Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Sticks to Melee Combat Over Gun Fights

MachineGames and Bethesda's upcoming Indiana Jones title, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, will prioritize melee combat and stealth over gunfights, according to the development team. The game will not feature gunplay as a central mechanic.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: A Focus on Hand-to-Hand Combat and Stealth

Puzzles and Environmental Interaction are Key

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, MachineGames' design director Jens Andersson and creative director Axel Torvenius detailed the game's gameplay design. Influenced by their work on titles like the Wolfenstein series and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, the developers emphasized the importance of hand-to-hand combat, improvised weaponry, and stealth mechanics.

Andersson stated that the game's design deliberately avoids gunplay, reflecting Indiana Jones' character: "Indiana Jones isn't a gunslinger. He doesn't charge into situations guns blazing." The team drew inspiration from Chronicles of Riddick's melee system, adapting it to suit Indiana Jones' fighting style, which is less about skilled combat and more about resourcefulness and improvisation. Players will utilize everyday objects – pots, pans, even banjos – as weapons. The goal is to capture Indy's "unlikely hero" persona in the gameplay.

Beyond combat, exploration will be a significant component. The game's level design blends linear and open areas, similar to the Wolfenstein series. Larger, more open environments will offer players considerable freedom in approaching challenges, resembling aspects of immersive sims. Andersson described these areas as featuring enemy camps where players must infiltrate buildings, with ample opportunity for exploration and diverse solutions.

Stealth will play a crucial role, incorporating both traditional infiltration and a unique "social stealth" mechanic. Players can find and use disguises to blend in and access restricted areas. Andersson confirmed that each significant location will offer multiple disguise options.

Game director Jerk Gustafsson previously told Inverse that the team intentionally minimized gunplay, focusing on other aspects of the gameplay experience. He explained that the design prioritized hand-to-hand combat, navigation, and traversal, tackling these challenging aspects first. The game will also include a variety of puzzles, ranging in difficulty to cater to a broad range of players, with some exceptionally challenging puzzles offered as optional content.