Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2014
Qora
Developer Holden Boyles, Ciprian Stanciu
A mysterious trip to gorgeous and surreal lands, players explore the unknown and harness mystical powers which have been hidden in the valley for centuries. From the Steam store page
196 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Aug 8, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
62
Fresh
120 positive · 75 negative
95% range 55–68%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 120 | 75 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
360 of 537 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed reception: praised for art and atmosphere, criticized for minimal gameplay.
Many players praised the game's beautiful pixel art, relaxing atmosphere, and immersive soundtrack. Some found it a charming and unique experience, with one calling it a lovely relaxing experience, really peacefull, with beautiful pixel-art landscapes, great immersive soundtrack. Others appreciated the story and humor, noting it was short and sweet and worth anyones time. [3][7]
However, a significant number of critics found the gameplay lacking, describing it as a "walking simulator" with tedious obstacles and minimal interactivity. One reviewer stated it's just a long corridor with no challenge whatsoever, while another called it a literal time waster. The slow pace and repetitive actions frustrated some, leading to a split verdict. [36][27]
Praised art style · atmosphere · soundtrack · relaxing experience
Criticised lack of gameplay · tedious obstacles · slow pace · minimal interactivity
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 196 · most liked firstI love this game. I would place it in the "casual" genre. Pretty much, you just explore. You can't die. There's no actiony stuff or platforming. Just relax and explore a very intriguing world. The only keys you will be pressing are space bar and the arrow keys (and esc to exit). Make sure to talk to everyone you encounter because many will give you helpful items. Since there's no inventory to speak of, you'll use these items automatically when you need them. You'll also gain an ability early on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is seriously a time waster. And it's sad, because I can understand what they were going for, they just screwed it up really badly. The design of this game screams for you to slow down and look at it, but as a fairly stubborn person myself, when someone screams at me to do something I tend to want to do the exact opposite. That's exactly what happens with this game. Every method for moving through the environment is slowed way down and overly complicated in order to get you to look at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT play it, it is horrid "Omg the characters and music and atmosphere and art and story were soooo good!" no they were not. The music? Ass. 5 seconds on repeat, got irritating as hell after the first hour and a half of holding right. Characters? Bland. Cut and dry and cliché. Story? Middling at best. Emperor wants to get rich and powerful and then disappears at the end. Atmosphere? Fine. Boring as hell because of the speed and movement. Art? Fine, occasionally it would be moderately…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Artwork, check. Soundtrack, check. Story, eh, half-check. Gameplay, nope. While most components of the game were great, the game overall was utterly tedious. The story was so sparsely spread that I wouldn't be surprised if someone forgot it between pieces of the story. It was a terrible struggle to even finish the game, and upon completion, I felt sorely disappointed; my time was completely wasted. The slow walking pace of the character, combined with the snail-pace action animations made for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Relaxing and a little bit trippy game. You just walk around beautiful places and interact with objects. Ambient music and happy sounds, although the audio may get glitchy at some points. Duration is long enough, just the right time when you will start feeling bored. Note: For full achievements, you need to play twice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The pixel art was really nice. Music pretty relaxing. There were some fun/dark jokes. But that's it. Authors tried to make it into game by making you very slowly walk throught different scenes and slow you down even more by adding different jumps/climbs and stuff. I feel like I would enjoy it more if it didnt try to be a game but a storytelling/visual novel
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short walking simulator, but with needlessly tedious obstacles to slow you down breaking rocks or jumping gaps or slashing grass because... it enhances the game... somehow?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dear game developer. This is not to hurt feelings or anything, this is meant as constructive criticism. The game isn't really good at what's it's doing in my opinion. The thing is. I get it, the contemplative game, huge environments, minimalist character, emphasize on story and contemplation. All that doesn't mean bad game and deserve to be in gaming. But I really feel that a lot of it is clumsy and causes the game to be kind of pointless in challenge and pacing. -You have nice minimalist…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this, but it is a literal time waster in the sense that it tricks you into doing stupid time-consuming actions for no reason and drags the animations just to prolong the duration, and then you have to do it all over again to get all the achievements. Also, it's full of bugs. How do you mess up a game so simple? There are even long loading screens, if you can believe it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The whole beauty of simple things through a mythological journey. Qora is a lovely relaxing experience, really peacefull, with beautiful pixel-art landscapes, great immersive soundtrack (Spirit of the sea by Megavice is awesome ♥) and a cute mysterious story well written with some funny texts. One worthwhile ending too. Floaty ♥
