Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Ultimate Guide to Every Secret, Easter Egg, and Hidden Detail

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is packed with hidden details that reward the most dedicated explorers. From subtle character callbacks to elaborate puzzle chains, the game's secrets connect directly to the franchise's rich history. This guide breaks down the major Easter eggs, developer signatures, and community discoveries you need to see everything the adventure has to offer. ## Major Movie Callbacks and References ### The 'Love You' Student Gets a Name (Raiders of the Lost Ark) Remember that student from Raiders who blinks 'Love You' with her eyelids? The game finally gives her a name, but you have to dig for it. During the Marshall College lecture, she's sitting front-right, doing the same blink animation—which means most players won't even notice her. The name Shirley is referenced in the game via a letter in the classroom and an apple on the teacher's table, paying homage to the student from the film. If you stick around after class, Indy quietly mutters 'Still getting love notes, huh?' which is the only actual acknowledgment of the whole thing. ### Willie Scott's Career at Marshall College (Temple of Doom) Temple of Doom fans get some love too—you'll find it on the Marshall College notice board, where a tiny flyer advertises the Grand 1937 Dance with Music by Willie Scott. You have to zoom in or use the interact prompt to read the fine print, so it's easy to miss—kind of like those Giant's Pendant and Cat Mummy Photo collectibles. This confirms Willie was still touring in 1937, long after her Shanghai nightclub days. The prologue also hides Anything Goes vinyl on the student-lounge turntable and a Club Obi Wan photo in Indy's office, just to really hammer home the reference. ### Henry Jones Sr. and the Holy Grail Surveillance (Last Crusade) There's a brilliant Last Crusade nod hidden in the Vatican's Father and Son puzzle. While you're poking around, you'll find a one-page surveillance report—Latin and Italian mixed together—detailing how Henry Jones Sr. requested Grail-related folios from the Apostolic Archive on June 12, 1937. The memo basically says 'keep watching this guy, he's onto the Cup of Christ,' and there's even a red-ink note about calling the Swiss Guard if he shows up again. The astrolabe you use to open the hidden alcove has the Jones family motto Faber est suae quisque fortunae engraved on it, which is pulled straight from Henry Sr.'s Grail Diary. ### Marion Ravenwood References and Lost Love The Marion references are where the game gets surprisingly sentimental. Right at the start, Marcus hands you a journal from Marion with a note that reads: 'For the best dig partner I ever had—don’t lose this one, Jones.'. If you check the photo in the Marshall College classroom, you'll find Marion's picture with another message on the back: 'Same offer stands—come back when you're ready to stay.' After the credits roll, Indy adds his own entry: 'Still looking. Still yours. – H'. It's a quiet way of confirming their relationship is still alive, even if they're apart. ### Staff of Ra Headpiece and Dream Sequence The Staff of Ra headpiece gets its own dream sequence that's part puzzle, part nostalgia trip. Interacting with the Prayer Wheel sends you to a hallucination of Marshall College's astronomy loft, where the headpiece literally snaps onto the telescope's declination axis. It fires a red crystal beam you need to align with symbols on the Dream Stele in a specific order: 3-1-4. That sequence matches the date 6-19-31 etched on the chalkboard, which references a real total solar eclipse that crossed Egypt and the Midwest—the same year Indy would eventually use the Staff in the Map Room near Cairo. It's a clever bit of astronomical nerdery that connects the puzzle directly to Raiders. ## Hidden Locations and Secret Quests ### The Flying Wing at Giza Airfield (Raiders Reference) The 'Shadows over Giza' mission hides one of the coolest throwbacks in the game—tucked near the zeppelin mooring area is the Flying Wing, wings folded for transport just like in Raiders. ### Ziggurat Secret Vault Puzzle Chain The Ziggurat's biggest secret is a multi-step puzzle that recreates Raiders' map room sequence, and it's worth every minute. After the central platform rises, head east of the dais to grab the gold Sun-Staff plaque from a hidden alcove. The cuneiform translates to 9:15 AM, and yeah, you'll need to be standing on that gold plaque at exactly that in-game time. When the sunbeam hits the west-facing window, hold the plaque up to refract a light dot onto five sequential wall bricks. Nail the order and a ladder drops to a secret vault. Down there you'll find a Field Note that unlocks the 'Archivist' achievement. ### Restricted Stacks Library Access Back at Marshall College, that 'Staff Only' door behind the central reading table isn't just for show—you can actually get inside. After you reset the library breaker, snag the Library Master Key from the lock