Games of 2024: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle had this year's most approachable, high-stakes stealth

When you think back to every Indiana Jones movie, at one point or another Indy has had to be stealthy. Whether it's donning a disguise in The Last Crusade to get his father’s Holy Grail diary back, or sneaking onto a submarine to follow the Ark when it slipped out of his grasp, there's always a time he needs to be silent and sneaky - though whether Indy actually pulls this off without being caught is another matter entirely. He's not always the subtlest of human beings, which is precisely one of the reasons I feel stealth in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle works so well.

I should preface this by saying I don't really get on with stealth in a lot of games - if I can bombard my way through them and hope for the best, then I will. Take Star Wars Outlaws from earlier this year. Sure, I could have been stealthy around the Imperial Bases, but why bother when I had a blaster? Apart from those insta-fail sections, which have now been patched out, it didn't really matter if you caught out. But the atmosphere in Indiana Jones makes you feel like so much more is at stake if you get seen - even when it's not an explicit requirement.

In the first moments of the game, it's made quite clear that there's a lot more going on in this story than has been revealed to you (as most Indy stories tend to go). By making this obvious from the beginning, it makes you want to be stealthy and keep yourself hidden from the eyes of enemies. You feel the sense of urgency hiding behind a crate while an enemy patrols past with a guard dog at their side, as you know it won't be long before one is behind you and spots you, so you need to swiftly move between cover without getting caught.

The stealth itself is very approachable. When crouched, you can move silently through spaces, not having to worry about sound metres or the like as you might in other, more hardcore stealth games. Of course, if you run or fire your gun, then guards will naturally come running after you as well, and they'll likewise whistle for back-up if you stay too long in their direct line of sight. But it all feels very intuitive as you start feeling out what is and isn't possible in The Great Circle, making even stealth novices like myself feel like they confidently get through it.

If you do end up raising the alarm, of course, then all is not lost. For starters, you can usually knock out an alerted enemy with a broomstick or guitar you've found laying around, which is always fun. I mean, you can run away but, well, where's the fun in that? Similarly, if one approach isn't working for you, there are usually other routes you can try, or other objects you can use to switch up your tactics, which is precisely what this game does so well. You can throw a glass bottle to distract a guard as you slip into a cellar hatch, or use your whip to get them to turn in a different direction while you climb up some (questionably) safe scaffolding.

It feels realistic, but not to the point that it becomes frustrating and unenjoyable. I once managed to get myself stuck behind a crate with no clear exit path, for example, and enemies were patrolling up and down (one had a dog which upped the ante), and I felt myself going, "Well… this isn't good". But after a moment, I realised I had multiple chances to use stealth to my advantage - this time I chose to create a diversion by grabbing a nearby wrench and tossing it across the courtyard to get the enemy's attention. Then, while their backs were turned, I dashed across the way and dove through an open window… only to then find myself behind yet another guard. Luckily, I kept myself out of their eyeline and snuck into the next room. "Phew," I thought. "I was safe!" And I liked that it didn't punish me for thinking on my feet.

That's really one of the best thing about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. You can lean into the stealth as much as you like, but if it goes wrong, you have the freedom to pick yourself back up again and try something new.