The recently released Indiana Jones and The Great Circle came out amidst a ton of doubt and scrutiny. However, after playing the game, I have to say that it was actually pretty darn good!
The Indiana Jones trilogy is considered by many, including myself, to be among the best trilogies of all time. The adventurous stories, Indiana’s questionable archaeological methods, and his wild shenanigans, who didn’t want to experience Indy’s adventures as a kid? To figure out the mysteries of ancient artifacts and lost civilizations he hunted down in every movie, or to watch him outsmart and fight villains, or even terrifying human-sacrificing tribes?
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Lucasfilm
Even in gaming, Indiana Jones had a special place for many fans. LucasArts games, such as Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis or, in my case, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, tried to capture the adventurous spirit of the films. While these games evoked the movies, they were never quite as thrilling or memorable. Still, they delivered exciting experiences for fans of the franchise. Unfortunately, these games have largely been forgotten over time.
The recent film, Dial of Destiny, also failed to connect with fans. This is evident in its poor box office performance, which, remarkably, caused even more damage to the franchise than Indiana Jones And the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a film I once considered the worst in the series. As a result, this once-beloved franchise has been stagnating for years.
A screenshot from Indiana Jones and The Great Circle – YouTube, Bethesda Softworks
So, imagine my surprise when Bethesda, of all companies, announced Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a first-person adventure featuring fistfighting, shooting, and puzzle-solving with Indiana Jones as the lead. It sounded like a dream come true. Could this game revive the franchise, warming the hearts of old Indy fans?
Surprisingly, the answer is both yes and no—thanks to one fatal flaw: bad marketing.
The Backlash of Ignoring Your Audience
When someone says “bad marketing,” many assume it refers to how much a game is marketed or the methods used. However, the biggest marketing mistake many companies make today is neither the amount of marketing nor the approach. It’s the failure to listen to consumers and use that feedback to guide how one markets a product.
A screenshot from Concord (2024), Firewalk Studios
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Those in marketing need only look at the results of these methods. Examples include Dylan Mulvaney’s inclusion in Bud Light campaigns, Concord’s focus on “inclusivity topics,” and Jaguar’s horrendous Copy Nothing ad, which many called a “woke-pushed” marketing attempt.
The results speak for themselves: Concord failed, costing Sony $200 million at best; Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, saw its stock drop by nearly 20%, and Jaguar’s campaign, well, let’s just say the reactions have not been good.
Because of this, and many more examples, it’s easy to look back at similar marketing failures to see what not to do. Phrases like “modern audience” or “diversity” are often misused in ways that do the opposite of what they’re intended to accomplish—alienating people rather than including them. Yet, marketing teams never seem to learn.
When Words Alienate: The Impact of Misguided Messaging
Consumers have started noticing patterns and trends in bad products and are now, more than ever, staying away from those that include certain phrases or topics such as “modern audience tropes” or “woke influences.”
Unfortunately, the team behind Indiana Jones and the Great Circle didn’t seem to get the memo.
Consumers get nervous when they hear from one of the developers that this game is for the “modern audience” or that they wanted to make it for a “modern public.”
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle…
for a modern gaming audience.
How much pay to play content will be in this? pic.twitter.com/DKb7ajMJB8— Sean ┃ Art Attack X (@art_attackx) January 19, 2024
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Narrative designer Ed Curtis-Sivess actually stated: “Now we have the opportunity to tell a new Indiana Jones story for a modern gaming audience.” It immediately raised alarms.
For many consumers, this kind of language suggests that the game may be pandering to a DEI narrative—a narrative that has often alienated and demeaned consumers and critics alike.
To make matters worse, Curtis was seen wearing an rainbow t-shirt during one of the promotional events. While this shouldn’t matter, many people assumed, based on his appearance, that he fit the stereotype of a “woke fanatic” who blames gamers and consumers for rejecting poorly made products. Personally, I believe he’s probably just a nice guy caught in a situation beyond his control.
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Lucasfilm
Still, like many others, I initially stayed away from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The marketing campaign seemed poorly executed, with gameplay footage and trailers that felt lackluster and uninspired. It gave the impression that the developers had no idea how to market the game properly. And yet, the game itself is far from boring.
