MachineGames, the developer behind Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, has confirmed a significant gameplay detail: players will not be able to harm dogs. This decision marks a departure from the studio's previous work, which often featured animal combat.
A Dog-Friendly Adventure
The creative director, Jens Andersson, explained to IGN that this choice reflects Indiana Jones's character and the game's overall tone. "Indiana Jones is a dog person," Andersson stated. While the game retains the series' characteristic action and combat against human enemies, canine encounters will be non-lethal. Dogs might act as obstacles, but players will only scare them away, rather than harming them. Andersson highlighted the family-friendly nature of the Indiana Jones IP as a key factor in this decision. "It’s a family-friendly IP in many ways," he said. "How do we do that well? Well, these are the kind of things that we do. We have dogs as enemies, but you don’t really hurt the dogs. You scare them away."
Gameplay and Setting
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches December 9th on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a PS5 release tentatively scheduled for Spring 2025. Set in 1937, between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, the game follows Indy as he pursues stolen artifacts from Marshall College. His adventure takes him across diverse locations, from the Vatican and Egyptian pyramids to the underwater temples of Sukhothai. Indy's whip remains a crucial tool, serving both as a traversal aid and a weapon against human foes within open-world-inspired environments.
Rest assured, dog lovers: Indy's whip will remain a threat only to human adversaries in this upcoming adventure.
