Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings: Why the Great Circle fans should try this out in 2025

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle was released for the Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2024, and this project was a massive triumph from Machine Games and Bethesda Softworks. While the Xbox community can enjoy the title’s timed exclusivity before it ships to rival platforms, PlayStation 5 users can play another game in the meantime, and no, it is not Uncharted or Tomb Raider.

LucasArts released Indiana Jones and Staff of Kings for the PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable in 2009, and it was an underrated Indy adventure, to say the least. Unfortunately, the developers didn't launch the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. The game has been remastered for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 at an affordable price of $5.99 or for free with an active PlayStation Plus subscription. Despite being a few years older, it is worth trying in 2025.

Disclaimer: Some aspects of the article reflect the writer's subjective views about the game.

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Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is a blast from the past

This Indiana Jones adventure was decent, especially for its time (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

The story is one of the redeeming factors about Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. While other important factors, such as visuals, graphics, and physics, are not up to standard for gaming nowadays, LucasArts built a solid foundation for an interactive and immersive Indiana Jones experience. The story follows Indy looking for the Staff of Moses, the same staff used to split the Red Sea. Players will visit different parts of the world to thwart the Nazi's plan to claim this artifact for themselves and have a good time all around.

The PlayStation Plus version of The Staff of Kings is an enhanced version of the original PlayStation 2 game with extra features and quality-of-life improvements. Despite being an older game, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings runs smoothly with a 60 frames-per-second frame rate, making it easy on the eyes.

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The visuals received a massive overhaul

Other improvements include visual settings, rewinding time to replay or do over certain combat encounters or to see if players missed a clue, and custom video filters to accommodate certain displays. While this is not a full-on remake with new assets, this remaster is still impressive.

Much like The Great Circle, this Indiana Jones adventure has plenty of hidden relics and artifacts for players to discover, which is a clever way to pay homage to the character’s passion for treasure hunting. These relics are also used as currency for players to unlock bonuses in the extra menu. The Staff of Kings will be a good alternative to hold off fans on PlayStation 5 until the most recent entry is ported later this year.

The remaster also includes a trophy system, a feature missing from the original PlayStation 2 version. This is reason enough for players to try this game to acquire more trophies, increase their trophy level, and unlock another platinum. Game developers don’t have plenty of options for a game about treasure hunting, and it would be easy to spot similarities to other franchises.

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The combat is satisfying

Indiana Jones and The Staff of Kings has plenty of environmental puzzle-solving and platforming (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

The Uncharted and Tomb Raider games thrived in the platforming genre but with more over-the-top action sequences. The live-action Indiana Jones films are renowned for being great action-adventure stories, and The Staff of Kings remaster tried its best to keep up. It has a few action sequences that are not as action-packed, but it was serviceable.

Indy is armed with a pistol and his iconic whip that he can use to pull and hit enemies, destroy obstacles, and swing from platform to platform. LucasArts wanted to show Indy’s scrappy side and resourcefulness by dropping useful items from the environment. If players get swarmed by a large group of enemies, they can run around and grab empty glass bottles to throw at them and even items like broomsticks, frying pans, and shovels.

The combat has cartoonish qualities and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Players can easily telegraph incoming attacks from enemy NPCs and button-mash their way to victory.

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Conclusion

This Indiana Jones adventure was decent, especially for its time (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

Not many people knew about Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings given that it never had a native PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 port. This remaster came at a perfect time and gave the game the respect it deserves. Players will be looking for alternatives to pass the time before it is available on the PlayStation 5.

This remaster is the definitive way to experience Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, and it comes with extra features unavailable elsewhere. The game is affordable on the PlayStation Store, and if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription, you should check this game out in 2025 if you are an avid fan of The Great Circle.