Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has made its much-anticipated debut, inviting gamers to embark on a new adventure with the iconic character. Developed by MachineGames, the title has garnered attention not only for its engaging gameplay but also for its demanding system requirements, particularly concerning ray tracing capabilities. While the game may initially seem to pose challenges for PC gamers, those willing to adjust settings can enjoy a smoother experience than expected.
Troy Baker plays Indiana Jones in The Great Circle.
Bethesda Softworks
Indiana Jones PC Performance Tip: Focus on VRAM
Our testing on a high-end gaming rig featuring a Geforce RTX 4080 revealed that the game’s performance is significantly influenced by the amount of VRAM available on the graphics card. This observation aligns with findings from Digital Foundry, which has provided straightforward optimized settings for players.
| Texture Cache | 8GB VRAM | 10GB VRAM | 12GB VRAM |
| 1080p | Medium | Ultra | Very Ultra |
| 1440p | Low | High | Supreme |
| 2160p/4K | Nope | Medium | Ultra |
It’s important to note that using DLSS frame generation requires additional VRAM. For optimal performance, consider playing at a resolution lower than your GPU’s native output or disabling ray tracing features. Graphics cards with less than 8 GB of VRAM may struggle with the game, which is why newer models, such as Intel’s Arc B series, are equipped with more VRAM than their predecessors.
Indiana Jones Path Tracing Performance Tips
As one of the few titles in this generation to utilize path tracing, Indiana Jones employs ray tracing for all lighting calculations. The Full Ray Tracing toggle impacts several key visual effects:
- Sun Shadows
- Ray Traced Reflections
- Ray Traced Global Illumination
While enabling these effects enhances image quality, the performance cost may not justify the visual gains. Notably, activating ray-traced reflections can yield a significant improvement, making it a worthwhile option for those with capable hardware.
Indiana Jones PC Performance Benchmarks
The game consistently utilizes ray tracing, with an option for path tracing that demands even more from GPUs. For players using older or lower-end AMD cards, we advise against enabling this feature. Currently, FSR and XeSS are not implemented, which complicates path tracing for non-NVIDIA users.
Our benchmarks were conducted on a system with the following specifications:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
- GPU: NVIDIA Geforce RTX 4080
- RAM: 32GB DDR4 3200 MHz
- OS: Windows 11
- SSD: WD SN850 M.2 SSD
Here are the performance results at 1440p and 4K:
| 4K Ultra (Path Tracing Off) – DLAA | 76 |
| 4K Ultra (Path Tracing Off) – DLSS Performance Mode | 110 |
| 4K Ultra (Path Tracing Off) – DLSS Performance Mode with Frame Generation | 140 |
| 4K Ultra (Ray Tracing at Medium) – DLAA | 54 |
| 4K Ultra (Ray Tracing at High) – DLAA | 25 |
| 4K Ultra (Full Path Tracing) – DLAA | 17 |
| 4K Ultra (Full Path Tracing) – DLAA with frame generation | 28 |
| 1440p Ultra (Path Tracing Off) – DLAA | 110 |
| 1440p Ultra (Path Tracing Off) – DLSS Balanced with Frame Generation | 180 |
| 1440p Ultra (Ray Tracing at Medium) – DLAA | 55 |
| 1440p Ultra (Ray Tracing at High) – DLAA | 51 |
| 1440p Ultra (Ray Tracing at High) – DLSS Balanced with Frame Generation | 100 |
Reducing other settings did not yield significant performance improvements, highlighting The Great Circle as one of MachineGames’s most optimized titles to date. For those with modern graphics cards, we recommend maximizing most settings to fully appreciate the game’s visual fidelity.
Despite this, players may encounter persistent pop-in issues. While there is no in-game setting to address this, a temporary workaround exists. By pressing the ‘`’ key and entering ‘r_lodscale 5’, players can enhance the level of detail, though this may lead to instability in certain areas. It’s advisable to use this method only if the pop-in proves distracting.
As the gaming landscape evolves, so too do the demands placed on PC hardware, as evidenced by the upcoming Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Nevertheless, Indiana Jones stands out as a well-optimized experience, and players can leverage our guide to maximize their performance.
Currently available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set to launch on PS5 in spring 2025 and is also accessible through Xbox Game Pass. For fans of the franchise, a wealth of adventure games awaits, along with numerous titles scheduled for release in December to keep players engaged throughout the holiday season.
