"Do you really wish to know?" — Spoilers from the books and/or adaptations to follow!
- A virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. The term draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt.
This article catalogues Easter eggs and pop culture references in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For easier viewing, this page has been broken up into sub-pages based on the topic.
For books that were adapted into movies please see the Literature tab for references (unless it's a reference that was only in the movie adaption and never in the book it was based on).
Films[]
127 Hours[]
- There's a monster cave with a narrow part that has a skeleton trapped between a rock and the wall by its arm.
300[]
- Guards and villagers in Skellige will sometimes yell "This is Skellige!", a possible reference to the phrase "This is Sparta!" uttered by the main protagonist Leonidas.
Addams Family[]
- The village of Lurtch is named after the butler of the Evves family, who left the land to the peasants when he died. This could be a reference to the Addams Family, who have a butler named Lurch, and Evves is meant to be a female version of Addams, as in Adam and Eve.
Apocalypse Now[]
- The Siege Tower gwent card references the movie's famous quote, with the caption saying: "I love the clamor of siege towers in the morning. Sounds like victory", a reference to the line from the film, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".
Beowulf[]
- In the Dorve Ruins on the isle of Undvik, there is a hall which contains corpses all around and a particular one on a chandelier like in the film.
Bloodsport[]
- If Geralt helps Hjalmar an Craite during the King's Gambit quest (which also includes optional fistfighting against particularly eager warriors), a dead man can be examined at the altar to Svalblod in the village of Fornhala. Upon doing so, it is commented that the man fought bare-fisted to the death, possibly as part of a trial "or a very bloody sport."
Borat[]
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, a drunk in Beauclair near Lebioda's Gate will sometimes say "wawawee-wah", the interjection that is often uttered by Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat character in certain skits of Da Ali G Show and in the subsequent feature film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.[1]
Braveheart[]
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, a knight during the quest Knight for Hire, may say "remember witcher - history is wrought by those who can hang heroes", referencing a famous quote from the film: "Historians from England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes".
Broken Flowers[]
- The quest Broken Flowers is a reference to a film of the same name directed by Jim Jarmusch. In the movie, Bill Murray portrays a donjuanesque character who embarks on a cross-country search for his old flames in search of answers, similar to the plotline of the quest.
The Departed[]
- After completion of the quest Return to Crookback Bog, one of the witch hunters utters the line "Maybe, maybe not, maybe go fuck yourself", which is a Mark Wahlberg line from the film.
Django Unchained[]
- In the quest A Deadly Plot, Thaler is travelling under the disguise of a cobbler. His wagon bears great resemblance to the one used by Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained, complete with a giant wobbly shoe adorning the roof.
- Djenge Frett, a Skelligan bounty hunter you meet during the quest The Sad Tale of the Grossbart Brothers, is a possible reference to Django.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)[]
- After the completion of the main quest The Play's the Thing, advertisements for the play may still be seen in Novigrad's streets. These posters have the caption: "The delightful new comedy from the producers of "Everything you always wanted to know about dwarves but were afraid to ask"".
Fast and Furious[]
- The achievement/trophy "Fast and Furious" is awarded for winning all horse races in the game.
Fight Club[]
- See under Literature tab
Fists of Fury[]
- The name of whole series of the quest is a reference to a classic Bruce Lee martial arts film.
Futurama[]
- The alchemy item, Arachas eyes resembles the eyes of Hypnotoad.
Gangs of New York[]
- The quest The Gangs of Novigrad is a reference to the movie Gangs of New York starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Gladiator[]
- In the Filibert Always Pays His Debts quest from the Blood and Wine expansion, there is a murdered character named Maximus Nonius Macrinus, whose story is similar to the terrible fate of Maximus Decimus Meridius' family in the movie Gladiator.
The Godfather[]
- At the beginning of the game, when discussing the summons of the Emperor of Nilfgaard, Vesemir says "an offer one can't refuse?".
- In the quest Possession, it is revealed that Aki, Udalryk's younger brother, was once given an ancestral sword much to Udalryk's disdain. They were later forced to clear things up on a fishing trip, during which the younger brother mysteriously died.
