Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Looks Every Bit The "Direct Sequel To Raiders Of The Lost Ark"

Gameplay footage of Indy's latest adventure points to it being the whip-cracking adventure we've always wanted to play!

Transcript

00:00After seeing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's stealthy disguises, punchy hand-to-hand combat

00:06and the iconic whip in action, it's one adventure I need in my life. We got to see the upcoming

00:12adventure in a hands-off preview demo. Indiana Jones of course has brains as well as brawn.

00:17Alongside his classic whip, fedora and handy revolver, the demo shows off his journal. According

00:23to director Jörg Gustafsson, this will be your guide throughout the entire adventure and will

00:28become this book of memories for you from the beginning of the game to the end. As we encounter

00:33interesting relics or locations, we can also take pictures with a camera that can serve as clues,

00:38and provide hints about puzzles as we get swept up in a global conspiracy. I watch as Indy ventures

00:44beneath the Sphinx, where he puts all of his tools to use and encounters a puzzle that sees him line

00:49up mirrors to reflect lights in just the right way. There's a lot of interactivity with the environment

00:54throughout, with an earlier part of the demo showing how Indy can break down a wall with an

00:58nearby torch to reveal another clue. From using a lighter to navigate through the dark tomb,

01:03to finding important notes, and snapping a shot of an ancient mural, it works together to make

01:07this look every bit like an Indiana Jones adventure. And the more I see, the more excited I am.

01:14What is perhaps most exciting though, is the fact that the Great Circle will present us with various

01:18ways to engage with the world. From taking a stealthy approach, to cracking the whip in and out of combat,

01:24to picking up any object we find in the environment and using it to our advantage. In one instance,

01:28for example, the end of a nearby spade is used to land a concussive blow, while a spear in another

01:34location is thrown at the wall to become a makeshift latch for the whip. We want the players to really

01:39feel that they can take on different obstacles or challenges in many different ways, and stealth is

01:43definitely part of that, Gustafsson says. Something that we have been working on now for a long time,

01:48which can be a challenge when it comes to first person, is doing these very intense hand-to-hand

01:53fistfights. We've been putting a lot of effort into that, and of course with the whip, which adds another

01:58element to the combat in the game. Overall, all these tools and all of these different styles of

02:02gameplay will provide a mix for you to play around with and have fun with. In what Gustafsson describes as

02:09the biggest game we've ever made, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a mix of more linear areas

02:14and open spaces. And while there is a golden path to follow in the main story, there's a lot of extra

02:19side content and side missions. We'll have the freedom to choose and do things in the order you

02:24would like to do them, with plenty of opportunities to make discoveries and earn adventure points.

02:31Within the 30-minute demo I got to see, one of the highlights is undoubtedly when Indiana dresses

02:36up as a worker to infiltrate an enemy area. In a Hitman-like move, you can wear various

02:41disguises throughout the story to get into guarded locations undetected. I get to see how this worker

02:46guy lets them stroll right inside a tent where soldiers are meeting. One demands that Indy get

02:50him a drink, which presents the perfect opportunity to avoid suspicion as he heads into the back of the

02:55tent to get his hands on a medallion. I'm already curious to discover what other scenarios and outfits

03:00will be presented with as we go from location to location and progress through the adventure.

03:05I can't speak to how good it will all feel to play, but it certainly looks every bit the direct

03:10sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, Machine Games is going for. I'm looking forward to trying out the

03:15WIP and all the other tools that will be at our disposal when Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

03:19arrives. But more than that, I can't wait to swing into the adventure to discover if it really does

03:24feel like I've become the famous archaeologist.