Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is first-person, stealthy, and coming 2024
Whip it
The leaks were right. Machine Games' next Nazi-biffer is called Indiana Jones And The Great Circle. It was shown for the first time during this evening's Xbox Developer Direct, where we got to see first-person punching and whipping, some tomb raiding, and plenty of Indy's face in cutscenes.
We also got a release window: 2024.
It's set during what I would consider "classic-era" Indy - as in, the period of the first three films, and not latter Retirement Indy or earlier Young Indy. That means we get what video games have long demanded: someone doing a good soundalike voice of Denholm Elliott's Marcus Brody. It also means fights with Nazis, tombs to puzzle through, the whip - all that good Indiana Jones stuff.
Combat was described as being stealthy, with you able to use the environment or other clever means of overcoming enemies, although it's also seemingly possible to grab a gun from a downed guard if you want to deal with an issue more straightforwardly.
The whip can be used for disarming and jerking around enemies, but also for solving traversal challenges. In situations where Indy starts to climb or clamber the environment, the camera whips back to third-person so you can see his satchel and leather coat wobble around. The cutscenes also give you plenty of time with Indy's face as he chats with other characters, including "other main protagonist" Gina, an investigative reporter with a personal stake in the adventure.
There was also an introduction to four settings from the full game: the temples of Sukhothai in Thailand, the pyramids of Egypt, snowy mountains in the Himalayas, "and beyond". There were definite glimpses of urban environments during the full presentation, too.
As reveals go, this was pretty substantial, and I think it looks good. I'm really curious how linear its environments are. Hopefully, I won't have to wait long to find out. Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is set to release in 2024.