Video game designers generally work hard to make the amazing games they make for us, but sometimes they decide to have a little fun of their own…….
Sometimes it’s a secret room, sometimes it’s a whole playable level, sometimes it’s a secret message……
The first Easter egg appeared in a video game called “Adventure“, which was released in 1979 for the Atari 2600 console. The game’s author was annoyed he didn’t get credit for his work, so he buried the text “Created by Warren Robinett” in a room so deep in the game, it wasn’t found until a year later!
Since then, there have been hundreds of Easter eggs hidden in video games. And we’ve scoured the web to bring some of the coolest ones to light!
DOOM 2
– Shoot John Romero!
The classic first-person shooter sequel featured a hidden ending that players could only discover by shooting the final boss monster in the face, then walking through it! On the other side of this grizzly scene, you discover the head of the game’s co-creator John Romero…..on a stick…. The game also plays a backwards sound file of Romero growling “To win the game you must kill me, John Romero!”
Batman Arkham Asylum
– the hidden blueprints
The first installment in the arkham series, it hides a sneaky little hint about its own sequel! Players have to enter the office of the asylum warden, Quincy Sharp, and blow up a wall. What they’ll discover is a hidden chamber with a large blueprint on the wall showing a planned expansion of the asylum to take up a whole city sector – the setting, of course, for follow-up, Batman: Arkham City. The room was so well hidden it was undiscovered for two years until developer Rocksteady gave it away in a preview for the second title.
Halo: Combat Evolved
– Covenant Grunt’s Food Nipple
On the final level of HALO:CE, near the end, you will come to a passage on the right hand side. If you jump out of your hog and head down there, you’d come across a passive grunt who’d say the following: “Good thing the food nipple’s waiting for me back up on the star ship, ’cause man! I’ve worked up a great big Grunty Thirst!”. Nice one Bungie!
Metal Gear Solid
– Psycho Mantis Reads Your Mind
This one’s really cool! In Metal Gear Solid, you encounter a being known as the psycho mantis, and your encounter with Psycho Mantis in a plush office late in the game actually breaks the fourth wall! The psychic and telekinetic villain would actually scan your PlayStation memory card for Konami save games and make comments on your gaming trends……Spooky…. Clever……
Borderlands 2
– cavern of the creepers
One of my favourite games, Borderlands 2 is riddled with really awesome easter eggs and crazy references, but my personal favourite was the cavern of the creepers….you guessed it, it was MINECRAFT! In the game’s Caustic Caverns area, among the labyrinth of abandoned mining tunnels, players can find a hidden chamber filled with creepers, the exploding monsters from Minecraft. There are also several different Minecraft blocks that can be smashed to reveal loot and useful items, including blocky Minecraft heads for your character to wear!
Metal Gear Solid 3
– “The End” dies of old age
Ever the prankster, Hideo Kojima has always crammed his Metal Gear titles with furtive jokes, tricks and secrets. In this one, if players save the game before a climatic boss battle with ageing sniper “The End“, and then set their PlayStation system clock forward several months, when they reload the game, The End has died of old age. Oh Kojima, you are crazy!!
How’d you like our list? Which easter egg did you find the coolest? Please do let us know in the comments below!