Vatican City

A 1937 sandbox hub under Blackshirt control where Indy hunts for clues about the Great Circle.

In the 2024 action-adventure game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Vatican City serves as one of the primary sandbox locations where archaeologist Indiana Jones navigates a city under the control of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his Blackshirts. Set in 1937, this section of the narrative sees Indy infiltrating the city to investigate a stolen cat mummy and a medallion bearing a symbol resembling that of the Vatican Secret Archive. Here, he encounters reporter Ginetta "Gina" Lombardi, who is investigating the disappearance of her sister Laura while tracking Nazi archaeologist Emmerich Voss. The game features this location as a larger, explorable area where players can engage in stealth, solve optional puzzles, and uncover secrets tied to the Nephilim Order.

Quick Facts

Primary role

Sandbox Location in Game Narrative

Key figure in lore

Emmerich Voss (Antagonist)
Ginetta "Gina" Lombardi (Ally)
Locus
Father Orland

Notable artifact connection

Cat Mummy containing a special stone related to the Great Circle; Armor of the N

Lore & Background

Vatican City is depicted as a city under the direct control of Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts, who are collaborating with Nazi German archaeologist and occultist Emmerich Voss. The narrative reveals that a tribe of giants known as the "Nephilim Order" has been covertly working for the Roman Catholic Church to protect the secret of the "Great Circle." During his infiltration, Indiana Jones discovers that a stolen cat mummy contains a special stone related to this power. He learns that Voss eventually steals these stones from the Order and flees, forcing Jones and Gina to stow away on Voss's zeppelin to pursue him. The location is also tied to Father Orlando Ricci in the downloadable content The Order of Giants, where Ricci researches a legendary figure called the Nameless Crusader whose armor was hidden under a palace built by Pope Paul IV.

Reader's Guide

Players approach Vatican City as a large, explorable sandbox location rather than a linear corridor. The area supports multiple routes to objectives, encouraging stealth tactics such as crouching and hiding behind cover to avoid enemy lines of sight. Disguises can be worn to access restricted areas, though high-level enemies may see through them if Jones commits crimes like stealing or acting menacingly. In this zone, players can photograph objects of interest, open safes and chests, and collect relics to earn Adventure Points for unlocking perks from Adventure Books. Combat involves using makeshift weapons like shovels or wrenches, utilizing the whip to target enemy limbs, and managing stamina which regenerates slowly when resting. The environment also features optional puzzles where repeatedly photographing a puzzle provides hints for solving it.

Did You Know?

Vatican City is one of the game's larger sandbox locations, alongside Gizeh and Sukhothai.
A giant named Locus steals a cat mummy from Marshall College, and the symbol on Locus's medallion leads Jones to infiltrate the Vatican.
In the The Order of Giants DLC, Father Orlando Ricci tasks Jones with finding armor hidden under a palace built by Pope Paul IV.
Players can use disguises in Vatican City, but committing crimes will cause them to fail.