Stumbling across a secret room or finding a hidden character can be extremely satisfying, especially when they’re buried under obscurity. Even the very first forms of pixelated entertainment included jokes and sneaky references for those willing to do some digging. Since then it’s been common practice for developers to include Easter eggs for intrepid couch explorers to find. Some games force the player to perform a series of strange actions before they disclose their hidden treasures, while others simply require a bit of extra thinking. Join us as we shed the light on some of the very best Easter eggs in gaming history.
10. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Hideo Kojima has always crammed Metal Gear titles with tricks, secrets and jokes, but Metal Gear Solid 3 delivered one of his best. At a certain point in the game players are tasked with taking down Cobra’s legendary sniper, The End. However, Snake’s foe happens to be over 100 years old and Kojima added a humorous twist to the fight. If the player saves the game before their climatic boss battle with the ageing sniper, and then sets their PlayStation’s internal clock forward several months, when they reload the game The End will simply have died of old age. Kojima certainly has a dark sense of humor, and this is easily one of our favorite ways to kill a boss.
9. Doom 2
This classic sequel featured a hidden ending that could only be discovered by shooting the final boss monster in the face, then walking through it with a noclipping cheat. On the other side, you’ll discover the head of the game’s co-creator John Romero on a bloody stake. The game also plays a backwards sound file of Romero saying, “To win the game you must kill me, John Romero!” Follow Romero’s advice and you indeed win the game. This Easter egg is certainly one of the most iconic and creepy we’ve ever encountered.
8. Silent Hill 2
The Silent Hill franchise is one of the most terrifying game series ever produced and it’s known to deliver some extremely weird and wacky secrets. James Sunderland has a rough old time in Silent Hill 2, but things get especially strange once you get access to a mysterious a bone-shaped key. This key allows you to access a secret room in the Lakeview Hotel observation room, and once you unlock it you find something deeply horrifying. Yes, it turns out that a dastardly dog is the true puppeteer of the game’s events. Realizing that the search for his wife has all been for naught and that he’s been a puppet in a dog’s wicked game, James falls to his knees as the cruel canine licks his face.
7. Portal
The Aperture Science center is home to a lot of dark and deeply disturbing secrets, but none are creepier than the Doug Rattmann dens. Rattmann is the only known employee to have survived GLaDOS’ fatal neurotoxin flood, but the scientist later went insane after realizing he was trapped in the underground labs. We never see Rattmann in-game, but we do get to see his erratic paintings and haunting murals throughout both campaigns. Aside from leaving paintings and messages behind, Doug Rattmann also discovered a number of hidden rooms in Aperture Science. Players can enter these dens and see his various messages and artwork. After all, Rattman coined the iconic phrase: “The cake is a lie.”
6. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The land of Hyrule has always been home to hidden items, rupees, weapons and various Nintendo themed cameos, but Skyward Sword delivers something even better. The beautiful floating island of Skyloft is home to a bunch of cute and cuddly kittens. After acquiring the Double Clawshots, players can launch themselves over a wall near Skyloft’s Goddess Statue. Upon making it over the wall, you’ll see a patch of flowers with five adorable kittens napping. You can then play with these kittens to your heart's content - just make sure you don’t forget to save the princess.
5. Saints Row 2
The Saints Row series has always embraced its wild nature, allowing players to roam around in absurd costumes wielding wacky weapons, but developer Volition went all out in Saints Row 2 when they decided to place a huge stuffed bunny in the ocean. To witness this unusual sight, players must head to a tiny hidden offshore island by following various arrows, and then wander around near the coast until the stuffed creature awakes. Although the giant bunny does not move or attack the player, it can be sent back to its watery depths with a gentle nudge.
4. Halo 3
Are these things monkeys or cavemen? Why do they have human faces? Why are they even in Halo? Well it turns out these creatures all bear the face of Marcus R. Lehto, a senior employee at Bungie. They originated as an internal email prank of photoshopping Marcus Lehto's face on a female gorilla, but were later put into the game for eagle-eyed players to find. These strange creatures pop up in three separate locations in Halo 3’s Sierra 117 level, but things get even weirder in the epilogue cutscene of Halo 3: ODST. If the player presses the right stick, the screen will pan to the left to show Edward Buck grooming one of these creepy creatures.
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Call of Duty may receive a lot of hate these days, but the series does still deliver some of the best Easter eggs in gaming. If you ever wanted to play some old-school Atari games while playing Call of Duty, then look no further. Treyarch’s Cold War conspiracy shooter delivered just this, as players could access classic title like H.E.R.O., Kaboom!, Pitfall, and River Raid within Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. If you shoot the heads off all the dummies within 90 seconds on the Nuketown 2025 map, you’ll get to sit down at an old Atari console and play a selection of these retro titles.
2. Gears of War 3
The Legend of Zelda and Skyrim have conditioned us to be wary of attacking chickens, but Gears of War 3 took this long-running chicken gag to another level. In the first mission, after you raise the lift so the Raven can land, you’ll find four pipes. If you shoot into these pipes, a disgruntled chicken will pop out. However, if you decide to keep shooting, it will mutate into a 10-foot-tall, golden, fire-breathing chicken that will try to burn you to a crisp. If you managed to kill the terrifying bird, you’ll get to see a pretty explosion of flowers. Who said Gears of War couldn’t be pretty?
1. Nintendo Switch
It was no surprise that a small number of Nintendo fans ended up diving into the guts of Nintendo’s latest system to find out the console's capabilities. What was a surprise was the Easter egg that was tucked away there. Fans discovered that Golf, the first game from Nintendo's late beloved president, Satoru Iwata, was built into every Switch on the market. This Easter egg can only be accessed on July 11th: the day Iwata tragically lost his battle against cancer. What makes this Easter egg even more touching is that you can activate the title by performing Iwata's signature Nintendo Direct hand gesture with the Joy-Cons.