Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 16/May 04:14

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Review

While we’ll always have a soft spot for the original Indiana Jones trilogy, this reviewer hasn’t exactly been keeping up with Indy’s adventures after the disappointment that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Apparently, we’d been missing out, because in 2024 a little game titled Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released to rave reviews on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. It was, of course, unfeasible that the original Switch could run a game of The Great Circle’s magnitude, but ports like Star Wars Outlaws have shown that its successor is capable of a lot more. The Great Circle has now made the jump to Switch 2, meaning Nintendo fans can finally catch up with Indiana Jones’ latest adventure. Story The opening scene of The Great Circle, which doubles as the game’s tutorial, lovingly recreates perhaps the most iconic Indiana Jones moment of all: the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. This quickly turns out to be a flashback, and the real adventure takes place one year later, in 1937. A Latin-speaking giant breaks into Marshall College and steals a cat mummy. A medallion left behind at the scene of the crime leads Indy to the Vatican, and from there, he finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue and mystery. The Pope has fallen mysteriously ill, and Father Ventura has all but taken over the rule of the Vatican. Ventura is in cahoots with Mussolini’s Blackshirts, allowing them to research the Nephilim Order, a covert group of giants tied to the Great Circle, a group of sacred religious sites that form a perfect circle across the world. The Great Circle is driven by cinematic storytelling and is filled with twists, turns and secrets, so we’ll refrain from giving away too many details, but rest assured that this is an adventure that feels very true to the spirit of the original trilogy. A second adventure, The Order of Giants, is available as separate DLC but this is wonderfully integrated into the main story, to the point that we accidentally stumbled upon it as we were playing through the main story. We didn’t realize we had started it until the title suddenly popped up when we entered the relevant building. Graphics We’re specifically looking at the Switch 2 version of The Great Circle here, and that is an important distinction to make. We’ll be quite blunt: this specific port is inferior to the versions on other platforms in terms of visuals. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad-looking game by any means, mind you, but we can’t pretend those prettier versions don’t exist. That said, it’s still a small miracle that MachineGames managed to squeeze The Great Circle onto the Switch 2 and managed to maintain its essence so well, even if the textures aren’t as detailed and the game looks fuzzy in spots. It’s clear that performance was prioritized here, though, and the game runs remarkably smooth. There are occasional oddities, like the camera abruptly overcorrecting when Indy makes a leap, but overall visual performance is fantastic. We do recommend sticking with another platform if you prefer visual fidelity over portability, but if you want to play The Great Circle on the go, the port is more than adequate. Sound Compromises may have been made when it comes to The Great Circle’s visuals on Switch 2, but you’re getting the full experience when it comes to the game’s soundscape. Composer Gordy Haab channels his inner John Williams with a soundtrack that sounds appropriately cinematic. If you listen carefully, you can even hear bits of the iconic Raiders March sprinkled in as audio cues. The game also features full voice acting, with Troy Baker bringing his best Harrison Ford impression to the table. A particularly nice touch is that the characters speak in their native language: Blackshirts talk Italian and not English with an over-the-top accent. The game’s ambience stands out thanks to the very good use of spatial audio. If you can, play this one with either headphones or a surround system, as this makes things much more immersive. Gameplay A first-person action-adventure game that is very much narrative-driven, The Great Circle feels as if you’re playing through an actual Indiana Jones movie. Strictly speaking, this isn’t an open-world game, although it plays like one. Key locations, like Vatican City, act as their own “worlds”, and within the confines of each of these, you’re given quite a bit of freedom to follow not just the main quest but take on side objectives and collect secrets as well. The overarching story is still very much structured like a film. From the flashback tutorial scene up until Indy leaves the Vatican feels like the first act, for example, not in the least thanks to the plethora of cinematic cutscenes. The feeling of separate acts is emphasised by the game recommending you take care of any unfinished business, like open side quests, before moving on to the next location. You’re free to ignore that recommendation, but given how the game’s ability system works, it’s well worth it to take your time in each location and do as much as you can before you move on to the next. The way that ability system works is that you’ll find books that unlock new abilities scattered throughout various locations. Reading those books makes Indy more resilient in combat, for example, or allows him to carry more stuff in his inventory. You can’t just read a book whenever you find one, however, as you’ll need the appropriate amount of Action Points to do so. Action points can be earned through a plethora of things, from completing optional side quests to snapping photos of points of interest. You’ll find that you’re constantly looking for things, not just books and photo points, but notes, keys and other trinkets to help you on your quest. These often also offer the best way to solve puzzles, whether it’s the solution to cracking open a safe or more involved ones like the Serpent puzzle from The Order of Giants DLC, which sees you manipulate snake-headed bowls to guide water through them. The Great Circle is the kind of game that loves a good brain teaser more than it focuses on combat. Combat mechanics are fairly robust and see Indy make use of makeshift weapons like broom handles and bottles. Ultimately, though, Indy isn’t necessarily a fighting hero, and you’ll often find yourself trying to stealth your way past enemies rather than getting ganged up on. As a whole, The Great Circle hits all the right beats for what an Indiana Jones game should be, although it doesn’t entirely stick its landing. The game’s interface is very clunky, especially when it comes to dealing with Indy’s inventory. We often found ourselves accidentally using consumables or unable to switch from the camera to a weapon or even our fists. Not because of any glitches, but simply because of how unintuitive the inventory layout was. It’s also baffling that there is no mini-map. When you’re navigating, you’re instead constantly switching to the map in your inventory to see where to go next. It doesn’t help that backtracking is something that often happens, and with very limited fast travel, you’ll find yourself having to repeatedly climb the same walls and having to beat up the same guards. In the grand scheme of things, these are minor annoyances that you get used to, but they’re worth mentioning. The Great Circle isn’t a cheap game after all, coming in at €69.99 (and another €19.99 for that The Order of Giants DLC). Still, if you’re an Indy fan, then it’s well worth checking this one out, regardless if it’s on Switch 2 or on another platform. As a final thought, if you’re picking up The Great Circle on Switch 2, then physical is the way to go, as the full game, minus DLC, is on the cartridge, and otherwise, you’re looking at a download of a whopping 62 GB. Conclusion This one’s definitely better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Great Circle delivers a classic Indy adventure that sticks close to the spirit of the original trilogy. The Switch 2 version admittedly has to make a few visual compromises compared to other platforms, but the overall experience has survived unscathed. It’s quite frankly mind-blowing to see how well this game runs on the Switch 2, less than a year after the console’s release.