The Switch 2 has been putting current-gen ports through their paces, and MachineGames' first-person adventure was always going to be one of the harder tests. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a visually ambitious game built for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and squeezing that onto Nintendo's hybrid hardware without losing the plot is no small ask. Good news: it largely works.
What the port actually looks like in practice
Bethesda Softworks is targeting 1080p docked and 720p in handheld mode, with DLSS upscaling doing a lot of the heavy lifting. The core visual identity of the game survives the transition. Character models hold up well, and interior environments, which make up a large chunk of the game, look genuinely impressive for the hardware. The more obvious cuts are shadow quality, draw distance for smaller objects, and the removal of top-end ray tracing. The global lighting solution is reportedly unclear even to Digital Foundry, but most players won't lose sleep over it.
Handheld mode is softer, with some texture clarity taking hits, but motion blur and sharpening options help mask this. On a smaller screen, the trade-offs are much easier to forgive.
Performance holds at 30 frames-per-second, which suits the game's generally measured pace. There are split-second drops during cutscene transitions and some loading hiccups in busier areas like The Vatican, but nothing that derails the experience. Here's the thing: this isn't a game where you're twitch-aiming at 120fps. Thirty holds fine.
Joy-Con 2 mouse controls are a genuine surprise
Gyro controls are in, though they're the kind of feature that splits opinion hard. What's more interesting is the Joy-Con 2 mouse functionality. Mouse-aiming for item collection and targeted throws feels smooth and responsive even at 30fps, which hasn't always been the case with other Switch 2 ports. For comparison, Metroid Prime 4 is one of the few games where this implementation has felt equally polished. The Great Circle joins that short list.
The Order of Giants DLC is not included with the base game on Switch 2 and must be purchased separately. If you're planning a first playthrough and want the full experience, budget for both.
How it stacks up against Bethesda's other Switch 2 ports
Bethesda's Switch 2 track record has been uneven. The Skyrim port launched sluggishly in December before updates brought it up to speed. Fallout 4 in February was a stronger showing with ambitious framerate targets. Indiana Jones lands closer to the Fallout 4 end of that spectrum.
Across all third-party Switch 2 ports, it sits comfortably alongside Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, and Resident Evil Requiem as one of the more accomplished conversions on the platform. The Great Circle actually outperforms its own Steam Deck version in some respects, according to Eurogamer, thanks to DLSS and fresh platform-specific optimisations.
For anyone who plays adventure games primarily on the go, this is a meaningful win. The Great Circle is a dense, story-rich adventure game that suits portable sessions well, and the port quality doesn't undercut that.
What to expect if this is your first time with the game
First-time players on Switch 2 are getting a faithful version of a game that originally launched on PC and Xbox in late 2024 before arriving on PS5 earlier this year. The visual compromises are real but measured, and the Joy-Con 2 mouse support adds a control option that genuinely fits how the game plays.
If you want to go beyond the base game, our Indiana Jones and the Great Circle guides collection has everything you need to navigate the trickier puzzles and secrets across the full adventure, including a dedicated Order of Giants DLC guide covering safe codes, puzzle solutions, and artifact locations for the separately sold expansion.
