Indiana Jones core. New DLC, The Order of Giants, is a puzzle-filled story that doesn't require you to finish the base game

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ended up being a very nice surprise for fans of the original movies. Gamers especially loved how the game stayed true to the movies' story, offered engaging puzzles, and nailed the fanservice. In short, the new Indiana Jones turned out to be a success, giving Machine Games plenty of motivation to keep developing the project. On June 8, 2025, it was announced that the first story expansion for Great Circle, called The Order of Giants, would be playable in September. At Gamescom, I got the chance to try a short slice of the new expansion and chat a bit with the developers - creative director Axel Torvenius and lead designer Zeke Virant.

Everything you need to know about Order of the Giants

The Order of Giants isn’t a standalone expansion, so you’ll need the base game to play it. The expansion takes us to the Vatican, where we get a new mission and a brand-new area to explore - Rome. This time, the famous archaeologist sets out to uncover the mysteries of the Nephilim order, a topic that also pops up in Great Circle. Anyone who’s played the game will probably remember that we reach the Apostolic Capital pretty early on in the adventure. You can start the DLC from this point, and you don’t need to finish the base game to begin investigating the mysterious Order. If you’ve already finished the game, just fast travel back to the Vatican and chat with the right NPC to get started.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Order of the Giants, Xbox Game Studios, 2025.

Priest, parrot and papal secrets

That person is Father Ricci, who has a chatty parrot named Pio by his side. I kicked off my session with Order of the Giants by chatting with a clergyman, who let slip a secret: somewhere beneath the Vatican, there’s a room holding the helmet of a legendary knight, and in the background, a papal intrigue awaits that we’ll need to unravel. Of course, Indy isn’t about to pass up an opportunity like that. When I asked about the length of the expansion, the developers said we can expect a "considerable amount of new content." Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clear answer on exactly how long the expansion will be.

After picking up a few hints from Father Ricci, I headed to the spot he mentioned to tackle a simple puzzle with a device and two figurines. I’ll just add that playing while the developers are watching is actually pretty fascinating - and not stressful at all. But when I came back, I found myself wandering the catacombs of the Eternal City. After exploring for a bit, I stumbled upon a huge room with a massive snake sculpture - because duh. At that moment, Axel and Zeke paused me to mention that The Order of Giants will feature bigger, more intricate puzzles - definitely a step up from what we saw in The Great Circle. I also found out that on higher difficulty settings, the puzzles get trickier - sometimes parts of a puzzle can be destroyed, forcing you to figure out a different or unexpected way to solve it.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Order of the Giants, Xbox Game Studios, 2025.

The next room I came across was really impressive. It was clear right away that you’d need to do a lot of climbing to get up to the big statue. And just like that, Indiana Jones and the Order of Giants turned into a platformer. To keep moving and actually reach my goal, I had to use Indy’s iconic whip so I didn’t tumble into the huge pits below. There were also some basic cranes and elevators that needed a bit of skill to use - overall, it was a pretty fun challenge. When I finally made it to the top, my session with Indiana and the developers ended - which was a bummer, because I would've gladly played for much longer.

More of the same

The Order of Giants ran super smoothly; the parrot I mentioned did look a bit weird with its textures loading strangely, but it didn’t really ruin the experience. The sound and lighting in the Vatican catacombs were spot-on.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Order of the Giants, Xbox Game Studios, 2025.

From what I could see in the short time I played, the expansion for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is basically more of the same, just bigger - with new content, puzzles, characters, and enemies (I didn’t run into them myself, but the developers confirmed they’ll be there). We’ll be reading more notes, uncovering some extra little secrets, and tackling a few more platforming sections. I’ll also mention that this expansion is meant to be a bit tougher than the base game. I’m curious how it’ll feel for players who’ve already maxed out Indiana - bought all the upgrades and basically perfected the art of punching fascists in the face. The creative director also mentioned that The Order of Giants will have more books we can find, letting us unlock new skills for our mischievous hero. I’m really excited to dive back into this DLC in early September.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

December 9, 2024

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