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Review: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Can’t Escape the Movies

A first-person adventure set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle turns familiar movie atmosphere into exploration, puzzles, stealth, and combat—but its cinematic identity raises a question about player freedom.
Opened Runtime4 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is most compelling when it makes familiar movie-adventure grammar something you can inhabit: searching a space, reading a clue, and deciding how to move through danger. But its first-person view does not automatically make it a more open or self-directed adventure. The game’s identity is bound tightly to the films it evokes, and whether that feels like an exhilarating extension or a constraint depends on how much room its play gives you between the cinematic beats.

A new story between familiar films

Set in 1937, between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, the game follows Indy as he investigates a mystery connected to the Great Circle. It is not a direct adaptation of either film; it builds a new expedition inside the franchise’s established world. MachineGames developed it with Lucasfilm Games, with Todd Howard named as executive producer in Bethesda’s gameplay reveal.

That placement gives the game a useful creative boundary. It can draw on a recognizable period, hero, and adventure tradition without having to replay a film’s plot. Yet the appeal also depends on recognition: this is designed to feel unmistakably like Indiana Jones, not an unrelated archaeological adventure with a familiar name attached.

What the game asks you to do

This is a first-person, single-player action-adventure, not a conventional shooter. Official gameplay materials describe a mix of exploration, puzzles, stealth, gear, and combat. The Xbox Wire gameplay breakdown and Bethesda’s extended gameplay look lay out those ingredients.

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#1 Best Overall
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Standard Edition | XBOX Series X|S and Windows Digital Code
  • STANDARD EDITION CONTENT — Includes the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle base game.
  • BECOME INDIANA JONES — Play as the famed archaeologist in a first-person, single-player adventure set in 1937, between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade.
  • A WORLD OF MYSTERY — Travel from Marshall College to the Vatican, Egypt, and Sukhothai as you investigate an ancient power, meet intriguing characters, and solve riddles.
  • WHIP-CRACKING ACTION — Use Indy’s trademark whip to distract, disarm, and attack enemies, swing over patrols, and scale walls. Combine stealth, melee combat, and gunplay to face the enemy threat.
  • THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY — Move between linear, narrative-driven gameplay and open-area maps as you uncover secrets, avoid deadly traps, and solve fiendish puzzles.
  • Exploration: Search environments and investigate the mystery rather than simply moving from one action set piece to the next.
  • Puzzles: Use clues and observation to make archaeological problem-solving part of the adventure.
  • Stealth and combat: Navigate threats through concealment or confrontation, with gear contributing to how you approach situations.
  • First-person perspective: See the adventure from Indy’s position, a choice that makes discovery immediate but also keeps the experience close to a carefully staged cinematic viewpoint.

When the movie connection works

The film-like quality is not merely decoration. Indy’s appeal has always involved more than action: the sense of entering a dangerous place, noticing what others miss, and improvising when an expedition goes wrong. Exploration and puzzle-solving are a natural fit for that fantasy because they let the player participate in discovery instead of only watching it happen.

First person can strengthen that connection. Looking around a location and working through a puzzle can feel more personal than observing the hero do it from a distance. The franchise atmosphere gives those moments an immediate identity, while the 1937 setting places the new mystery between two well-known chapters without requiring the game to reproduce either one’s exact story.

Rank #2
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Standard - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]
  • YOU ARE INDIANA JONES – Live the adventure as Indy in a thrilling story full of exploration, immersive action, and intriguing puzzles. As the brilliant archaeologist – famed for his keen intellect, cunning resourcefulness, and trademark humo
  • A WORLD OF MYSTERY AWAITS – Travel from the halls of Marshall College to the heart of the Vatican, the pyramids of Egypt, the sunken temples of Sukhothai, and beyond. Forging new alliances and facing familiar enemies, you’ll engage with intriguing characters, use guile and wits to solve ancient riddles, and survive intense set-pieces.
  • WHIP-CRACKING ACTION – Indiana’s trademark whip remains at the heart of his gear and can be used to distract, disarm, and attack enemies. But the whip isn’t just a weapon, it’s Indy’s most valuable tool for navigating the environment.
  • THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY – Venture through a dynamic mix of linear, narrative-driven gameplay and open-area maps. Indulge your inner explorer and unearth a world of fascinating secrets, deadly traps and fiendish puzzles

Where imitation can become a limit

A cinematic adventure has to manage revelation, pacing, and spectacle; a game also has to make the player’s choices feel consequential. Those aims can pull against each other. If a scene’s timing and outcome are tightly controlled, first person may put you inside the image without giving you much influence over what happens. If stealth, combat, and exploration repeatedly resolve into the same kinds of encounters, the movie resemblance can start to feel like a template rather than a source of possibility.

Those are the right tests for the game’s central ambition, not assumptions that can be settled by its premise or promotional footage. A convincing verdict depends on how its actual sequences balance authored spectacle with meaningful decisions, and how often its puzzles and quieter investigation alter the rhythm of the adventure. The movie connection gives the game its strongest identity; it also sets the standard against which its freedom and variety should be judged.

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Is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle worth playing?

For players who want to inhabit an Indiana Jones adventure and enjoy exploration, puzzles, stealth, and action, the blend is an inviting proposition. Those looking for a game that breaks decisively from the films’ cinematic framing may find that the first-person perspective changes where they stand more than how the story is shaped. The game’s movie connection is both its defining pleasure and the question its play has to answer.

One dated independent perspective is TechRadar’s July 21, 2025 review, which assesses the PS5 Pro edition and praises its immersive, cinematic adventure qualities. That is one critic’s view of that version, not evidence of universal consensus or a performance verdict for every platform.

Platforms and versions

Platform availability has expanded since the original release announcements, so check the official store for your region and edition before buying. Bethesda’s release coverage lists Xbox Series X|S and PC, with Game Pass availability; the PlayStation Blog announcement dates the PS5 release to April 17, 2025, and describes PS5 features including 3D audio and HD rumble. Bethesda’s official game site currently also announces Nintendo Switch 2 availability. The PS5 Pro review cited above should not be treated as a test of other editions.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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