Mr-toots

Video Game Easter Eggs

1. Sea Bunny, Saints Row 2

Players who are willing to go to the far corners of a sandbox game’s world should be rewarded with something spectacular. The second installment of Saints Row rewarded those players who chose to travel to three different remote islands with a giant pink bunny that rises out of the sea like a mythical beast. After gasping at its adorable majesty you can shoot it to send it back to the watery depths.

Image: Volition, Inc.

2. 1999 Mode, Bioshock Infinite

For those of us who didn’t get enough of Bioshock Infinite — and really, who did? — this hidden difficulty level will keep you busy until Burial at Sea DLC comes out later this year.

Warning: this mode is not for the faint of heart. Game creator Ken Levine has stated that gameplay “does not feel like Bioshock,” but instead pays homage to the 1999 game System Shock 2 by challenging the player with features including having limited resources, choosing a specialization in weapons and less respawning capabilities. To access the Easter Egg, enter the Konami code in the main menu.

Image: Irrational Games

3. Assassin’s Turkey, Assassin’s Creed 3

You might want to reconsider your Thanksgiving poultry. If you enter the Konami code after feeding this turkey you can create a little feathered mini assassin.

Image: Ubisoft Games

4. Chris Houlihan’s Very Secret Room, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

In 1990, Nintendo held a contest where one player would be randomly selected to make a cameo appearance in a Nintendo game. Chris Houlihan was the lucky winner, getting a secret room in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, although due to passive-aggressive miscommunications between developers, the room’s location went relatively unknown until 2002, after the Internet had become a big thing and Chris Houlihan’s moment in the sun had faded from gamers’ memories.

Image: Nintendo

5. Accurate Kills, Assassin’s Creed Series

You think body counts are fun in action movies? Try them in video games. The amount of nameless henchmen you kill is matched only by the amount of bullets you go through trying to hit them all. Well, not in Assassin’s Creed. Every named character you kill is not only a real historical figure, but their death in the game is in the same year and location as their death IRL.

Image: Ubisoft Games

6. Leap of Failure, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Assassin’s Creed taught us that we can jump off of buildings and land in a bale of hay without getting hurt. The Witcher 2 taught us that we can only do this in Assassin’s Creed. Find this fallen Assassin near the Bastille gate.

Image: CD Projekt Red

7. Game Within a Call of Duty Game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Okay, this is going to get a little meta, but stay with us. You can play old school Atari games in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Head to the Nuketown Map and shoot all the mannequins headshot-style in under two minutes. Then, enjoy invincibility while you geek out to some of your favorite throwback games.

Image: Activision

8. Developer Cameo, King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

In the AGI version of King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella, if you type “BEAM ME” into the text parser after killing the main boss, you’ll be transported from the castle to a spaceship filled with in-game versions of the game’s developers, each of whom introduces themself.

Image: Activision

9. The Original, Adventure

In what is credited as the first Easter Egg ever, programmer Warren Robinett added the text “Created by Warren Robinett” to an area of the game. Little did he know he would be starting a trend that would last more than 30 years.

Image: Atari

10. Conan’s Cameo, Halo 4

Despite his game review series Conan O’Brien isn’t an avid gamer. That doesn’t make his cameo appearance with Andy Richter in Halo 3 any less hilarious, though. Listen to the chatter of these two grunts in the hangar at the beginning of Mission 6 for the voice of your favorite late night host.

Image: Bungie

11. Secret Cow Level, Diablo II

The secret cow level of Diablo II plays on years of jokes that players could enter a secret level by repeatedly clicking on the cows grazing just out of town. The level became known for a herd of walking, ax-wielding bovines that got better and better with each update of the game. Eventually, it became the most profitable level where players could find the best power-ups and item gains before developers toned it down again to its intended purpose as a novelty level.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

12. Secret Pony Level, Diablo III

The secret cow level of Diablo III built upon the joke from Diablo II, by having players speak to the ghost of the Cow King before entering the land of Whimsyshire to kill giant purple unicorns. Again, that’s giant. Purple. Unicorns.

Reminder: This is a game about killing the Devil.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

13. Should’ve Been a Cowboy, Gears of War 2

We feel that most aspects of life would be improved by the addition of cowboy hats, so we jumped at the chance to put Stetsons on the Gears of War 2 crew. Just shoot three consecutive cowboy hats on the Insane difficulty to make everyone cowboy up … even the Corpser.

Image: Epic Games

14. Dog Ending, Silent Hill 2

Players who managed to get to the joke ending of Silent Hill 2 got to meet Mira, the Shibu Inu who James finds out has been controlling the events of the game like some adorable Wizard of Oz. He might blame Mira for this, but when she seemingly apologetically licks his face? We really can’t see how he can hold a grudge.

Image: Konami

15. Hidden Door, Fallout 3

You know, when we found this hidden message near the NN-03d SatCom array, we were a little hurt and a little upset. But it’s water under the bridge now, and we’ve learned to have a good chuckle about this particular Easter Egg.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios

16. Fireworks, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Now just trust us on this one. We’re not going to tell you what it is, but just follow the directions on the image above.

Maybe have a pair of clean underwear handy.

Image: Activision

17. Playing Chicken, Gears of War 3

Act One, Chapter One of Gears of War 3 contains a hidden surprise. After you raise the lift so the Raven can land, walk up to each of the four tubes and shoot down into them, then when a chicken pops out, shoot it. Good luck.

Image: Epic Games

18. Guy Savage, Metal Gear Solid 3

Metal Gear Solid 3 has a hidden mini game called Guy Savage. The hack-n-slash game acts as a dream sequence for Snake and can only be accessed by turning the game off and on again after the Volgin torture scene.

Image: Konami

19. Haunted Castle, World of Warcraft

This egg pays homage to the Warcraft games that covered the war between humans and orcs, prior to the events of WoW. In the area called the Ruins of Lordaeron, located over the undead capital, there’s a throne room where you can hear disembodied voices of characters past (crank up ambient sound), and even see their ghosts (go outside and use the “detect invisibility” spell). For those players who can appreciate a good back story, this Easter Egg is like hitting the jackpot. Those ghosts come from the opening and closing cut scenes from the human campaign of Warcraft III.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

20. Zombie Sounds, Half-Life 2

You know those awful howling sounds the zombies make in Half-Life 2? That’s the reverse version of a human voice saying “Help God, help me” over and over. Does that make it more or less terrifying?

In one expansion, you can even manipulate some zombie noises to hear words like “necrotics inbound” and “infestation.” Essentially, you get the sense that the zombies are just reliving their last moments over and over again.

Image: Valve

21. Cheesy Surprise, Perfect Dark

The spiritual successor to GoldenEye 007 has a delicious surprise hidden in every level: a tiny wedge of cheese. If only real life worked that way.

Image: Rare Ltd.

22. Hidden Roster, NBA Jam Tournament Edition

NBA Jam Tournament Edition not only has a wealth of cheat codes to help you perfect your game, but you can also unlock over 30 hidden characters including the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Hillary Clinton.

Image: Midway Games

23. Hitman Ghost, Hitman: Contracts

There are six different locations where you can see the ghost of the Thermal Bath Hotel. And, for the record, it’s just as spooky on the sixth time as it is on the first.

Image: IO Interactive

24. Hold Me, Halo: Combat Evolved

This Easter Egg cut scene just really hits us in the feels while simultaneously making us weep with laughter. See it by beating the game at the “Legendary” difficulty.

Image: Bungie

25. Sweet Surprise, Hitman: Absolution

In the “End of the Road” mission, shoot every nearby vulture and your target will get run over by an ice cream truck that mysteriously appears in the desert. This egg is sort of like killing two birds with one stone. Or like killing a handful of vultures with bullets and a human target with an ice cream truck. Either one.

Image: IO Interactive

26. Jill’s Sandwiches, Dead Rising

When the ‘Jill Sandwich’ line from Resident Evil became meme-worthy for being so bad it’s GREAT, Dead Rising developers decided to have a little fun by putting in a “Jill’s Sandwiches” shop.

Image: Capcom

27. John Romero’s Head, Doom II

To beat the final boss of Doom II, you have to shoot John Romero in the face. With a rocket launcher. Literally. Oh, and while you’re killing him he says, “To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero” backwards.

