Gaming's hidden messages

Subliminal messages? Hidden Easter Eggs? Or are you just looking for things that aren't really there? While the film world has the topless woman in The Rescuers or advertising has the suggestive image in a cube of ice in a coke ad, games have been just as controversial too. Sometimes, though, we have to say it’s legitimate. Now, some of these are a bit creepy (and slightly unsuitable for minors), so be warned. Let’s start with WarioWare Touched on DS.

It definitely says “I grant this kid to hell” or “I have granted kids to hell” depending on your own personal opinion. Of course, it’s just made up of Ashley’s words, picked out by the fast-forward feature as it skips over certain parts of the track. Maybe it was deliberate… it fits with her Emily Strange-like character, after all. But we're creeped out by it.

God of War II has a hidden message that appears in the sky when you trigger a secret orb stash, echoing the words of Robert Oppenheimer, the 'father of the nuclear bomb'. When Oppenheimer saw the world's first nuclear test in 1945, he said: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" based on verse 32 from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu script. And there it is, written slowly in the sky above Kratos – perhaps because of all the power you just absorbed. Eerie, huh? By the way, this video has no sound, but it's the clearest one we could find visually.

Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.