Uncharted wouldn’t exist if not for Indiana Jones, so the irony of the situation isn’t lost on us when we say how much most people assumed that an Indiana Jones game would like just be an Uncharted ripoff in more ways than one. After all, Uncharted nailed the globetrotting treasure hunting cinematic adventure formula ages ago, following which it was difficult to imagine a hypothetical Indiana Jones game attempting to do things any other way. After all, the fit was just too perfect.
MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is out now, and it’ll shock you how much it is not like Uncharted- and how much better it is for it. It delivers a spectacular swashbuckling adventure, and does it in a way that feels incredibly true to the spirit of the Indiana Jones IP (more so than even most of the movies themselves), but it does so by marching to the beat of its own drum, and in a way that feels completely different from what Naughty Dog did time and again with Uncharted. Here, we’re going to go over some of the key things that help it set itself apart.
FIRST-PERSON
Let’s start with the most obvious way MachineGames’ Indy title differs from the typical Uncharted experience. When it was announced that The Great Circle would be a primarily first person game, there were many who were unhappy about the decision. For most, the idea playing as Indiana Jones from a third person perspective seemed outlandish, though now that we’ve played the game, we can say that first person was absolutely the right way to go.
MachineGames obviously has expertise with first person games, which is evident in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The game delivers stellar first person gameplay across combat, stealth, and exploration, while its perspective also helps immerse players in the game’s world, and more importantly, in the role of Indiana Jones himself- a pivotal factor for a purported Indiana Jones simulator, as you might imagine. Best of all, the game also knows exactly when it shouldn’t stick to its first person perspective. In gameplay, there are some brief sections from time to time (usually related to platforming or traversal) where the camera pulls back and we see Indy himself, while all of the cutscenes (of which there is no shortage) are obviously not first person, which was pretty much exactly how MachineGames did things in the Wolfenstein games as well.
Long story short: against all odds, it turns out first person was actually the exact right choice for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
STEALTH-FOCUSED
It’s not like Uncharted has never done stealth – in fact, Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy feature heavy stealth elements – but while Naughty Dog’s series is primarily action driven and features stealth elements here and there (and not even those in the earlier entries), Indiana Jones is essentially a stealth-first game. It does that in more ways than one, delivering actual, conventional first-person stealth, with Indy sneaking past Nazis and fascists aplenty, knocking enemies out, distracting them, moving bodies, and what have you. On top of that, you also get a good deal of social stealth, which is where The Great Circle turns almost into a Hitman Lite-esque experience, with players equipping disguises and moving through heavily guarded areas while trying to ensure nobody sees past your ruse.
The stealth in MachineGames’ adventure outing is excellent, in a word. And of course, it also fits the Indiana Jones IP perfectly. Over the course of five movies, we’ve often seen Indy being stealthy in different ways, and the game captures that to great effect, feeling like an authentic Indiana Jones experience.
THE COMBAT
When you’re not stealthing around and choose to instead dive into conflict head-on, combat in The Great Circle also ends up being entirely different from Uncharted’s cover-shooting affairs- and not just because it’s a first person game. No, more important is the fact that this isn’t a shooter at all. Yes, you can shoot your guns, but ammo is limited, and shooting is pretty much never encouraged, which means you are going to be relying on melee combat more often than not.
Now, Uncharted has had sprinklings of melee combat to varying degrees across multiple instalments, but The Great Circle places a much greater emphasis on fisticuffs, and also does so in very different ways. Throwing punches, grabbing foes, dodging and parrying attacks is all important, while Indy’s whip also plays an important role, as a means of both disarming foes and pulling them to you. What really defines the combat, however, is the ability to pick up a vast variety of items scattered everywhere and use them as improvisational weapons- hammers, pipes, pickaxes, shovels, bottles, guitars, flyswatters, pans, you name it. Not only is it incredibly comedic and unadulterated fun, it’s also an entirely new and unique brand of combat- and once again, perfect for an Indiana Jones game.
SEMI-OPEN WORLD
No, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is not an open world game, and yes, it does have its fair share of linear, cinematic set piece sequences- but it’s also a much more open-ended and expansive game than any Uncharted. Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy did have their semi-open world sections, to be fair, but The Great Circle boasts multiple large maps that players are free to explore to their heart’s content, can return to whenever they want, and will find a shocking volume of content in.
But The Great Circle’s maps aren’t just large and packed with content, they’re also incredibly designed. Exploration feels organic, thanks to the game’s incredible, diegetic UI, especially if you play on Moderate Adventure difficulty. Chancing upon secrets, stumbling into side quests, and chancing upon mysteries never stops feeling compelling, while the quality of the content itself also deserves a ton of praise. Add to that the immersive sim-style design and elements scattered throughout the game, and you get an entirely unique flavour of a globetrotting adventure in a video game.
MORE PUZZLE-FOCUSED
Obviously, Uncharted has always had its fair share of puzzles, right from the beginning of the franchise, and it hasn’t been a slouch in that department either. Once again, however, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle places much more emphasis on puzzles. Where Uncharted is a primarily action driven experience, Indiana Jones focuses on the “adventure” in “action-adventure” way more. A lot of that comes from the exploration and the semi-open world design, which we’ve discussed, but a great deal also comes from the puzzles.
There’s a lot of puzzles to be found throughout the game, and it’s impressive how consistently well designed the vast majority of them are. Crafting satisfying brain teasers that don’t hold your hand but also don’t make you feel like banging your head against a wall can be a delicate act, but The Great Circle excels at making you feel like a genius archeology expert who has a knack for solving historical mysteries and puzzles. From small, bite-sized puzzles that you may chance upon while diving into the nooks and crannies of the world, to larger, more significant ones that serve as the centerpieces of major quests or side quests, there’s a vast variety of puzzles packed into the game, and it’s hard not look forward to each and every one.