Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

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When I started this newsletter, I decided I would choose my games months in advance and stick to a schedule. When I marked this game on my calendar, I got excited. Real excited. 

So I need to come clean: until now, I’ve never played this game for more than an hour.

As someone who grew up obsessed with the original trilogy, and for years heard this was the best Indy game by far, this is one of my life’s regrets. That, and the fact I didn’t try poutine until a year ago.

But things have changed. I’ve finally played Fate of Atlantis. And I’ve had a ton of poutine!

Within the last year, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launched on modern platforms. It instantly blew me away with its graphics, story and puzzles and is definitely on my Game of the Year list for this year. 

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, at 33 years old, is just as good. While I like the 4th and 5th films, I’ve never loved them like the original trilogy. But playing The Great Circle and now Fate of Atlantis, back to back, resparked my love for this IP.

Fate of Atlantis stands as perhaps the greatest Indiana Jones adventure never committed to film, and playing it for the first time reveals exactly why it's considered a masterpiece. 

At its core, Fate of Atlantis is a graphic adventure, also known as point-and-click games. It was part of the legendary LucasArts lineup that defined the genre in the '90s.

Like The Secret of Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle, it tasks players with exploring richly detailed environments, solving layered puzzles, and navigating clever dialogue trees. 

But what sets Fate of Atlantis apart is how it merges this classic gameplay with the spirit of pulp adventure, turning every interaction into a chance to think like a true archaeologist. You’ll examine ancient relics, combine oddball inventory items in creative ways, and talk your way out of (or sometimes into) danger.

The game opens in 1939 on the eve of World War II, thrusting players into a globe-spanning quest to prevent the Nazis from unleashing the deadly secrets of Atlantis.

What immediately strikes you is how authentically this feels like an Indy adventure, complete with witty one-liners, death-defying escapes, and that perfect blend of archaeology and action that defines the character.

The point-and-click mechanics work flawlessly here, turning every interaction into a puzzle worth solving. The game's brilliant three-path structure lets you tackle challenges through teamwork with Sophia, or go solo as Indy and rely on your strength or pure wits, giving incredible replay value and making each playthrough feel distinct.

Visually, the game remains stunning even today. The pixel art captures everything from the dusty excavation sites of Algeria to the underwater ruins of Atlantis with remarkable detail and atmosphere.

Character animations are smooth and expressive, bringing personality to every interaction. The backgrounds are works of art in themselves, filled with period-appropriate details that make each location feel lived-in and authentic.

The audio design deserves special mention, featuring LucasArts' revolutionary iMUSE system that dynamically adjusts the musical score based on your actions.

The music swells during tense moments and becomes playful during lighter scenes, creating an interactive soundtrack that responds to gameplay. 

Voice acting, while limited, perfectly captures the essence of each character, and the sound effects from creaking ship timbers to ancient mechanism clicks add layers of immersion.

Playing Fate of Atlantis for the first time in 2024 was like, forgive me for saying this, unearthing a forgotten gem.

Each puzzle clicked with satisfying logic, the sharp dialogue showcased adventure gaming at its peak, and every lovingly detailed scene demonstrated the craftsmanship that made these games legendary.

This captures the spirit of the original trilogy in ways the later films never managed, delivering that perfect blend of adventure, humor, and archaeological mystery that made Raiders through Last Crusade timeless.

It's Indiana Jones at his absolute best, free from the constraints of film budgets or studio interference. Until Indiana Jones and the Great Circle arrived recently, this stood alone as the definitive Indy gaming experience, and having now played both, I can say I love them equally for completely different reasons. 

When I started this newsletter, I told myself it wasn’t just for the classic games I played. I wanted to try the ones I missed as well.

The game was everything I hoped it would be and I can’t wait to try the other paths.

The game proves that sometimes the greatest adventures happen not in theaters, but in the pixels and imagination of talented developers who truly understood what made their hero special.

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