Though 2024 wasn’t quite as stacked of a year as 2023 was, there have nonetheless been plenty of major and excellent new releases throughout the year- and arguably one of the biggest ones is still ahead of us. Right before the year comes to a close, MachineGames, Bethesda, and Microsoft will finally be delivering Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and it would by no means be an exaggeration to call it one of 2024’s most prominent releases. From the IP name that it carries to the studio that is making the game to how promising the game itself has looked, there’s plenty of reasons for that.
Let’s start with the fact that this is MachineGames’ first release in seven years- or first major release, at least. Sure, we got Wolfenstein: Youngblood in 2019, but a) that was a standalone entry rather than a mainline sequel, b) it was co-developed by Arkane Lyon, and c) well, it wasn’t very good, so… let’s not talk about it, maybe? You’d have to go back to Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus in 2017 for MachineGames’ last flagship release, so naturally, fans of the studio’s work are excited to finally be getting a new flagship release from the team again. We obviously cannot ignore the fact that many had hoped we’d be getting Wolfenstein 3, but that’s a different conversation. The crux of the matter is that MachineGames is finally ready to release another major game.
It’s much needed, too, because 2024 has once again been a somewhat spotty year for Xbox, as far as first party releases are concerned. Hellblade 2 ended up disappointing a fair few people, Ara: History Untold and Towerborne’s early access version are both PC exclusive for now and feel like they sort of just came and went, and even Starfield: Shattered Space – an expansion, not a full new release – did not enjoy the best critical reception, mildly put. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, however, is looking like it may just end up helping Xbox end 2024 on a strong note as far as exclusives are concerned, especially when paired with something like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, which is also launching imminently.
Of course, none of this would mean much if the game itself wasn’t taking promising shape, though thankfully enough, there is plenty that Bethesda has shown of the Indy game so far, and it’s fair to say that things are looking good. For Indiana Jones fans in particular, The Great Circle may just end up being the classic globe-trotting follow up to the original movies that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny failed to be.
Of course, Harrison Ford himself isn’t starring in the game, so you wouldn’t be blamed for being skeptical about how much like Indy it is really even going to feel. The thing is, however, that based on all that we have seen of the game and based on what hands on impressions have suggested, prolific actor Troy Baker seems to be doing a great job of emulating Ford’s performance as the wisecracking archaeologist in the game.
From the one liners and the mannerisms to the game’s general tone and sense of humour, it feels like it is going to be that authentic Indy adventure that many have been craving for so long. Bethesda bigwig Todd Howard, who also happens to be a lifelong Indiana Jones fan, is behind The Great Circle’s story and has also served as its executive producer, so there’s definitely so big name star power attached to the game, and all of it seems to be single-mindedly focused on making it as true to the spirit of the IP as possible, which is definitely good news for fans.
From a gameplay perspective, meanwhile, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is making some intriguing promises. Take, for instance, the fact that it is very much not going to be a first person shooter, even though it is a first person game, and it will have guns that you’ll be able to shoot. MachineGames, however, is fully aware that this is Indiana Jones, not Wolfenstein, which means it will have to feel like the former.
The studio has stressed on several occasions that the game doesn’t encourage gunplay, and that players are instead very much encouraged to be creative in combat situations. There’s apparently going to be a big focus on stealth, while melee combat is also going to be a big focus. How the latter will shake out remains to be seen, because first person melee combat doesn’t always work well, but the idea of a slower paced game that emphasizes improvisation rather than aggressive run and gun strategies definitely feels like the right one for an Indiana Jones adaptation.
Outside of combat, meanwhile, he game’s immersive sim tendencies will apparently be even more highlighted, with open ended environments with plenty of room for exploration, social stealth mechanics, different options in how to tackle objectives, and more. A mix of linear and semi-open level design always sounds appealing, so our hope is that The Great Circle is going to be able to implement those ideas successfully.
But of course, as Professor Henry Jones Jr., you’re going to be focusing on solving archaeological and historical mysteries much more than you are on fighting goons and Nazis, which is another area where the game is taking interesting shape. According to its developers, the game is going to be so heavily focused on puzzles that the loop is almost going to feel like a classic point and click adventure game- which we’re frankly quite excited about, not only because that sounds like a great fit for an Indy game, but because the we’re curious to see what a first person action-adventure title with a heavy focus on adventure-style puzzles would even play like.
Clearly, it’s not going to be your typical Uncharted or Tomb Raider style action-driven experience, even though it does look like there’s going to be plenty of action offered throughout the game for those looking for it. Then again, Indiana Jones is the IP that inspired the creation of the likes of Uncharted and Tomb Raider, so it’s definitely a good thing that MachineGames’ adaptation of Indiana Jones is taking cues not from the things that Indiana Jones inspired, but from Indiana Jones itself.
It was back in January 2021 that it was announced that MachineGames was developing an Indiana Jones game, so the wait for it has certainly not been a short one, and now that the game is almost here, the excitement surrounding it is only continuing to build. MachineGames has an excellent track record as a developer, and interest in anything that it does is always going to be high.
That, combined with how good The Great Circle has looked in the lead-up to its launch, has ensured that there’s no shortage of eyes on the game as we count the days down to its release. Whether it lives up to its promise as a major new AAA release from a studio with a great track record remains to be seen – from the disastrous Redfall to the divisive Starfield to the tepidly received Hellblade 2, that hasn’t always been the case with first-party Xbox games in recent years – but what has been shown of the game so far certainly seems to warrant optimism.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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