As this article is being written, gamers everywhere are obsessively combing through every pyramid, tomb, and desert to experience Assassins Creed: Origins fully. The game dropped onto everyone’s online console store of choice at midnight October 27th. Video walkthroughs from some of the most popular YouTubers have crept up to show the journey of the franchise’s first assassin.
Ubisoft’s highest selling franchise mixes historical fact with some Hollywood fiction to tell the story of the fight between Assassins and the Templars. The games have taken players through the Italian Renaissance, The Age of Piracy, the French Revolution, Imperial China, and now Ancient Egypt. Bayek, the newest main character for Assassin’s Creed: Origins is now credited as the very first Assassin in the line, and what better place than the age of Giant Pyramids? Assassin’s Creed is so intriguing to gamers because it allows players to visit all the sites read about in much less exciting textbooks.
The main story in the Assassin’s Creed games are always compelling, but the side missions are nothing to forget about. A full market houses tons of stories and side quests for gamers to sink their teeth into. Someone may ask you to retrieve a valuable item a family member left behind or solve a nursery rhyme of Spring Heeled Jack. All missions add to the overall historical theme and atmosphere the game is looking to bring home. In honor of the new addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, here are 25 awesome side quests you didn’t know about in Assassin’s Creed Origins.
25 Nothing Like A Child Rescue Mission
In the wee hours of October 27th, the first side quest missions began to make their way onto YouTube. This was one of the first to make its way online. There is a mission called Hideaway where Bayek has to find the lost brother of a young boy in a long cave. The name of the location is Mountain of the Dead Tomb, a lovely place to be lost in the desert huh? This mission is on the outskirts of town, and the winding cave and its content are subtle enough to be missed. The cave is like a winding labyrinth covered in hieroglyphics and pottery. There is one point during the mission where Bayek has to find a hollow wall to punch through to the next area in the maze. Pretty tricky!
24 Enter One Of The Most Famous Landmarks Of All Time
One of the coolest things about this game and the franchise as a whole is its attention to history. It blends reality with the entertainment of the game, and players are introduced to a world that is long gone. Not to mention the fact that you can slide down the Great Pyramids of Giza (bucket list officially checked!) This entry deals with another wonder of the world. On the outset, the legendary Sphinx looks like it is impossible to enter the game, but there is a secret entrance. Once players find it, they will have access to mysterious paths, blueprints, and other helpful items. It is a small hole that players have to scour to find. However, the rewards are great once they do.
23 Break Out A Torch For This One
If you miss the original Tomb Raider, then Origins is here to fill the void. This game is all about looting and finding items to further your success in later missions. A shield here or a spear there can make a ton of difference when your back is against the wall, so it pays dividends to explore every nook and cranny. There is a secret location called Fort Nikou’s Underground Lair, and players have to find a hidden entrance to a water cavern to get there. A torch is required, and it does take some searching to get to. Once there, players can engage in even more objectives. Origins has so much for players to uncover, that this find is barely scratching the surface.
22 This Achievement May Hurt A Little
Achievements can range from intense to downright weird. You never know when that little notification will pop up acknowledging you for something odd. In Origins, there are tons of achievements in up for grabs, but this one is one not many gamers will probably be willing to figure out. If Bayek stands in the sun too long, he will start to hallucinate and witness bugs raining from the sky. Origins just changed from “fantasy history” to “Silent-Hill horror.” A player would have to allow Bayek to stand without moving him. The desert locations of where this occurs are still unknown. This type of thing is straight from the film, The Mummy. There is nothing wrong with a little trippy ancient Egyptian visions mixed in with “history.”
21 Crikey! Become the Crocodile Hunter
Papyrus Puzzles are small riddles that require the player to figure out the location the papyrus is talking about. Sep Meh Nome is the location of the third papyrus puzzle but what makes this one difficult is finding the exact location spoken about. The papyrus solution is located in an obscure area in a canyon overlooking a river. There is also a chance the player can be eaten by a crocodile before they even make it there. These papyrus puzzles are no joke, but they are worth the trouble with some helpful items. Players are advised to be at least a level 12 for this one in case they have to make like the Crocodile Hunter and tame some wild beast. Bayek may be the most versatile assassin yet since he can also tame lions and hippos.
