MachineGames gave us our first real look at its long-awaited Indiana Jones game at today's Developer Direct showcase, confirming the title—Indiana Jones and the Great Circle—and revealing details on the setting and story, and—this is the important part—a release target of later in 2024.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was first announced in early 2021, albeit as just 'a new Indiana Jones game' until the title leaked last week. It's been silence since then except for confirmation that the game will tell an original story, and that Todd Howard has been eager to make one for a really long time.
Now we've got a proper idea of what's coming, and it looks like both a proper Indiana Jones game and a full-on MachineGames creation: The gameplay trailer literally opens with a Nazi eating a nasty headbutt (another fun thing you can do with a Nazi) and there's plenty more Nazi-punching to follow, complete with helmets flying dramatically into the sky.
There's also some highly-detailed first-person whip-work on display, occasional bits of gunplay, stealth, and puzzles to solve—some of which may seem a little familiar. One interesting and, I think, unexpected aspect of the game is that aside from occasional pullbacks for cinematic effect, The Great Circle will be played from the first-person perspective: As MachineGames executive producer Jerk Gustafsson said during the presentation, "You aren't just playing as Indy, you are Indiana Jones."
"Our game is about putting you in the shoes of an iconic hero,” design director Jens Andersson said in a new blog post at bethesda.net. "Since we are doing this mostly in first-person, you have the chance to truly become Indy. First-person makes you part of this world – allowing you to explore and experience things more intimately. What will you do when you’re dropped into this adventure with your wits and your whip? The world of Indiana Jones is a world with mysteries around every corner, where you’re racing against the clock and outsmarting your enemies as you hunt down artifacts."
The Indy voice is pretty good too, and no, it's not AI: As reported by EW, that's voice actor Troy Baker, known for his work in, well, pretty much everything. And yes, that large man in the stylish overcoat is in fact Tony Todd, a real-life large man best known as the horror icon Candy Man, who also has a number of videogame voice credits to his name.
The full Developer Direct presentation for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is below:
And here's a handful of new screens:
"The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them—Indiana Jones," the now-live Steam page says. "Venture through a dynamic mix of linear, narrative-driven gameplay and open-area maps. Indulge your inner explorer and unearth a world of fascinating secrets, deadly traps and fiendish puzzles, where anything could potentially hide the next piece of the mystery – or snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"
Indy hates snakes, you know.
The other big news out of all this is the launch target: We don't have a full release date yet but MachineGames said Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be out in later 2024.
