As you traverse the map, you invariably also encounter a seemingly endless variety of side quests, mysteries, and optional “field work,” which you keep track of in a dynamically updated journal. While there is an attempt to justify the plot for each of these optional fetch quests, the ones I tried ended up being much less compelling than the main plot, which seems to have gotten most of the writers' attention.
Indiana Jones, famous Vatican tourist. Credit: Bethesda/MachineGames
As you explore, a small icon in the corner of the screen will also alert you to photo opportunities, which can unlock important bits of story or context for puzzles. I really enjoyed these quick excuses to appreciate the game's well-designed architecture and environments, even when they made Indy feel a little more like a random tourist than a badass archaeologist hero.
Quick, hide!
Unfortunately, your ability to freely explore The great circleEnvironments are often hindered by large groups of traveling Nazi and/or Fascist soldiers. Sometimes you can disguise yourself to walk among them unseen, but even then, certain enemies can pick you out from the crowd, something that didn't become clear to me until I'd already been pulled out of the darkness more than a few times.
When undisguised, you'll spend a lot of time kneeling and silently sneaking out of soldiers' vision cones or waiting patiently for them to move so you can sneak down a now-safe path. Staying invisible also allows you to silently take out enemies from behind, including pushing unsuspecting enemy sentries off ledges in a hilarious move that never gets old.
You'll never find me up here. Credit: Bethesda/MachineGames
When your sneaking skills fail in the middle of a large group of enemies, the best and easiest thing to do is to immediately run and hide. For the most part, the enemies are incredibly inept in their inevitable pursuit; Dodge a couple of corners and hide in a dark alley and they'll usually lose track of you quickly. While I appreciated that being discovered wasn't an instant death sentence, the ease with which I could outwit these soldiers made the hideout much less tense.