on the metal gate blocking the stairwell. This key permanently opens the restricted stacks, giving you access to other hidden documents you might've missed. ## Developer Secrets and Meta References First up on the carving block: those swirling runic stones from the title screen aren't just for show. If you photograph them and check your journal sketches, you'll see they're actually carved with two-letter ciphers that spell out developer initials—MG for MachineGames, JE for director Jerk Gustafsson, GE for executive producer John Jennings, and several others. These aren't random collectibles either; the stones are modeled directly on the Great Circle artifacts you're chasing through the whole story, which makes this a pretty clever way for the team to sign their own MacGuffins. ### MachineGames Logo in Runic Stones There's seventeen of these plot-critical relics in total, each inscribed with words of 'God's true name,' so the devs basically hid their autographs on the most important objects in the game. Whenever you snap a photo of one, the journal sketch reveals the transliterated Norse letters, which means you can trace every swirling rune back to a real person on the development team. ### Wolfenstein Room in Sukhothai If you're scavenging through Sukhothai's Warrior Temple and spot a suspiciously crackable wall near the Jungle Bruiser Pit, you're onto something that'll feel very familiar. The wall breaks exactly like those secret passages in Wolfenstein, and smashing through it reveals a hidden alcove with an Ancient Relic stashed inside. You'll need the Ancient Sledgehammer for this—luckily, it's leaning right against the wall just before the temple steps, so you can't miss it. No other weapon in your arsenal will even chip that stone. ### Temple of the Forbidden Eye Disney Reference Back in Indy's office at Marshall College, there's a callback that'll hit Disneyland veterans right in the nostalgia. A weathered parchment map sits on a side desk, and it shows the floor-plan of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye—the exact setting from Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure ride. The map recreates the in-universe souvenir from the 1995 attraction, complete with labeled corridors like Gates of Doom, Cavern of Bubbling Death, and Hall of Promise. It's a tiny detail, but if you rode that jeep through the temple in real life, this'll bring back some memories. ## Community Discoveries and Obscure References While the main story keeps you busy, the real magic is in the details MachineGames scattered across every level. The community has been piecing together these obscure references for months, and some of them are so deep you'll wonder how anyone found them in the first place. ### Marya Smirnova - Comic Book Journalist Voss Camp in Gizeh hides a deep cut you won't want to miss. In the northeast corner of the hub, there's a supply tent called the 'Deposito'—inside, on a field desk, you'll find a type-written note signed by Marya Smirnova. If that name doesn't ring a bell, you're not alone; she's a Russian reporter from the obscure 1923 French comic Indiana Jones et le Secret des Pyramides. The letter itself is basically Smirnova offering Voss press coverage in exchange for dig access, and she name-drops Dr. Jones, which confirms she's still in contact with Indy after that 1923 Egypt expedition. Grab it and you'll trigger the side-quest 'The Serpent's Chest'—and yes, you'll need this for 100% Gizeh completion if you're chasing the 'Relic Hunter' trophy. ### Short Round's Signed Baseball Here's a weird one: the community has been hunting for Short Round's signed baseball for months, but no one can actually find the thing. Supposedly, there's a scuffed baseball in the Gizeh dig-site tent near the level start, signed 'To Dr. Jones, You fight good! - Shorty '35'—a clear nod to Indy's sidekick from Temple of Doom. Unfortunately, this Easter egg doesn't show up in any official patch-1.0 data, and it's missing from every major checklist including IGN and Game8's 71 Field Notes guides. The current theory? It's either cut content that never made it into the final build, or the community accidentally started a rumor that snowballed. Either way, don't waste hours searching for it like I did. ### Tangier Monkey Whistle Signal The Tangier market has one of the best Spielberg references in the entire game. On a rooftop near the Grand Socco plaza, you'll find a capuchin monkey wearing a tiny Wehrmacht cap—yeah, it's as ridiculous as it sounds. Use the two-fingered whistle emote and the monkey will salute you before dropping a Nazi Military Merit Medal. This isn't just a random gag; it's a direct callback to Spielberg's favorite monkey scene from the 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark. The interaction triggers the quest 'The Monkey's Medal' and earns you the 'Primate Procurement' achievement. Later on, you can sell that medal to a black-market vendor for Reichsmarks, which is a decent chunk of change if you're saving up for upgrades. ## End-Game Secrets