A Primer On The 'Assassin's Creed: Origins' Discovery Tour (Updated)

Update, 2/20/2018, 9:00 a.m. PST: The "Discovery Tour" is now available as part of a larger patch for 'Assassin's Creed: Origins.' Ubisoft also included the New Game+ feature, which allows you to play through the story again at your current level along with your unlocked weapons and upgrades. You can read the full details on patch 1.3.0 on the Ubisoft forums.

Original story, 2/13/2018, 1:45 p.m. PST:

Next week Ubisoft Montreal will add another piece of content to Assassin’s Creed: Origins. However, it’s not another chapter in Bayek’s story or a new foe to kill. Instead, the studio will release the “Discovery Tour,” which will focus on the historical aspect of the game’s Ancient Egypt setting. Ubisoft’s resident historian, Maxime Durand, revealed more information about the new mode in an interview on the company’s website.

Just like the main game, you can travel anywhere in the world in Discovery Mode, but you won’t see any conflict when you approach guards or dangerous animals. Durand said there are 75 “tours” in Discovery mode that will give players in-depth information about different monuments or the daily lives of Egyptians. You’ll follow a path on the ground that has multiple stops, or stations, along the way. Each station features a view or topic of interest with accompanying text and audio information, and it’s further supplemented with images of real-life artifacts from museums and libraries.

Durand said about 20 to 30 people from the development team contributed to the Discovery Tour. Each tour will have a Behind the Scenes feature node that shows you what the developers used for inspiration to create some of the monuments or scenery within the game. One example is the famous Great Sphinx of Giza. Today its nose is missing from the statue, and a Behind the Scenes, erm, scene presents some theories about how it disappeared from its original place.

In the main game, you only control Bayek and Aya, but the Discovery Tour will let you play as 25 different avatars. In addition to Bayek and Aya, you can also explore Egypt as Cleopatra or Julius Caesar. If you don’t want to play as a historical figure, you can opt to go on the same tours as a random Egyptian, Greek, or Roman. Durand said there might even be different interactions during the tour based on the character you choose.

Those looking for a full completion of the game will also benefit from the Discovery Tour, which includes three achievements. Fans can find out how to get them when the new mode arrives on February 20. Those who own the game will get it as a free download, but you can also buy it as a standalone experience for $20.