A Roman Ruin or a Glorious Find?
It feels like a lifetime since the credits rolled on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. It was one of the few games in recent years which utterly enthralled me and did such a brilliant job of capturing the magic of the movies. We always knew that DLC was coming, but finally The Order of Giants has arrived.
It’s an Italian affair for Indy as his latest adventure unfolds in, around, and underneath Rome. Picking up the trail from Father Ricci in Vatican city, Indy sets out in search of a Roman artifact which soon turns into a perilous quest featuring mythical beasts, a deadly cult and terrible secrets.
Whips and Whispers
As before, you can choose a sneaky or more direct approach, with plenty of makeshift weapons available for executing those stealth knockouts. Troy Baker also remains quintessentially Indiana Jones, with some brilliant cutscenes sprinkled into the game. Indy’s whip also takes centre stage once again, getting put to good use when it comes to exploring, puzzle solving and even combat.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants feels a lot more claustrophobic than the base game. This is because Indy spends most of his time creeping through catacombs and raiding tombs. Sure, there are a couple of more open environments and you can go boating again which is good fun, but most of the action takes place underground, in tight tunnels or sewage canals. What results is much more of a scaled back, singular focused feel to the DLC. There are some secrets to find, and lost artefacts to recover, however there are no fully blown side quests this time around.
Lateral Thinking and Physical Puzzles
However, where Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants really shines is when it comes to the puzzles. They are on par with, or even better than, what came before. Although seemingly simple on the surface, they often require a little bit of lateral thinking to solve. For example, in one tomb a series of stone tablets tells an ancient story in four parts, and you’ll need to reflect the ancient tale by correctly positioning the stone dials on the floor.
What elevates the puzzles in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants is the physical effects on your immediate environment as you work at them. The delightfully intricate, ancient chambers are, as ever, a sight to behold. Indeed, I had forgotten just how brilliant this game looks but this new chapter hammers that point home once again.
The Climax and Atmosphere
Towards the end of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants (no spoilers here) there’s a pretty cool set piece and final battle which does the story justice. It caught me totally off guard too, which made it all the more enjoyable.
I definitely got a different vibe from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants, especially when I met the Cult of Mithras. The dark, dingy, skeleton riddled underbelly of Rome made the perfect setting for some jump scares, whilst keeping a constant sense of threat lingering.
A Missed Opportunity for Innovation
Although it may feel different, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants plays exactly the same as the base game. Sadly, there are no new mechanics or gameplay tweaks to get stuck into here. I know they say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but given how innovative Indy’s return was, this feels like a missed opportunity.
A Brief but Brilliant Adventure with a Steep Price Tag
When all is said and done, there’s no getting away from the fact that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants is a brief adventure, even for DLC. It’ll take you around three or four hours to finish and it just feels short. Perhaps this is because there isn’t as much side questing to do and the environments feel linear, but even so you’ll be left wanting more.
This also links to another issue, the price. If you want to pick this DLC up it’ll set you back around £18, which is expensive. Don’t get me wrong, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants is a great game while it lasts, but the price tag still feels steep. Given all this, I still really enjoyed myself jumping back into Indy’s boots. It still has that magic which is hard to find elsewhere, and more of the same is not necessarily a bad thing.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants is bittersweet. Despite getting almost everything right, as did the base game, it’s hard not to feel short changed by the time the credits roll. Let’s pray Indy’s not about to hang his whip up anytime soon.
Important Links
Indiana Jones Descends into Roman Catacombs in The Order of Giants DLC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/indiana-jones-descends-into-roman-catacombs-in-the-order-of-giants-dlc/
Buy The Order of Giants – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-the-order-of-giants/9p1w94sb1zvn
