Split Fiction is Hazelight Studios’ latest epic co-op experience that will keep you and your partner entertained for hours. Whether you’re working on getting through the main storyline, or you’re lost in the wonderful side stories, there’s plenty to do during this journey.

One interesting thing that the game offers is the inclusion of easter eggs that reference a whole host of popular culture moments, icons, and games. Here’s a list of some of the best ones we found in the game.

This definitely isn’t a definitive list of all the easter eggs in the game. Instead, it offers a look at the ones that we found to be the most interesting. Let us know if you have any favorites that didn’t make the cut!

10 Metroid-Inspired Level

With A Dash Of Tron And Contra

While exploring the sci-fi storyline of the Final Dawn chapter, there’s a pretty large portion of one of the subchapters where Mio and Zoe are stuck in a side-scrolling section that has a very similar feel to the Metroid series combined with other side-scrolling shooters like Contra.

In fact, Mio is wearing red, which is pretty similar to the signature red/orange suit that Samus Aran wears in the series, while Zoe is wearing a blue suit, similar to the Zero Suit Samus outfit. These suit designs also bring to mind the original Tron movie from 1982.

Between the colors, side-scrolling elements mixed with platforming, and the sci-fi shooter theme, I found myself thinking about all the nights I spent playing Metroid as a kid.

9 Donkey Kong-Inspired Level

Old School Viny Primate Platforming

Another level that is reminiscent of another video game can be found during the Hopes of Spring chapter, which is the third chapter of the game. During this chapter, Mio is able to shapeshift into a gorilla, similar to Donkey Kong.

While in this form, there is a section of the game where Mio will need to swing from various vines and jump into flowers, which will then shoot her to the next vine like a cannon. This is very similar to some of the levels from the famous video game series Donkey Kong.

I could feel the nostalgia coming back to me the more that I played the level, and I absolutely loved being able to feel like a kid again hopping from vine to vine.

8 Trophy/Achievement Names

Various Achievements Make Nods To Popular Culture

There are twenty trophies/achievements that you can get while playing the game, and quite a few are references to various popular culture touchstones. In fact, almost half of them are tiny easter eggs and references to other franchises.

7 Howl’s Moving Castle

An Ode To Studio Ghibli

The Moon Market side story is housed within the Final Dawn chapter of the game. Here, players will be able to find various hidden references to some of popular culture’s most notorious franchises, including Howl’s Moving Castle.

While exploring the area and looking for the various kittens around, you will find yourself face-to-face with a moving house with chicken feet. This is almost exactly like the castle in Howl’s Moving Castle.

Before I could even realize what I was looking at, my best friend began screaming about how she knew exactly what the house was referencing, making it a pretty fun easter egg for us to find.

While Hazelight does make some majorly obvious changes in design, a giant, moving, living castle with legs is too on the nose for it to not be a nod to the Studio Ghibli classic.

6 Rose’s Elephant From It Takes Two

This Pachyderm Just Can’t Catch A Break

One of the first easter eggs that players will notice is probably going to be the elephant during the Neon Revenge chapter of the game. For those who played Hazelight’s first co-op game, It Takes Two, you will definitely remember this elephant.

It is the same one that is Rose’s best friend in the game, and that May and Cody must destroy in order to get their daughter’s attention during an especially upsetting section of the game.

If Zoe destroys the elephant with her whip, you will obtain the trophy “Rose’s Best Friend.” However, keep in mind that if you do get this trophy, and you’re playing with the same person you played It Takes Too with, you may find yourself being judged by your partner.

5 Dark Souls Bonfire

Take A Rest While Catching Cats

Another exciting easter egg from the Moon Market side story of the Final Dawn chapter is the bonfire that you can find while you are looking for the kittens that have gotten lost around the Moon Market.

This bonfire is a direct reference to the Dark Souls series, one of the most influential video game series of all time. In these games, the player can rest at bonfires that serve as much-needed checkpoints and sources of rest throughout the journey.

I was excited to see this bonfire just because of its significance in gaming. This was another one of the easter eggs that I saw and felt the need to squeal from excitement and make sure my best friend knew exactly where it came from.

4 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Setting

The Legend Of The Sandfish Finds Its Roots In Persia

The Legend of the Sandfish will be the very first side story that Zoe and Mio come across on their adventures during the Neon Revenge chapter of the game. While inside this side story, you will notice that it makes quite a few nods to the Prince of Persia series.

In fact, at one point, Zoe and Mio enter through a door before one of them mentions that they are going to be traveling through the “Sands of Time,” which is the name of one of the most well-known games in the series.

From the moment I entered the side story, I kept repeating to my best friend that we were in a Sands of Time-inspired story. So, when I heard that line, I felt very justified in my thinking.

The fact that Zoe and Mio will need to thump on the ground in order to lure the sandfish away from one another also seems to be an easter egg for the book Dune.

3 Josef Fares Talking Over The Radio

Hazelight’s Director Makes An Appearance In Neon Revenge

One really cool but very easy-to-miss easter egg has to do with Josef Fares, who is the director of Hazelight Studios. This isn’t the first time Fares has placed himself into a game, as his famous Oscars-related rant is present in It Takes Two as well.

While exploring the world of Neon Revenge, you’ll come to a subway station after dodging an onslaught of oncoming trains. In this station, there’s a radio on a bench that can be tuned to a snippet of a Fares interview.

Considering this is something that a lot of players will miss, this easter egg is probably a lesser-known but just as interesting one. In fact, I didn’t even realize it was him the first time I heard him come over the radio and learned about it from some colleagues instead.

2 A Way Out Characters

Leo & Vincent Make An Appearance In Isolation

Another easter egg that is pretty easy to miss has to do with the hit game, A Way Out. This is another game by Hazelight Studios, so it comes as no surprise that players are able to see the two main characters here. In fact, they were both discoverable in It Takes Two as well.

During the Isolation chapter, Zoe and Mio will be going through a prison block when they come across Vincent and Leo trapped in a prison cell. Considering their game is about breaking out of prison, that makes sense. You can then press a button to release their cell.

A Way Out doesn’t always get the same attention as other Hazelight games, so fans of this one specifically will be pleased to see Leo and Vincent return.

1 Assassin’s Creed Leap of Faith

Making Ezio Proud

While players are completing the introductory chapter, Rader Publishing, one of the most obvious yet incredible easter eggs in the entire game is discovered. After climbing a tower, Zoe and Mio will jump into a haystack below, just like the various protagonists of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

One thing that made this easter egg stand out to me was when I heard the eagle call, which is the main thing players will hear any time they do a leap of faith in the AC games, too.

What makes this an even more interesting easter egg (and my personal favorite) is that Rader Publishing reminds me a lot of Abstergo Industries from Assassin’s Creed. Both are getting into the minds of others in hopes of stealing information, which serves as an early form of foreshadowing in Split Fiction.