If you hung out on the Internet last night, you probably saw that the big highlight of the Xbox conference was the reveal of the gameplay of the game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, translated into French as “The Circle of the Ancients”. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, because I remind you that the announcement of the game goes back three years, on January 12, 2021 to be exact. At the time, we were treated to a first teaser, but also, it must be remembered that at the time, Bethesda had not yet been bought by Microsoft. Still, this gameplay was highly anticipated and if you hang out a little on social networks, we also saw a lot of people being disappointed with the results. Both in terms of the choice in the game design, since it is an FPS and not a third-person game, but also because visually, for some, the game is not up to par. height of the standards of a game which will be released in 2024. Are people right to be disappointed, or are they just bitter and eternally dissatisfied?
So why did this Indiana Jones and the Circle of Ancients not generate crazy hype last night after we saw the first gameplay images? Why were a lot of people turned off by the game? The first reason is simple and lies in the choice of its game design, namely going for an FPS, an action game in first person view, where many would have hoped for a TPS, a Third Person Shooter. And it is true that the logic when you decide to make an Indiana Jones game is to opt for a game in third person view. For what ? Already because we have reflexes when it comes to references. When we think of Indy, it’s hard not to draw parallels with Tomb Raider and Uncharted, whose two respective heroes, Lara Croft and Nathan Drake, were shaped on the image of this adventurer to whom everything happens, Indiana Jones. . Without Indy, there is no Lara Croft or Nathan Drake. So somewhere, I understand and I even share this frustration that people have at not seeing it as a third-person game. Because there is also another parameter to take into account: the character of Indiana Jones. Bethesda and MachineGames went all the way with the homage by choosing to model the face of Harrison Ford, who also appears in the game at the start of his forties. Quite logical when we know that the story of the game will be between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade.
So, having Harrison Ford in the game and knowing that we will almost never see him, except in cutscenes, it’s quite complicated not to be frustrated. But MachineGames and Bethesda knew that full well when they started production of the game. It’s a question that must have come up from the first brainstorming sessions and it’s also the reason why the developers tried to reassure us yesterday during their speech during the Xbox conference. It has in fact been specified that we will be able to see the iconic silhouette of Indiana Jones during the cutscenes of course, but also in more transverse passages, for example when he climbs along a pipe, goes down on a zip line at the using his whip, or swing from one platform to another, always using his whip. But for the rest, it will happen in a subjective view, whether it concerns unarmed confrontations, attacks with the whip or even the use of firearms, although I must remind you that Indiana Jones , in films, rarely uses anything that is a pistol, assault rifle, etc. No, Indy, he’s an adventurer who likes fighting, bare-handed combat, but also who will try to use his environment to get out of it. Moreover, the developers have placed a lot of emphasis on the puzzles which will be a fairly important part of the game, and this is where the choice of the FPS view takes on its full meaning. When we see the few images of the puzzles to be solved, we realize that the developers needed a point of view closer to the action so that we can clearly understand what we have before our eyes. No doubt with a distant camera, behind the character’s back, it fit less well with their intentions.
In any case, the FPS view was already in place when we found out that it was the Swedes from MachineGames who were in development. For those who don’t know the studio, know that they are behind the reboot of the Wolfenstein saga, with a first episode released in 2014 and that for 10 years, they were a little stuck in this infernal loop of this series, with 4 episodes and a VR version in 10 years! We might as well tell you that we are not idle there. And then, when we know that MachineGames was founded by veterans of Starbreeze, big fans of FPS as well, we might as well tell you that subjective view games are a bit in their DNA. And then, we’re not going to lie, choosing the FPS view was also a considerable time saving in terms of production for MachineGames. If the studio had gone with a TPS, it would have had to start things from scratch, with a lot of things to do with the character, the interactions with the environments, the setting, etc. etc. And with what has been done over the past 10 years with Wolfenstein, the studio already had all the tools and even assets, since the Second World War is their hobby, and Indiana Jones and the Nazis are also inseparable. So, yes, for ease of production needs, game design desires, but also for the universe offered, MachineGames was the perfect studio for Bethesda.
Now, where it’s going to be a little more complicated for MachineGames, it’s in the narration, the storytelling. Not that there wasn’t a story in Wolfenstein, we even remember certain significant passages, but in reality, it was always secondary. For Indiana Jones, the story must be on the same level as all the others, especially since they opted for Troy Baker to voice the character, a guarantee of quality. In France, the excellent Richard Darbois was chosen. Nothing could be more normal since he is the official French voice of Harrison Ford, but I find that for the time being, his voice no longer sticks too closely to the Indiana Jones of around forty years old that we see in the game. Richard Darbois , he is 72 years old today, and it shows. His voice tone is no longer the same as it was 30 years ago when he dubbed the first Indiana Jones and personally, I find that we end up with a fairly young character, but with a voice that is too old. This is my feeling, I don’t know what you think, don’t hesitate to tell me in the comments.
Another point which has also caused controversy on social networks is the visual rendering of the game, the graphics, which many believe are not up to par for a game which will be released in 2024 and which is also an exclusion. It’s true that we’ve already seen better, even games from the previous generation. It’s true that the character modeling is not perfect. I’ve seen a lot of comparisons with Uncharted 4, a game released in 2016 on PS4 and which is already more beautiful than this Indiana Jones. And it’s true that objectively, when we put the two side by side, Naugty Dog puts considerable speed on MachineGames. In any case, the Swedish studio is not known for being a studio that releases games that are technological showcases, even if Wolfenstein has always been pleasant to watch. No, where MachineGames stands out is in the atmosphere, in this madness of mixing certain things, of also bringing out the comic side of certain situations, and I’m sure that can work with Indiana Jones. Once again, I’m repeating myself, but we’re also going to wait on the developers on the story, the narration, so they’re going to have to be a little more ambitious than they usually are on this specific element…
