Indiana Jones and the Enigmatic Elephantine Odyssey

The second level in Indiana Jones and The Elephantine Circle takes Indy through the depths of Vatican City. This marks the first instance where MachineGames breaks away from its traditionally linear structure, offering you a vast playground to freely explore. I transitioned from marveling at Michelangelo’s stunning ceiling in the Sistine Chapel to delving into ancient ruins hidden beneath the sacred city, spending over three hours in this single stage alone without nearing the completion of every objective in Indy’s journal.

This is not quite what I expected from a studio renowned for its fast-paced shooters, nor from a game that has been characterized as a first-person action-adventure. For the most part, The Elephantine Circle resembles a stealth game akin to Dishonored more than any of MachineGames’ previous titles. While you can certainly sneak through shadows in Wolfenstein, stabbing Nazis from behind, it primarily remains a shooter at its core. The Elephantine Circle includes action sequences, but its violent moments are abrupt and tend to be brief, reflecting Indiana Jones’s character; it wouldn’t make sense for him to be blasting through foes like BJ Blazkowicz. This shift in pace is a welcome change for the studio, and it remains an exhilarating time, despite occasional signs of their inexperience in crafting this type of game.

Regarding narrative and tone, MachineGames truly grasped the assignment at hand. The Elephantine Circle’s introduction serves as a homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark, immediately highlighting how much the studio both understands and respects the franchise and its globe-trotting hero. This sentiment endures throughout the game, beginning with a starting sequence set within the fictional walls of Marshall College, where Indy teaches archaeology. The Elephantine Circle is situated between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, seamlessly integrating into the existing fabric of the series in a way that it genuinely feels like a natural extension of Indy’s journey. A few familiar faces return, and new characters blend effortlessly into its cinematic world, contributing to an engaging story where you travel the globe, uncover ancient mysteries, and clash with the Axis powers.

The Elephantine Circle excels in capturing the essence and atmosphere of the 43-year-old series. The triumphant score by composer Gordy Haab encapsulates the spirit of John Williams’s iconic original; Indy feels like he has stepped straight out of the silver screen, and Troy Baker delivers a fantastic portrayal of the beloved treasure hunter, mastering both his voice and physical mannerisms. It is often nearly impossible to tell that you are not listening to a young, charismatic Harrison Ford, which is also a testament to the game’s writing and its ability to encapsulate Indy’s charm, distinctive humor, and boundless passion for history and archaeology. Emmerich Voss, a Nazi archaeologist from the Third Reich Special Antiquities Collection, serves as a compelling antagonist to Indy. He is manipulative and scornfully vile while also sharing similar traits with our hero, reflecting Indy’s obsession with a much more twisted moral compass.

To thwart Voss and his fascist minions, The Elephantine Circle guides you around the globe, from the imposing shadows of the Great Pyramids to a Nazi battleship precariously perched atop a Himalayan mountain. Each location is intricately detailed and rigorously researched, recreating both fictional locales—like Marshall College—and real historical sites, seamlessly blending fiction and history in the manner that the best Indiana Jones tales often achieve.

I spent far too long wandering the corridors of Indy’s office at the university, taking in all the details in his workspace and examining each display case in the museum. The first-person perspective and tangible nature of everything you do creates an incredibly immersive experience. The in-game journal, for instance, is a physical item you can pull out and examine during your exploration; unlocking doors requires you to retrieve a key and turn it in the lock, and many puzzles are solved by picking up and utilizing objects within the environment, whether you’re placing gears in an ancient mechanism or pouring wine into specific altars.

Puzzles often play out like environmental riddles, challenging you to interact with your surroundings to figure out a solution. Others involve consulting Indy’s journal, which tracks and catalogs your journey with notes, images, and clues that you gather along the way. There are two difficulty settings for puzzles: the default setting and another that simplifies them. I opted for the default, and aside from a few tricky puzzles in some of the later side quests, I found The Elephantine Circle’s layered puzzles to be mostly straightforward. Most were quite manageable, indeed; however, the game’s tactile nature, rich environments, and blend of tone and mechanics kept me engaged in solving each one.

