9 Mysterious Creatures Hidden In Famous Video Games
Ready to go monster hunting?
As the years have ticked by and technology has evolved, game developers have been able to construct increasingly intricate experiences, whether that's a massive open world, a rich online multiplayer suite, or something else that just wouldn't have been possible on the older generation of consoles.
Games can just do more stuff nowadays, hiding easter eggs galore in enormous environments that can take tens and tens of hours to fully explore. And when you combine this with emergence of social media and the increased desire to create plenty of "shareable" moments within games, the result is a lot of really nifty hidden secrets that will shock, surprise, or delight you when you uncover them.
Residing within the "shocking" category, one cool thing that a lot of games like to do is hide monsters and fantastical creatures within their worlds, even when said beasties might have nothing to do with the game's story or overall tone.
Spotting a giant shark leaping from the ocean in the middle of an online lobby or having a spooky ghost pop-up in the middle of an innocuous cutscene is a thrill that only games can provide, and there are other games hiding similarly random encounters with creatures that you need to check out.
9. The Smoke Monster - Just Cause 3
The folks working at Just Cause 3 developer Avalanche Studios are very clearly fans of Lost, given that they peppered their game (and its predecessor, Just Cause 2) with a whole bunch of references to the famous TV show.
Just Cause 2 even features its own version of the Lost island that will destroy your plane if you fly near it, complete with a mysterious hatch and a strange version of the black smoke monster (basically a human NPC engulfed in a dark wispy cloud). And while this island isn't in Just Cause 3, the game contains a newer, better version of the smoke monster that can actually kill you if you get too close.
If you head to coordinates N 40 48.085/E 5 34.910 and stand back against the trees a little bit (facing towards the lake), an ominous sound will begin to play. Then, the smoke monster will dart out into the clearing, kill 3 NPCs, and flee. If you chase the creature it will eventually vanish, but it is possible to be killed by it if you get too close.
So yeah, don't get too close.