4.5/5 ★ – Bengerman10's review of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

I think, as far as I can possibly remember, this is my favorite licensed video game of all time. Some might argue that's not a high bar to match, but I'd argue that whatever bar was their Indiana Jones and the Great Circle far exceeds. I want to start out with something that was most apparent to me when I finished: The Great Circle has some of, if not the best, writing in a video game I've played in the last several years. The characters are distinct and punchy, the plot beats never hang too long, every character has great chemistry with Indy, and it's often genuinely funny. It also, enjoyably, commentates on fascism through the lens of Indy while still feeling entirely modern. For example, there's a character in a side quest who falls in with Nazi archaeologist - her apologism for which falls in line with a lot of what we've seen in the modern political climate. MachineGames handles it adeptly, with Indy never losing an ounce of his morality. The music is so good, too. It's reminiscent and faithful to John Williams without an over reliance. The music kicks in at all the right times. Notes of the Indy motif play throughout the game but don't really kick in until right when it calls for it. More than anything, I think The Great Circle is a great response to what makes Indiana Jones so fucking cool. He's constantly reciting awesome historical facts, can speak a bunch of languages (shoutouts to Troy Baker, if one still needs to be given), always feels one step ahead and one step behind at the same time, and just has a general ease to him that matches Ford's. It's all there, and none of it ever feels forced. I genuinely believe this is one of the best things we've ever gotten from Indiana Jones and slots right into the original trilogy like a faithful fourth film might have. There are a few minor complaints, including that I don't think the gameplay loop is ever quite good enough to write much about. The melee combat is fun and snappy, the platforming and puzzle designs are satisfactory, and the exploration can be a lot of fun. The level design is good, but there's a better version of this game that has smarter level design that involves less back tracking, less circling around, and more unlocking new ways to explore familiar areas. And it does a little bit of that, with Indy gaining new outfits to playfully dupe whoever is in the area, but the game never really encourages re-exploration of areas in a way that's fun outside of that. Lastly, I want to talk a little bit about characters, and why The Great Circle reminded me of how important it is for narratively driven games to have good ones. There are two characters, among a crowd of really good ones that I like. Gina, Indy's partner for most of the game, and Voss, his nemesis. Gina is wonderful for a lot of reasons, but among them is that she exhibits really good agency outside of Indy for a lot of the game. In fact, as they are still getting to know one another, she's often way out in front of him. When they're together, she's snarky and knows how to push Indy's buttons. After being apart, she's wistful of his presence and there's a certain sense of longing that feels tangible and real. The characters cared about one another, and it helped me care about them. Then there's Voss, who I think is probably the best villain I've personally come across in some time. Much like many of Indy's counterparts, Voss desperately seeks Indy's approval throughout the length of the game. He wants to be right just as much as he wants to achieve his goals, and sometimes the two things collide in really fun ways. He's smart, perfectly over-the-top, and just absolutely and fundamentally hateable. This is a game that I think I could easily recommend to just about anyone. The combat is fun, the stealth is existent without being necessary most of the time, the writing is just about tonally perfect through and through, the game is GORGEOUS (with enough variety that I'd be shocked if it doesn't fit somewhere into my favorite looking games of all time), and it just nails some of the minor details that make video games fun for me. For example, Indy finds fruit and bread throughout the game to up his health and stamina. Instead of generic fruit and bread, however, it's all locationally based. So the bread Indy eats in The Vatican is different than what he eats Gizeh. And why would something like that matter? Well, because it would have mattered to Indiana Jones. And that's why this game rules from top to bottom: it understands this character and what it's like to be with him, play as him, be around him, and to be his opposition. And somehow it does all of that in a way that feels culturally relevant. As I finish this review, I realized that not only is this my game of the year, it's one of my favorite video games of all time. It's so directly something I enjoy that I'm unsure I could have possibly imagined it'd be this good. And yet, here it is. I'm so glad I'll be able to go back and enjoy it over and over again, just as I have other Indiana Jones works.