Hype in the video game industry is a curious thing to both encourage and gauge things on. After all, how many times in recent history have we found ourselves incredibly hyped about a title, only to be disappointed by it when it finally arrives? Or, how many times in recent history has a game come in with little to no hype, and then it blew everyone’s minds with how great it was? We can think of many titles for both sides of that coin. When it comes to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, one would think that the legendary character’s return to gaming would be hyped up. However, signs seem to point to the opposite.
This notion comes from Tech4Gamers, who cited a recent poll about what games people were excited about, and Indy’s next title was barely mentioned at all compared to other games. While this isn’t the “end all be all” metric, it should be noted that gamers have had concerns about this Bethesda-published title since its announcement, which was a few years ago, if you recall. When it finally got some footage shown, it LOOKED like a game featuring Indiana Jones, and the plot fell right into the style that Indy would take part in, but other elements felt off.
The biggest thing was the gameplay, which was in first-person. Many, including those at Bethesda and developer Machine Games, stated that they wanted you to “feel like Indiana Jones,” even though in the game’s cutscenes, you see Indy in full without issue. Furthermore, the gameplay didn’t feel as exciting or engaging, and subsequent trailers nailed down that feeling. It didn’t help that recently, the team noted that gunplay “wasn’t a focus” for Indiana, as he barely used guns in the movie.
The other element here might be that while Indiana Jones and the Great Circle acts like a faithful entry in the franchise as a whole, that doesn’t mean the franchise is doing the best right now. After all, fans and critics alike maligned its last two movies. Sure, the fourth film made a lot of money, but it came at the cost of being hated by many, and some refused to acknowledge the movie after seeing it.
What it might come down to is that there aren’t as many Indiana Jones fans out there who might want to play the game. Nostalgia only goes so far, after all. It also doesn’t help that the game is coming out on PS5 after being labeled an Xbox exclusive for a long time. Just saying!
