Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle: an adventure with action, traps, puzzles… and release date

During a press event held just a few days before the Gamescom from Cologne, was presented to us as a preview Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle. With a broad overview of about half an hour, followed by a Q&A phase, the guys from MachineGames they illustrated to us what the strong points of this title will be, showing us both the potential from a narrative point of view (since it is an unreleased chapter), and from a gameplay point of view, which will make us explore very interesting dynamics. During the ONL it was revealed that the title will be available from December 9, 2024 on Xbox and PCand that from the Spring 2025 will also be available on PS5.

Welcome back, Indy

Side scrolling titles, point-and-click adventures, action games, and even some LEGO titles. Indiana Jones he is a character who has raised entire generations, with Harrison Ford who made him legendary with his performances in various films, and who also in videogame terms has built up an importance over time. If the saga of Uncharted Of Naughty Dog It has always been indicated as a series “a bit like Indiana Jones”finally now we are faced with a modern title, created specifically to make us experience the vibrant sensations that only the brand Indy can give us.

Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle will tell us an unpublished single-player story, which will take place between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark And The Last Crusade. Players will experience an adventure set in the 1937with the secret of an ancestral power connected to the ancient Circle that is the object of desire of sinister forces. At his side, the Italian journalist Gina (played by our Alessandra Mastronardi), whose role will be nothing short of crucial, also in gathering evidence of the events.

Of course, the task of the players, in the shoes of the legendary archaeologist Indiana Jones, will be to stop these shady plans, obviously in his style.

An archaeologist around the world

During the presentation, as anticipated, the developers showed us a long video that enlightened us on how the title actually has some great features. potentialespecially if you are a long-time fan. This is not only because the quotes will be present, and because the work done on the face of the protagonist is exceptional, but also because (at least it seemed to us) the whole thing does not seem to result in a pompous self-celebration, but tries to highlight the playful and narrative qualities.

The game is presented as an action title with a camera in first personrich in cinematicswhich wants to alternate wisely the rhythm Between puzzle And action scenesWe don’t know yet how much this balance has been maintained, for that we will have to wait to try the game first hand, but the will seems to be there.

Obviously also in Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle Our favorite archaeologist will have his trusty companion with him whipa weapon that in his hands is nothing short of powerful, both for fighting and disarming enemies, and for being used in the game world, for example by using it as if it were a vine. However, it will not be the only indispensable object for Indy, because he will have with him his diarywhich will be updated as it makes discoveries, and will help us with multiple features interesting of the game. It does not end here, because we will also have a camerawith which to immortalize the splendid wonders that we will find around, which could also be useful for solving the intricate environmental puzzles. During the game, even in this way, we will gain a type of experience called Adventure Points, which we will use in different ways.

The combat phases that we were able to see were very particular, and although we will also have a firearm (which however seemed to us to have few bullets), the whip and melee will be the masters.

It is not yet clear how spectacular and functional the level designbut we can say that the visual impact of what was shown to us was exceptional, both from the pyramids Egyptians to Vaticanup to the submerged temples of Sukhothai. What intrigues us, however, and of which we still know little, is how – and to what extent – ​​the open worlda more than legitimate question also because of (or thanks to) the linear narration.

We can definitively say that we expect a really interesting gameand that could mark a beautiful starting point, perhaps for future titles dedicated to Indy that follow this style, but to have the definitive verdict we will have to wait for the release of the title, when we will talk about it in the review after having played it ourselves.

Let us remember that Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circlepublished by Bethesdawill make its debut on December 9th and will be available from day one also on Game Pass.