Top Indiana Jones Video Games | Must-Play Adventures

With the recent release of the delightful game “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” from MachineGames, we thought it would be a great time to revisit other games featuring the iconic archaeologist, Dr. Jones.

Perhaps after finishing Great Circle, you’ll want to dive back into this adventure-filled universe.

Before we begin, let’s clarify | there are certainly more Indiana Jones games than we can cover here. For instance, there’s an Atari game by Howard Warshaw, the developer of the legendary E.T. game, as well as a text adventure and even a game embedded in the Explorer interface of the Windows operating system. However, we’ll leave those for another time.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1985)

Platforms: Arcade, Amiga, DOS, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, MSX, Atari ST

This was the first Atari arcade game to feature digitized voice samples of Harrison Ford and music from the original film, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984). It became so popular that it was ported to numerous home platforms, though the ports lost most of the technical features that were only possible on powerful arcade machines at the time.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | The Graphic Adventure (1989)

Platforms: DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac OS, FM Towns, CD TV

LucasFilm released this game to coincide with the film’s premiere. It was the first quest in the franchise to feature the unique IQ (Indy Quotient) Points system, which rewarded players for their intelligence and ingenuity. The more you learn about the game, the more ways you can play it, resulting in a non-linear plot with multiple paths. Many scenes were created specifically for the game by directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, adding to its appeal.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992)

Platforms: DOS, Amiga, Mac OS, FM Towns

In this game, Indy teams up with colleague Sophia Hapwood to stop Nazi agent Klaus Körner from finding the legendary Atlantis. The game offers three different paths | the path of ingenuity, the path of the fist, and the team path, each with unique items, locations, key decisions, and dialogues. It was developed by Hal Barwood, co-writer of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures (1994)

Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

This 16-bit game combines the plots of the first three Indiana Jones films | “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Temple of Doom” (1984), and “The Last Crusade” (1989). It’s a classic 2D platformer where Indy runs from left to right, fighting enemies. There are also levels where you fly a plane and ride a minecart. For its time, the game boasted high-quality graphics, animation, and music.

Indiana Jones & The Infernal Machine (1999)

Platforms: Windows, Nintendo 64

This was the first 3D game featuring Indiana Jones. It’s an action-adventure game where, besides fighting opponents, players solve puzzles and navigate challenging levels in the spirit of “Tomb Raider.” Indy teams up with CIA agents to thwart Soviet scientists and the military from finding the ancient artifact known as the “Infernal Machine.” The game features an outstanding soundtrack with 130 original compositions alongside the famous main theme of the franchise.

Indiana Jones & The Emperor’s Tomb (2003)

Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Xbox, PlayStation 2

Considered one of the best games in the franchise (excluding the buggy PS2 port), Indy searches for the tomb of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang, rumored to contain the legendary black pearl “Dragon’s Heart.” The game takes place in various picturesque locations, including Ceylon, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and China. As usual, Dr. Jones faces off against the omnipresent Nazis, led by Albrecht von Beck.

LEGO Indiana Jones | The Original Adventures (2008)

Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, NDS

This game is a crossover between the LEGO and Indiana Jones universes, incorporating the plots of the first three films. For the first time in the series, players can enjoy co-op play with a friend or let the AI control the second character. Due to the family-friendly audience, all references to Nazism were removed from the game. In 2009, a sequel, “The Adventure Continues,” was released, featuring the plot of “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and numerous gameplay changes.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (2009)

Platforms: PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, Nintendo DS

The game’s plot is based on an early version of the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” script, with Dr. Jones facing off against the Nazis led by a new villain, Magnus Weller. The main artifact is Moses’ staff. Originally intended as a big-budget game for PS3 and Xbox 360, the project was ultimately canceled, and a different game was released for PS2, Wii, and NDS consoles. Each platform features unique bonus levels | PS2 and Wii versions include levels in Istanbul and Sudan, while the NDS version has levels set in Paris.