The crack of the whip breaks the silence in the room, the Nazis recoil in fear and He, the ultimate Eighties hero stands among the enemies, dust-covered hat pulled low over his head, shirt unbuttoned and a rough gaze, the kind that spells trouble and thrills fans: Indiana Jones is about to return to our gaming screens, and this time he intends to do it in style.
After the splendor of the first historical trilogy, the one that managed to bring together in just three films all the cornerstones of international pop culture, and the two stumbling sequels (but not as bad as some unfairly described them) with our adventurous archaeologist aged alongside the actor who has always portrayed him, Harrison Ford, the entertainment world has been able to enjoy many video game adaptations across various platforms.
Fortune and glory, he said to little Shorty himself in the second film in chronological order, and in Indy’s case we can say that both have been a mixed bag, but everything is about to change: since Bethesda released the trailer for the next chapter of the saga, with the highly evocative title "Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle", the hype level has skyrocketed, as it hasn’t for a long time for a title strongly tied to a franchise from another medium, namely cinema.
We are in 1937, a crucial year for the character because it falls practically halfway between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The trailer itself is a visually spectacular experience and compresses in just over three minutes the philosophy behind the saga, including everything that has helped make it great: Dr. Jones's audacity and rebellious spirit in the face of tyrants and the villains of History, with a capital H, the exotic settings in which the professor feels right at home whenever he sets foot in a cursed temple or a forest thick with danger.
E then Marcus, the iconic assistant and sidekick who has shared so many adventures with his colleague and, above all, friend. Video game characters known and loved such as Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series and even more so the archetypal archaeological heroine, the beloved and intrepid Lara Croft, owe a great deal (or perhaps it would be better to say everything) to Indiana Jones: gameplay mechanics, puzzles to solve, and global settings in which to move, often within plots that begin with the search for a mystical object and then expand into conspiracies that envision world domination, with supernatural twists that have never been absent and that make everything much more distinctive and engaging.
The Italian dubbing is nothing short of professional and perfect, the pacing seems relentless, and the sound department, needless to say, is legendary: just a hint of the main theme from the soundtrack is enough to fire up the spirits and make your hands itch, eager to grab the whip and go hunting for relics and Nazi scum. Indiana is a symbol, above all else.
Bethesda, and MachineGames, which had already made us cry miracle with the new Wolfenstein, seem to have done their homework very well: screenshots and leaked leaks tell of a coherent development respectful of the franchise’s cornerstones, therefore gameplay sections in which we will have to face our opponents with the timeless whip, using fists and pistol, all seen through Indiana’s eyes and according to his worldview: the choice of first-person view, in fact, as the developers’ main gameplay mode has already proven successful even before having an official release date.
The level of immersion increases exponentially and, let’s be honest, solving puzzles inside a temple unearthed from the oblivion of time, in the silence that hangs around us, amid swirls of dust and the weight of history on our shoulders as we look around with Indy’s gaze is priceless.
I know it, and you know it too.
Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most anticipated titles of the year.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
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