Squids, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, and Sporks: Gamereactor staff shares some of its favourite Easter Eggs

It's Easter! We've reached that time of the year when we look to celebrate Springtime and indulge ourselves without limit on chocolate eggs and sweet treats. In the spirit of this year's holiday, the Gamereactor team has come together to share a handful of memories relating to each editor's favourite Easter eggs of all-time in video games. There's a varied bunch here, so let's kick things off with Oscar's love of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Oscar: Did you know the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is connected to Tarkovsky's Stalker?

While not a direct adaptation, the game takes its name and some of its atmosphere from the film. Both, in turn, trace their origins back to Roadside Picnic, the novel by the Strugatsky brothers, which introduced the idea of The Zone, a mysterious place filled with dangers and secrets. Where Tarkovsky's Stalker is slow and meditative, a haunting journey into belief, longing, and the fragility of hope, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. throws you into a more brutal Zone, one shaped by the shadow of Chernobyl, where survival is the first and last commandment. Despite their differences, both share a haunting, melancholic vibe that makes them unforgettable. A great example of how art and stories can be told across different media, whether through books, films, TV series, or video games.

Alberto: You can play the entire Maniac Mansion (1988) on a virtual computer inside Day of the Tentacle (1993)

The microcosm of LucasArts' adventure games is full of little references that connect to their games in more or less direct ways. I myself proudly hold a giant badge I treasure that reads "Ask me about LOOM", identical to the one worn by SCUMM Bar pirate Cobb in The Secret of Monkey Island (please don't ask me about LOOM, or I won't know how to stop). But if I had to choose an Easter egg that fascinated me at the time, I'd say it was finding Weird Ed's computer in Day of the Tentacle and playing Maniac Mansion, its prequel, in the MS-DOS version. Not that it was a surprise, as they are part of the same series, but you can play Maniac Mansion from start to finish. A feat I only dared to do, somewhat out of pride, when I played the Remastered version a few years ago.

Still want to know about LOOM? "You mean the latest masterpiece of fantasy storytelling from Lucasfilm's Brian Moriarty? Why it's an extraordinary adventure with..."

Alex: Yarr, there be sea monsters under Rome in Assassin's Creed II

I mulled over my entry for this list for some time, thinking I was going to go with the horrifying human-monkey hybrid family you can find in Halo 3, before deciding on the giant squid that appears in Assassin's Creed II. I love Easter eggs that make you rub your eyes and wonder if you were the only one that saw what just happened on the screen. Hidden in the depths of an Assassin's tomb in Assassin's Creed II, you can find a large body of water. Pull a crank and some levers and stare at it for long enough, and you'll see a dark body swimming under the surface. Stare some more, and a tentacle pops out to wave hello before disappearing down into the depths once more. Does it make a lot of sense? Of course not, but it is a fun moment that sent players flocking to forums to decipher if it meant anything at all, with those who had not yet seen the squid desperate to find it. A fantastic find if you did it on your own, and a fun reminder that mythical beasts were pretty much always in Assassin's Creed... sort of.

Ben: Call of Duty: Zombies' greatest Wonder Weapon, the Golden Spork

Call of Duty's Zombies mode has always been chock-full of Easter eggs, of varying sizes at that. While I could have selected one of many as my favourite Easter egg of all-time (with it battling for the slot with Borderlands 2's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles side mission), I've ultimately settled on Call of Duty: Black Ops II's Golden Spork, found on the Mob of the Dead map. This nifty little melee weapon becomes accessible after completing a handful of generally quite tasking challenges, which when ticked off would see the shiny metallic kitchen utensil rising out of a bathtub filled with blood like a confusing omen from hell. When picked up, it would replace your usually useless melee with a one-inch punch alternative that could save you from being cornered (perhaps breaking out of a Rusty Cage..) and slain by the undead. It's not a Wonder Weapon of the same calibre as this map's Blundergat, and it won't slow down Brutus, but it's a lot of fun to add it to your collection and just goes a step further in proving that Mob of the Dead is still one of the best CoD: Zombies maps of all-time.

David: Zelda Breath of the Wild's homage to the late Satoru Iwata

It could have been a simple written message, perhaps as part of the credits just like with the Super Mario Bros. Movie or with Star Fox Zero before that, but Team Zelda with Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma at the helm took a very special approach for the homage to a very special man. I'm talking about the way The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild paid respect to beloved Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who untimely died of cancer (a decade ago already this summer). It was just that, the way it was delivered, what made it my favourite Easter Egg for the time being. A peculiar NPC, Botrick, whose Mii-designed face looked too familiar, his role of "watching over the rest" too telling. An area of the map where the spirit of a formidable being had been spotted. An aura-casting mount, Satori Mountain, that, once climbed, somehow made you realise there was something different, something magical in the air. You couldn't tell if it was the weather, the animals' behaviour, the music... And then the Lord of the Mountain itself, the most unique creature in the whole game, protector of the Blupees, elusive yet powerful, whose first sighting made you shiver. The whole montage wasn't literal, in your face, let alone scripted, but instead a very delicate arrangement, an enchanted place housing a parting soul one last time before the final goodbye. A moving tribute after all.