Indiana Jones and the Great Circle devs say an Indy game 'could never be a shooter, should never be a shooter,' so they're embracing his signature whip, improvised brawls, and disguise-based stealth instead

GamesFPSIndiana Jones and the Great CircleIndiana Jones and the Great Circle devs say an Indy game ‘could never be a shooter, should never be a shooter,’ so they’re embracing his signature whip, improvised brawls, and disguise-based stealth insteadWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

A battered Indiana Jones grins at a Nazi archvillain while buried to his neck in sand.

In a conversation with PCG global editor-in-chief Phil Savage at Gamescom, MachineGames developers went into more detail about how Indiana Jones and the Great Circle builds on theirprior games like the new Wolfensteins and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. Their emphasis on rollicking, scrappy improvisation has me way more excited than I was before for this adventure.

“Indiana Jones, he’s not a gunslinger, right? He doesn’t go guns blazing into situations,” said Jens Andersson, design director at MachineGames. “So it could never be a shooter, should never be a shooter. But hand to hand combat, that makes total sense.”

That’s where the Riddick connection comes in: along with MachineGames' founders, Andersson (who joined on in 2022) worked on the shockingly excellent side adventure for Vin Diesel’s buff sci-fi Hannibal Lecter, which has some of the best first person melee combat to grace a game. That’s a strong pedigree, but also not where the story ends, either: Indiana Jones has a very different vibe from Riddick’s brand of brutal prison knife fights and cold-blooded stalking.

“He’s not a fighter, that’s not his nature, even though he ends up in fights all the time,” Andersson explained. “He’s an unlikely hero, lucky⁠—how can we replicate that into gameplay, make the player feel that humor, how do we get that across?

“Compared to even Riddick, that has a different style of hand to hand combat. [The Great Circle] is much more semi-chaotic, lots of things around the environment that you can pick up⁠—pots and pans that you pick up and smash into people’s heads…”

“And banjos!” Piped in Axel Torvenius, MachineGames creative director.

“…And banjos,” Andersson confirmed. “I love the banjo.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

That had me sitting up in my chair: Improvisational brawling like that has got to be a nightmare to program and consistently implement, but has led to some of my favorite videogame combat: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic’s freeform fights and Baldur’s Gate 3’s turn-based slapstick come to mind. In addition to improvised weapons, Indy’s whip will also be a huge part of the game in both combat and traversal, with a dedicated button reserved for it.

Outside combat, it sounds like the Great Circle will be expanding on the Wolfenstein reboot games' light stealthing, bringing things dangerously close to my beloved immersive sims' territory. Andersson described the game expanding and contracting between more open and linear areas, a clear delineation that sounds similar to The New Order and Colossus: “There are also more open areas, almost bordering immersive sim-style, like there’s an enemy camp, here you’re supposed to get into the main building, figure it out, and you can explore.”

While pure crouchy stealth infiltration will be an option, the Great Circle will also have an exciting social stealth option, which sounds like a more systemic expansion on Wolfenstein’s nail-biting, Tarantino-esque sequences likethe beginning of The Old Blood. “Every big location has a number of disguises for you to discover,” said Andersson. “That helps you pass as someone that belongs there, gives you access to areas you otherwise would have a really hard time getting through.”

I was always slightly bummed that we’d be getting this Indiana Jones game instead of a proper Wolfenstein 3, but the Great Circle is sounding like everything I would have wanted out of that game, with an Indiana Jones twist. For my money, that’s moved the Great Circle firmly into “must-play” territory when it releases December 9.

More about fpsTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’LatestThe 11 big FPS games of 2025See more latest►

More about fps

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

Money money money.

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

FBC: Firebreak

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

LatestThe 11 big FPS games of 2025See more latest►

Latest

The 11 big FPS games of 2025

Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot

The 11 big FPS games of 2025

See more latest►

Most PopularThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsPath of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better lootPalestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 NakbaPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

Most Popular

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot

Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals