Ghost of Yotei Easter Egg is a 1996 Nintendo 64 Throwback

Ghost of Yotei players have spotted a peculiar easter egg, and it’s one that many people may not recognise at first glance.

Sucker Punch Productions released Ghost of Yotei last month, and it ended up being quite the success. In just over a month following the release, the game has sold over three million copies.

It’s really proving itself to be a hit with players, and is set to follow in the same footsteps as its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, did back in 2020.

With Ghost of Yotei being such a large game, players are still finding hidden secrets and easter eggs that have been carefully placed by Sucker Punch, and this new discovery seems to be quite the niche reference.

As discovered and posted on the PlayStation Reddit page, one user found a rock painting in-game that seemed too out of place to not be an easter egg.

Ghost of Yotei will be up for GOTY, no question

What is this a reference to?

Asking what the painting may be a reference to, users were quick to point out that it’s a reference to none other than Rocket: Robot on Wheels, a platformer game from 1999 that was exclusive to the Nintendo 64.

It was a game where you controlled a little robot to complete various hub-themed worlds, and is notable for being the first home console game to use a realistic physics engine to drive the gameplay.

An odd reference, you might say, though this is significant for the fact that Rocket: Robot on Wheels was the first game to ever be developed by Sucker Punch Productions. It was also, interestingly enough, published by Ubisoft.

However, considering the age of the game, it wouldn't be surprising if the reference was lost on a lot of players.

Sucker Punch loves a good reference to its previous games. Ghost of Tsushima featured references to both Sly Raccoon and Infamous, and also had some references to other PlayStation titles.

Ghost of Yotei also features fun references and easter eggs like this as well. For example, you can find a mask in-game that resembles Sly Cooper, and also a mask based on Death Stranding.

Ghost of Yotei is set in 1603 in Ezo, Japan, and follows a mercenary named Atsu as she seeks vengeance against the Yotei Six for killing her family.

In our own review of the game, Richard called it “pure cinematic brilliance, and Sucker Punch Productions deserves to be commended once more for knocking it out of the park and, in some ways, topping its predecessor.”