10 of the best Easter Eggs in video games

Easter is upon us and while we may not be able to go outside and hunt eggs, that doesn’t mean your search is over. There are still plenty of Easter Eggs to find - in some amazing video games.
The first recorded Easter Egg in a video game is from way back in 1979 and can be found in Atari’s Adventure game. It required you to navigate a maze to find a single gray pixel. Players could pick up the pixel and navigate to a room with a flickering light. That pixel acted as a key, opening a secret door that revealed the message “Created by Warren Robinett,” the developer of Adventure.
It was a simple little Easter Egg, but its impact has been seen throughout gaming in the decades since its release.
We thought it would be fun to highlight some of the best gaming Easter Eggs of all time, as well as some of our own personal favorites! Also, there are a couple of spoilers in here, so just know that before reading on!
If you want to find any of these for yourself, we’ve also started a special GOG.COM Easter Eggs Sale and all of the games below are included!
Warning: spoilers ahead!

Dead Space

Dead Space is a creepy third-person action-adventure game with plenty of mysteries to solve. One mystery, the whereabouts of the main character’s girlfriend, Nicole, is (literally) spelled out for you.
That’s because if you take the first letter of each mission you’ll spell out the words “Nicole is dead.” Oh.

Mirror’s Edge

If you are looking for a… less-serious Easter Egg, then Mirror’s Edge has you covered. During the Kate level, Part D specifically, there will be a truck on the street. Shoot its engine before it rounds the first corner.
If you manage to do that, look up and zoom in on the building farthest away, there will be two orange signs. Shoot the dot in the middle of the sign on the right then look back down on the street and you’ll see a large rodent running along the road.

Assassin’s Creed

Here’s a fun little Easter Egg that can be easily missed if you aren’t paying enough attention. In the original Assassin’s Creed when building-hopping around Damascus and Acre you’ll find certain window arrangements that might look a bit familiar.
That’s because these windows are shaped to look like the iconic Optimus Prime from the Transformers while in the truck form!

Dying Light: The Following

Dying Light is full of Easter Eggs, but if you are a fan of Harry Potter, there is one in particular that you are sure to appreciate.
It can be found in the Dying Light DLC, The Following, in the southwest portion of the map. You’ll find a t-shaped building down there and if you go in you’ll find a secret room under the stairs. You’ll notice some familiar, rounded glasses and a hat that looks suspiciously like a Sorting Hat.

Shadow Warrior 2

If that’s not enough Harry Potter for you, good news, as there is another wizarding Easter Egg on this list. Shadow Warrior 2 is another game with plenty of Easter Eggs, but this one, in particular, seemed fitting.
At some point in the game, you’ll find yourself in a cave system. While exploring, you’ll find a dead-end, but video game veterans will know that some walls are meant to be broken. Once you break through the wall, you’ll see a cave that looks eerily similar to that one cave in the Half-Blood Prince.

Hitman: Absolution

Ok, that’s enough wizards, let’s switch it up a bit. Hitman: Absolution can feel like a pretty serious stealth game, but that didn’t stop the developers from throwing in some Easter Eggs throughout the title.
One of our favorites takes place during the Personal Contract tutorial mission. After opening some blinds and shooting some seashells, look back at the same window and you’ll see a familiar sea monster that is supposed to be in Scotland and not Chicago.

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway

This is another game that you may be surprised to find out has some fun Easter Eggs in it. In Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, there are plenty of powerful guns to use, but there’s one secret gun that tops them all.
After shooting in some very specific locations in Operation Garden, you...open a glowing portal to another room and in that room, you’ll find two secret guns. One is a machine gun that shoots saw blades. The other? A cat that shoots lasers out of its eyes. Yes, a cat. Yes, lasers.

BioShock

While Easter Eggs like the one found in Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway can be both fun and advantageous to a player, some are more of an inside joke for the developers.
Such is the case with this Easter Egg in BioShock. First revealed by a developer in 2018, it requires the player to ignite themselves, get down to 1hp, then walk into a specific area and ignite yourself again. You’ll die and spawn in a Vita Chamber outside of the map. Turning on Art Captions will reveal the message that developer Paul Hellquist was not doing his job.

BioShock Infinite

While the BioShock series features plenty of Easter Eggs, this is a particularly fun one (and a perfect segway into the last secret on the list) and can be found in BioShock Infinite.
It involves a movie theater, parallel universes, and Star Wars. In a scene, you’ll see a movie theater marquee with the words “La Revanche Du Jedi,” which is French for Revenge of the Jedi, the original title of the Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi.

LEGO Star Wars - The Complete Saga

Not all Easter Eggs are difficult to find, and LEGO Star Wars - The Complete Saga is a perfect example of this. After watching a quick trailer you’ll unlock a pretty special character. To unlock it, you go to the Bonus Room and enter the door labeled “Trailer”.
That character? Indiana Jones. You know, the whip-cracking adventurer played by Harrison Ford. Not only was Ford in Indiana Jones, but he plays Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, as well.
There you have it, 10 of the best Easter Eggs in a variety of video games throughout the years. Make sure to check out our special Easter Eggs Sale for these games and many more!
What are some of your favorite Easter Eggs in video games? Let us know in the comments!