20 Plunder Alexander The Great’s Tomb For A Ray Of Hope
A history buff would have a field day with this game. Visiting Alexander The Great’s Tomb? Seriously? Okay, geek out over, but this is an awesome historical tie-in. This papyrus puzzle is a little tricky because of its location. Once the player enters the tomb, they have to climb up a column located to the right and figure out that they need to climb up a platform to the second floor. Once players finish the climb, they then have to run around to the front edge of the floor to find the next clue. Wait, this is not the conclusion of this puzzle, it is only the beginning. Players then have to travel to a depression and obscure tree to complete the puzzle. Wow, papyrus puzzles make you seriously work for it.
19 Destiny Isn’t The Only Show In Town With Secret Armor
The Isu Armor is legendary secret armor located within the game. While in games like Destiny, you can grab armor through dropping some enemies in a public event, grabbing this armor seems a little more like the Leviathan Raid. This is a lengthy side quest with a lot of legwork and some difficult to pinpoint locations involved. Players have to align all 12 stone circles that are located throughout the deserts, find 50 silica which are scattered all over various tombs, and then locate the secret Sphinx entrance. If you are the type who loves exploration and gets excited about the journey, then you will enjoy this. If you rather blast enemies and pick up armor that way then worry about putting some stones together, this will be grueling.
18 Time For More Tomb Diving
Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Remember the first time you saw Raiders of the Lost Ark? You knew Harrison Ford looks like a total boss with his wide-brimmed explorer hat and totally cool man purse. He put the “explore” in “explorer,” and the ultimate raider. If this was your thing in the 80s and 90s, then Origins is going to let you live out your fantasies you had as a kid or teenager. In that spirit, this side quest is way off the beaten path. Players can locate the Khufu Tomb’s Ancient tablet in one of the Giza Pyramids. To locate this tomb and tablets, players have to travel through tons of small crawlspaces, caverns, and dark pathways. It is incredibly easy to get lost.
17 A Trick Of The Senses
Tomb raiding is big business in Origins. You will be raiding so many tombs in this game that Lara Croft will no longer deserve to have the title of “Tomb Raider.” Players can raid tombs for all sorts of goodies and helpful items. One, in particular, is the epitome of a secret. Pyramid Tomb Sneferu makes players think that there is nothing more to discover because the path seems to stop at a stone wall. Players have to use their sensibility to learn that another path lies above the wall to continue in the tomb raid. Origins will not make exploration easy for players; this game will have you paranoid if a wall is hollow or if a tomb has multiple entrances leading to some treasures.
16 Hang With Horus
In addition to pyramids and tombs, you will also raid temples. This is another papyrus puzzle that might be a little difficult for players to locate. At Sapi Res Nome, players have to take Bayek to a temple and locate a Horus statue, barely noticeable on the side is a papyrus puzzle. Players then have to travel to the middle of the desert to locate a broken ship. They then have to turn time to morning and look out at an X-shaped structure at the exact right time to receive the solution to the puzzle. First, why in the world is there a ship in the middle of a desert? Second, lining up that X is not as easy as it seems. Might want to get Doc from Back To The Future to help with this one.
15 Legends Of The Hidden Temple
Origins is so huge that there are bound to be secrets hidden in plain sight. There is a ship lying out in the open for crying out loud! In the middle of the desert in Khensu Nome, there is a “hidden” temple that leads to an underground tunnel where players can load up on tons of loot and fight some King Cobras. There are some hidden hollow walls thrown in for good measure. These cobras are the size of Bayek and are a pain to take out if players don’t have an arrow or fire handy. If you were born in the late 80s or early 90s, putting the words “Hidden” and “Temple” together should conjure up visions of a Nickelodeon game show. Take a moment to re-live the nostalgia.
14 In Plain Sight? Yeah Right!
In order to get the starting riddle for this puzzle, players have to find a temple in Memphis, head over to the far-left side from the entrance and climb up a random bookcase. No one would know this unless someone told them. Who knew random bookshelves housed riddles? Players then have to travel to a far island and locate a water pit to complete the puzzle. There are a lot of twists and turns on this one. If there is one thing this game got right, it is that players can transport between locations on the map instead of having to get there on feet or by camel. Smart games understand when something waste player’s time, and traveling to random water pit on a faraway island manually is something that could have been annoying without this feature.
