Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is One of 2024’s Funniest Games

Funny games are hard to make, but not outright impossible. Proof of this lies in the small scattering of rare punchlines across gaming’s history, from decades-old point-and-click adventures on Monkey Island to the slapstick-ridden British streets of this year’s Thank Goodness You're Here. Fascinatingly, it turns out 2024 has another, perhaps unexpected contender for funniest game of the year on the way, and it carries a hat and whip.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle stirred up several different feelings within me over the two or so hours I played at a recent preview event. The violent thrill of combat. The brain-tingling joy of solving ancient puzzles. I even felt a little lump in my throat upon hearing the instantly recognisable notes of John Willams' Marion’s Theme as Indy discovered a note from his now-distant love interest. But the overriding thing I did when playing was grin with childlike amusement. The Great Circle delivers physical comedy on par with the Hitman series, and looks set to be a worthy successor to IO’s World of Assassination trilogy when it comes to creating laughs through gameplay.

There’s a moment in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when an over-confident Harrison Ford turns to his on-screen father, played by Sean Connery, to calm his fears about an incoming Nazi tank. “Dad, we’re well out of range”, he says, moments before that very same tank fires a shell that destroys a jeep 20 yards behind them. A combination of sharp scriptwriting, pinpoint performances, and Steven Spielberg’s masterful ability to play action scenes for both thrills and laughs within seconds of one another, it’s a useful reminder of just how humorous the Indy films are.

It’s very encouraging then that, from what I’ve played so far, the Great Circle is continuing that legacy of action comedy. Pushing enemies off high ledges and hearing their steadily fading Wilhelm screams is one thing, but it's in the malleable disposable weapons system that the chuckles really emerge. During an under-the-cover-of-night infiltration of the Vatican I had too much fun picking up any old item I could and bonking unaware guards over the head with them. Trucheons, shovels, umbrellas, and three different stringed instruments all collided with the backs and skulls of my unsuspecting prey. The combination of everyday object whistling through the air before hitting its bemused target with a thud made me laugh every time. It’s a simple pleasure, but maybe I’m a simple man.

It all built up to my pièce de résistance, though, as I foolishly threw a pocketed biscotti at an Italian bruiser. It dealt no damage but did make for a sweet moment of puzzlement on his face before he raised his fists to cover it. It felt like the punchline in an unwritten Indy adventure, one where a desperate Dr. Jones tries his luck with whatever’s in his bag and comes up desperately short.

It’s this willingness for the Great Circle to let you play with your food – and many other household items – that reminded me of the childish joy that IO Interactive’s Hitman games deliver in spades (sometimes literally). Indy may not have the gameplay design flexibility that Agent 47’s missions possess – given a banana, our favourite archaeologist’s actions would likely be limited to either thumping with or throwing it, instead of laying it down as a trap – but the essence of Hitman’s physical action comedy is absolutely there to be felt.

While The Great Circle may not share Hitman’s freedom of approach, it does try to include a number of pre-baked opportunities. For instance, on a trip to an excavation site at the Great Pyramids of Giza, I had to turn on a generator in order to power an elevator. Doing so electrified the water around me and fried a couple of unsuspecting members of the Third Reich. Whipping guns out of Nazi fingertips and witnessing the shock on their faces is also a thrill, as is wrapping it around their ankles to trip them up. And disguising yourself as a local dig worker shares the same feeling of naughtiness that dressing as one of 47’s many, many outfits does. Get caught and you’ll have to fight your way out of the situation, the panic in itself creating comedy and reflecting Indy’s clumsy, sometimes bumbling nature, as you grab hold of anything close and chuck it at anyone with a swastika on their sleeve.

This is a professor of history who fancies himself a swashbuckling archaeologist, after all, not a full-blooded action hero. This is best displayed in the game’s opening encounter, where he is quickly knocked out by the man mountain of a mysterious figure played by the Candyman himself, Tony Todd. This rough and tumble is really what I’ve enjoyed about the Great Circle’s combat and general approach to enemy encounters so far. You’d maybe imagine something a lot closer to Uncharted, with vast swathes of battle between the archaeological finds, but in reality, I only shot a gun twice in over two hours. Developer MachineGames’ level design encourages you to survey the arena and find a smarter, or potentially funnier solution to each action puzzle. It’s far more fitting for the character and what we’ve seen from him on-screen for over five decades now.

All of this talk of player-led gameplay should not fully overshadow the great job that MachineGames has seemingly done when it comes to the more authored aspects, though – the story, world, and characters. The tone feels authentically Indy and the snappy writing, combined with Troy Baker’s uncanny Ford impression, goes a long way to evoking the pulpy tone of the original movie trilogy. Jones comes across as that delightful blend of smarts, sarcasm, and cockiness that made us fall in love with him the first time around. A combination of tickling one-liners when delivering knockout punches and charmingly crafted cutscenes, such as Indy's horror at having to feed a friend’s pet snake, are genuinely funny.

It all links back to MachineGames and Bethesda’s collaborators, LucasFilm, and, indeed, the beloved LucasArts games of the 90s. Hits such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, and of course, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis were not only incredibly fun point-and-click adventures but often hilarious. Not only brilliantly written, they frequently delivered laughs through gameplay and the bizarre use of items such as rubber chickens and balloon animals. It’s exciting to see MachineGames embrace this use of everyday objects as comedy props, too, as well as the more expected humour that traces back to the studio’s Wolfenstein series that also poked fun at the Nazi regime. If B.J. Blazkowicz can find himself auditioning for Hitler at his Venus base, just think of what bizarre situations the Swedish studio has in store for Indy, who himself is no stranger to the occult or otherworldly.

It’s fair to say I find myself very encouraged by what I played of the Great Circle. Its willingness to be silly, but never compromise smart gameplay systems for cheap laughs, is hitting a sweet spot for me that I want out of an Indiana Jones game. With the tone nailed, I’m left very excited to uncover the full adventure in December.

Stick and stones may break Simon Cardy's bones but fedora hats and whips excite him. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.