Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – The Order of Giants (Xbox) DLC Review

The man with the hat is back in action for The Order of Giants expansion to last year’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Side-quest

Last year’s (or this year’s if you played it on a PS5) Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is finally back with it’s expansion. That arrived just last week with The Order of Giants, a downloadable content pack that’s been promised since before the main game dropped for Xbox and PC.

The expansion had little to no description to get fans amped, pre-launch, though it probably didn’t need any. Bethesda and developer MachineGames’ original title was excellent after all. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was pretty easily the best Indy game in a long, long time. I’d imagine that any excuse for fans to dive back in, would be a good one. I know it was for me.

If you’ve been waiting patiently though, then you now have that chance. And I’m happy to report that The Order of Giants comes through with another great adventure for the title hero, though we do wish it’d done just a little bit more.

Back to Rome

Being that the expansion had so little in the way of lead-in, you might be wondering what the heck it’s even about. You can sort of glean that from the title, and for those who played the full game, it should be clear. Though this pack isn’t just about the actual order of the game’s giants, the Nephilim.

Warning: Minor spoilers follow

The Order of Giants takes place during the main game’s quest. That’s not something that I expected, and I have to admit, I think it was a misstep. There’s something much more special about selecting something like an expansion from the main menu. That way feels more like something new to me, no matter how long it might be, instead of something that’s tacked on. Heading to a place that I’ve already been to activate a new quest, just kinda feels hollow. I get that might just be me though. And I’ll also add that the feeling did ebb significantly once I got into the meat of this new quest.

Things start when Indy, in his priest’s disguise, runs into a Father Ricci in Vatican City. This is before a massive chunk of the Great Circle‘s story, and so many of the incredible events of that tale just haven’t happened yet.

Ricci explains that he’s on the hunt for a Crusader’s helmet, a big one. He’s a tad obsessed with the lost item, and thinks it might be hidden in a secret vault, kept by a pontiff who’s long dead. Getting into said vault is just the start of this tale though, as Indy will find himself embroiled in a (mainly) subterranean adventure, where he’ll not only have to contend with the street-level forces of Mussolini, but an ancient cult, and maybe even… oh, let’s just say a minotaur.

With all of that in mind, The Order of Giants does have quite a bit of content to it, though it’s still essentially a side-quest. As such, we’re not talking about something that’s all that long, with only a couple of hours of play time. That can be lengthened however, depending on if you hunt down every last secret, or get stuck on some of the more obtuse puzzles.

Whip-crackingly good

There isn’t much that would surprise you in The Order of Giants, if you’d played Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, in terms of gameplay. If you haven’t played that, but are still interested in how the expansion pack plays, I’ll go over it in brief.

The game does add a few things to Doctor Jones’ repertoire. He can snap photos with a camera (some of which can give hints), and use a lighter. But aside from that, it keeps to Indy’s big screen image terrifically. That’s to mean that he doesn’t man heavy machine guns or use bazookas, and he won’t turn into a one man wrecking crew as he makes his way through the Roman sewers.

Players will find fisticuffs to be a solid option for fighting single or pairs of enemies. Environmental items like hammers and shovels can even the odds too, and be made into weapons in a snap. Speaking of ‘snap’, the latter do break pretty fast. But even so, you can conceivably dispatch a few foes with one before it falls apart. However they’re more effective if you’re sneaking up on foes from the shadows. A clonk on the noggin, and they’ll be down for the count.

Along with that, Indy can throw items as a distraction, make use of bandages and food items, and even has his famed whip and pistol. The pistol is limited in use, since ammo isn’t exactly plentiful, but the whip is huge. It saves as both a means of conveyance, and valuable addition to combat, since it can disarm enemies easily. Of course, there’s also the option to simply sneak past some of the game’s enemies. That’s something that should always be considered, especially when outnumbered.

Well, that or a little TNT.

The glory of the Vatican

If you liked the way that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looked, you should be equally impressed by The Order of Giants. Though the DLC doesn’t have anywhere near the varied level of scenery that the full game does, it still looks fantastic.

The streets of Rome, seen in the expansion in small doses, look as good as ever. They’re mostly all new too, sharing only the opening scene with the full title. From there, it’s into that underworld, which is made up of ancient passageways, tombs long walled off from the world of the ’30s, and Rome’s sewers. Indy has a decent amount of time mucking around in those. Yeah, it’s kinda gross, but at least he has a boat.

There’s one more segment that’s pretty great, taking place at the content’s end too. And while I won’t spoil it here, it comes across beautifully. I do think it could have been explored a tad more, since this is a pretty big area that we’re hinting at, and the expansion only makes use of a small part of it. Still, it looks awesome, especially the introduction.

Standing in Indy’s way will be the new foes dot the expansion pack. Those come by way of that cult I mentioned, though really only in two forms. They look great, even if there aren’t many of them, and I wish MachineGames would’ve found the time to include a few more.

Speaking of aesthetics, The Order of Giants has stellar music and voice over work. The musical themes are all well-fitting for Indiana Jones as a property, though that’s no shock. If you played the base title, then you know that the score borders on being downright gorgeous at times.

And while the cast isn’t what I’d call deep, it’s still very good. Actor Troy Baker is still stellar as Indy, as he brings his version of the classic hero’s voice to life once more, and in fine form. And while brief, Daniele Monterosi’s Mussolini and Carlo Rota’s Father Ventura do cameo. Oh, and a special shoutout to Pio the parrot. I’m not sure who played him, but he was pretty memorable.

Overall

I had a great time with The Order of Giants. I’m happy to say that, since I’ve been dying to play this since I finished Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The expansion adds some excellent new elements though, including a bit more on the Nephilim order, and some great twists on ancient Roman cults.

There is a downside though, and it’s mainly the length. I really wish this pack served up a bit more to do. The vision was so great, that I wanted more of it to play, though I guess that’s praise in and of itself now that I think about it. Now, about that sequel…

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – The Order of Giants
Release date: September 4th, 2025
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S (reviewed), PC, PS5
Publisher: Bethesda
Developer: MachineGames
MSRP: $19.99 USD, included in the Premium Edition Upgrade pack and Premium Edition of base game