13 Go Treasure Hunting!
Diadems and spears are a secret location away. In the Lost Crypt in an “off-the-beaten” desert location, there is a pit covered by straw. Most would think it is just there for decoration but if the player burns or jumps into it, they can hunt and grab some sweet treasure. In other games, you can walk deeper into a corner, head into that extra room that isn’t there for any other reason than to hide something. In Origins, developers blended exploration with the natural setting of the area making it a bit more challenging to notice treasure or other items. They wanted players to feel like they are living in Ancient Egypt, and if this scene is any indication, they succeeded.
12 Help Bayek Fulfill A Promise Made To His Son
When you hear that the main character made a pact or promise with his son, it will hopefully tug on the heartstrings enough to cause you to give this side mission a try. Bayek made a compelling commitment to his son that he remembers when he randomly runs into twelve stones in the middle of a desert (what is up with all this mystical stuff being located in the middle of deserts?). Throughout the game, Bayek has to put these together to complete the quest and promise to his son. They are not all easy to locate and are often just randomly situated in the middle of the desert. Each completed stone creates this cool cutscene that shows the stone becoming a constellation. Origins also throws some myth into the history.
11 Nab A Flaming Sword
Okay, what is better than a regular rifle? Obviously a flamethrower! What can top a dull ordinary sword? One that is engulfed in flames when wielded. The developers of Origins got the message and put this sweet gem into the game. This mission one is related to the main story but requires an extra step. After killing a scorpion and leaving his hometown of Siwa, if Bayek returns and discovers a lion killed his friend Hepfeza he will be rewarded with the flaming sword, but the player has to think to return which would make this one secret. It sucks that Bayek’s friend was a little too close for comfort with a lion, but it is nice that Bayek gets a flaming sword out of the deal.
10 Looting A Fallen Friend
From the sound of this papyrus puzzle, it would seem that you were about to go grave robbing or tomb raiding, but the hidden meaning of this clue contributes to its difficulty. This puzzle is very tricky. After finding the final puzzle clue in Memphis, players then have to locate a large statue off of the Nile, correctly lineup the gaze to the northernmost part of the river, and swim down to discover a broken statue for the clue. Up until this point, players have no idea that they are looking for an actual statue, they only know they are trying to locate a “fallen friend,” in one of the longest rivers in the world. If you line up wrong, this one will be almost impossible to find.
9 Bandits Take Snitching Very Seriously
The Ulterior Votive mission is an interesting one. On first glance, this task is not entirely secret, but the lengths players have to go through to get this one solved to make it one that gamers could easily overlook. Bayek has to find three merchants standing outside of a market area. Seems harmless enough, but one is afraid to speak because of those around him and would rather talk at a later time. This is one players have actually to come back to and talk to at night. A battle ensues between Bayek and the enemies, but what makes this one kind of unknown is having to locate the merchants in the first place and coming back at night to hear out the one who wants to spill the beans.
8 A Mission Called Stone Fungus…Really?
So, upon first running into the famous Giza Pyramids, it is not likely that you will notice anything else. Who would? These things are wonders of the world, so it is easy to miss other structures that may provide clues to riddles and puzzles. There is a stone house next to the Giza pyramids — there is not an entrance into the home on first glance. Unless someone told you, you would have passed by this and felt the marker was placed there in error. Like most places in this game, there is always another entrance. Players have to know to climb on to the roof to get inside; a huge hole will be there for players to enter into. Once they do, they are introduced to the Stone Fungus mission.
7 Locate Hermit Locations For Wisdom
Hermit Locations are secret locations represented by question marks on the map. If players synchronize their vision with the area, they should be able to locate these Hermit locations. This is his first mention on the list, but players also have what might be the coolest pet in a video game: an eagle. His laser focuses vision will help players locate challenging to find areas, and he will come in handy on this quest. This hermit location is hard to find because it is located in a shallow piece of water little ways from the marker on the map. Players have to work a bit to see these even if their general locations are marked. Once completed all players receive the Words of Wisdom Trophy.
6 Hope You Enjoy Mountain Climbing
This may be the most intense papyrus puzzle yet. Players have to travel to the Leopard Lair to locate this one. It is very easy to get lost as players have to climb a very long distance, jump from stone to stone, and scale a considerably sized mountain. Once players reach the top, they have to walk to the very edge of a tree branch that is located on top of the cliff. If heights are not your thing, this one may be a bit difficult, but the beautiful execution of the freefall makes up for it. At the end of the drop, players should (hopefully) land in hay to solve Toth’s Papyrus. Hopefully, this one makes it worthwhile with valuable items as a reward.