Feature: Eight of the Best PS4 Easter Eggs So Far

Republished on Sunday, 27th March 2016: We're bringing this feature back from the archives to celebrate Easter Sunday today. The original text follows.

Originally published on Sunday, 5th April 2015: It's officially Easter Sunday, which means that your day will no doubt be dominated by chocolate, rabbits, and, er, chocolate rabbits. Take a break from that half-eaten egg that's currently sliding its way down your greedy gullet, though, and let us whisk you away to the world of content clichés, as we round up some of PlayStation's best Easter eggs for the third year running. This time we're adopting a PS4 focus in the hopes that you won't notice that we've already done this feature a couple of times before. Oeuf we go.

Battlefield Hardline – Couch Combat

Cops and robbers is played from the couch in Battlefield Hardline, so the inclusion of a speedy settee seems somewhat appropriate. Located on the Dust Bowl map, this comfortable chaise longue brings brand new meaning to the phrase 'sofa surfing', as it moves faster than most of the other automobiles in the game, and can be used to run rascals down for the best in 'Merican law enforcement. Unfortunately, it'll only spawn once per round, so you'll need to be careful with the canapé – otherwise you won't be putting your feet up for a while.

Bloodborne – Wood You Like to Use a Shield?

The utterly useless Wooden Shield in Bloodborne is not so much an Easter egg, and more From Software laughing in the face of Souls stalwarts. Located near to a familiar bonfire in the Cathedral Ward, this broken block of bark is described as "ineffectual" in its inventory description; the Dan of the PS4 exclusive's equipment arsenal. "Shields are nice," the ambiguous blurb states, "but not if they engender passivity." Translated from Miyazaki talk, this literally means: you're boned if you play defensively here, bud – equip a Blunderbuss instead.

Dying Light – Plumb and Plumber

Dying Light is crammed full of more Easter eggs than Augustus Gloop, but it does have one hidden secret that's better than all of the rest combined. In the Old Town area that opens up about half way through you'll be able to find a familiar Green Pipe in the southwest corner of the map. This portal – popularised by Flappy Bird, of course – takes you to a retro-themed corridor, complete with zomgoombas and orange bricks. But it gets better: climb onto the purple square and you'll find the blueprints for a Pyza Suit, which essentially grants you Tanooki Mario platforming skills. Woo-hoo!

Grand Theft Auto V – Animal Magic

Easter eggs are often ridiculous, but this Los Santos secret is downright bizarre. In the PS4 remake of Grand Theft Auto V, a new feature allows you to play as various different animals. You'll find 27 peyote plants scattered around the West Coast suburbs of Rockstar's stunningly realised sandbox city, and eating these will cause your chosen character to hallucinate – and then turn into a chicken or other non-human critter. You'll be able to take control of said creature while enjoying commentary from one of the release's offbeat anti-heroes. And the best part is that if you become a seagull, you can honk all over Life Invader's head office. Much deserved.

inFAMOUS: Second Son – Master Sword

inFAMOUS: Second Son is stacked to the figurative fill line with nods to developer Sucker Punch's older exploits, but we like the Master Sword's inclusion the best. Found on poindexter-with-powers Eugene's desk, this is another case of Nintendo love making its way into other brands. Sadly, you can't do a whole lot with Link's legendary rapier other than look at it. Of course, the same is true of the Knack doll located in the wooden house at the beginning of the game. Two household names there: The Legend of Zelda and Knack – gaming's greatest in the same paragraph at last.

P.T. – Er, Everything

The inevitable departure of Hideo Kojima may have tinged this Konami published playable teaser with real sadness, but P.T. is arguably the greatest Easter egg on the PS4 right now [Well, not anymore - Ed]. Originally announced during Sony's big GamesCom press conference – and made to look like any other indie horror outing – the title actually concealed a much bigger secret: Silent Hills. Strip away the hidden marketing message, though, and this demo-cum-commercial is practically packed with ambiguous extras, such as a Swedish message hinting at aliens – and a pause screen that won't even keep you safe.

Watch Dogs – Abstergo's Enemy

As with so many other open world games, Watch Dogs fills out its digital facsimile of Chicago with the odd Raving Rabbid or rapping fish. Our favourite Easter egg, though? During the Criminal Convoy mission 'Requiescat in Pace' you'll be told to takedown Olivier Garneau, the Chief Creative Officer of fictional technology firm Abstergo Entertainment. Fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise will of course remember that name from Black Flag – we don't blame you if you don't – as he reportedly went missing in America's mid-west. Sneaky stuff, eh?

Wolfenstein: The New Order – The Old Order

Ah, the ol' there's-a-retro-game-stuffed-in-this-modern-remake Kinder Surprise. Wolfenstein: The New Order dropped a bit of a critical bombshell back when it released in 2014, but its nods to Wolfenstein 3D were more inevitable than a five-year-old feeling sick on Easter Sunday. This "secret" is hardly hidden – you'll just need to click the Nightmare prompt when it appears a few hours in during the resistance headquarters section – but it's well executed, blending the old with the new in a blitz of nostalgic glory. It turns out that shooting evil, alternate history Nazis is enjoyable whether they're cardboard cut-outs or not.

Alright, we're sure that you're itching to tell us about your favourite PS4 Easter eggs – just do it without leaving any crumbs on the comments section carpet. We're off to glug a couple of pints of chocolate milk, so we'll wish you a very Happy Easter – and we'll be back a couple of pounds heavier next week.