and Completionist Rewards ### Himalayan Safehouse Secret Cabinet The best secrets hide in plain sight, and the Himalayan Safehouse has a doozy. After you've wrapped up every mystery in the game, a locked cabinet in the bunk-room becomes crackable with the combo 3-9-7. You can piece this together from a dog-tag cipher found in Marco Polo's tomb (G=7, K=11, C=3). Inside, you'll snag Henry Jones Sr.'s Grail Diary as an Adventure Book that permanently boosts your whip-swing stamina—super handy for those long temple runs. There's also a handwritten note from Dr. Lopez, Indy's old mentor, that points toward the Vatican secret archives for the next Great Circle piece. Oh, and don't forget the three Italian lire coins; they trade for a suppressed pistol upgrade with Sukhothai's black-market vendors. The cabinet stays open once cracked, but here's the kicker: all safes reset in New Game+, so you'll want to remember that 3-9-7 combo for speedruns. ### Marshall College Mascot Change You might've heard rumors about crates behind the gymnasium bleachers showing a mascot shift from 'Bulldogs' to 'Wildcats'—a deep-cut referencing the continuity flip between Raiders and Crystal Skull. Evidence of this shift has been found. Looking up at the rolled-up canvas banners above the bleachers reveals a visual Easter egg: the left-hand banner shows a bulldog and the right-hand one shows a wildcat. Standing on the court's center jump-circle and panning the camera causes the banners to swap positions. ### Developer Thank-You Letter (100% Completion Reward) The actual ultimate prize comes after you've closed every single Mystery—18/18 in your journal. Head back to Indy's Marshall College office and check the right-hand bookshelf for a hidden 'Read Thank-You Letter' prompt. This isn't just a pat on the back. The letter is an Easter egg referencing Shirley from Raiders of the Lost Ark, located in Marshall College's lecture hall, but it does not unlock any achievement. It's written on Barnett College letterhead and 'signed' by the MachineGames development team, thanking you for 'keeping the spirit of adventure alive' while gently roasting you for spending more time in the relic inventory than is probably healthy. ## How to Find All Secrets: Community Resources ### Reddit Community and Discord Channels Your first stop should be r/TheGreatCircle or r/IndianaJonesGames, which have become the main hubs where players organize secret hunting through dedicated 'Secret/Mystery' flairs. This means you can filter for exactly the kind of hidden content you're after without wading through general discussion posts. While there isn't an official game-specific Discord, hunters have set up shop in two main places: the general Bethesda Discord (discord.gg/bethesda) and a fan-run server called IndyCord (discord.gg/xGbQ4qwJNC). IndyCord is particularly useful for general discussion, though it does not have specific channels for each region's secrets. Players there have already cracked the Ziggurat of Ur secret vault and shared pre-endgame opening methods, with users like JandeSF posting optimized relic rotation guides that'll save you hours of trial and error. ### YouTube Guides for 100% Completion When you need to actually see where something is, PowerPyx and GamerPillar are your best bets. PowerPyx has a full timestamped 100% playlist that shows exact locations for all 10 Secret of Giants inscriptions and the Ziggurat secret vault puzzle, so you can jump straight to the part you're missing. GamerPillar's 'All 10 Inscriptions Locations' video is particularly clutch for the trickier sections—they give you specific camera angles for photographing every inscription, including those painful Borgia Tower roof sequences that'll have you pulling your hair out otherwise. ### Patch Notes and New Discoveries Here's the thing: MachineGames has a history of adding time-gated secrets months after launch, which means you'll want to keep an eye on Bethesda's official forum patch notes and Steam discussions for what the community calls 'zero-day undiscoverable' content. Update 5 is a perfect example—it added a 'Very Light' difficulty that spawns turquoise-cloth-wrapped radio sets in the Vatican, and interacting with them triggers a 90-second church-bell track that syncs with RTX Hair physics for some subtle visual-audio Easter eggs. The community also caught data-miners discovering an unused audio file labeled 'BERNIE_1957' in the Vatican radio archives; when reversed, it says 'Bernie still has the key,' which looks like a hint at future DLC or sequel content. So if you're serious about finding everything, you'll need to monitor these updates because the secrets literally aren't all there yet. Uncovering every secret in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a journey through decades of franchise lore and clever game design. Whether you're tracking down every runic stone or solving the Ziggurat's sunbeam puzzle, these details enrich the world for true fans. Keep exploring, and remember - the greatest treasures are often the hardest to find.