Indiana Jones And The Great Circle PS5 review – Indy gaming goes multiformat

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle – the man in the hat is back, again (Bethesda)

The big Xbox exclusive from Christmas 2024 is now available on PS5 and it’s still one of the best action adventures of recent years.

Prior to the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, archaeology seemed like a very fusty profession. One undertaken by aged historians combing through ancient books or fastidiously preserving crumbling artefacts with tiny brushes. Indiana Jones changed all that, with his attitude towards the occupation later inspiring Lara Croft and Nathan Drake’s essentially criminal endeavours.

Many younger gamers may no longer realise what a debt those franchises owe to Indiana Jones, especially after the last two lacklustre movies. The Great Circle is certainly better than either of those and indeed the original Xbox version has already been held up as an example of how an older film series can be successfully continued without having to make an actual movie.

It’s more an interpretation of the films, and their various elements, than a direct adaptation, but it does feature a good balance of historical accuracy, supernatural weirdness, and potentially world-ending danger; making it feel warmly familiar, whilst also providing all new adventures for Indiana Jones that aren’t limited by how old Harrison Ford happens to be.

The Great Circle in the title involves a series of spectacular and completely genuine ancient sites spanning the circumference of the globe. That’s a solid excuse for a bit of exotic travel and, as is traditional, you’re in a race with a leeringly evil Nazi uber-archaeologist, to determine the fate of the world.

Made by MachineGames, the studio founded by former Starbreeze developers and justly renowned for the exceptionally high quality Wolfenstein reboots, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is a stylish and highly polished first person action game that works in a similar manner to those game, and Starbreeze titles such as The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Darkness.

There’s very little gunplay in The Great Circle, which might sound like bad news given how lame first person fisticuffs tend to be, but it’s to the developer’s credit that they manage to elevate it – partly by giving you the option to use stealth to creep up behind your far right foes with a claw hammer or shovel. But even when you have to fight them head on your whip gives fights a bit more space, and the stamina system helps keep things at least lightly tactical.

You’ll also discover a variety of power-ups in the form of books and comics, each of which offers a different skill or stat increase. Once acquired you need to unlock new abilities with experience points, earned by completing mission objectives and using your camera to snap various antiquities as you explore. It’s a tightly managed system that rewards exploration with a steady stream of upgrades, gradually tilting combat in Indy’s favour.

As ever though, the real stars of the show are the places you visit, with sprawling maps riddled with secrets and alternative ways of achieving your goals. Beginning with the classic opening tomb from Raiders of the Lost Ark, you’re taken on a tour of the Vatican in Mussolini’s Rome, the pyramids at Gizeh, the high Himalayas, and plenty more, and even though it concludes with a tediously drawn out boss fight, the journey to get there is consistently excellent.

Originally released on PC and Xbox last year, the PlayStation 5 version is largely identical, but does make use of the DualSense, supplying subtle haptic feedback for everything from decking guards to attaching your whip to beams, so you can swing across otherwise insurmountable gaps. You’ll also find the controller’s light bar gives you extra clues about what’s going on, flashing yellow when enemies are actively looking for you, and red when Indy’s health is low.

This version has perceptibly shorter load times, thanks to the PlayStation 5’s SSD, and gloriously crisp 4K visuals if you have a PS5 Pro, but other than those relatively minor enhancements it’s the same game as on Xbox Series X/S. That means lots of puzzles that are designed not to hold you up for too long and plenty of exploration both above and below ground, often sparked by chancing across a note or document tipping you off to a nearby secret worthy of investigation.

You hardly ever use a gun (Bethesda)

There are plenty of collecting tasks of varying difficulty, the most prominent being the search for black market medicine bottles to help the resistance, for which you’re rewarded extra health and stamina. You can also choose to view the entire game either in screen-filling widescreen, or 70mm style with black borders at the top and bottom, the latter providing a truly cinematic experience.

Troy Baker’s turn as Harrison Ford is pitch perfect, as is David Shaughnessy’s take on Marcus Brody, played in the films by the inimitable but now long dead Denholm Elliott. The result is a highly engaging romp that perfectly mirrors the atmosphere, humour, and action of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The number of effective gags is about the same, but that means they’re stretched over a much longer period of time than a movie.

Particularly after playing the game for a second time. it’s clear that its action scenes are on a much smaller scale than anything in the films. There’s virtually no vehicle or car chases, just a very brief sojourn in a fighter plane and on a boat, with no attempt to mimic anything like the truck chase from Raiders, the minecart sequence from Temple of Doom, or the tank set piece from The Last Crusade.

And while Troy Baker is great, Indy’s female companion is given little to do, in terms of plot or action, with only a few of the side characters, such as the hard-of-hearing priest, making any lasting impression.

Still, as a bit of world-spanning escapism with amusingly brutal combat – the meaty Lucasfilm sound effects making every punch land like an express train – it’s hard to beat. The PlayStation 5 version is at least as good as the Xbox release, it’s very occasional glitches never proving more than a fleeting distraction. For PlayStation owners who enjoyed Uncharted, this will be a thrilling and singular treat, that offers a very different take on similar subject matter.

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle PS5 review summary

In Short: A brilliantly realised and atmospheric first person action game, that turns the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark into a fully-fledged adventure with role-playing trimmings.

Pros: Superb level design that’s full of secrets and optional collectibles. Spectacular scenery throughout and first person combat that manages not to suck. Troy Baker is remarkable.

Cons: There’s a noticeable lack of vehicular action and the shift from first to third person, when Indy climbs ladders or girders, is jarring.

Score: 9/10

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £69.99
Publisher: Bethesda
Developer: MachineGames
Release Date: 17th April 2025
Age Rating: 16

*available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one

Better than the Dial of Destiny (Bethesda)

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