The success of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has shown that the future of the franchise once again might lie in video games, much like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis showed decades ago too. As such, the next step could be an adaptation of this beloved story from the franchise. A new version could combine the original game's three separate paths and the comic into one definitive adventure, while following a structure similar to The Great Circle. A breakdown of what the story would look like can be found here, whereas this article moreso focuses on the various locations.
The Great Circle has a structure that balances action, platforming, and point-and-click gameplay across seven locations: one tutorial area, three open exploration hubs, and three linear story levels. The open exploration hubs are larger, as they also have additional fieldwork, mysteries, and collectibles alongside the main adventure. Here, Marshall College serves as tutorial area, the Vatican, Gizeh, and Sukhothai as open exploration hubs, and the Himalayas, Shanghai, and Ur as linear story levels. To bring The Fate of Atlantis more in line with this, some changes to its gameplay and locations would be required.
For The Fate of Atlantis to have a comparable number of locations, two locations from the original -Iceland and the Azores- can be cut and their characters moved elsewhere. This would streamline the story and bring it to seven locations as well: one tutorial area, four open exploration hubs, and two linear story levels. In this case, Barnett College functions as the tutorial area, New York City, Tikal, Algiers, and Knossos as the open exploration hubs, and Monte Carlo and Thera (including the gateway to Atlantis) as linear story levels. Thus, it would have one more open exploration hub than The Great Circle.
The major change comes to New York City. By placing the characters of Sophia Hapgood, Bjorn Heimdall, and Felipe Costa all within walking distance of each other in the same city, New York City can be built up as a location similar to the Vatican in The Great Circle, with additional fieldwork, mysteries, and collectibles to solve. Aside from Nazi agent Klaus Kerner, there wouldn't be much opposition from the Nazis. As such, the enemies Indy encounters could instead be gangsters, mercenaries, or art smugglers. This condenses the story and would allow for a new kind of environment to be explored.
The Director's Cut
However, cutting two locations does not result in them being lost altogether. Instead, they can be part of a Director's Cut, where the story does send Indy and Sophia to Iceland and the Azores. Moreover, a Director's Cut can also expand the story with extended sequences. For example, rather than cutting away from Indy handing over the Cross of Coronado, the prologue actually plays longer, with Indy wandering into his father's study, where he finds a book on Plato's writings. It then cuts to Indy giving a lecture on Plato attended by Mr. Smith, which leads to Indy looking for the horned statue for Smith.
The Director's Cut could also return Heimdall and Costa to their original locations in Iceland and the Azores right from the start. This changes both where Indy and Sophia find them and when these locations become accessible. If the Director's Cut is installed before starting a new game(+), Heimdall and Costa can be visited in Iceland and the Azores as part of the main story, with Indy and Sophia reaching them by plane rather than navigating New York City to find them. If it is installed after, Heimdall and Costa move to these locations once the story is over. Only then would the locations become accessible.
This does not mean the additional acitivities in the New York City hub becomes unobtainable after meeting Sophia. On the contrary, fieldwork, mysteries, and collectibles would be available across all three locations in the Director's Cut. Together, this adds two locations each roughly the size of Rome from The Order of Giants. Both locations can draw inspiration from the original game and comic: Iceland focuses on investigating the Hyperboreans, and the Azores on exploring Jastro's cave. This would also flesh out the expedition during which Indy and Sophia first met ten years prior to the game.
Lastly, both locations can also be tied to The Order of Giants. That DLC introduced the Cult of Mithras, a group obsessed with killing a bull to achieve godly status. Coincidentally, the DLC's bull is inspired by one from a location in The Fate of Atlantis: the Minotaur of Crete. During the main story, the Cult could be on Crete investigating how Theseus killed the bull before venturing to Iceland and the Azores, believing Indy's associates might know more about the two of the many locations Theseus and the Argonauts likely visited. This way, it expands both The Fate of Atlantis and the world of The Great Circle.