After 15 years since the last movie, Harrison Ford puts on the fedora once more for a final ride in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, hitting theaters this weekend. Although Indy takes part in mostly good movies throughout over 40 years of history, we can’t say the same about his games. The adventurer who inspired characters like Lara Croft and Nathan Drake indeed has some gems in his pocket but lacks a title that keeps the eye of multiple audiences, as Tomb Raider and Uncharted themselves did in the last two decades. Fans are hoping that the MachineGames Xbox-exclusive title will finally deliver when it’s released. While we wait, let’s have a look at these 10 Indiana Jones games and remember the best – and worst – quests since Raiders of the Lost Ark debuted on Atari 2600 41 years ago.
10. Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
When I first put my hands on this game in 2009, the year it was released, I knew something was wrong. Indy never looked so stiff in a poster or a cover box before, he looked quite… artificial. To no surprise, when the game started, it was just like its cover. Yet, due to the absence of better Indiana Jones games, here it is in the top 10.
Staff of Kings took everything that worked in its predecessor, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, and threw it in the trash. The controls were terrible, especially on the Wii, and the graphics were a massive downgrade, making it a huge disappointment for fans and newcomers that played the first LEGO game. There were very few things to like about this one, but I’ll admit the story was quite intriguing. It takes place in 1939 and shows Indy in a race against time to retrieve the Staff of Kings, the biblical staff used by Moses to open the Red Sea, which was a tale worthy of the iconic hero.
9. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game
When Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade debuted in theaters in the spring of 1989, it got not just one but two completely different games to tie in with its release. A point-and-click adventure, and a challenging 2D platformer entitled The Action Game, both sharing the same title of the film.
Adapting crucial moments of the movie, such as the circus train chase with young Indy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game was released on many different platforms, and although they were very similar, the quality changed from port to port. Some versions, for example, had missing levels and limited sounds, making some parts completely silent. A third game based on Steven Spielberg’s movie, another 2D platformer, would come out in 1991 only for NES, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as this version.
8. LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
After the enormous success of the first LEGO Indiana Jones game, a sequel was released just a year later, in 2009, focusing on the fourth movie. And that’s one of the major flaws in LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues.
The sequel’s gameplay was just as good as its predecessor and new features were implemented, like the Level Builder mode that allowed players to create their own Indiana Jones-themed paradise filled with traps and bizarre artifacts. Although the biggest part of the game is based on the opinion-dividing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull film, it also goes back to the three movies shown in the previous game, which made it kind of repetitive on its own.
7. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Originally released in 1985 for Atari arcade machines, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was Indy’s second digital adventure. Until this day, it’s considered one of the best games for long-time fans who played it at the time.
The game revolves entirely around Mola Ram’s slave mines and has the player fighting to free the kids from Indy’s most iconic villain. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was full of whip action, had a great adaptation of John William’s finest soundtrack, and featured exceptional level designs for an arcade machine. The minecart chase and the rope bridge fight were some of the classic scenes revisited. Maybe the biggest downside of the game was its incredibly short length, which could be beaten in around 20 minutes for an experienced player. A port for NES and other home consoles was released later on, but fans say they weren’t nearly as fun as the original version.
6. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
The second game adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was the first entry of Indy in the point-and-click genre. Entitled The Graphic Game, this version of Steven Spielberg’s third movie still lives up in the memory of fans as one of Indy’s greatest experiences in gaming.
Point-and-click games brought a more relaxed experience instead of the non-stop action from platformers, leaving players free to explore the scenarios by using the mouse to do different things, such as walking, picking stuff up and searching for clues. And let me tell you, back then, nobody did point-and-click games like LucasArts. The best playable version of Last Crusade had plenty of innovations, the accumulation of IQ (Indy Quotient) points being the most impressive of them: players could solve puzzles in multiple ways, and the more creative they were, the more IQ points they would get. That certainly contributed to the game’s high replay value and set the tone for upcoming escapades.
5. Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures
One of my favorite games from the SNES was Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure. I’m glad that Indy had his own Pitfall in this addition. Although both titles were rivals in 1994, they share almost the same fluid animation, well-designed characters, and charming pixelated artwork that give it a real timeless look.
Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures covers many iconic events from the first three movies, such as the big boulder chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the airplane action sequence from Last Crusade, and like many other games from that time, it was very hard. Sweaty-hard. And maybe that’s the most negative part of it, literally anything that touched our brave archeologist would take a big chunk of his health bar. Difficulty aside, this game is definitely worth a try for any Indiana Jones fan.
4. Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Don’t judge Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine by its graphics or the rusty gameplay. Within its polygonal visuals, there’s truly a hidden gem. Set during the Cold War, in 1947, the story shows Indy reuniting with his old girlfriend Sophia Hapgood to stop the Russians from releasing a Babylonian god through the so-called Infernal Machine.
Originally released in 1999 for PC, coming later to Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color, the title was Indiana Jones’ first entry into 3D games, trying to follow the success of the Tomb Raider franchise. Fortunately, Infernal Machine manages to avoid feeling like a copy of any other game throughout its surprising 17 levels filled with many easter eggs to the original trilogy, including a yellow raft for exploration and a mine car chase sequence.
3. Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb
The first ever Indiana Jones installment in the 2000s was released in 2003 and works as a prequel to the beginning of Temple of Doom. The story takes place in 1935 just like the second movie and follows Indy on a trip to China to look after a powerful relic hidden inside the tomb of China’s first emperor.
Visually impressive for the time, Emperor’s Tomb is also known for its satisfying melee combat, detailed maps, and for finally making great use of Indy’s classic whip, other than just being used to slap opponents’ noses. The story is pretty decent, even though it gets a little bit too fantastical towards the end, but the most important part is that Emperor’s Tomb really makes you feel like Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners had a worse experience than PC players, as their versions had many technical issues including a significant decrease in the graphical fidelity.
2. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Whether it be the appealing title, the amazing cover by artist William L. Eaken, or the colorful and highly detailed pixelated graphics, Fate of Atlantis was born a classic. Released in 1992, the game was also point-and-click-based and had an original story about one of mankind’s greatest legends. It’s also remembered for having introduced a fan-favorite character in the expanded franchise, the psychic archaeologist Sophia Hapgood.
Many fans consider it the best Indy game ever, and before Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, some would say it was the fourth Indiana Jones movie they never had. The immersive and compelling storytelling is filled with interesting characters, humor, and multiple choices for players to make. Yes, this 1992 title had many ways to unveil its story, leaving it all up to the player to decide if they want a more aggressive or team-based quest. Although the puzzles are hard, sometimes pushing you to the limit to think like the man himself, it’s extremely satisfying solving them without checking YouTube. The only negative aspect of Fate of Atlantis is also its charm, the point-and-click mechanic that will hardly attract new players.
1. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Which fan would’ve ever thought that Indiana Jones and LEGO would make the perfect combination? I mean, what could go wrong? Released a few days after the not-so-triumphant return of Indy to the big screen, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures was an instant hit in 2008.
It also served as my first contact with the franchise before I watched and fell in love with the movies. This game mixed the first three movies in one action-packed story with such thrilling gameplay and the silly humor we’ve known from past LEGO titles. Speaking of humor, back then, there was no voice-over in the LEGO games, the characters would just mumble and express themselves through the animation.
LEGO Indiana Jones benefited from that aspect and it was just hilarious. For perfectly covering the three movies within a comedic script and non-stop thrills from beginning to end, LEGO Indiana Jones is our favorite Indy gaming adventure until this day and a perfect gateway for new fans.
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