GoldenEye[]
- Dijkstra's conversation with Geralt after the bathhouse fight during Get Junior mirrors Zukovsky and Bond's from the film. Both characters had previously had their leg injured by the protagonist and talk about being inconvenienced by it.
Gone With The Wind[]
- When Geralt first arrives in Vizima, he is questioned by Morvran Voorhis, who asks what happened to his men the day before. If you select the "Wild Hunt killed them" option, he will not believe you, asking, "expect me to believe that?" Geralt will reply with "Frankly, I don't really give a damn" which is a reference to Rhett Butler's iconic line "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" in Gone With The Wind.
The Great Escape[]
- The quest The Great Escape is a reference to a movie (and book) of the same name, starring Steve McQueen. In the film, prisoners escape a German POW camp by tunneling under the fence. During the quest, Geralt enters Deireadh prison via the sewers.
Jurassic Park[]
- The crafting item, Amber, prominently features a mosquito embedded within it.
Kill Bill[]
- The master blacksmith in Novigrad is retired, is called Hattori and makes dumplings, almost identical to the retired blacksmith in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill. Incidentally, he is also referencing the real life Hattori Hanzo, a ninja from the Edo era.
- The plot of the quest Following the Thread is very similar to that of Kill Bill, involving the search of a scattered group of assassins for revenge. The head of the group, Karadin, is a reference to David Carradine who played Bill in Kill Bill.
A Knight's Tale[]
- In the quest Fists of Fury: Novigrad, Durden the Tailor tries to intimidate Geralt by saying "You've been weighed, you've been measured, and you've been found scrawny. In what world could you possibly defeat me?". This is akin to the line Count Adhemar says to William Thatcher in his cell: "You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you've been found wanting." which in itself is a biblical reference, to the Book of Daniel.
The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang[]
- The name of the Blood and Wine expansion quest The Last Exploits of Selina's Gang is a reference to this 1970s Danish comedy.
The Lord of the Rings[]
- When you toss the dwarf during the heist quest in Hearts of Stone is a reference to when Aragon tosses Gimli in the battle of Helms Deep at the gate.
- When you recruit Zoltan to defend Kaer Morhen, he says "You have me and my axe!"
- During the quest The Great Escape, when you proceed towards the commander's chambers for the keys to free Margarita, you may find a document - a list of prisoners - stating 'Undomiel, an Elven mage' being imprisoned which is a reference to Arwen from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe.
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, you can find a notice by Smigole Serkis, mentioning his precious golden spoon (Andy Serkis is the actor, who played Smeagol/Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series).
- During the quest A Walk on the Waterfront, Ginter de Lavirac introduces Geralt as his gardener, which is quite similar to Samwise Gamgee introducing himself as Frodo's gardener.
- When walking on the edges of the map, Geralt says he needs to assemble a "fellowship" before traveling further.
Mad Max: Fury Road[]
- In Hearts of Stone expansion, some Knights of the Order of the Flaming Rose occasionally cry "Witness me, brothers!", "What a day! What a lovely day!", and "I live, I die, I live again!", mimicking Nux's lines and The Bullet Farmer's "Sing for me, brothers! Sing! Sing!" from the latest Mad Max movie.
The Maltese Falcon[]
- In the Hearts of Stone expansion quest Open Sesame!, one of the items up for auction is a statuette of a small bird of prey, a reference to the film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon.
The Mirror[]
- The Hearts of Stone expansion quest Evil's Soft First Touches requires Geralt to repay a debt to Gaunter O'Dimm otherwise known as 'Master Mirror' or 'Man of Glass'. The end of the quest features a burning building in the rain, a clear reference to the iconic burning barn scene[2] in Andrei Tarkovsky's film The Mirror which is also known in Russian as Zerkalos and translates to "the looking glass", both a reference to Gaunter's aliases.
Monty Python[]
The vicious Rabbit of Caerbannog standing on top of his victims
- In the entrance of a hidden cave near Benek, there is a pile of corpses and a single "snow hare", a reference to the Rabbit of Caerbannog.
- Thieves randomly shout "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!".
- Beggars talk about how one of them was cured by a mage from a disease and has a hard time begging now.
