Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Hands-On Preview: Whip it Good!

I was always a bit confused by the existence of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. As proven by the flop of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, there's not much hype for the dusty old archaeologist as their once was, and while Machine Games is a trusted hand, the need for an Indiana Jones game just doesn't feel as though it's there. Surely that's what Uncharted and Tomb Raider accomplished. However, when I stepped into the location for this hands-on preview, a historical landmark in London that had been transformed into Marshall College, it was hard not to get swept up in the adventure Machine Games was introducing us to.

After a buggy start that was admittedly caused by the PC I was playing on rather than anything to do with the game, I was off, setting on another world-faring rollercoaster of an adventure starring Indiana Jones. Well, a mostly decent impression of him from Troy Baker at least. After getting battered by Tony Todd, we set off from Marshall College to the Vatican, where we get a shorter, more linear mission before heading off to Giza. In total, I spent about two hours with the game.

Most of that sizeable chunk of time was spent crouched, exploring the secrets of the environments. As creative director Axel Torvenius told us during a presentation before the hands-on segment of the day, this game is adventure first, action second. Indy is not some Rambo-like figure, he can't go charging in against hordes of enemies. Instead, he uses his wits and his whip to avoid enemies or take them out when they're not expecting it. The stealth is part-Hitman, in that you can locate disguises, sabotage machines, and generally make life harder for the Nazis before you batter them over the head with a shovel, while also being part-Dishonored in the verticality of the level design, and the amount of options you're given in a level to complete your objective. It blends into a a fun mix that's enhanced by the campy, sometimes cartoonish violence.

As most of the combat in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is limited to your fists and the items you find littered on the ground (anything from a wrench to a guitar can be used for takedowns), you'll be pleased to know that close-quarters combat is simple, but effective. You have the ability to dodge and block, but it's often a quicker process in getting enemies down to just punch them in the head over and over, relishing in the thwack sound effect of each blow. In making the combat more wacky in its violence, in allowing you to send Nazis flying with a quick combo or have them become a flailing ragdoll with a shovel to the back of the head, it keeps that fun spirit of adventure alive in the game. If we'd strayed too far into realistic violence, it could risk ruining the fun that you expect from Indiana Jones, the light-heartedness that sets him apart. While I did find Indy's fists and the items left by various hardware litterbugs to be my primary weapons, the whip and revolver serve their purposes as well. Your whip is a distraction tool, used for stopping an enemy who has his rifle aimed right for your head, while the revolver is a sure-fire way to bring a permanent and loud end to any encounter. Gunplay is not the highlight here, as is to be expected, but you can still pick up rifles and tommy guns to go to town on your enemies if you wish.

As mentioned, you can use the whip in combat, but you can also use it to traverse the map. You can climb up, shimmy down, and swing using your whip to get around and reach new vantage points. Some of the whipping is a bit awkward, and finding the right angle or Indy realising you want him to climb can be a bit tricky, but for the most part it works as intended. There's not really much to say about whipping, or the traversal in general. Because of the open nature of the larger areas, there's more to explore and more chances to use the whip, but it creates less of a cinematic feel overall. The Giza map did feel a bit bloated at times, as while you can fast travel between certain points using signposts, they're few and far between, leading you to spend a lot of time on foot, going from one point of interest to the next. Points of interest and places that the game actually wants you to care about work well, and it's rewarding to figure out both the simpler and more difficult puzzles to unlock.

Each time you'll find something in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, whether it be a heap of cash stored by a Nazi officer, a letter from an individual of interest, or an artefact, you will gain Adventure Points. These are used to buy yourself upgrades, which come from books you also have to find on the map. From extra health regen to increased melee damage and unarmed takedowns, there are a lot of upgrades to give Indy in the game. I have mostly mixed thoughts on the Adventure Points system. Of course, exploration should be encouraged in an Indiana Jones game, but it can sometimes feel as if it slows what could be a cinematic pacing, if you want to go digging for upgrades. It's likely going to be a thing of personal preference, one I've not made my mind up on yet. The first-person perspective is also something I was quite unsure of at first. After playing with it, though, my mind is firmly at ease. It's not the best way to immerse yourself going on an adventure with Indy, in my opinion, but it is the best perspective for what Machine Games wishes to do with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, making the combat and stealth feel more immersive.

Overall, I'm still not quite sure who Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is for. I had a good time with it, and exploring was a lot of fun, but I think I need more of an idea on the whole experience before I could really recommend it or not. If there are only a few open spaces like Giza, and more tighter, linear levels like the Vatican, it could impress beyond expectations, but otherwise, the bloat may risk setting in.