Originally published at: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle pre-load is now available on Xbox - XboxEra
The pre-load for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is now available on Xbox Series consoles
Weighing in at a hefty 131.69 GB on Xbox Series X, with 45 of those shaved off for Series S, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s pre-load is finally up. The game releases on the 9th for Game Pass users, though you can purchase an upgrade or pre-order a more expensive edition to gain access this upcoming Thursday at 7PM EST. We’ll have a review premier on our YT channel and article here done by our Editor-in-Chief, Jon Clarke. He ran a preview for it in late October, stating:
As previously mentioned, stealth is often the best way to get around, so I had to set out and locate a disguise. I understand you’ll don disguises several times throughout the game, in order to blend in with the local population, and importantly – avoid detection by the Reich, or at least the less vigilant ones.
There were side-quests galore to dive into throughout this area, from finding 4 stone tablets for our local contact, which meant exploring heavily guarded tombs and navigating Nazi digsites and wreaking havoc against the guards.
Fans of games like Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay will feel very at home in these expansive playgrounds Machine Games have built for us to explore, and the sheer freedom awarded to the player to solve these challenges in the best way they see fit is really awesome to see.
Puzzles and Platforming
Aside from the general puzzling of simply navigating from location to location without being seen, it wouldn’t be an Indiana Jones adventure without thousand-year old puzzles and traps to contend with.
The tomb under the Great Sphinx was a particular highlight – what began as an initially simple ‘light’ puzzle, tasking me with adjusting bronze mirrors to reflect light and trigger switches, became infinitely more engrossing as we triggered a trap in true keeping with the movies.
When Gina is unable to progress through, Indy is forced to find a way to help them both progress. As well as using the whip in combat, its also incredibly useful to navigate the environment, be it swinging across gaps or climbing walls. Doing this transitions smoothly into 3rd person, and then when you’re back on your feet, back to a first person viewpoint.
Indy and Gina banter brilliantly, though she does tend to slip into the habit of stating the obvious in order to guide the player on what to do next, which I hope gets toned down a little. After solving the first puzzle, we were beset by scorpions, which required fire to keep them at bay, Gina and Indy had to work together to progress and find another way out.
Brains, not Brawn
The important thing I’m trying to underline to you as I talk through my hands on time with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is that the game truly embodies the best qualities of it’s titular character.
Indiana Jones could always handle himself in a fight, sure – but it was his mind that served to be his greatest weapon. It wasn’t about going in guns blazing – that was always a last resort. Machine Games have captured that spirit perfectly, with a focus on puzzles, a stealth driven sandbox and gorgeous, expansive environments. What I’ve played so far is very promising indeed.
Is this another ‘Game of the Year’ contender for Xbox and Bethesda? Solving that particular mystery is easily done. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is looking to be one of the very best games this year and the sequel to the original movies we never quite received – and that feels like an understatement.
I can’t wait to play more.