It wasn’t until a friend of mine, a die-hard Indiana Jones fan, urged me to give it a try—combined with a positive review from a game reviewer I trust—that I decided to give it a shot.
To my surprise, I discovered that this might be one of the best games I’ve played in 2024.
Immersion and Authenticity: The Strengths of The Great Circle
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is, in my opinion, a great game.
It combines puzzle-solving that doesn’t hold your hand like many other games do, with a solid, well-grounded fist-fighting system and a comparably good stealth mechanic—all in first person, which frankly works remarkably well.
A screenshot from Indiana Jones and The Great Circle – YouTube, Bethesda Softworks
Every interaction feels seamless and immersive. The locations are expansive and well-designed, adding to the overall experience.
I also didn’t find any forced messaging in the game. The “woke” spin that many, including myself, might have assumed about this game is nonexistent. There’s no preaching about DEI, nor are there characters that feel oddly placed for the sake of diversity. While some gamers might point out that there are two or characters presumed to have same sex attractions, their inclusion doesn’t feel forced or unrealistic in the way many other games and films today handle such representation.
The conversation that reveals this detail feels natural. It isn’t initiated by Indiana, but by another character who simply tells her friend that the person they’re searching for—someone very important to her—still cares for her. While it suggests a more intimate past, it feels genuine, normal, and entirely unrelated to Indiana Jones himself. That makes it all the more authentic.
One detail I absolutely love is that no one speaks English unless they’re directly addressing Indiana Jones, as he himself speaks English.
A screenshot from Indiana Jones and The Great Circle – YouTube, Bethesda Softworks
It was refreshing to hear an Italian NPC speaking Italian, a German soldier speaking German, and even the villains conversing with each other in German or Italian during cutscenes. This authenticity and attention to detail felt far more genuine than the usual forced English with bad accents many games rely on for the player’s sake.
The puzzles and mysteries are genuinely fun to crack. As mentioned, the game doesn’t lead you by the hand like a toddler learning to walk. Instead, it emphasizes the need for you to listen, search, and decipher things on your own. It was refreshing to see a game that trusts its audience to be smart enough to handle a real challenge.
The combat system was also a highlight for me. The shooting mechanics, while not the main focus of the game, are decent. There’s an emphasis on realistic details, such as taking your time to reload your gun, which adds to the immersion. However, you’re not often forced into shooting scenarios.
A screenshot from Indiana Jones and The Great Circle – YouTube, Bethesda Softworks
In fact, the game frequently allows you to choose how to approach a situation, whether through stealth, fist fighting, or shooting.
The disguise mechanic is another neat feature, and the side quests are abundant. Thankfully, they’re not just fetch quests—they’re well-scripted, compelling, and meaningfully connected to the narrative.
The Great Circle: A Hidden Gem Overshadowed by Misconceptions
All in all, Indiana Jones: The Great Circle is, for me, a great successor to the Indiana Jones trilogy. In fact, I would rank this game alongside the films as follows:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom – While I considered placing The Great Circle at number three, Troy Baker’s phenomenal voice acting as Indiana Jones, perfectly capturing the essence of Harrison Ford, makes it feel like you’re playing Ford himself. However, Temple of Doom edges it out slightly since it features Ford in the flesh.
Indiana Jones: The Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Like many fans, I didn’t find the fourth film in the series as compelling, and we all know it.
There’s no such thing as the Dial of Destiny…that garbage simply doesn’t exist in my book.
(L-R): Teddy (Ethann Isidore), Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
It’s a shame that this game was wrongly assumed to be driven by a DEI narrative. I truly believe it’s a game that many, especially Indiana Jones fans, should try. I’m incredibly grateful to my enthusiastic (and maybe slightly crazy) friend who insisted I give it a chance.
If this were a full review, I would rank the game a solid 3.8 out of 5. While it’s undeniably a good game, it has unfortunately failed to gain the attention and popularity it deserves due to poor marketing and an ill-conceived comment by a developer who likely didn’t realize how he came across.
I thoroughly recommend playing this game.
Have you played Indiana Jones and The Great Circle? What did you think of it? Did you steer clear of it because you thought it was driven by identity politics?
