10 Hidden Video Game Characters You Weren’t Supposed To See
Whether hidden in the code or the cutscene, these characters could've gone unnoticed.
In media, characters are the bread and butter of telling a story. After all, nothing gets us invested in a universe quite like relatable and compelling characters. And so its important to make your cast interesting and then use them well.
Some video games sneak characters in where we least expect it and sometimes don't even notice them, and that's awesome when its pulled off correctly. A fun little Easter Egg for the developers to tuck away for keen gamers to discover! More often however, characters in the backgrounds of games were not meant to be noticed. Some game fans are a cheeky bunch and they will find the stuff they weren't meant to see.
Nothing stops certain fans from digging through files or breaking cameras to get a look at something that was directed a specific way on purpose.
Be that accidental background characters, reuse of assets or discarded designs that could've gotten to any particular stage of development in a title's production. Despite gaming's infinite roster of characters, there's still some curiosity to be satiated by taking a look at some weren't meant to be seen by the general public.
10. Calendar Man - Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman has some of the best villains in all of comic books. He also has some downright nutty stuff. Props go to the Arkham games for actually giving Calendar Man, the killer who only strikes on holidays, some interesting depth.
This little Easter Egg actually ties two games in a franchise together so it really shows that developers Rocksteady were looking to make a secret that would be followed and noticed by only the most dedicated. In Batman: Arkham City, the player can visit Calendar Man in a cell. On certain dates the character regales Batman with tales of crimes he’s committed on holidays past, but there’s an extra message tucked away for those who think outside the box.
On December 13th, the anniversary of Rocksteady’s founding, Calendar Man tells Batman "I was there at your beginning and I will be there at your end”.
Spooky but also not totally meaningless. Four years later, in the fourth game in the series Batman: Arkham Knight, the story concludes with the Knightfall Protocol - essentially the complete destruction of Batman as a superhero.
It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, the kind of thing you only see if you were told to look for it in a previous game: but the back of Calendar Man’s head can be seen in the crowd outside Wayne Manor on this red letter day for Batman's adversaries.