Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle – Xbox Video Game

The Game

Review by Frédéric Beaufrere

Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle arrives in the Gamepass and is tested here on Xbox Series X on a 4K 120 Hz Oled screen and 5.1 sound reproduction. After a Dantesque Flash Back in 1936 that all fans will appreciate and which is impressive from the outset, the action takes place in 1937 just after the events of the original film and Indy’s separation from Marion and just before the second world war or the fascist forces are put in place. We therefore find all the codes and benchmarks of the successful film, both in the explorations and the enigmas or the sharp replies of the hero.

Don’t look for any spoilers in this article, that’s out of the question. Instead, jump on the title and enjoy the original story it offers, with its travels around the world (Himalayas, Siam, Vatican) to accomplish both the main quest and numerous side quests with hidden treasures. , rare items, collector’s items, relics to photograph and others.

Thanks to the harvest of all this, we acquire game points and money stolen from the fascist. Throughout the scenery you can find documents allowing you to unlock advanced skills for Indy, through sacrifices and game points collected. With the money gleaned here and there, you can buy accessories to make quests easier.

In every corner of the game are scattered bandages, healing bottles, ammunition and other goodies to make the hero’s life easier. Obviously, several choices of difficulty level when launching the game make it possible to make the adventure much more challenging or, conversely, offer a simpler tourist stroll for less experienced players.

In any case, we never get bored: we investigate, we fight, we infiltrate, we climb, we jump, we survive, we solve puzzles to trigger mysterious mechanisms, we jump while rummaging through the jingle in the cellars, in the ruins, we play with the whip and the revolver, but also with improvised weapons. The whip is also a very versatile tool that we quickly learn to master to get out of the most delicate situations.

CONCLUSION

With an in-house graphics engine, MachineGames delivers the most beautiful, exciting and immersive title with Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle. Absolutely faithful to the franchise and its roots thanks to close collaboration with Lucasfilms, Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle is as splendid as it is essential and alone justifies the investment in a Gamepass subscription for the Christmas holidays. A sure value.

L’image

Colors

Definition

Compression

Video Format

Ultra HD 2160p

Cinema Format

1.78:1

The Motor Engine that drives the title allows for beautiful 1800p rendering at 60 frames per second. After an unforgettable introductory scene which sets the tone, the game confirms that throughout its chapters, in all your explorations, the fluidity and richness of the environments are there.

The open scenes follow the linear passages in digestible proportions and Indy’s quests do honor to the saga, both in the extraordinary rendering of the settings teeming with details, objects, furniture, fauna and characters.

We can also highlight the remarkable 3D modeling which immortalizes Harrison Ford, Tony Todd, Alfred Molina, Denholm Elliott, Enrico Colantoni, Carlo Rota, David Shaughnessy or Marios Gavrilis to name but a few, but the list is very long.

The good idea is to play in cinema mode, like in Star Wars Outlaw, which allows immersion like films from the 80s. Full screen is also offered, but does not benefit from such a wide field of vision. Also note that my deliberate choice to offer the game in the first person allows you to experience the adventure from the direct point of view of Indiana Jones, a unique and intimate experience which allows you to be at the heart of the action and thoughts of the archaeologist.

This in no way prevents the title from showing Indy in the 3rd person on numerous occasions during specific action scenes, such as when climbing or during dialogues with secondary characters. There is therefore no frustration and no moment do we feel detached from the hero who we can regularly see in his entirety.

The Sound

Language

Type

Format

Spatialization

Dynamic

Surround

French

5.1

What is striking from the introductory scene is the richness of the sound environments. The immersion is immediate, whether through the sounds we feel the humidity of the jungle and its agitated fauna or the calm of the Vatican library, through the snowstorms in the heart of the Himalayas. In the hero’s immediate environment, the impressive crack of the whip chills the blood.

We are obviously in heaven and we are jubilant thanks to the French dubbing of Mr. Richard DARBOIS who delivers a performance worthy of the Indiana Jones myth and which is worth its weight in gold because his voice is so familiar to us. The other dubbing voices are of good quality and immersion requires, when traveling, the local dialects of the sites visited are dubbed in the original local language and are therefore subtitled in French.

Combined with the splendor of the general photography of the title, the sound design constantly invites the player’s spirit of discovery to be pushed at every moment. We explore, we search, the slightest creak on the ground could be a clue, an action on a lever can translate into a distant sound of a wall mechanism which has just opened, a whistling or a light cough can announce proximity of an enemy, all the senses are on alert.

Bonuses

Supplements

Menus

Screen printing

Packaging

Duration

0 min

Housing

None (Download)