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“Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle”: we play the most anticipated game at the end of the year

A few weeks before its launch, Tech&Co was able to take over Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle. A promising, but still in-progress, first look at the adventures of the famous archaeologist.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”. This phrase, heard many times in the saga and expected by all fans, could not escape the scriptwriters and creators ofIndiana Jones and the Ancient Circlethe future game starring the famous archaeologist. No more than knowing that they will have to track down artifacts whose “place is a museum.”

The first minutes of the first trailer had announced the color. Those of the game confirm it: all the codes of the saga created by Steven Spielberg are present in the game created by MachineGames and published by Bethesda.

A larger than life Indiana Jones

Tech&Co was able to enjoy two hours of gaming with a controller in hand to discover Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circleexpected for PC and Xbox Series on December 9. The title is still being finalized, but this session was an opportunity to learn a little more about an adventure that takes place between the events of Raiders of the lost ark and of The last crusade.

“We’ve been working on the game for four and a half years. Todd Howard (Bethesda executive producer of radioactive dust AND star field in particular, editor’s note) had a long-held vision for an Indiana Jones game. He went to LucasFilm Games with his idea, which seemed like a no-brainer,” Axel Torvenius, creative director of the game at MachineGames, recalls to Tech&Co. “I already had in mind that MachineGames would participate.”

As expected, the Swedish studio accepts the challenge “with great pride and excitement.” But how can we adequately adapt such a cinematographic myth and its universe? First writing an original but credible story: that of the Ancient Circle and an alignment of spiritual sites on the planet that hide great powers.

“To turn this into a video game, elements from the 80s movies had to be adapted, in order to turn the Indiana Jones of the big screen into a game hero. I think we were able to find the right balance without distorting the brand or leaving. into something crazy,” he explains.

From this first discovery we get a promising feeling. Everything comes together to create a cocktail of success: Indiana Jones has the features of a young Harrison Ford and the interpretation of Troy Baker, one of the great voices of video games, is surprising (Richard Darbois, official voice of the actor in French). , will lend his voice in VF). “Without the excellent work of Troy Baker, we would not have had this realistic Indiana Jones of the game,” acknowledges Axel Torvenius. “He surprised everyone at the castings. He was simply exceptional. He is one of the most important elements of the game.”

In fact, his work helps to fully immerse yourself in the story. It’s Indiana Jones as we remember it. Troy Baker also did the motion capture and it’s his facial expressions that he lends to Indy. “He does everything: the facial expressions, the gestures, the attitudes, the fights. He is the Harrison Ford of the saga,” we remember at MachineGames where we especially wanted to pay tribute to the work done by Harrison Ford with his character. “It’s great to say that, in some ways, we are also a small part of that years later.”

Infiltration, exploration, fighting in the program.

The fact of finding characters from the film, of seeing them come to life before our eyes, of finding references to important elements (the whip, the Fedora, the notebook, etc.), in addition to the settings and the grain of the image. , returns you to the atmosphere of the first trilogy. The game adds gameplay elements such as the camera to search for clues. The ancient circle It is set especially where we hope to follow in the archaeologist’s footsteps and begins in 1937, at Marshall College where the hero teaches.

The opening of the sequence that we were able to experience is pure Indiana Jones. Our hero confronts a man who has broken in to steal an artifact. Facing the colossus, the fight is unequal, but it sets the mood. Everything has been destroyed and you must, through a mini-game, return each museum piece to its correct place.

The dialogues between Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody, who has the features of Denholm Elliott, are as succulent as in the cinema. The chase through the university hallways could have ended in front of the cameras. The passage through Italy and the outskirts of the Vatican, where Indy must use his talents of infiltration and cunning to progress, while dealing blows and whippings, are imbued with the spirit of the saga. And what can we say about the sequence in Egypt where he finds himself adorned with an acolyte, the Italian journalist Gina Lombardi, who coincides with the archaeologist’s partners: relevant, painful and persevering? She accompanies him in his searches, inspires him with ideas to progress, but you will have to get out of complex situations on your own.

The sequence between the construction workers used by the Nazis to try to find access to the heart of the Pyramid of Giza at the behest of the antagonist, Emmerich Voss, is as delicious as possible. Indy will have to sneak behind enemy lines, get information from locals, disguise himself to blend in with the crowd and progress better, while optimizing his skills. Everything remembers the tone of Raiders of the lost ark. The game also contains multiple references to emblematic scenes from the franchise, whether in the puzzle game approach where you have to find artifacts, activate mechanisms, play with elements or light. And obviously flee as quickly as possible from enemies, snakes or other elements.

A successful dive, still some adjustments to make

If the setting could have been that of a film, it is based on a sound identity or even an artistic aspect in the continuity of the films. “We wanted to make the absolute version of Indiana Jones, the one we love, that we remember and that we wanted to transcribe to live his adventures,” recalls Axel Torvenius. “We didn’t want to just recreate it, do something weird or completely reinvent it, be even remotely close to it. We wanted to be in tune with what it really is.”

It’s all there and worthy of what we expect from an Indiana Jones game. Obviously you have to get used to the first person. But as the Machine Games teams point out: they have “real knowledge in first-person games” with lobostein and very quickly we get used to the idea of ​​not controlling our hero, but embodying him. Admittedly, this adds to the immersion, although as soon as you use the whip to climb, swing, or whatever, the third-person view suddenly takes over. However, to solve the puzzles, it is much better to have your own view.

Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle There is still time to polish some details. If the game is based a lot on infiltration, the artificial intelligence that manages the enemies is sometimes extremely lax and it will be easy to pass by them without being seen. Also, in combat, it’s a bit anarchic at times. The idea of ​​listing everything in the notebook to have the information at your fingertips (map of locations, annotated items, clues, people interviewed, etc.) is a good idea, but the ergonomics are not optimal and the visualization is sometimes Annoying when exploring an area with the book open, obscuring part of the view if you lower the camera too much.

Still, we can’t wait to take over future (temporary) Xbox exclusivity for much longer. If you are fans of the hat hero, the game is made for you. We are in the world of Indiana Jones, whether visually, story-wise, or even in the humor and mockery. The hero still has the same charisma and has everything to be the Indiana Jones game we always dreamed of. If you’re looking for action, you’re sure to find it, following in the footsteps of a character who inspired Lara Croft (tomb Raider) before inspiring Nathan Drake (Unexplored). Two sources of inspiration to design this adventure game and complete an adventurous loop.

INDIANA JONES AND THE OLD CIRCLE – Available December 9 on Xbox Series and PC – Available in 2025 on PS5.

Author: Melinda Davan-Soulas
Source: BFM TV

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