There is also some light platforming involved, allowing you to utilize Indy’s iconic whip to swing over crevices and descend into dusty tombs. The slow process of climbing, swinging, and shimmying around ledges is rather familiar—and the awkward transitions between first- and third-person perspectives could be handled more smoothly—but I appreciated the absence of yellow markers, which forces you to examine the environment before charging ahead. There are still occasional white objects fluttering in the wind or attached to a few ledges, but they are less prominent.

[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is] a refreshing change of pace for the studio, and it remains an exhilarating experience

If you are not sifting through centuries-old catacombs and uncovering hidden treasures, most of your time involves evading the watchful eyes of patrolling Nazis. While there are weapons available in The Elephantine Circle, I never felt the urge to use any of them. Firearms were never a primary, secondary, or even tertiary option for tackling the game’s foes, partly because of the strong emphasis on making you feel like Indiana Jones, but also due to the diverse…of autonomy and player expression within the environment where you can confront adversaries. Particularly in its larger and more expansive areas, there are numerous alternative approaches to nearly every conflict encounter, whether you might be using structures to ascend and navigate around a fascist checkpoint, crawling through a jagged hole in a fence, or donning a disguise to pass through an entrance unnoticed. These immersive-simulation elements are relatively subtle, yet they infuse the game’s stealth and exploration with a tangible sense of player agency.

If you choose the stealthy approach, you will find that stealth in The Great Circle is sufficiently forgiving on the game’s default difficulty, allowing you to sneak past Nazi patrols quite swiftly. It takes some time for guards to fully spot you, establishing a dynamic pace that is enhanced by cinematic elements. For a stealth takedown, for example, you will need to pick up a makeshift weapon from the environment. I cannot count how many times I knocked out a Nazi with various objects like guitars, broomsticks, wine bottles, and dirty frying pans.

Or it’s amusing, to say the least. And if you happen to be discovered, it’s not the end of the world. You can afford to play a bit recklessly with the game’s stealth mechanics, as being seen typically only leads to a minor skirmish. Most opponents are eager to engage you in a brawl rather than calling for assistance, and it’s rare for additional enemies to arrive when things go awry. Indy’s punches have a satisfying weight and deliver a resounding impact when they land, which significantly compensates for the enemy AI’s predictable and somewhat rigid attacks. Parrying is also straightforward thanks to a generous timing window, and few feelings are quite as exhilarating as intercepting a Nazi’s left hook and countering with a powerful haymaker. Combat is quite simplistic, however, and I can foresee some monotony if I choose to instigate too many conflicts.

You might consider avoiding combat altogether if you are cautious; however, alternating between sneaky tactics and bursts of chaotic brawling feels true. Indy has always been a gritty underdog facing the might of the Third Reich. He is a hero lacking super abilities, but he is clever, determined, and a master of improvisation. If stealth fails, collide some skulls. If a fascist brings a gun to a brawl, disarm him. Then, when things heat up, grab that same gun and use it as an improvised weapon to smash them down. This is yet another aspect where MachineGames has captured the essence of being Indiana Jones, leading to a thrilling interplay between stealth and action.

There are several smaller, more linear levels interspersed among the larger open-ended ones that focus on this dynamic. It is also in these segments that you will experience The Great Circle’s thrilling rollercoaster of dramatic set pieces, reminiscent of the extraordinary action sequences for which the series is renowned. These moments often appear simple from a gameplay perspective, but they succeed in creating a grand spectacle, whether you are shooting down Eastern warplanes in Shanghai or plunging down the side of a snow-covered mountain.

The game’s expansive open-ended regions are the standout feature, not only because they present various options for completing objectives, but also because your exploration is rewarded with diverse side quests, secrets to uncover, and more. “Fieldwork,” as some optional missions are termed, is more engaging than the smaller Mysteries you may find.