The Five Greatest Video Game Easter Eggs

Proof that video game developers can be very clever when they want to be.

Metal Gear Solid – Psycho Mantis, Mind Reader

This is hands down one of the most clever and crazy Easter Eggs of all time, mainly because it breaks the fourth wall in an interesting and slightly creepy way. When players confront the psychic villain Psycho Mantis in the classic PlayStation title Metal Gear Solid, the villain taunts protagonist Solid Snake by claiming he can read Snake’s mind.

Little did players realize that Psycho Mantis could indeed do a little mind reading, just not the kind they were probably thinking of. Metal Gear Solid’s developers actually managed to put in a function where the game would scan the contents of the player’s memory card (back when memory cards were still a thing), then Mantis would spout out customized dialogue based on what was scanned.

Not only would Mantis comment on how often the player saved their game, he would also reference the saved data of other games found on the memory card. It’s easy to imagine how many fans of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night felt a jolt of surprise when Mantis cackled and said, “You like Castlevania, don’t you?”  

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