed that you’ll enjoy “the Great Circle” if you’re an Uncharted fan, despite the resemblances in themes, the gameplay and structure are distinctly different. I’d still recommend giving it a try, even if you haven’t seen any of the Indiana Jones movies. Rest assured, there’s plenty of thrilling action sequences to rival Drake’s adventures.

In a more straightforward and conversational manner, you could say: “The gunfights are well-executed, and while I might be tempted to ignore the whip in favor of jumping straight into action and swinging wildly, there’s something raw and enjoyable about its use.

Regarding its less effective aspects, the close-quarter fighting could use some improvement. After mastering the timing of blocks and counterattacks, maneuvers like dodging, shoving, and delivering powerful punches become more instinctive. The occasional enemy dodge during a fight adds authenticity to the brawl, as does using nearby objects to smash them repeatedly until they shatter.

Nevertheless, it often turns into rapid button pressing, and in Adventure mode, it seems overly simple to defeat a band of adversaries. Except when you’ve unwittingly drawn the attention of an entire complex by ziplining down and tipping off two dozen enemies about your presence (which I might have done unintentionally).

Despite all the discussion, the authentic sensation of battle is outstanding, with punches packing a real punch. Surprisingly, even after numerous fights, knocking out an opponent with a powerful hook and observing their consciousness fade as they staggeringly collapse to the ground never grows dull. The gunplay is spot-on, too, and while I might overlook the whip in favor of diving into the action and going for broke, it feels visceral and enjoyable to wield excessively.

As a gaming enthusiast, I truly appreciate the stealth element in this game, whether it’s about exploring various paths, strategically distracting patrols with thrown objects, or using an array of items to knock out foes. However, I find the AI to be slightly too lenient at times, which can sometimes break the immersion. I guess this is part of the Normal Mode experience, but it’s a bit jarring when I successfully eliminate an enemy and his companion seems oblivious or slow to react, taking his time to realize something’s amiss. Still, they show enough enthusiasm once they do get alerted, which is a plus.

In the world of entertainment, adventure goes by various names, yet when it comes to action-adventure series, none surpasses “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” and even exceeds expectations.

Despite some minor issues, this game offers an exceptional action-adventure experience – one that’s certainly welcome but not entirely uncommon. Adapting a popular property into a great video game is no longer unusual, but it still feels surprising in today’s gaming landscape. Nevertheless, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle manages to stand out by providing a truly remarkable yet strangely familiar journey.

Experience a feeling reminiscent of greeting an old friend after a long absence, rediscovering what made them special yet seeing it in a refreshed perspective. MachineGames has done an exceptional job encapsulating and adapting the heart of Indiana Jones to such a high degree that it deserves recognition. In the realm of action-adventure games, there’s hardly any title that can match the greatness of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, not just meeting expectations, but surpassing them.

This game was reviewed on PS5.

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2025-04-14 17:12