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Micro village with micro dudes. Fart to the music.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful pixel art and music.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A walking simulator that tries to slow you down more than you already do with obstacles. While there is a story told, it's very bare-bones and other events that are randomly jammed in along the way leave me more confused than satisfied.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →art is just gorgeous, despite your character being only a few pixels. dreamy and colorful. then dark and deep. a unique experience with truly nailed music and sounds. you have to be good, really good, to put such a world in 60 MB. first time i've finished a game in a single run. one of the best ever played, also.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a very very simple but pretty looking lofi walking simulator. Although it says it's an adventure... well, it really isn't. It's strictly linear, the interaction feels unnecessary and the "multiple ending" part is more of a self-indulgent joke if you ask me. Don't get me started with writing and the story, the game works a lot better if you just ignore it. Oh and there's speciesism everywhere despite the whole "harmony with nature" theme it develops later on. What's really nice though, is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its a really beautiful and well made game. If you want to escape the chaos of everyday life then this is the game where you can find really good, albeit short, peace time. Though one might get frustrated with the monotonous climbing and jumping, the sound track does a good job to even it out. So overall its a nice game, something new you dont find much around here. Kudos to the dev team for this gem!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Man I wanted to love this game. The art and the sounds are obvious labors of love. The writing is gentle, whimsical and poignant. If this were an indepedent, fantasy movie, I'd watch it. That said, to echo other commenters, it's so barely interactive that it really didn't feel like a game. I had to stop as I just didn't feel like I had any agency. I also got the strongest impression that what mechanics exist (i.e. machete a few bits of brush / rock out of the way) were there to deliberatly slow…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I randomly found this game cheap in a Humble Indie sale for less than a dollar a couple months ago, and wow was this a charming indie to play through! The story, characters, music, art style, and humor were all done really well. Sure the gameplay can get a bit repetitive with climbing or breaking something but it didn't detract from the experience for me. Its short and sweet and worth anyones time imo. I would say due to its short play time to wait for a sale, but the soundtrack price is def…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Walk Right, Press Space: A Game. And I do mean walk; the speed of Qora's protagonist could best be described as a leisurely stroll. I didn't mind it, but my playthrough was a leisurely stroll too; a few screens every session, mostly in bed or right before it. The impatient need not apply. Qora's art isn't fantastic, but it's nice enough and imaginative enough to elicit some wonder and propel the player along their journey. Same goes for the audio. Volume of music and sound effects can be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful art and music, but absolutely no gameplay whatsoever. No meaningful decisions to make. No exploration. Just a linear path and some cutscenes. It was a long time ago but it still quite irks me that I spent ten dollars on this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It a positive rating because I really like the art of it and party of the storytelling. However be warned - it's not really a game. All you do it press an arrow key until you get a prompt to press space once in a while. For that lack of gameplay there are too many screens where nothing happens. That would be ok if navigating the environment would be fun but it's tedious.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's gorgeous and mind bending. What more could you want?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Calm and relaxing short game with a fantastic art style, atmosphere, and ambience, can be finished in 2 hours. Gameplay is basic, similar to a walking sim. Recommended if its on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do not recommend playing this unless you ♥♥♥♥♥ out for tedious and barely interactive yet calm, atmospheric "games". This was made as a kickstarter campaign, and it shows, especially at the end, with a load of unrelatable, shoehorned backer randomness.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just a long corridor with no challenge whatsoever. I get it, it's an "artistic" game, but to me it's just a glorified walking simulator. What I don't understand is how it all feels so damn cheap. This is one of the laziest types of pixel art I've seen in a long time, most of the time you can't even recognise what's on screen when it comes to characters. Backgrounds are decent. Sound design is just awful. Choices are very few and basically irrelevant, some sections are excruciatingly long and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Walking simulator tbh... Don't get me wrong, it's nothing terrible and I can see effort went into making it but... -"Story" can be summarised in one sentence. -As slow as watching paint dry. -Hold "right" to progress with occasional other button presses. -"Exploration" tag made me believe there was some sort of "exploration" to do, not just "go right to see more pixelated areas". -Music get old real fast. -Self aware 4th wall joke/comment from weird pig in middle of game made me cringe.