Indiana Jones Dev Promises The Golden Circle Has Stuff Just as “Gnarly” as the Insta-Aging Scene in The Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is knocking at the door. This upcoming action-adventure title is set to be released on December 9, 2024, on Windows and Xbox Series X/S, with a later release on the PlayStation 5 in 2025.

The game is set between the original narratives of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Indy embarks upon a journey to find the mysteries of the Great Circle. By the looks of the game, it has great potential to be a huge success. And the game will also feature a special aspect of Last Crusade too.

There Will Be ‘Gnarly’ Scenes in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle As Well

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is not exactly what fans could anticipate from the adored action series or developer MachineGames. Instead, it’s a methodical game where Indy has to solve ancient puzzles, wear disguises, and sneak around well-known locations like the Pyramids of Giza. It’s more reminiscent of the vintage LucasArts adventure game Fate of Atlantis than of fighting on a tank on its way to the edge of a cliff.

Actually, in Indiana Jones movies, there were some gnarly scenes like people aging the moment they chose the wrong Holy Grail. When asked about insta-aging into a corpse, like choosing wisely or poorly, this is what MachineGames’ Jens Andersson addressed (via IGN):

Well, we don’t want to have insta-kill moments when you pick the wrong object necessarily, but… There is gnarly stuff in there as well. We are trying to make this as an authentic Indiana Jones story as we can.

Andersson also stated that there are plenty of good story beats that fit into an Indiana Jones story and universe, and the company wants to make that as much as possible. There are obviously some things that happen that work better in the game setup; being a first-person adventure game, like the boulder thing, you have something coming at your back.

As per him, it is quite difficult to do something like that in person, while puzzles are such a big part of the main character. It seems like the upcoming game is taking all the necessary aspects from its franchise’s movies to be successful like them.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Will Be More of a Puzzle/Stealth Game Than Gunplay

As developed by MachineGames, will Great Circle be a gun-blazing shooter just like Wolfenstein, which excelled in both aspects: shooting and stealth? The director of the upcoming game, Jerk Gustafsson, has an answer to that.

According to him, this title is going to be a “proper adventure game,” which will mainly focus on a “wider audience” than the past hardcore shooters of the company. In the Official Xbox Podcast, here’s what Gustafsson had to say about the game:

“We’re used to having these heavy weapons, gun-blazing shooters. This is a little bit different. We are making a proper adventure game here, and it’s also a game that is a little more directed toward a wider audience, which is a bit of a new thing for us.”

He has also explained the reason for making the Great Circle more adventure-selective-oriented than an all-out gunslinger title. The director says the development team was committed to staying true to Indy’s personality. He is a normal human being, not a superhero with a cape.

But he does possess excellent fighting skills as well as a smart brain with brilliant problem-solving skills. That’s why this game is a stealthy puzzle-solving title rather than a 1v100 gunfight.

What’s your take on the upcoming title? Let us know in the comment section.