Image: id Software

28. King of the Monkeys, Contra: Hard Corps

It’s not good to talk to strangers. But in Contra: Hard Corps when a secret man in a top hat offers you a place in a secret Battle Arena, you accept. You’ll then have to fight a disco robot who will erupt into fish pastries when you beat him, followed by a zombie in a dress with a slime baby in an armed carriage, who is then followed by your standard robot ripping holes in the fabric of time and space.

But if you beat all those, you get to be king of the monkeys.

Image: Konami

29. Lost Island, Just Cause 2

We kinda get the feeling that the Just Cause 2 developers are LOST fans. We don’t really know what tipped us off, but it could be the perfect replica of the island from the TV show, complete with plane crash and smoke monsters — the works.

Image: Avalanche Studios

30. Marco Polo, Uncharted 2

Just because you’re trying to stop Zoran Lazarevic doesn’t mean you can’t take a little time for yourself every now and then. If you jump into the pool on the roof of the Hotel Shangri-La, you can cool off with a fun game of Marco Polo. How fitting, since Nate and Chloe are traveling on the Marco Polo trail. Now if only Chloe would just lighten up a little. Geez.

Image: Naughty Dog

31. Monkey Family, Halo 3

We’re calling this group a monkey “family,” but they all kinda look like Russian nesting dolls of the same monkey, so call em what you will. Regardless, they’re a little unsettling. But not nearly as unsettling as the lone monkey you can find in another part of the level.

Oh wait, there’s more. If you played Halo 3: ODST all the way to the end and sat through the credits to the final cut scene, you can find another lone monkey chilling off to the left, in the shadows. Cause there’s nothing weird about that.

Image: Bungie

32. Mr. Toots, Red Faction

This picture is real. That is Parker from Red Faction, holding a unicorn that is shooting rainbows out of its butt at an alien. The unicorn’s name is Mr. Toots, and he doesn’t seem to like being used as a weapon very much. But that’s not going to stop us because he’s freaking adorable (and pretty effective at killing aliens).

Image: Volition, Inc.

33. MST3K Mode, Star Wars: Rebel Assault (PC)

Cut scenes can be a drag, but in Star Wars: Rebel Assault for PC, you can liven them up by hitting ALT-V and then type in “OVRES.” Welcome to Mystery Science Theater 3000 mode.

Image: Lucas Arts

34. Nothing To See Here, Folks, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

There are definitely no Easter eggs at the top of the Gant Bridget in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. None. Go away.

Image: Rockstar Games

35. Notched Pickaxe, Skyrim

In the middle of a lawsuit between Skyrim creator Bethesda Softworks and Minecraft creator Mojang, the programmers of Skyrim decided that even though the lawyers were fighting, they were still going to pay homage to their fellow developer buds in the game.

The programmers added a pickaxe (the primary tool used in Minecraft) called the “Notched Pickaxe” to the game in reference to Minecraft’s creator Markus “Notch” Persson.

Image: Bethesda Softworks

36. A Payned Expression, Alan Wake

Alan Wake is packed full of cultural references to everyone from Stephen King to Rambo to Energizer batteries, but specifically to Max Payne, a game franchise made by the same developer. This is evident in a faux interview where Sam Lake, a developer who also served as the face model for Payne, mimics the famous Max Payne facial expression for the camera at the end of the interview.

Image: Remedy Entertainment

37. Song of the Ratman, Portal 2

Portal 2’s unique storyline and gameplay make it one of the most universally admired games of all time. This Easter Egg makes it one of the creepiest games of all time. If you’ve stumbled across any of the hidden rooms left by GLaDOS victim Doug Rattman, you might be able to hear the weird chanting sounds coming from the walls.

The graffiti covered walls aren’t the only things the Ratman leaves behind, however. In one room, a radio will help you hear an encrypted SSTV signal, which when uncoded, leads to a secret spoiler image that hints at a later scene in the game.

Image: Valve Corporation

38. The Warden’s Secret Room, Batman: Arkham Asylum

This egg was so hard to find that no player had discovered it after six months of the game being released. Finally, the developers decided they’d just reveal it themselves, as it was supposed to be a viral marketing technique for the next game in the series, Batman: Arkham City.

