Gaming Easter eggs are nothing new, but with so many out there to uncover, we’ve made a list of our 10 favourite examples!The term “Easter egg” in gaming refers to a hidden message, a joke, reference or secret feature designed to be found by the player. Over the years, coming across gaming Easter eggs has become a common occurrence. For the eagle-eyed gamers, catching sight of an Easter Egg is a must. But what makes them worth finding? They range from the interesting to the funny, to the downright controversial. Here’s a list of our favourites.

Which came first, the Chicken or the Easter egg?

Feeling underappreciated for his work creating games for Atari back in 1979, Warren Robinett decided he would take matters into his own hands. He created a hidden room in 'Adventure'.To find this Easter Egg, you have to put in a little leg work. Collect three items and place them into a specific room - one of these items is as tiny as a single pixel! Once you have the three items, you can gain access to a closed-off room, which also flashes “Created by Warren Robinett” onto the screen. Warren definitely made his point! From this early concept, the trend of hidden Easter eggs was born.

Red Dead Redemption 2

In Red Dead Redemption 2, gamers can find the large skeleton of what seems to be Big Foot in the mountains. Head north of Strawberry, and tucked behind some bushes and in a small cave, there he (or she) is. Interact with it by examining the skeleton and Arthur will also make a note of it in his journal.You may not be able to find a live Big Foot to talk to (like in the Undead Nightmare DLC for the original Red Dead game) but it’s a nice piece of continuity and a reward for searching through the expansive map of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Gaming Easter eggs have become so common that players often automatically expect a game to have them. Rockstar definitely had the last laugh with their GTA: San Andreas nugget. If you make your way up the bridge that connects San Fierro and Las Venturas, you’ll find a sign that says “There are no Easter Eggs up here. Go away.” Wow, Rockstar – why you got to be that way?

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Sticking with Rockstar Games' popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, try this one on for size. Staying true to form and keeping the sarcasm levels high, falling off a particular Vice City building into a hidden courtyard will reveal a podium that holds a chocolate egg with “Happy Easter” emblazoned across it. How very punny...

Batman Arkham Asylum

This Easter egg was so well hidden that it wasn’t until the developers at Rocksteady highlighted it in a preview for the sequel Arkham City that gamers realised it had been there all along. Once the player gains access to the office of the asylum warden, Quincy Sharp, they can blow up one of its walls. Behind it is a hidden room. In this room there is a large blueprint on the wall, which shows plans for an expansion to the asylum which would cover the entire city – hence the game's title, 'Arkham City'.

Borderlands 2

Not wanting to be outdone by other Easter-eggers, the cooky team behind Borderlands 2 took gaming Easter eggs to a new level by having characters from Minecraft lurking in some abandoned tunnels. Very left-field.The area which contains this particular Easter egg is unlocked after completing chapter 9 of the game. Players will find a small cavern containing breakable blocks, which when destroyed, allows you to collect gold, coal and even a Minecraft skinned gun. The biggest nod to Minecraft, however, is the presence of Creepers - the exploding enemies that Minecraft players will instantly recognise. That isn’t all though. Once you break through to the larger cavern, destroying some blocks will drop a Minecraft skin or head customisation in its place.  These are fully-equippable, and can be used for the rest of the game.

The Witcher 2

The developers of the Witcher 2 really laughed in the face of their Ubisoft rivals with this Easter egg. You'll find the body of a man wearing a white cloak and the familiar hood of the assassin close to Bastille gate. What makes this Easter egg even more of a burn is the fact that the body is sprawled over a bale of hay. It looks like this assassin took the wrong leap of faith...

Hitman

Gaming Easter eggs vary from the funny to the scary to the downright weird. It probably doesn't get weirder than this gem from Hitman. On the mission “Till death do us part”, agent 47 must kill a bride. However, if you choose to take a detour and head over to a group of dancing guests, throw a coin into a puddle and a gang of men in their boxers will appear and applaud you. We don't know why. We told you it was weird.

Just Cause 2

Trying to apply logic to Just Cause will only send you in circles, so it’s not surprising that they have included the island from one of the most confusing TV shows ever on the game's map. That's right, Lost. In the upper left-hand corner of the map you can explore the familiar island, because well... why not? This is definitely one of the most obvious Easter eggs in our list, but we wouldn’t expect anything different from the developers of Just Cause. Knowing what we know now about Lost we'd recommend running in the opposite direction if you see any black smoke on the horizon!

Spiderman

I think we can all agree that a lot of work went into incorporating as many Easter eggs as possible into the newest Spiderman game. There are so many great ones that it warrants its own article, but this one, in particular, we really love. What better way to pay homage to all of the long days and late nights the developers put into the game than to include pictures of all of them? Make your way to F.E.A.S.T, the shelter that Aunt May works at and Peter Parker regularly visits throughout the game, and go to the wall of volunteers – the people in those pictures are none other than the developers themselves.

So there you have our favourite gaming Easter eggs! You can also find them in films, books, TV shows and even music. What's your favourite? Is there one you're still trying to find?Did you like this post? Read some more of our articles here.