Indiana Jones Switch 2 – Port Report
If you’re wondering whether Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a great game, then look no further than the A- grades given by my fellow editors for both the Xbox and PlayStation platforms. Having completed Indy via Game Pass just after launch in late 2024, I also found it to be a sublime experience for both adventure game fans and Indiana Jones fans alike, winning me over after initial apprehension at the first-person perspective. Very few games keep me up late into the wee hours these days but MachineGames managed to do just that with their superb handling of the franchise.
However, this piece isn’t focused on the game itself but rather how it translates to the Nintendo Switch 2. It should be obvious that Nintendo’s system isn’t packing the same power as the Xbox Series X or the PlayStation 5 Pro, so detail levels and framerate are not equivalent to those, even when docked. This is the portability trade-off, the very same deal we’ve been making with devs and publishers since the GameBoy which coincidentally came out the very same year as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Not that the Switch 2 will fit in my pocket, but it’s certainly more portable than the other systems this game is available on (sorry Paul, a PlayStation Portal tethered to my phone and dialling in to my PS5 at home feels like a weird workaround jank, not a portable system). As such there are some slight compromises when compared to larger screens and more power under the hood.
That’s not to say that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a bad port. It performs admirably whether docked or undocked, and most importantly for my own tastes keeps a steady framerate. The world manages to hold a level of detail that allows players to feel immersed, although it can on occasion be difficult to spot enemies in the distance due to some muddiness whilst certain foes will run at a reduced framerate when further away from Indy. Indiana Jones as a property has always been about ‘spectacle’, something you want to experience on the largest screen, surrounded by speakers putting you in the centre of the action. It’s an aspect I miss in this scaled-down format, but the gameplay itself remains so compelling that even having completed the game quite thoroughly in early 2025 I found myself drawn in once more. It’s a pity my handheld sessions couldn’t run long, as another price for maintaining performance is how quickly the Switch 2 battery drains, with just over 2 hours total before a ‘Low Battery’ warning is served up. Not ideal, but a worthwhile trade-off.
The fact is that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the finest action-adventure games of the past few years and a great example of how to properly leverage IP when adapting a property to the digital medium. If the Nintendo Switch 2 is the primary platform you own capable of accessing the game, it’s an unreserved recommendation and an experience not to be missed. However, if you won’t be taking Indy on the go, this version may be Indiana Jones and the Last Resort. Either way, I’m off to punch some fascists and explore some ruins in whatever room in my house I fancy.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was played in both docked and handheld modes on a Nintendo Switch 2 console with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