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a 2D pixelated walking simulator. You press right, sometimes you press space, and you see cool stuff and get a bit of a story. Nice. I enjoyed it. But you should understand what it is before you get into it, especially at $10. I got it on sale in a bundle for pennies, and I definitely recommend it for that price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A few sentences before I begin the review. I barely play any pixel-platformer games, usually not my kind of thing and I think we can all agree with the statement that the market for pixel art games is over saturated. But this one, Qora, it caught my eye. I don't know exactly why it caught my eye, but it did and I decided to buy it. My subconsciously low expectations were more than blown away; I learnt a lesson to pay more attention to platformer games in general. I view this game as a true…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing art, amazing music, very weak storyline, cringe level dialogue with worst attempts at humour, unnecessary stops with or without interaction between scenes... Sad, it could have been a great game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Qora is more of a 2D walking simulator than a game, but its pixel art, music, story and atmosphere make it a satisfying and relaxing experience. It’s mostly linear, and only lasts for a few hours, but has a lot of achievements and the perfect ending gives a lot of extra goodies at the end. I enjoyed it, and can recommend it on sale, as long as you don’t expect a typical gaming experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ultimately boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This really could have been a good game... IF NOT FOR THE MESSED UP ASPECT RATIO!! This game's aspect ratio is 16:10 and it CAN'T BE CHANGED to 16:9 in the settings. And you cant really help it unless you have the option to change the display resolution in control panel (which I do not have). I was really excited to play this game for a while so noticing that I can only play the game with text missing from the bottom of the text box or I can play it in a ratio that's a third of my screen…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel like I accidentally joined a cult. Anyway, I got this game for like... a buck on sale. It was a good dollar spent. Aside from some (mostly optional) funny dialogue in the beginning and end of the game, Qora is ALL about the scenery. It's a walking sim and should take you about 2 hours to finish. The plot that is there is just to keep you moving through to the next area to ooo and aww at the pretty pixels. The best thing about this game is the Traveler, I greatly enjoyed his little…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I paid $1. FOR THAT $1, I had a great time, the game is very laid back and calm. The humor is great, and it looks and sound great. My one play through took 2 hours, there are very few forks in the road and they don't stray far from the path. In my first run I got 35 of the 40 achievements and without spoiling it's very easy to go back and finish the rest with one exception, which will require a second play through. I highly recommend the game IF you can snag it for a few dollars OR you're…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game did surprise me. It lacks actual gameplay, you don't get to decide that much but to follow the linear path and the platforming does not require any skills, although you can miss to 100% the game (like I did) if you don't pay close attention. However, the plot, the dialogues and the gorgeous pixelart landscapes kept me interested in appreciating the visuals and wondering what's to come next, not disappointing imo. I'd recommend to wait for a discount though and to try it some laidback…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10. Get it now. You won't regret it. Absolutely fantastic. Ok, ok, ok, why you might ask? This game is something so special, so different, so entrancing in just about everyway, that if you actaully play it to the end, and see it for what it is, there's just no way you won't like it. Obviously there is no gameplay, but you should know that by now. You're looking at a walking sim, but literally one of the best ones that's ever been created. This game, within 10 minutes had me grinning…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't play this game. Do you like pixel art and/or "lo-fi" music? Then find a video of this and watch that instead -- maybe fast forwarding through parts. Perhaps the creator will post a full video playthrough of this somewhere, as it might be a good portfolio piece. The art, music, and dialogue are interesting, but not worth the gameplay, which is a study in "how to insult your player." Example: At one point, in order to progress, you need to travel across the screen to the right. This…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Qora takes you on a visually beautiful adventure with atmospheric music and charming character encounters. Unfortunately the moving animation for jumping, and climbing is quite slow. Your fingers will be glued to the right movement key. As you reach the end with sore fingers the payoff does not make it worth it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More of a 2D pixel walking sim than a platformer or adventure game. The graphics are oversimplistic which is distracting, of course this is the visual style the developers wanted but it falls flat. There's a fullscreen mode but it didn't work for me (overscan issues on 4K monitors, basic testing from the devs would have picked this up). A few other users complain of launch bugs and so on, and the game isn't really patched or maintained. Too hard to recommend because of all the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow. This is more of an "experience" than a game. Very interesting and unique. I love everything about this game, especially the soundtrack. What an adventure. Definitely worth a play, especially if you are feeling emotional. And if you aren't you will be.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This isn't a game, it's a walking simulator. If you kept your right button pushed with a duct tape and left the controller in a cage with hamsters who would walk around on it and push buttons randomly, chances are, they would complete it by the same time as a person actually playing the game. And the hamsters would probably get a lot more enjoyment out of it. All the games achivements are just what you are expected to do, not an "achivement", but just presses of a button in a place. The game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game with a 90% discount (only cost me a dollar). I had my expectations pretty low after reading other reviews but was somewhat impressed once I got into it. This is a cute, simple, and at-times beautiful game, as long as you enjoy quirky pixel exploration games. The world reveals itself slowly but gracefully and I found myself wanting to continue until I reached the end. The story is pretty fresh, quite irreverent and I chuckled a few times at the silliness. It does a good job of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I must say i really enjoyed my time with Qora. The game tells a story while you travel through its well made landscapes and ambients. The soundtrack fits the atmosphere and makes the experience even better. There is little to no gameplay, which doesnt matter since the game is ment to be an storytelling and atmospheric game. I recommend to watch some gameplay before buying, to see if the game fits your expectations. Try to dive in the game and its world and you wont be dissapointed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Qora is a psychadelic zen pilgrimage, through a far away land. That being said, this game isn't for everyone LOL
