Windows Central Verdict
The Order of Giants may not quite have the same impactful foes that permeated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but it's still a puzzle-laden adventure worth seeing through. Rome has never looked better in video games, and Troy Baker continues to put in a phenomenal performance as the titular hero.
Pros
- +
Fun, interesting puzzle gameplay
- +
Gorgeous setting in Rome
- +
Fits nicely into main adventure
Cons
- -
Slightly short runtime
- -
Antagonists pale in comparison to main game
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In 2021, the experienced Swedish developers at MachineGames revealed that the team's next project would be an Indiana Jones game, with Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard serving as executive producer on the adventure.
It seemed a match made in heaven, and indeed, it was.
I absolutely loved Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and indeed, it ended up being my favorite game of last year, deftly mixing in MachineGames' experience in first-person combat and Nazi obliteration with carefully-constructed puzzles and a sense of cinematic adventure that could live up Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Naturally, I was curious about what the promised DLC would offer, and earlier this year, the team revealed The Order of Giants, with Indy exploring Rome in search of secrets surrounding the titular myths.
Having played through The Order of Giants, I'm happy to say it's well worth checking out and lives up to MachineGames' work on the main experience...for the most part.
I love the original trilogy of Indiana Jones films (The Last Crusade is my favorite) and wish we still got those kinds of pulp adventure blockbusters today. I also reviewed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for Windows Central, and found it to be a fantastic game with only some minor flaws.
This review was conducted using the same review copy of the Premium Edition of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle as our review of the base game, provided by Bethesda. They did not see or have any input in the content of this review.
What is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants?
The Order of Giants is a DLC (downloadable content) that expands Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with new areas to explore, a new story to follow, and more.
Category | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants |
|---|---|
Release date | Sept. 4, 2025 |
Developer | MachineGames |
Publisher | Bethesda Softworks |
Genre | First-person action-adventure |
Players | Single-player |
Install size | 13GB |
Playtime | 3.5 hours |
Platforms | Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5 |
Xbox Game Pass | No |
Reviewed on | Xbox Series X |
Like the main game, it's been developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5 for $20. Unlike the main game, it is not included in an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
The Order of Giants is also included in the Premium Edition of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, meaning that any players that picked up that more expensive version of the game already have access to this new story.
The Order of Giants is set during the Venice portion of the original game, with Indy veering off on a side quest, promising to help a priest named Father Orlando Ricci, who is accompanied a chatty parrot.
From there, things spiral out, and the intrepid hero is forced to explore the ruins under Rome in pursuit of a cult that seems to be guarding the secrets of an ancient Nameless Crusader.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants review — What I liked
I half-considered trying to get away with a one-sentence review for this DLC, but the fact is, The Order of Giants is merely more of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
That's not even remotely a bad thing. I'm quite happy to have more puzzles to solve, with one particular contraption that's going to stick out in my brain long after I finished this adventure. Indeed, this DLC is dense with puzzles, and without spoilers, I appreciate how many of them played into the themes of Roman and Crusader history.
The game continues to look beautiful, and I also appreciate getting to see a bit of Rome, with quite literal layers of history to delve into.
Indiana Jones as a franchise plays into ancient cultures and lost worlds with a fun magnifying lens, taking a look at different ruins or myths and dressing them up with plausible explanations and fierce traps, with an extra touch of the strange that defies our understanding of reality.
All of that is present here in The Order of Giants, with Troy Baker continuing to give an incredible performance as the titular adventurer.
MachineGames continues to demonstrate a remarkable understanding of film techniques, with a couple of particular shots in certain cutscenes that feel like they've could've been plucked out of a nonexistent film from the era of the original trilogy.
The team's penchant for clever writing also continues, and I found myself always making sure to scour every single note I found for hidden gems. One particular highlight shed a light on the logistics behind running a cult, with a hilarious note on the quantities of food needed in order to host themed feasts.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants review — What I disliked
While I've had a great time with The Order of Giants, this bite-sized adventure does suffer in one major way. The antagonists here can't hold a candle to the forces you're up against across the Great Circle.
I'm certain it's a conscious choice by design — fighting cultists instead of fascists is a bit more lighthearted — but because you don't have long to get to know them, they're never really fleshed out in a serious way that makes them feel threatening. Emmerich Voss and Locus cast a towering shadow that simply isn't matched.
Tangentially, I also found this DLC to be just a tad shorter than I'd have liked, taking just under four hours to finish, though I'll likely tack on another hour as I finish my search for every last collectible. It's the better option compared to overstaying its welcome, but still, having just a bit more to do in Rome would've been nice.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants review — My final thoughts
✅You should buy this if ...
- You want even more of Indiana Jones.
While it's not quite a full expansion, The Order of Giants is the perfect excuse to revisit Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. There are new mysteries to solve, new photos to take, and even a cat to pet.
- You played the base game through Xbox Game Pass
While Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is included in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, this DLC is not, so you'll need to purchase it in order to play through the Roman adventure.
❌You should not buy this if ...
- You didn't like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
If, for some reason, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle didn't click with you, then this DLC is absolutely not changing your opinion. It's more of what came before, with additional puzzles and sneaking through ancient ruins while clobbering opponents with whatever tools happen to be lying around.
Ultimately, it's pretty simple: If you liked what Indiana Jones and the Great Circle had to offer, then this is more of that. More puzzles to solve, but instead of knocking out fascists while examining ancient sites all around the world, you're clobbering strange cultists underneath Rome.
Playing through The Order of Giants has immediately refreshed me on just how much I enjoy MachineGames' take on the world's expert adventurer archeologist, and it has me reflecting on what I want to see the team do next.
With MachineGames studio head Jerk Gustafsson recently indicating that the team still wants to make Wolfenstein 3 — it's unlikely to be a coincidence that a Wolfenstein TV series is also reportedly in the works — I'm torn between my love of Indiana Jones and a desire to see BJ Blaskowicz get the final entry in his trilogy.
It's beyond unlikely that Indiana Jones finds any meaningful purchase in media outside of future MachineGames-developed titles. At the same time, the sheer brutality and careful introspection Wolfenstein: The New Order and The New Colossus offered is begging to be revisited, especially at times like this.
I'm torn, and I'm truly unsure what I'd prefer to see this talented studio do next.
Still, whatever it is, I'll be there, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of Nazis to kill.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants is available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam and Xbox PC), and PlayStation 5, and is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.
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