Happy Easter!
For a bit of seasonal fun, I've put together another list of some of our favorite hidden video game Easter eggs that can be found today on Xbox One.
In case you didn't know, an Easter egg in this context most usually represents hidden messages, inside jokes or pop culture references within games. They can be about movies, other games, music, comics, books, and characters. Sometimes they pay homage to media that helped inspire the developers; sometimes they offer clues to plot twists or hidden narrative — but they're always fun!
If you'd like to check out even more gaming Easter eggs, I put together a similar post last year you can see right over here.
Once you're done with the list, let us know what your favorite gaming Easter eggs are in the comments below!
Destiny teased in Halo: ODST
Developers teasing future games via Easter eggs is a relatively standard practice. Resident Evil 4 was famously teased via a poster in Resident Evil 3, and Square Enix humorously (and optimistically) teased Final Fantasy XXVIII in their futuristic stealth 'em up, Deus Ex Human Revolution.
Bungie's tease for Destiny in 2009's Halo ODST shows just how long the studio was working on their connected space epic. When the reference was found, an ex-Halo developer confirmed that it was indeed a nod to 2014's Destiny.
Xbox 360 in Alan Wake
Alan Wake is a game crammed full with hidden nods to other forms of media. From Cynthia Weaver's Log Lady portrayal to the game's setting itself, Alan Wake pays homage to the 90s drama Twin Peaks in grand style, in addition to a ton of other subtle references to movies, books, and even poetry. Remedy's upcoming Quantum Break is similarly crammed with plenty of cultural references, in addition to generous amounts of fun Lumia and Surface appearances.
Our favorite is this double-nod to both the Xbox 360 and a classic TV show. In Alan Wake, you can find a Xbox 360 connected to a video game version of the fictional Alan Wake TV series "Night Springs," which clearly honors The Twilight Zone.
Cowboy Corpser in Gears of War 2
This is a strange one. When playing Gears of War 2's Act 1, Chapter 3 on Insane difficulty, there are three cowboy hats hidden around the beginning of the level. If you shoot them, your entire team will suddenly gain cowboy hats.
You'll even be greeted by a wild west Corpser, seen above! For details on how to access this Easter Egg, check out the guide here.
The Evil Within's parody posters
The Evil Within is a gory survival horror title from the mind behind Resident Evil. The game pays homage to various horror games and movies, quite notably Silent Hill, with a Pyramid Head-like enemy and a character that closely resembles Lisa from the first game. The Evil Within also parodies various cult horror films in the form of posters scattered throughout the game.
One of the posters, "Chainsaw 3D" is a clear parody of the Saw movies, "Black Hair Curse" mocks the Japanese horror movie trope of black-haired ghost girls, and "White Fog" appears to be, once again, about Silent Hill. The Evil Within also references Fallout in homage of the game's publisher, Bethesda, with an advertisement for the in-game Sugarbombs cereal.
Image credit: Tex
Big Boss / Solid Snake's ancestor in Far Cry Primal
The mission structure in the prehistoric adventure title Far Cry Primal takes you on a quest to hunt down specialists who can help you develop your tribe. Far Cry Primal's combat master, Karoosh, strikingly resembles Snake / Big Boss of Metal Gear Solid fame, even down to the missing eye.
Considering Far Cry Primal takes place over 10,000 years in the past, Snake's catchphrase "kept you waiting, huh?" takes on a whole new meaning!
Minecrafterlands
Minecraft is a phenomenon that continues to define gaming for an entire generation. The blocky craft 'em up enjoys dozens of references hidden inside other games, such as Skyrim's Notched Pickaxe, but few go as far as Borderlands 2.
Accessible via the game's Caustic Caverns, this hidden Minecraft cave features those iconic blocks and even a Creeper mini-boss fight. Well played Gearbox!
For more information on how to reach the cave, head on over here.
The Division of the Dead
Open world games, in general, are great canvases for hidden secrets and Easter eggs and Tom Clancy's The Division is no different.
The game contains references to other Ubisoft titles, such as Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell, but my favorite so far is this recreation of the infamous fence jump scene from the comedy horror movie Shaun of the Dead. Cheers Arekkz!
Creepy Halo cave people
Here's another strange one. Hidden away in Halo 3 level Sierra-117, you can discover a family of crouching monkeys that bare the face of ex-Halo developer Marcus Lehto from Bungie. The Easter egg is the result of a prank that circulated the developer's office, where Lehto's face was apparently photoshopped onto a gorilla, naturally.
Discovering the cavemen in Halo: The Master Chief Collection will net you an achievement. For a guide on how to find it, head over to here.
Voyager 1 in Elite Dangerous
Frontier Developments' Elite Dangerous is possibly jam packed with undiscovered Easter eggs, considering the game takes place in a 1:1 simulation of our galaxy. Finding those Easter eggs could take a while, given they'd be like needles in a gigantic warehouse filled with haystacks, nonetheless, some have been discovered!
Keen Commanders have found the Voyager 1 space probe, complete with its recordings. The Voyager 1 currently the furthest manmade object from Earth at over 20 billion kilometers from Earth or 63,000 light seconds. In the game, it can be found roughly 2.4 million light seconds from Earth.
In reality, the Voyager probes will run out of power long before the time of Elite Dangerous, which takes place in 3300, but it's a cool find nonetheless!
Halo 5's gigantic sandworm
Seemingly jealous of Battlefield 4's Megalodon Easter egg, the girls and guys at 343i put a gigantic sandworm in one of Halo 5's multiplayer maps.
The above sequence can be triggered in the multiplayer map 'The Rig', by following the steps outlined here. Once complete, an enormous Dune-like sandworm will emerge and devour a small set of buildings in the distance. Halo 6 boss fight maybe? We can only hope!
