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Playing through the opening of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is like realizing a childhood dream. Among the humid greenery of a familiar jungle backdrop, the unmistakable likeness of actor Alfred Molina welcomes me into a scene I've seen many times before. Accompanied by a telltale objective sitting on the left-hand side of the screen, a sudden realization hits me, and I'm practically beside myself. I keep chanting "no way… no way" with every step I take, because I know exactly what's coming next.
I'm about to re-live one of the most iconic movie sequences that I've long since committed to memory thanks to countless re-watches, only this time, I'm going to actually be in every scene and experience it first-hand as Indiana Jones himself. As a longtime fan, the introduction to MachineGames adventure is like the ultimate fantasy fulfilment, and I couldn't ask for a better way to be drawn into the role of the famous fedora-wearing archaeologist who made such a big impression on me in my younger years.
With so many RPGs consuming my attention, the PS5 launch of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at last gave me the perfect excuse I needed to carve out time for Indy's globe-trotting journey. The wait was worth it – in just the first few hours, I'm already convinced it's the stop-gap sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark that I didn't even know I wanted.
The Notebook
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: "The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"
As a kid, I was completely obsessed with Raiders of the Lost Ark. History was my favorite subject in school, and Indiana Jones had a lot to do with what I went on to study in my later years. The whip-cracking adventurer made archaeology and academia cool, and he became a bit of a childhood hero of mine because of it. Since I also grew up watching Time Team – a UK TV show that followed experts on archaeological digs uncovering ancient artifacts across England – I was pretty much set on pursuing it professionally right up until university (when a fateful choice made me completely switch gears).
But even if I never did go into the field myself, my love for Raiders has never left me, and becoming Indiana Jones in the Great Circle is bringing all my childhood aspirations and feelings back to the surface in the best way possible. Not only does MachineGames fully immerse you in Indiana's shoes in a quest framed around a missing artefact, a curious mystery, and plenty of ties to ancient history, but it also features meaningful nods to the characters and events of Raiders of the Lost Ark that make my heart swell.
In fact, the more I play, the more convinced I am that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the Raiders of the Lost Ark sequel I've always been yearning for – albeit in video game form – and I'm so glad the PS5 release finally pushed me to give it my time.
For starters, Raider's famous boulder-rolling, golden idol opening is actually being relived by Indiana in a dream, which he's having just before he suddenly wakes up at Marshall College thanks to a mysterious intruder. Yet before we're brought back into the present time of the Great Circle, we hear echoes from one of my favorite characters in the original trilogy: Marion.
A total badass in her own right, Marion's easily Indiana's best love interest, and I've always been very fond of the relationship they share. But with the exception of the Crystal Skull, which is set many years later, you don't really get to see how much the relationship with Marion or what Indiana went through in Raiders affected him… until now.
Since the Great Circle takes place between Raiders of the Lost Art and The Last Crusade, I really appreciate the way the game touches on the events of the former. And that, of course, includes what happened with Marion. The notebook you use to chronicle your quests and catalogue your discoveries is a perfect example. When you first open it up, you find out it's a gift from Marion, which is such a small, meaningful touch. Through it, MachineGames immediately establishes a connection to Raiders, and shows us a human side to Indiana's character.
Adventure and avoidance
Brody, a fellow professor at the college who also appears in the movies, tries to broach the subject of Marion immediately after you discover the note from her. In just a few lines, Brody sets up the journey you're about to go in the Great Circle as a means for Indiana to run away from his problems, and I'm instantly taken with that framing. It makes complete sense to me that the events of Raiders would still weigh on Indiana's mind at this point in the timeline, which gives it this authentic sequel feel.
The fact that Indiana quickly crumples up the note and refuses to acknowledge who it's from, as though he's trying to push what happened away, shows he's trying to push what happened with Marion away, which also shows a flawed side to his character that makes him feel more relatable, too. While I'm still making my way through the story, I love that there continue to be subtle cues that call back to Raiders, and the fact that Indiana is still processing what happened before – at one point, he even makes a bitter remark about love everlasting, which speaks volumes.
Plus, it's very Indiana Jones to instead occupy his mind by trying to solve a curious mystery that calls for lots of deduction, exploration, and action. As a lifelong fan of the famous archaeologist, MachineGames' adventure feels like a dream come true in many ways. I'm only a handful of hours in, but I love the way it let's me become Indy, with all of the tools to put both brains and his brawn to use. What has surprised me most, though, is just how much it feels like a true sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark from the get-go, with meaningful callbacks here and there that fill in some gaps I've always wanted to see filled.
I'm excited to discover where the story will lead me next, but I don't think I'll ever quite get over the magic of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's opening. It's not often that a game manages to feel like a movie sequel and also bring me back to my childhood days, but MachineGames' take on the iconic fedora-wearing character is doing all that, and more.
