Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Something is off about the leading man in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The game stars a near-perfectly de-aged likeness of Harrison Ford who smiles, winks and grimaces much as the actor did in the 1980s. But upon opening his mouth, it is not Ford’s laconic drawl that emerges but that of Troy Baker, a voice-acting giant of the video game world who received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Joel in 2013’s The Last of Us. Baker here is not doing an impersonation of Ford so much as an evocation. Slowly, he comes to impart his own spin on the character: the cognitive dissonance dissipates; a gruffer, more reserved Indy materialises. The decision to cast Baker is only one of many daring choices that helps Indiana Jones and the Great Circle step confidently beyond the realm of homage. Another is the decision to make this adventure first-person, thus avoiding the toyetic presentation of many third-person superhero romps. This makes The Great Circle less a game of puppeteering than of role-play, and what a delight it is to step into Indy’s brown leather shoes, browsing stalls at a bustling Egyptian bazaar and venturing into mysterious passages below a resplendent recreation of Vatican City. Such is the audiovisual verve, you can practically smell the musty air that has not touched human nostrils in hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The Great Circle melds the affectionate nostalgia and accessible postmodernism of the original movies with genuinely bold blockbuster game-making. There are guns but you rarely use them — because punching Nazis and Mussolini’s goons is brilliantly, viscerally cathartic. The story centres on the Great Circle (a series of sites located around the circumference of the globe) and a historical revelation involving ancient Christians and Egyptians — pure hokum, but wonderfully judged. This unfurls at whatever pace you choose across ornately designed open spaces that reward the kind of obsessive nosing about that our archaeologist hero is famous for. Vatican City is a mix of expansive plazas and secluded hallways; the Gizeh pyramid dig site hides many subterranean secrets.At any given moment, you can take a picture of an artefact that seems important to solving a puzzle. Doing so causes Indy to mutter something useful to himself (and you), often translating some Latin in the process. In essence, this a hint system, and an elegant, brilliantly diegetic one at that; it also reflects the game’s commitment to never breaking character. These smart design choices would be for nothing if The Great Circle didn’t know how to pull back the layers of a mystery masterfully. Early in the game, Indy comes across a fountain guarded by stone dragons. One puzzle later, and the fountain is swivelling to reveal another puzzle, this time an ornately sculpted stone tableau. With each tantalisingly revealed ancient wonder, a question begins to loom: what, really, is Indy searching for? On one level, he is of course seeking the titular MacGuffin of the story. But more than that, Indy is looking for a sensation — that of genuine discovery. It is one rarely felt in our world, where seemingly every square inch has been Google-sapped of intrigue. In each darkened tomb, filled with bones, killer scorpions or miraculous artworks, The Great Circle finds enchantment and wonder. Forget crystal skulls and dials of destiny, this is the best Indy’s been since The Last Crusade.★★★★★On PC and Xbox Series X|S now; PlayStation 5 forthcoming
