Indiana Jones And The Great Circle was announced at this week’s Xbox Deveoper Direct. It looks good! There has been much discussion of its decision to make its tomb raiding first-person (with some third-person traversal and cutscenes), however.
In an interview with Lucasfilm.com, game director Jerk Gustafsson said first-person was “part of MachineGames’ DNA”, and that the perspective “separates our game from many other action-adventure titles.”
“First-person gameplay is part of MachineGames’ DNA, and we wanted to see how we could use this to create a really immersive experience around stepping into the shoes of the world’s most famous archaeologist,” said Gustfsson.
“It also separates our game from many other action-adventure titles, making it a unique experience that you cannot find anywhere else. However, we still want to show Indy as much as possible, so we have a seamless flow between first-person gameplay and third-person actions, events, and cinematics.”
Perhaps you could say first-person is uncharted territory for the genre. Regardless, I always personally prefer first-person games – although I recognise that is mostly just a preference, as I can see there are pros and cons to both.
Gustaffson also spoke about creating action that felt Indy-esque. Although he didn’t talk about the clumsiness I crave from Dr. Jones, he did refer to combat being grounded, heavy and improvisational, with “a sense of dread, like you are just about to stumble over the precipice, or the branch you’re holding onto is about to break.” That’s enticing to me.
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is aiming to release in 2024.