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm well versed in walking simulators, in slow meditative "game" experiences, and it feels like this attempt misses the mark. The tone is strange, starting off sarcastic and legitimately funny, but then forcing a player to slowly plod across vast, empty, although admittedly beautiful landscapes. I just got the vibe that there wasn't much there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent narrative exploration adventure! Loved how atmospheric and immersive it can get with resources so limited! I had almost a constant sense of wonder. Enjoyed each second of it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game was fun for a while and the story was interesting at the beginning. The ending is absolutely horrible. I hated it so much! It has nothing to do with the rest of the story. Feels like the developer was really high while making the ending. I can't recommend it to anyone.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It was fun worth the buck i bought it for! buy it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →relaxing pixel-walk-sim perfect for a lazy afternoon watch out for the ninjas ;)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It isn't a mechanically deep game, neither rich with story. But let me tell you what it is, an experice that sticks with you. I may not have had the "greatest of time" with the game, but I still remeber the time I had, and I like that. All the things I saw, all the places I walked through, I'm throughly happy that I've experienced them. If that sounds at all interesting to you, I implore you to try it, it won't take much of your time but it'll be with you for longer.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Waking up ancient, sleeping gods with a kalimba is always fun! I would definitely only recommend this to players who don't mind walking simulators or games with no/very little actual gameplay besides walking This game focuses a lot more on the storytelling and the visuals, then on whether the gameplay is fun or not. Now, I don't mind just walking through games, but when combined with tedious arm and climbing mechanics it starts to falter a bit... Pros: ✔ Beautiful graphics: They're…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →wow what a ♥♥♥♥ ending
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Qora is a dreamy little walking simulator with a lot of lore. The soundtrack is amazing and it offers replayability value to some degree. Not one of the best indie walking simulators I have played, but well enough executed to warrant a recommendation for people who are into such titles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yes, I do not recommend this game. This is because when I form an opinion on a game, I focus on what makes it a *game*. Story, soundtrack and art assets are generally irrelevant, although I'm prone to praise them if they're really good. The most important aspect, though, is gameplay. Gameplay is one of the few criteria I actually base recommendations on. The others being the value:price ratio, developer activity (I've unrecommended games based on them being abandoned yet still containing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not worth it. If I had to give a main reason, I would say it's too long. The pixel art is good, but the colors are bland. The humor is tryhard, but it did land some times. The music is nice, but unmemorable. If you want a similar experience, but for free, just go look at GregoryWeir's stuff on Newgrounds. Overall, unimpressive, slow, and boring. inb4 "You didn't get the message" I got it, it's just been done better elsewhere.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played and completed this game awhile ago but remember really enjoying it. I came back in hopes to see if they were going to make a second one (sadly nothing that i see). Anyways the music in it is very relaxing and the Art is so cool.. really loved the art in it. I also, liked the story. If you're looking for an intense game or something that needs a lot of brain power then this probably isn't the game for you. But if you're looking for a chill relaxing game then this game is perfect for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Qora, for me at least, falls more into the category of interactive art than it does a game. There is absolutely no element of skill required to finish it, and there is virtually no "choice & consequence" element to it. As such, it's not really fair to compare it to the likes of Superbrothers, Uncanny Valley, or Reveal the Deep, despite it being priced in that category. From a purely artistic standpoint, however, there are things that make Qora a worthwhile purchase. If you like contemporary…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Qora takes you on a visually beautiful adventure with atmospheric music and charming character encounters. Unfortunately the moving animation for jumping, and climbing is quite slow. Your fingers will be glued to the right movement key. As you reach the end with sore fingers the payoff does not make it worth it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's hard to call this a game, since there are no decisions to make. It's a completely linear experience. Very pretty visuals, but movement through the screens is just tedious enough that I can't really recommend it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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