1981 saw the release of a little action movie called Raiders of the Lost Ark. This new Lucasfilm title was written by The Empire Strikes Back's Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, directed by industry icon Steven Spielberg, and starring Harrison Ford as the titular Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost Ark seems like a sure-fire hit in hindsight, but before release, audiences didn't express too much interest.
Thankfully, Raiders was immensely successful, becoming the highest-grossing movie of 1981, and spawning three (soon to be four) Indiana Jones sequels. Along with these sequels, the Indiana Jones brand would go on to be used in a number of spin-offs, including a pretty expansive catalog of video games. Though there are some poorer offerings, the majority of Indiana Jones titles are actually pretty solid, even those dating back to the early 1980s.
S-Tier
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992): Receiving a slew of Game of the Year awards from a variety of publications back in the day, and still widely considered to be the best Indiana Jones game to date, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis has everything an Indy fan could hope for. Using its innovative SCUMM point-and-click engine, LucasArts delivers a succinct, but open-ended adventure that has Indy searching for the lost city of Atlantis. One of Fate of Atlantis' best features is its three distinct paths that each significantly impact gameplay. The game's Wits Path gives players a challenging puzzle experience, while the Fists Path injects more action and brawls into the game, and the Team Path adds a companion that can assist in the game's more difficult sections. As is the case with the majority of LucasArts titles during this time, the writing is superb, the graphics are as good as they possibly can be, and the characterization of the titular hero is absolutely on point.
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (2003): It may not be the slickest third-person action game around, but Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is certainly one of the best Indy games released so far. Taking place across a variety of well-rendered and unique locales, ranging from a gothic castle in Prague to an underwater city in Istanbul, The Emperor's Tomb has good brawling mechanics, snappy shooting controls, and some engaging platforming and puzzle sections. It's by no means perfect, but it definitely captures the globetrotting essence of the source material.
- LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (2008): Being one of the early licensed LEGO games, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the most iconic moments from the first three Indy movies, and boils them down into bite-sized, mumble-filled adventures. What puts this game above its sequel is its streamlined nature, and a healthy dose of nostalgia. With the game only having 18 levels, and no open-world, each moment in LEGO Indiana Jones feels hand-crafted, which creates an extremely polished experience overall, suitable for all ages.
A-Tier
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure (1989): A precursor to the aforementioned Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is another great point-and-click title. Following the events of the movie, The Last Crusade encourages repeat playthroughs via a points system that unlocks alternative endings and different methods of completing puzzles. Coming out just before The Secret of Monkey Island, The Last Crusade is an incredible technical feat, which just barely misses out on an S-ranking due to its successor being the undeniable better option.
- Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures (1994): Compiling the three original movies together, and bearing a great resemblance to the Super Star Wars series of games, Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures is a great SNES action-platformer, and a superb movie tie-in game. Every 16-bit environment looks wonderfully detailed, and is immediately recognizable as locations from each movie. The game's action mechanics are also great, with responsive whip-combat and platforming being the primary loop. Unfortunately though, Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures is a tad too difficult, even verging on unfair at times.
- LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2009): Adding another movie, and a few open-world hubs, LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues is still a good family-friendly experience, it just bites off a bit more than it can chew. Each mission is still fun, but definitely lacks the refinement present in its predecessor, and the hub overworlds add a lot of replayability through collectables, but don't offer enough incentives to actually engage with them. All in all though, LEGO Indiana Jones 2 is still a good compilation of the franchise so far.
B-Tier
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1985): The arcade and Atari tie-in of the 1984 movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a decent action game that hasn't aged too well. For the time, Temple of Doom had some solid graphics and sound design, with John Williams' iconic score even being implemented at times. But looking back, Temple of Doom has some pretty repetitive gameplay, and its environments do blend into one.
- Indiana Jones in Revenge of the Ancients (1987): It didn't quite live up to its competition, but Indiana Jones in Revenge of the Ancients is a good text-based adventure. Telling an original Indy story, Revenge of the Ancients has good writing, but by its very nature, it's a bit limiting when compared to some other games in this list.
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991): Coming out very late in the NES' life cycle, this version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is primarily an action game, with some light puzzles thrown in for good measure. By all accounts, the game's presentation is solid, but the gameplay is quite dull, boiling down to just a few button presses and simple objectives.
C-Tier
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982): The first Indiana Jones game ever made, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a barebones action title for the Atari 2600. Along with the Empire Strikes Back game of the same year, Raiders does a serviceable job of capturing moments from the movie in 8-bit fashion, but it isn't worth writing home about today.
- Indiana Jones and the Lost Kingdom (1985): A slight step above Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Lost Kingdom is a puzzle game that features some pretty obtuse challenges. The Lost Kingdom also suffers from some bland level design and presentation.
- Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999): The first attempt at a 3D third-person action game in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is not a very good game, but it does try hard to be one. A clunky camera, unresponsive controls, and unfair platforming leads to The Infernal Machine being a chore to play, but for die-hard Indy fans, there's an adventure worth sticking with here.
- Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (2009): One of the last Indy games to be released, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is an okay third-person action game. The gameplay itself is fine for the most part, taking inspiration from Emperor's Tomb, but doesn't really improve on it. The Wii version of the game is plagued with motion control issues, and the game's presentation is rough for the seventh generation of consoles.
D-Tier
- Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures (1996): Followed by the more infamous Star Wars: Yoda Stories, Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures is a simplistic, repetitive little game that really isn't worth revisiting. The randomly generated levels lead quickly to boredom as opposed to replayability, and the incredibly simple gameplay and presentation leaves a lot to be desired.
- Indiana Jones and the Lost Puzzles (2009): Released for mobile devices, Indiana Jones and the Lost Puzzles is essentially just a Candy Crush clone, bearing practically no resemblance to a licensed product aside from a few pictures of the fedora-wearing adventurer. To make matters worse, it's not even a good Candy Crush clone.