Bethesda and MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle seems to be making sure 2024 ends on a high note. Just as early access for the title dropped today for Premium and Deluxe Edition holders, reviews are rolling out and hitting Metacritic. ComicBook’s own review gave the title a 4 out of 5, writing: “Bethesda’s new Indiana Jones game stands out as a supremely faithful and painstakingly careful adaptation of the character that’s going to be hard to top if and when this franchise is picked up again by any other studio.” While other reviews are still being published, a consensus is forming, and it’s safe to say that the game ranks as one of the best Indiana Jones titles ever made.
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As of this writing, the overall Metacritic critic score for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, with 43 reviews, is 86/100. The PC version of the title scored slightly higher with an 87/100. Currently the title is now the highest rated Xbox-exclusive of the year, edging out Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, which sits at 81/100. It’s worth noting however that the game doesn’t top the highest Xbox exclusives of all time, which are Forza Horizon 5 at 92/100, Microsoft Flight Simulator at 90/100, and Halo Infinite at 87/100.
When compared to other MachineGames titles however, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ranks slightly below Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, which is up by just one point at 87/100. The Great Circle beats out their other titles including Wolfenstein: The New Order at 79/100, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood at 76/100, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood, which is the studio’s lowest, at 69/100.
In terms of Indiana Jones games, The Great Circle is the best rated video game to come out of the historic franchise. Before its release, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine held the highest-rated spots with a 77/100 and 75/100, respectively. The worst of the series was Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings from 2009 with a 55/100, which The Great Circle clears by a wide margin.
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Currently, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is tied with Raiders of the Lost Ark as the highest-rated Indiana Jones media in terms of Metacritic scores. This breaks an unfortunate cycle of underwhelming releases, with the two most recent films, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, scoring a 65/100 and a 58/100, respectively.
Most of the reviews praise was aimed at the game’s story and dedication to the series. Specifically, many reviewers brought up that The Great Circle is the best homage to the iconic archaeologist and his adventures in terms of scale, tone, and humor. Some of the criticism however was directed at performance issues and graphical inconsistencies, which appeared to have mostly occurred on the Xbox Series X|S edition. Over time however these will likely be ironed out.
It’s important to note that this score can change over time as more reviews are published. The game fully launches on December 9th, meaning user reviews will also pour in and that score will become public. As these early reviews appear to indicate, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle appears to be one adventure you would be remiss in missing out on.
