Xbox Blocking Reviews Of 'Indiana Jones And The Great Circle' Until Game Goes Into Advanced Access
MachineGames, Bethesda Softworks, and Xbox are blocking reviews of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle until the games goes into Advanced Access.
James Lara at MP1st reports that he and the website were given a review copy and that the official embargo to publish reviews of the game does not go live until the game goes into Advanced Access.
Lara wrote, “For those wondering exactly when the review embargo lifts for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, we can confirm that reviews will go live starting December 5 at 7pm ET/4pm PT.”
To be clear, according to Steam Support, Advanced Access “is not a unique model of development for a game, it's simply an opportunity to play a game before it fully releases on Steam.”
And the official Steam page for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle makes it clear that the game will go into Advanced Access 3 days ahead of full release for anyone who purchases the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Premium Edition.
Given the game releases to everyone else who does not purchase the Premium Edition on December 8th, it means that Advanced Access begins on December 5th, the same day that review embargos will be lifted.
The fact that the game is not allowing reviews to go live until the game goes into Advanced Access is likely not a good sign for the game’s quality and content.
The game already does not appear to be shaping up well, sales wise. Despite the game going into Advanced Access in just three days the game is currently just 179th on Steam’s Top Sellers List.
Furthermore, the game only has 43,585 total followers. It is 26th on Steam’s Most Wishlisted Upcoming Steam Games.
For comparison, Dragon Age: The Veilguard had 68,379 total followers 10 days before it went on sale on October 31st.
Veilguard also happened to be listed as 46th on Steam’s Top Sellers and it was 28th in wishlists.
A retail insider had previously shared with Fandom Pulse that the game had sold 86% less pre-orders compared to Dragon Age: The Veilguard as well.
The game’s Premium Edition had been ordered a total of 208 times back on November 19th, but of those 208 pre-orders a total of 46 had already been canceled. That brought the total pre-order count to just 162.
As for the standard version of the game, it’s been pre-ordered 129 times, but 34 of those have been cancelled. That brings the total to 95.
Overall, the game only had a total of 257 pre-orders.
The game also has raised a number of red flags. The game’s Senior Narrative Designer Edward Curtis-Sivess, who wore an LGBTQ+ shirt, detailed that the game was made for modern audiences during a promotion for the game back in January.
He said, “Now, we have the opportunity to tell a new Indiana Jones story for a modern gaming audience.”
Lucasfilm Games’ Craig Derrick also described Indiana Jones’ new companion for the game, Gina Lombardi, as Jones’ intellectual equal.
He said in an interview on Lucasfilm.com, “Gina is the perfect ally for Indy. She’s endlessly curious, incredibly sharp, and has a personal stake in the journey. She not only challenges and assists the player but also serves as an intellectual equal to Indy, bringing depth to the adventure.”
“Gina adds a personal dimension to the story, making the journey about more than just finding another artifact for a museum. I believe players are really going to connect with her and root for her story,” he added.
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A trailer for the game also showed Lombardi talking down to Jones. She condescendingly informs him, “Okay then, let’s see if you can keep up.”
There’s also a short clip where it appears that she saves him from falling into a booby trapped pit by grabbing onto his jacket and yanking him to safety.
Still another red flag is the fact that the game will feature a trigger warning informing players that the Nazis committed war crimes.
According to Jordan Middler at Video Games Chronicle, the trigger warning states, “Please note that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a fictional story, inspired by historical events and characters. Names, characters, organizations, locations, and events are either imaginary or depicted in a fictionalized manner, not intended to disrespect any historical or cultural beliefs.”
It adds, “The story and contents of this game are not intended to and should not be construed in any way to condone, glorify, or endorse the beliefs, ideologies, events, actions, persons, or behavior of the Nazi and fascist regimes, nor any other regimes or to trivialize any war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.”
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Imagine screwing up an Indiana Jones game so bad that the pre-sales are that low. Well, we'll always have Fate of Atlantis.