By Adam Roffel
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was first released on the Xbox Series X/S in 2024, before getting a port to the PlayStation 5 in 2026. The game received an admirable 86% from reviewers, and an 8.1/10 from users on Metacritic, making it one of the better Indiana Jones games ever released on console.
However, when I heard that MachineGames was working with Bethesda on a Nintendo Switch 2 port of the game for 2026, I was pretty skeptical.
The tutorial for Indiana Jones brings us to a familiar place as you replay moments from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. You’ll solve some puzzles in the temple, avoid the traps, swap the bag of sand for the statue, and run for your life from the rolling ball. What follows is an adventure around the world, unraveling the secrets of The Great Circle.
This tutorial highlights the good work MachineGames did to get this playable on the Nintendo Switch 2. With a solid story and a surprisingly strong presentation, this might be one of the better third-party titles currently available on the handheld console, even if it has a few issues that detracted from my overall experience.
A lot of titles previously released on Xbox and PlayStation have made their way over to Nintendo Switch, and for that, Switch owners are thankful. That said, games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Skyrim, and Hitman never looked quite as good, or ran as well, as they did on those other consoles.
If you move between Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Xbox or PlayStation and the Nintendo Switch 2 version, you’ll notice it’s not quite as good either; play this title on Nintendo Switch 2 without a comparison, though, and you will be impressed.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is running relatively well, considering the internal components of the Nintendo Switch 2. Although it doesn’t match the 60 FPS, 4K resolution you get on the PlayStation 5, the Switch 2 version still has an admirable 1080p when docked, with a steady 30 FPS.
It’s not as good, understandably, but no one picking this up on the Nintendo Switch 2 is expecting it to be on par with previous versions.
That said, the game retains Ray-Traced Global Illumination, and the worlds you will explore throughout your 15-20 hour adventure look outstanding. Shadows and lighting effects were much better than I was expecting, and you can tell the team has harnessed the power of the Nintendo Switch 2 to the fullest to make this happen.
There are moments of environmental pop-in that might be jarring for some, but this is, without a doubt, the best-looking AAA port currently available on the Nintendo Switch 2, when docked. In handheld, you get a bit of a reduction in overall quality, which is understandable, but still just as disappointing since I love playing in that format.
The benefit the Nintendo Switch 2 has over the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S is portability of the product. As I previously mentioned, not getting the fantastic high fidelity in handheld mode is a bit disappointing. I spent 80% of my review time with this game playing docked, which is a far cry from the usual 10% I opt for.
Unfortunately, this isn’t how I want to play Indiana Jones, and while the story is probably good enough for some to look past this, it probably didn’t quite meet my expectations.
If your only game console is the Nintendo Switch 2, though, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is definitely worth your time. Despite this franchise not being a favorite of mine, the stellar story will have you traveling through a variety of environments, tackling puzzles, knocking out some Nazis, and making your way through the mystery of The Great Circle.
While not scored by John Williams, his themes and musical tendencies are highlighted through the game’s music, adding to the overall atmosphere of Vatican City, Egypt, Iraq and beyond.
A variety of difficulty modes means this game is quite accessible as well, so that the outstanding story and classic music can be enjoyed even if puzzle solving, stealth, and/or open combat aren’t your thing.
If you are ok with reduced quality in handheld mode and you have an interest in Indiana Jones or puzzle-adventure experiences, this is probably going to be more than worth your hard-earned dollars. The main story alone is going to take 15-20 hours to complete, but you can enjoy more time in the world of The Great Circle as you attempt to find collectibles hidden within each area.
Fantastic character building and a story that will keep you engaged throughout could be enough to get you started on a new adventure with Indiana Jones. Your experience will be elevated through fantastic game mechanics, tight controls, and great accessibility options that will tailor the game’s puzzle difficulty and action sequences to your liking.
Adam has been writing about video games since 2014 and board games since 2018. If he's not rooting for the Toronto Maple Leafs or Toronto FC, he definitely has a controller in his hand - probably playing on a Nintendo platform - or is sitting at a table playing a board game. Adam also has firm opinions on a few key topics: there are much better board games than Settlers of Catan, and Nintendo doesn't need to compete with Sony and Microsoft.
Bulkhead Interactive has announced it is moving WARDOGS' early access release forward, with the tactical FPS now targeting a launch later this summer. The studio cited overwhelmingly positive feedback from…
