Easter Eggs are usually inside jokes, left there by devs only for them to know. Or that's what they used to be. Now they're usually a fun part of the whole gaming experience. References to pop culture happen aplenty in games, there’s also jabs at other games and homages to others. Hunting down and discovering easter eggs is a fun way to re-experience games you love. Also, we hope you've played most of these games, because spoilers. Enjoy 18 of our favourite Easter Eggs in gaming.
Adventure – The First Easter Egg
Released way back in 1979, Atari's Adventure is not only considered the first action-adventure game, it's also considered the first game to have an Easter Egg in it. The Easter Egg was a hidden room, where you could see the words "Created by Warren Robinett". This was because back in the day devs weren't given credit, so he just put it in there. You'd have to find it though.
Grand Theft Auto
It was difficult to single out any single GTA game, so we decided we’d just mention the best from all of them. In San Andreas, if you make your way to the top of the bridge that connects San Fierro and Las Venturas, you’ll find a “No Easter Eggs here sign”. In the same vein, in GTA IV, there’s a “No Hidden Content Here” sign at the base of the Statue of Happiness. Of course, ignore it and walk right through to find the literal (and beating) heart of the city. GTAV just has too many to count really.
Halo 4 – Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter
When you begin the sixth mission in Halo 4, you'll find two Marines in the hangar, near some crates. Hang around a few minutes and you'll find that the two marines are rather chatty. You’ll also notice that they’re actually voiced by Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter.
Hitman: Absolution – Who wants ice cream?
In the “End of the Road” mission in Absolution, your contract is in the middle of the desert. Now you can go about your business and usual and move on, or, or, you could kill the five vultures flying around in the sky and wait a bit. Your patience will be rewarded with an ice cream truck. Which will run right over your contract. Plus, ice cream in a desert, win-win.
Metal Gear Solid – Psycho Mantis knows
Psycho Mantis has a way of getting into your head. Especially when he knows what you play. Okay he doesn’t actually. Turns out the game scans your memory card for Konami game saves. Well, we guess he still knows, it’s just not as spooky now.
Silent Hill 2 – It was you!
Silent Hill 2 is a scary game. However, if you finish the game once, and then head on over to the park and pick up a specific key, you'll be able to enter the observation room in the Dark Side hotel. Well, things become a lot less scary when you find out that the mastermind behind all your spooks was a dog.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – Leap of faith gone wrong
In The Witcher 2, near Bastille gate, you'll find a few bales of hay. You'll also find a white hooded dead body right beside the bales of hay. You can take a guess as to what that's referring to.
Doom 2 – shoot John Romero in the face
The final boss of Doom 2 has quite the Easter Egg inside of it. What you’ll find is John Romero’s head on a pike. In case you’re wondering, that’s the creator of the Doom series. He’ll tell you that you need to kill him to win the game. Only he says it backwards. Shoot him and win.
Borderlands 2 – cavern of the creepers
In the Caustic Caverns area in Borderlands 2, there’s a hidden cave. The moment you enter you’ll find that things have started becoming rather blocky. Turn around and you’ll see that creepers are after you, in Borderlands 2. Run!
Metal Gear Solid 3 – The end of The End
The End is an old sniper you need to kill in Metal Gear Solid 3. Now you can go about business the usual way, by you know, stabbing him. However, if you save the game there, and then turn the console clock forward by a few weeks and reload your save, you’ll find that you no longer need to kill The End, because he’s died of old age.
Diablo 2 – The Cow Level
An inside joke in the first Diablo, there was a rumour about a secret portal to cowville where you got swarmed by cows, so the devs decided to make it an actual thing in Diablo 2. So now you’ve got angry cows running at you on two legs with battle axes in their.. hoofs?
Fallout: New Vegas – Dead Indy
Remember when Indiana Jones (Indy) jumped into a fridge when the nuke goes off in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Well, looks like he didn’t make it.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Jar Jar Binks Frozen in Carbonite
During your travels in The Force Unleashed, you’ll come across a slab of carbonite with someone frozen in it. Only it’s not Han Solo, it’s Jar Jar Binks. Too bad the game isn’t cannon anymore.
Batman Arkham Asylum – the hidden blueprint
This Easter Egg was so well hidden, nobody found it for two years and then the devs had to actually give it away. There’s a map in Arkham Asylum which pretty much announces the game’s sequel, Arkham City, in it.
Dead Rising – Jill’s Sandwiches
In the first Resident Evil, there’s a scene where Jill Valentine almost gets squished in a trap. The person who saves her remarks “You were almost a Jill sandwich!”. Well, a certain eatery in the mall in Dead Rising is called Jill’s Sandwiches. Maybe she was inspired and started her own chain. Who knows?
Portal – The cake is a lie
Doug Rattman was one of the scientists who worked at Aperture before losing his mind. If you’re careful, you’ll come across several of his dens throughout the game, complete with weird scribbles and drawings. One of the scribbles is the now famous, “The cake is a lie”.
Dead Space – Nicole is dead
Dead Space was a mind wringer of a game. Nicole was an integral part of the game and the story. If you took a look at the names of the missions and took the first letter of each mission, you’d have quite the epiphany. It spells out “Nicole is dead”.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Final Fantasy XXVII
In Deus Ex: Human Revolution, you’ll keep coming across a particular poster on the walls. A poster for Final Fantasy XXVII. So basically, we’ll be playing Final Fantasy 27 in the year 2027. Hmm, not at the current rate we’re not.
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Manish Rajesh
Manish can usually be found fervently playing video games of all kinds or… no wait he’s pretty much always playing games View Full Profile
