How Indiana Jones’ Disguise System Emboldens Gameplay

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is chiefly played through a first-person perspective, but it’s thankfully not beholden to that perspective. Instead, cinematics capture ordinary angles and put Indiana Jones’ Harrison Ford likeness on full display, while certain actions such as climbing or traversing via whip are represented from a third-person perspective. This ensures that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a dynamic experience and allows MachineGames’ implementation of an engaging disguise system to be far more robust than it might’ve been if players couldn’t frequently see how Indy is dressed.

Players still have Indy’s tiny HUD portrait, arms, and shadow to discern what clothes he’s wearing, but seeing his selected outfit also represented in cutscenes is a marvelous means of immersion. Moreover, disguises quickly become more impactful and vital in Indiana Jones and the Great Circleespecially if players are indulging in the game’s enormous amount of exploration and collectible hunting. An Indiana Jones game on paper could be unbelievably elementary in its mechanics, and so a disguise system as fleshed out and rewarding as The Great Circle’s seems like a rare, unanticipated treat.

How Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s Disguises Keep Gameplay from Feeling One-Note

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s gameplay is standard fare for anyone who may already be well familiar with Bethesda stealth/action. Furthermore, while he’s no slouch when it comes to being a pugilist, Indy is hardly meant to be as unfathomably agile or dextrous as Uncharted’s Nathan Drake or Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn’t attempt to exaggerate what Indy’s capabilities are and rather has players abide by the strictness of a stamina meter as he realistically scales surfaces or swings across chasms in a slow, fatigued manner. Nothing changes drastically about the way Indy navigates the world when he’s wearing different disguises, and yet what areas he can or can’t access—as well as how nonchalantly he can access them—is dramatically different depending on what players are wearing.

This is made readily apparent as soon as players don Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s first disguise, the Clerical suit, which is also required for players to be able to equip the disguise-specific Clerical key and enter specific doors. Captain enemies are a nuisance as they can promptly see through Indy’s disguises and instantly alert nearby enemies to him, but they’re vital to balancing stealth because moseying through restricted areas might’ve been too unengaging otherwise when the appropriate outfit is equipped.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s Disguises Let the Default Outfit Shine

Indy will switch back to his ordinary outfit when he no longer needs to be incognito, such as when he slips into a tomb or anywhere out of the way of prying eyes, and doing so is great as it reminds players of a phenomenal skill they have the option of unlocking. Indeed, the Lucky Hat ability showcases Indy’s persevering spirit and resolve while also giving players a second wind if they pan the environment and snatch the fedora before losing consciousness, which is all but necessary when fighting brutes and giants on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s Very Hard difficulty.

Because players swap around to so many different disguises throughout the game, it can be disarming when players are KO’d wearing Indy’s default outfit and don’t instantly respawn as the screen becomes black and white and slowly dims with player control still at hand. Constantly swapping disguises reinforces the purposes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s stealth, but it’s also wonderful to see how it supplements moment-to-moment exploration and makes the experience of playing as Indy more immersive and charming than it might’ve been if players were stuck with basic playstyles and stealth options.