MachineGames

2024 · Action / Adventure · PC / Steam

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the best thing to happen to the license in decades, in any medium, a first-person adventure that understands its hero as a punching archaeologist rather than a gunman. Troy Baker channels the role so completely that players forget the recasting, the Vatican and Giza hubs deliver disguise-and-discovery sandboxes dense with puzzles, and the whip-and-shovel brawling produces slapstick the films would approve. Its combat runs shallow against stealth this generous, enemy AI cooperates a bit too politely, and the final act hurries. As licensed-game resurrections go, this is the reference case.

2014 · First-Person Shooter · PC / Steam

Wolfenstein: The New Order pulled off something nobody expected: it made a Wolfenstein game with a genuinely compelling story. MachineGames built a shooter that hits hard in combat and harder in its quieter moments, creating an alternate-history world where the characters matter as much as the gunfights. The dual-wielding system encourages aggressive play that fits the franchise's identity, and the stealth options give every encounter a tactical dimension. Some pacing dips in the middle chapters and occasional technical rough spots don't diminish what is fundamentally one of the best single-player shooters of its generation.

2017 · First-Person Shooter · PC / Steam

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus has the combat chops and narrative ambition to stand as a worthy sequel, but the balance between story and gameplay tilts too far toward the former. The cutscenes are frequently stunning, with performances and writing that outclass most games in any genre. The shooting is intense and satisfying when you're allowed to do it. But the game spends so much time taking control away from the player that the campaign feels like it's fighting itself, alternating between thrilling gunfights and extended cinematics that test your patience. It's a good shooter wrapped in too much movie.