Much like RPG mechanics like skill trees and dialogue choices, the open world structure has begun to evolve and seep into other video game genres. Now, action-adventure games often take players to an open area that isn't quite a full-fledged open world, but still offers a large map to explore, side quests to complete, and collectibles to find. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of these games.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle spreads its respectable length across a handful of open areas, each packed with optional content ranging from Fieldwork side quests, to Mysteries, to environmental puzzles, and a few in between. There is a lot to see and do Indiana Jones and the Great Circleand, thankfully, its in-game map is there to make the entire journey much more intuitive.

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How Indiana Jones and the Great Circle map improves its open level design
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Map keeps everything clear
A rather common problem in non-open-world games that still have open areas is an unintuitive map. 2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a good example of this. Although its environments look great and capture the brand Star Wars good atmosphere, Jedi: Fallen Order it suffered from very poor map design, with BD-1's holograph not showing closed doors or open paths clearly enough, and its vertical layers were glued on top of each other, thus obscuring everything.
Fortunately, Indiana Jones and the Great CircleThe game map avoids this criticism entirely. In fact, the map is one of the The Great Circlethe best resources. Available at any time by pressing the “View” button on your Xbox controller, Indiana Jones and the Great CircleThe map will clearly display a bright orange location marker relative to the player's current objective.
In addition to appearing on the map itself, this objective marker also appears in the game world when players look up from the map. If players are close to the objective, the marker will pass directly over it. But if players need to traverse several areas to reach their objective, the in-world marker will instead hover above the doors that lead them to the objective area, guiding them step by step as they pass through each one.
Together with an exceptionally clear objective marking system, Indiana Jones and the Great CircleThe map also features a player character icon that moves in real time, showing the direction the player is moving. It's not the first game to use this icon system, but it's another way IndyThe map keeps the adventure intuitive, which in turn helps keep the pace of the game natural.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Map reinforces its immersion
A great strong point of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – and something that sets it apart from its contemporary adventure games – is its immersive simulation qualities. Much of Indiana Jones and the Great CircleGame systems work in tandem to create an experience that deeply immerses the player in its world, and its map is one of these systems.
Instead of pausing the game and asking players to browse through different menus, Indiana Jones and the Great CircleThe map works in real time and appears in-universe, with Indy holding his notebook in front of him. It's a pretty subtle feature, but it's another element that players are immersed in The Great Circleit's the world.