The Witcher 3: Blood And Wine - 11 Easter Eggs, Secrets & References You Must Find
For the final instalment in the series, CD Projekt RED have gone all out.
Naughty Dog may have aged with grace and Bethesda are a team that continually shoot for the stars, but CD Project RED - although being a studio for over 20 years - feel like they've really come into their own.
The Witcher 3 is an outstanding achievement in game design, a real labour of love from a team of people who simply adore Andrzej Sapkowski's source material, to the point where they've elevated his intricate prose and breathed all new, digital life into every aspect of it.
Honestly, and it's been said many times as Wild Hunt scooped up all manner of Game of the Year awards, but The Witcher 3 really is a step above everyone else, yet with Blood & Wine, CDPR have had time to revisit the drawing board and do certain things even better. Menus are refined for increased usability, and base performance has received a boost that's immediately apparent in the jaw-droppingly gorgeous vistas of Toussaint itself.
Like a Disney castle with a dark history propping up its tallest towers, the setting for Blood & Wine has a ton of secrets within, but along the way you'll find all manner of references and easter eggs too - provided you know where to look...
11. "Mancomb" And The War Of Words (The Secret Of Monkey Island)
What is it with developers in 2016 remembering how awesome the Monkey Island games were? Naughty Dog included Guybrush Threepwood himself in an underground tomb, but I think Witcher takes the cake, as Geralt can actually engage in a war of insults, just like the original LucasArts games.
First off, the person you'll 'battle' with is named Mancomb, after 'Mancomb Seepgood', a ludicrously-named pirate you encounter in the first Monkey Island. In addition, you'll later learn that these pirates 'duel' by hurling insults at each other to win - the exact scenario you'll see replicated above.
The whole thing is hilariously put together - you can even make Geralt say "Yo mama" if you're desperate, and stands as a reminder that this is what the industry's finest developers orchestrate when they're at the top of their game.