Image: Rocksteady Studios

39. Lucky Sevens, Star Fox

There’s no skill to winning at a slot machine, so perhaps that’s what makes this Star Fox boss so frustrating. Hidden in a secret level within the “Secret Black Hole Level,” you first have to shoot an asteroid and then fly through a giant space bird to defeat … a slot machine. As “When the Saints Go Marching In” plays, you shoot the lever of the slot machine to get those lucky sevens. This could take three seconds or the rest of your life, but either way you’re going to have that song in your head for a long time.

Image: Nintendo

40. Heart of the City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The GTA franchise is known for expansive maps that players are encouraged to explore. But when we made it to the Statue of Happiness (which looks strangely similar to Hillary Clinton), we were almost too weirded out to explore any further. The real surprise, though, is the giant, beating, invincible heart that hangs from chains inside the statue. Go ahead and read that sentence again, and then click the video link to see the creepiness for yourself.

Image: Rockstar Games

41. Tannis Rides Again, Borderlands 2

Fans of Borderlands will remember seeing Patricia Tannis hitch a ride on a fish to a pretty sick soundtrack. Well, she’s at it again in Borderlands 2, and the music is just as awesome as we remember.

Image: 2K Games

42. The End of Youth, Metal Gear Solid 3

The boss called “The End” in Metal Gear Solid 3 can be killed in one of two ways: fight him, or save the game, leave it alone for two weeks and then find him dead from old age when you come back.

Image: Konami

43. Still Better Than John Madden, Wave Race Blue Storm

Wave Race Blue Storm was pretty standard issue as far as racing games go, that is until you adjusted your audio settings to the announcer that sarcastically mocks your every move. Seriously, listen to this guy if you want to feel terrible about your abilities as a gamer.

Image: Nintendo

44. Nicole Is Dead, Dead Space

Dead Space scared the intergalactic crap out of us, but it also left us a little confused. Nicole was there. Nicole was a hallucination. Nicole was a Necromorph. Nicole was dead. Well, just in case anyone had any questions at the end of the game, the developers left a little clue in the first letter of each mission title.

Image: Electronic Arts

45. Take Us to Your Leader, Grand Theft Auto V

GTA V seems to be loaded with references to aliens and UFOs. For those who bought the Special and Collectors editions of the game can find hidden messages by shining a UV light on the blueprint map, where several UFO markings are made along with other hidden messages.

UFOs can be seen in multiple locations around the map, and in the Prologue mission, if you look under the train bridge that the gang passes in the SUV, there is an alien frozen under the ice in the creek below.

Image: Youtube, Jake Wright

Video: YouTube, Jake Wright

46. Mind Reader, Metal Gear Solid

When Psycho Mantis said he could read our thoughts we were all, “yeah, yeah okay.” …And then he told us what games we had on our console and how often we saved.

The game scanned your console memory card and then used the games you had downloaded to basically freak you out.

Image: Konami

47. Rebecca’s Basketball Days, Resident Evil 2

We really want to know who the first person was to figure this out. If you check Wesker’s desk 50 times (count em, 50), you get this pic of Rebecca in a basketball uniform. Scandalous.

Image: Capcom

48. Jack’s Plane, Bioshock 2

In Bioshock, you play as Jack, who ends up in the underwater city of Rapture following the crash of a hijacked plane. In Bioshock 2, you see the remnants of Jack’s plane at the bottom of the ocean, when you explore the ocean floor as a Big Daddy.

Image: 2k Games

49. The Megg, Halo: Combat Evolved

Made by Halo‘s lead designer, Jaime Griesemer, as a gift for his girlfriend Megg, this Easter Egg took years to find. Megg herself had to come forward with how to solve the complicated puzzle. The end result? A heart drawn in human blood, with bullet holes in the shape of an “M.” How romantic.

Image: Bungie

50. Shifty Cow, Mass Effect 3

On the planet Ontarom, you can find a space cow with a dialogue option that does nothing. When Shepard turns around, though, this shifty sucker will try to rob you of credits with his extra limbs. It’ll even go so far as to follow you around, respawning whenever you shoot it in the head.

The backstory to this Egg goes that when lead designer saw the first design of the cow, he found it a bit unsettling, saying, “You can’t trust an animal that can milk itself.” Hence, the Shifty Cow was born.

Image: Bioware