Is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle an open-world game?

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released on December 6, 2024, and it checks all the boxes for a great Indiana Jones adventure. The game tells an intriguing story that captures the charm and nuances of the classics, including staples like exploring mysterious historical sites, punching Nazis in the face, and more. When it comes to an Indiana Jones game, exploration should undoubtedly be the most important feature.

In gaming, exploration is often synonymous with open-world design. However, open-world games rarely get the opportunity to focus on storytelling, which is a vital aspect of any Indiana Jones adventure. To address this, the developer struck a balance by making Indiana Jones and the Great Circle an open-zone game.

NOTE: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinion.

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Why is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle an open-zone game?

Open zone works the best for Indiana Jones. (Image via MachineGames)

Heavily open-world games like Marvel’s Spider-Man or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla often face a common problem: overstuffed maps. In Spider-Man, for example, you're constantly distracted by ongoing crimes, backpacks, and other collectibles scattered across the map.

While this approach works for Spider-Man, it might feel immersion-breaking for an Indiana Jones game if the character spends too much time aimlessly roaming instead of focusing on his quest.

This is why the developers at MachineGames made the smart decision to adopt an open-zone approach.

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How does open-zone work in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?

Explore each new zone to its fullest! (Image via MachineGames)

Open-zone design means you won't have a massive map to explore freely from the start. Instead, you'll progressively unlock multiple smaller zones that you can explore openly. The first zone in The Great Circle is Vatican City, and it’s a lot of fun to explore. Although smaller in size, it is packed with mysteries and side quests that you can tackle at your own pace.

Exploration in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels incredibly refreshing. The best way to describe the experience — without spoiling too much — is that it feels like exploring cities in older Assassin’s Creed games, combined with a touch of Uncharted.

Each zone invites you to explore for hours, uncovering its secrets, completing side quests, and eventually advancing the main story without veering too far off track.