The Great Circle takes players on an exciting, new, Indiana Jones adventure

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle opens with what might just be the best piece of film nostalgia in any video game, ever.

At first, everything felt familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Then — bam! I realised what was happening… I was reliving the iconic opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I wasn't just playing Indiana Jones — I was Indiana Jones.

MachineGames nailed the brief here. This is the Indy game we've all been waiting for.

Playing as Indy

You play in first person, which took me a bit to get used to. But it's as if you're really stepping into Indy's shoes — or hat. Cutscenes, climbing, and swinging with the whip switch to third person, giving you those epic, cinematic Indy moments.

Troy Baker, who plays Joel in The Last of Us, is an exceptional Indiana Jones and I hope we see more of his Indy in the future. He nails Harrison Ford's voice and mannerisms; I was completely immersed.

Combat

Combat is a blast. Weapons break (though you can repair them), but there's always something lying around to smack down a Nazi. Rifles, machine guns, or you could just use Indiana's trusty whip — it's all at your disposal.

I pushed a Nazi off high scaffolding into the dig site below, then restarted back to my last checkpoint just so I could do it all over again.

Fistfights take a bit of strategy, with blocks and dodges to manage, but they're satisfying once you get the hang of it. As I said in my preview, there's nothing more satisfying than punching a Nazi.

And yes, there are dogs — both Nazi attack dogs and wild ones in the desert. You can't kill them, but you can scare them off, which I think a lot of dog lovers will appreciate.

A World Full of Adventure

Indiana visits some incredible locations in The Great Circle. The pyramids of Egypt, The Vatican, the Himalayas — just to name a few.

Gizeh (or Giza) is massive, with plenty to explore, and eventually, you'll unlock fast travel by finding signs near camps or villages.

As you progress, you're still able to revisit areas you've already explored, especially to grab collectibles or check out spots you couldn't reach before. Some areas require special gear — like Indy's lighter or the rebreather — to fully explore.

There are so many items to find, puzzles to solve, and abilities to unlock. if you like ticking boxes and collecting, you'll love The Great Circle.

Each location is unique and absolutely stunning, filled with lore-like fictional letters from Adolf Hitler and pieces of history that add depth to the world.

Traversal

You can jump, climb, swing, slide, swim, and shimmy as Indiana Jones, which is as fun as it sounds… when it works.

Traversal can be a bit clunky. More than once, what should have been a smooth Indy moment ended in me plummeting to my doom.

Also, Indiana basically has an extendo-whip. How this whip does the things it does is between Lucasfilm Games and Todd Howard… But physics aside, it's still a good time.

Puzzling Puzzles

The puzzles are varied and creative, from reflective light puzzles to pressure plates and cracking Nazi supply chests. Indy's camera is a great tool — you can snap a pic of a puzzle for hints, and honestly, it just feels very Indiana Jones.

Many puzzle's rely on Indiana's journal to piece things together, referring back to letters you may have picked up along the way.

Iconic Soundtrack

The music is as classic as ever.

John Williams' Raiders March is the centrepiece, and it still gives me chills. I even found myself replaying the soundtrack while writing this review.

Performance

I reviewed the game on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 TI 8GB graphics card (with thanks to Allied Gaming).

Despite some CPU issues early on, I overcame them and had the gaming looking spectacular at high frame rate and high graphical settings. DLSS on balance setting.

I also tested the game briefly on Xbox Series X which also ran exceptionally well.

Should you buy Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels less like a video game and more like stepping into a classic Indiana Jones film — adventurous, nostalgic, and unforgettable. Despite some clunky traversal and AI quirks, it still delivers everything you'd hope for.

The Great Circle is now available in early access, it's officially launching on PC and Xbox Series X|S on December 9th. Will I play it again when it hits PlayStation 5 in Spring 2025? You can bet your life on it.

9News.com.au was supplied with an early copy of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for the purpose of this article.

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