At last, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has arrived on PlayStation. With Xbox’s third-party initiatives in full swing, PlayStation fans have been enjoying a steady drip of once-exclusive titles hitting the platform. After the initial few, including the equally fantastic Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, the likes of Sea of Thieves dropped anchor on PlayStation 5 (PS5). One of the most highly anticipated titles, Indiana Jones on PS5, is bringing over a host of console and PS5 Pro enhancements to the game, using the systems’ unique features to the fullest.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle came out on Xbox in early December 2024, with MachineGames‘ latest Nazi punching entry being critically celebrated. Sitting at an impressive 87% on OpenCritic, reviews across the board praised the cinematics, story, and how well the game captured the magic of Indiana Jones. Our critic gave it an 8/10, saying, “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does what the franchise does best…Punch Nazis, celebrate history, explore the world, and then save it.”
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Indiana Jones on PS5 takes the already incredible foundation and builds on it. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle makes full use of the PS5 and PS5 Pro. Graphical capability is better than before, keeping the stable 60fps on the PS5, while bumping up to 4k visuals on PS5 Pro—both with ray tracing. Dualsense implementation fully uses the adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and even the light bar. One of the major things that PlayStation has had over Xbox this generation is the genuinely next-gen controller, and the Dualsense implementation is excellent.
Indiana Jones on PS5 makes the absolute most of the Dualsense, letting the player embody Indy.
While plenty of games use the Dualsense in different ways, Indiana Jones on PS5 uses it to its fullest. Most games will have the triggers help simulate different guns, but with Indian Jones, it goes even farther. The haptic feedback immerses the player even more than before. The whip crackles across the controller, while each punch, whether it’s given or received, rattles your hands. The kick of each gun feels different, especially when paired with the adaptive triggers.
Shooting a pistol versus a machine gun feels different on the triggers, requiring different amounts of effort. When a dog bites and latches on to you, the triggers tense up, making the struggle to free yourself that much more intense. Even when using your tools, like the camera or lighter, the Dualsense makes you feel like you’re actually pressing the shutter button or clicking the lighter alive.
This brings the player even closer to the life of Indiana Jones, making the puzzles and combat even more tactile. It’s more than just the first-person perspective – you feel what Jones does from minute to minute. Slotting a medallion into the right spot gives the controller a low rumble as the door slides open in front of you. Bashing an enemy over the head with a bottle both requires a harder pull on the trigger, while also rattling the controller with impact. It puts Indiana’s experience in your hands in a way that isn’t the same elsewhere.
Even the light bar on the Dualsense is utilized. When Indiana is hurt and low health, it’ll flash red, another visual indicator tied to our hero. Start to recover, and it’ll turn yellow, and eventually back to green at full health. Even when enemies search for you, the light will flash yellow, indicating danger. It’s a nice touch that really brings the Dualsense into the experience entirely.
Visually, Indiana Jones on PS5 is stunning. Hitting a stable 60fps with ray-traced visuals, it’s constantly gorgeous to look at. Looking at the powerhouses in the Xbox Series X and the PS5 Pro, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle pushes its visuals even farther. On Xbox Series X, Indiana ran at around 1800p with dynamic resolution scaling at 60fps. It also included ray-traced visuals.
Ray-tracing has been one of the biggest jumps in graphical quality this generation. Realistically simulating light – how it moves, reflects, interacts with the environment – has made environments look even more realistic than before. Ray-tracing already looked good in Indiana Jones on Xbox, but on PS5 Pro, it gets even more detailed.
The PS4 Pro meets Indiana Jones and the Great Circle where it cinematically needs it to.
On PS5 Pro, the game gets up to native 4k60fps, with advanced visual ray tracing. It makes the reflections and light paths even more realistic, rendering faster and even clearer. With the visual bump on the Pro, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the most visually impressive games on the console.
Whether you’re getting lost in the sand-swept hills of Gizeh or wandering the halls of the Vatican, each environment is full of detail. The bump in resolution brings Indiana Jones and the Great Circle‘s dense visual language to life in ever greater effect than before, making textures more crisp and readable.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5 takes an already incredible experience and makes it even better. The Dualsense, with both of the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, immerses the player more than ever before. The visuals, especially on PlayStation 5 Pro, are stunning and some of the best on the console. PlayStation 5 players who have been waiting to swing into the world of Indiana Jones are in for an amazing experience.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches on April 17th on PS5, and is out now on Xbox, Game Pass, and PC.
