Indiana Jones has a truly notable and valuable history in the video game landscape, promoting LucasArt's unique storytelling capabilities early into the studio's run. The franchise has a massive legacy on screen in general, but many fans might remember the point-and-click adventure pieces that absolutely dominated LucasArt's release slate, back when Indiana Jones was at its absolute height. Needless to say, a return to consoles for Indie fans seems too good to be true, and while the series would not be tapping back into its point-and-click roots, despite the nostalgia attached to such a concept, it would at least pay homage to some of those past entries, while respecting the franchise as a whole. When it was thus first announced, there was a lot of anticipation surrounding Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and what the game may ultimately come to look like.
A first-person action-adventure piece seemed to fit into the franchise well, and audiences were happy to hear that Lucasfilm Games would be diving into an original narrative that still stuck to the canon of the mainline films and TV show. The title, which has already launched on Xbox Series X|S and will soon make an impact on the PlayStation 5, was developed by MachineGames using the id Tech 7 engine. MachineGames is perhaps best known for its work in both the Doom and Wolfenstein series and was trusted with yet another big name that would add to its impressive roster of titles. Much to Lucasfilm and Disney's delight, the studio really came through with a gem, and there are now reports that the House of Mouse wishes to see more from Indie on consoles. After a tricky time on the big screen, could it be that the future of the archeologist belongs in the video game world?
Indiana Jones & The Great Circle Has Been a Smash Hit
It Critically & Commercially Performed Above Expectations
It was difficult to predict what fans would be receiving once Indiana Jones and the Great Circle went to launch. Mechanically, many might have hoped for a third-person experience, and narratively, some might have wanted to see more of Indy's adventures from the big screen play out; players do get to experience the boulder run from Raiders of the Lost Ark, after all. But, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle really committed to its material and unique take on the franchise and ran with it. It paid off, with sales going through the roof for the title.
While it is far from the best-selling game of the year, it has done remarkably well and was the second-biggest launch during its week of release, an admirable feat looking at what it was competing against. Those numbers are only going to continue improving. The title was set to be a Microsoft exclusive at first, only releasing on PC and Xbox, but executives have chosen to have a later debut on PlayStation 5, which will mean it gains a second week of momentum, as new players get hands-on with the game for the first time.
While the numbers might be telling a positive story, the critical and fan reaction has only helped to cement this as a modern Indie hit. Fans have been loving the attention to detail that has been placed into Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, while the title has also received universal praise from a wide range of platforms. Indeed, critics and players seem united in loving the title's realistic physics, compelling original narrative, and the respect shown to the wider franchise. This is a game that can be enjoyed by both long-time watchers of the movies, and those that have no familiarity with Doctor Jones at all.
All of this comes at a really interesting time for Indiana Jones. Many will remember the less-than-perfect performance that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny had at the box office, and while it was overall praised, there were still some criticisms made of the portrayal of Indy as he aged. It seemed as if there was less interest in Indiana Jones compared to what there had been in the past, with audiences not quite gravitating to the picture as Lucasfilm might have hoped. And yet, the spotlight that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is currently shining on the franchise suggests there's still life left in it.
Disney Is Currently Building Its Video Game Portfolio
Lucasfilm Has a Good Track Record In the Space
This news also comes at a pivotal time for Disney as a whole, which has notably struggled to create a video game portfolio worthy of the House of Mouse's many significant properties. There are some really great titles in Disney's archives, some of which, like Kingdom Hearts or Illusion Island, continue to be reinvented for modern audiences. However, compared to where Disney has been, the studio's focus has been ever-moving away from video games as a whole. It seemed, for a time, that the brand was more interested in mobile entertainment, rather than anything more narratively complex.
However, experiments have been put into place with two major brands, notably Star Wars and Marvel. Lucasfilm was able to fully explore the gameplay potential of the galaxy far, far away, with releases like Star Wars: Battlefront, the recent Star Wars Outlaws, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, indicating that there is still so much scope to do even more within this fictional universe. Lucasfilm Games has seen so much success from Star Wars in the past, it seemed ridiculous not to trust them again with some newer projects.
Marvel has also been given that same license to experiment, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Midnight Suns and Avengers have all proven that the company is willing to build relationships with a range of studios and create games in a vast array of styles. It's worth pointing out that some of these titles have definitely performed better than others, but the key here is that Marvel, just like Lucasfilm, has shown Disney that the video game landscape has a place for its brands, and audiences want to see more stories like these.
Disney is thus expanding its range of available titles, and although it has used the LEGO series as a great way of getting its characters back on screen, games such as Disney Speedstorm have shown a desire to keep pushing the boundaries of very different genres. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Disney is excited to see what Lucasfilm can do with yet another property, and as the brand looks to add to its range of titles, it may well be that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle could provide some valuable teachable moments for anything that Disney does next.
The Studio Wants More
Fans Should Expect To Visit Indie Again In the Near Future
Taking all of this into account, it is even more significant that it has been revealed in a recent interview, that Disney executives have "picked up the phone" to greenlight further Indiana Jones games, after the launch of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. That has to be put into context because it is a remarkable move; the game hasn't technically even finished its launch yet, with another console waiting on the title, and thus more sales yet to be made. Regardless, Disney clearly sees the potential in the character and the game as a whole and is keen to continue the relationship that has been built with MachineGames.
This is fantastic news for Lucasfilm Games, which will naturally want to continue expressing its creative freedoms with its upcoming projects, ranging from Star Wars to further afield. But it's also big news for fans of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, who now know that they should come to expect spinoffs and sequels, likely in the same style, that take all the best bits from this past outing and develop upon them further. Indiana Jones clearly has a bright future on consoles, just as it performed exceptionally well in the past. But what does all of this mean for Disney's future video game strategy?
|
Notable Indiana Jones Game |
Year |
Console |
|---|---|---|
|
Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom |
1984 |
Commodore 64 |
|
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis |
1992 |
Amiga, DOS, Macintosh. FM Towns, Wii, Windows, OS X, Linux |
|
Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures |
1994 |
Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
|
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine |
1999 |
Windows, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color |
|
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb |
2003 |
Xbox, Windows, PlayStation 2, OS X |
|
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures |
2008 |
Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360, Mac OS X |
|
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings |
2009 |
Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii |
|
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle |
2024 |
Windows, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 |
Despite trying to expand its video game offerings, it's obvious that Disney will continue to work on a case-by-case basis, only adding sequels or spinoffs if there is a critical and commercial performance to take into account. That's why the Spider-Man line has continued to be added to because they are excellent sellers and a hit with critics. Whereas, Guardians of the Galaxy didn't perform in sales quite as expected, despite its quality. Hopefully, Indiana Jones continues forward on this positive arc, as who wouldn't want to see more from the fedora-wearing hero and his wondrous world, courtesy of MachineGames? And with opportunities to perhaps explore characters like Shortround or Helena Shaw, the sky really is the limit.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86/100 Critics Rec: 92%
- Released
- December 9, 2024
- ESRB
- Teen / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- MachineGames
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- id Tech 7
- Franchise
- Indiana Jones
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- PC Release Date
- December 9, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- December 9, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- April 17, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
