It is no easy task to create an enormous game such as The Witcher 3 and keep it interesting and engaging. One trick that game creators use to keep players on the hook is references of varying levels of obscurity. Easter eggs have grown into being almost an essential part of media such as video games or movies today, giving fans something to look for between the lines. It comes as no surprise that a game such as this is filled to the brim with easter eggs.
In this list, we will take a look at some of the easter eggs you might have missed in The Witcher 3, whether due to it being too well-hidden or because you didn't know it was a reference in the first place.
Updated on August 19th, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra: The Witcher III is considered by many to be one of the greatest video games ever made, and for good reason. The title simply oozes quality and is a blast to play through from start to end. From memorable characters to a massive world — The Witcher III is chock-full with moments that players will remember fondly long after they're finished with the game. This includes easter eggs as well, with some truly obscure ones present in this game that most fans had no idea about.
14 A Line Quoted From The Departed
The Departed is a great movie, and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is one of the greatest video games ever made. So, it's only fitting that both these things combine for this easter egg.
After completing the quest Return to Crookback Bog, players can find a witch hunter uttering the line, "Maybe yes, maybe not, maybe go f- yourself." Fans of The Departed will instantly realize that this is one of Mark Wahlberg's most iconic dialogues in the movie.
13 Referencing Borat's Iconic Exclamation
Another character that The Witcher III: Wild Hunt pays its respects to is Borat. This figure is one of the most well-known Sasha Baron Cohen characters, with his phrases and statements being incredibly quotable.
One such exclamation is "wawawee-wah", which is uttered by a drunkard in Beauclair. Hearing this out of nowhere is bound to be a treat for Borat fans.
12 Three YouTubers Disguised As Farting Trolls
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt might feature a great script, but even these talented writers couldn't shy away from good old toilet humor. The most egregious instance of this comes in Ard Skellig, where players can head to a cave and hear something rather... odd.
Three trolls will obnoxiously fart and talk about absolute nonsense. The icing on the cake is that these three trolls are actually YouTubers Jesse Cox, Joe Vargas, and Brooke "Dodger" Lawson.
11 A Rather On-The-Nose Reference To The Red Hot Chili Peppers
It seems that some developers in The Witcher 3 were fans of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, judging by this rather on-the-nose reference.
In the Land of a Thousand Fables, one can find a bridge that has a red pepper under it. Connecting the dots helped players realize that this is a reference to the song Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
10 The Tattoo From Witcher 2
Although not an incredibly difficult easter egg to get, this does require one condition to be met - that Geralt gets completely wasted at a bar in The Witcher 2. He gets so drunk that he ends up waking up with a neck tattoo. While there is a choice to have it removed, if the player chooses to keep it, the save file you can carry over to the third game makes it so that Geralt still has the tattoo.
Let this be a lesson to everyone - if you ever consider getting a tattoo, make sure it's not right after a bar crawl.
9 Getting Permit A38
Although this side-quest might have annoyed some, to those who are fans of the old animated movie The Twelve Tasks of Asterix, however, this quest was a delightful surprise that paid homage to the movie. Just like Asterix, Geralt has to do the impossible task of beating bureaucracy and get the fabled Permit A38. This proves difficult, however, as one person sends you to the next, all of them saying that you're in the wrong line or do not have the correct papers required.
Sure, it is probably even more annoying to deal with bureaucracy in games than it is in real life, but this easter egg referring to the movie clearly criticizes it by showing it in its ugliest form.
8 Take A Rest At The Bonfire
There are few modern game series that have reached the level of success and fame that Dark Souls has, and it comes as no surprise that other video games pay their respects. After a thrilling fight with a giant at the top of a bean stock, which is a part of the Blood and Wine expansion, Geralt can go into a cave beneath where the fight took place. There, you can find a bonfire with a sword stuck in it, where you can take a well-earned rest. Not only that, but you can also take the sword, which proves useful in other quests.
This easter egg isn't that out of place when you think about it, considering the fact that rolling is the main tactic in fights in both of these series.
7 Hattori The Swordsmith
Many players have met this elven merchant while playing the game, learning that even though he is a skilled maker of dumplings, his true passion is swordsmithing. After completing his quest, "Of Swords and Dumplings" he will sell great swords to you. However, his character makes more sense once you realize that he is a reference to both the swordsmith in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Hattori Hanzo, a famous Japanese ninja of the Sengoku era.
There is really no downside to completing his quest, as you gain access to buying great swords from him, as well as the dumplings that he keeps making even after you get his job back.
6 The Weeping Angels Of Velen
This is one easter egg that every fan of Doctor Who would appreciate, as it references one of the scariest encounters in the series: the Weeping Angels. If you walk into a cemetery in Valen, there will be a small building with two angels on each side of the entrance. After leaving, you will notice that every time you turn your back on them, they move.
Although they don't do anything to you, as well as completely disappear after you turn your back on them a couple of times, it's still quite unnerving. Just in case, remember - don't blink.
5 Rabbit Of Caerbannog
To anyone unfamiliar with the work of Monty Python, stumbling upon this scene must have been quite confusing. To fans, however, this was a hilarious reference to the classic movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In the movie, the characters stumble upon a rabbit near a cave, which seems completely harmless at first, but as we soon find out that the rabbit is a maneater and takes no time to turn knights into skeletons.
If you dare visit this ferocious beast, its cave is near Benek. Be careful, however, as the movie has shown us that the rabbit is not to be messed with.
4 Ciri Talking About Cyberpunk 2077
It's safe to assume that most people who have played this game, have heard of this before. Nevertheless, it is also a safe assumption that at the time The Witcher 3 was new, nobody who came across this piece of dialogue even knew what this meant. Now that Cyberpunk 2077 is out, we know precisely what she was trying to foreshadow all those years ago.
Now that we know for sure that Ciri has traveled into the future, it is only a matter of time before we see if an easter egg of the opposite end is added into Cyberpunk 2077, namely if we get to see Ciri in Night City.
3 The Skeleton Of A Raider Of Tombs
Although we can't say that we expected an easter egg referencing Tomb Raider when we first played this game, what truly caught us off guard was the state of the so-called Tomb Raider herself. In a quest called The Great Escape, you can come across a skeleton in an old tomb. Usually, Geralt doesn't offer context, but here he lets out a chuckle and refers to the skeleton as a tomb raider with an affinity for elven treasures.
It's important to not take this easter egg too seriously, as the humor in this game is quite straightforward, and at times childish or completely morbid. Think of it as a playful jab at the Tomb Raider series.
2 The Wilhelm Scream
It truly seems that there is no form of media that uses sound today that has not used the age-old gag that is the Wilhelm scream. We've all heard it before, be it in movies, TV series, and most recently - video games. In this game, however, it is not included as a one-off, but rather as an easter egg, playing upon Geralt's, or even an enemy NPC's death at random. What makes this use of the dreaded Wilhelm scream tolerable is the fact that it can catch you completely off-guard because it is never guaranteed to happen.
This is definitely an easter egg that is divisive, as it can either make you laugh due to how out of place it is, or make you groan due to the pain of hearing it at all.
1 The Demise Of Tyrion Lannister
It is only fitting that a game taking place in a medieval-like setting has easter eggs from one of the most popular series at the time, which is in a similar setting as well. In the land of Skellige, there are many islands you can visit, one of which has a prison. In it, you can find a sky cell, in which lies a corpse very similar to that of Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones.
It's doubtful anyone could survive in a prison cell like that, considering the cold and windy climate of Skellige. It's a shame that the Tyrion who died in that cell didn't have time to learn how to fly.