- The entire Shock Therapy quest is in reference to the scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian where Brian causes a hermit that had taken a vow of silence to talk.
Once Upon a Time in America[]
- A man standing in the building just north of Ursten village whistles a theme from Once Upon a Time in America, called Cockeye's Song, composed by Ennio Morricone.
Peter Pan[]
- In the quest Empty Coop, which is given by an old woman living just east of Honeyfill Meadworks, you meet a group of kids, one of whom is named Pete, and the little girl says "Pete says we're going to live in the woods and wear animal skins and make a tent out of leaves and never grow up."
Pulp Fiction[]
- In the basement of Crow's Perch castle, you might hear 2 guards talking about waking the gimp.
- In the quest A Dangerous Game, you come across the corpse of a certain Zed. Geralt later tells Zoltan that "Zed's dead", a reference to Butch Coolidge's line "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead."
The Princess Bride[]
- During the quest Imperial Audience, Ambassador var Attre's scribe will sometimes finish his sentences by saying 'inconceivable'. In The Princess Bride, one of the running gags is that a major character misuses this word in place of 'impossible'.
Scenes from a Marriage[]
- The Hearts of Stone expansion quest Scenes from a Marriage is a reference to a TV miniseries of the same name directed by Ingmar Bergman.
The Shawshank Redemption[]
- In the Hearts of Stone expansion, during the secondary quest The Drakenborg Redemption a letter mentions a secret stash and an offer to reunite with the person who put it there in the first place, much like in the movie The Shawshank Redemption.
- In the Blood and Wine expansion a secondary quest, The Perks of Being a Jailbird, can be started if the player was sent to prison. The reward is a prison poster: a pin up with a similar pose to the one in the movie.
The Shining[]
- A guard in Beauclair states "All work and no play. Right, Witcher?" The first part of this remark was popularized in The Shining though has also been used in other movies.
Seven[]
- From the Blood and Wine expansion, based on the choices made during the game you can get the ending in which the victims involved are seven as those of the deadly sins appearing in the movie.
Singin' in the Rain[]
- Priest of Eternal Fire (heard in Hierarch square), during the evening if it's raining will start humming "I'm singin' in the rain..."
Snatch[]
- During the quest Fists of Fury: Novigrad, you can meet Georgius Georg and the nearby bookie, Master Claytop.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[]
- The whole The Isle of Mists quest references this film. In particular, Gaspard is based upon Sleepy, and another is based upon Sneezy. Ciri being trapped in coma and believed to be dead by the dwarves who have been looking after her also references the movie.
Star Wars[]
- In Skellige, there is a quest The Sad Tale of the Grossbart Brothers given by a bounty hunter called Djenge Frett, a reference to the bounty hunter Jango Fett from Star Wars.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day[]
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, the achievement Hasta la Vista™, while just a common phrase in Spanish to mean "bye" or "see you later", later became part of the famous catchphrase "Hasta la Vista, baby" in the movie. Furthermore, the achievement is similar to the movie itself, where the protagonist shoots a frozen man while saying the famous line.
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix[]
- The Blood and Wine expansion quest Paperchase involves getting an A38 permit, through a long and tedious process. Asterix must face a similar challenge (down to the permit name) in "The Place That Sends You Mad" (itself a parody of French bureaucracy), although Asterix gets the permit by questioning a clerk's answer, thus sending her on her own trail through the office, and triggering a chain reaction among employees that ends up destroying the place.
Vabank[]
- During the Hearts of Stone expansion quest Open Sesame!, Geralt may rescue a character named Quinto, who's a reference to the Polish film Vabank where the main character of the film is named Kwinto and is a famous safecracker.
Wilhelm Scream[]
- Falling from the broken bridge leading to the Nilfgaardian Garrison in White Orchard gives an unusual scream, which is the "Wilhelm Scream" used in many movies.
Television[]
Breaking Bad[]
- An achievement/trophy called Let's Cook! is awarded for learning 12 potion formulae. Its name references a well-known quote from the show.
- Behind an illusion in a cave north of Novigrad, there is a laboratory with a skeleton holding a document called Alchemist's notes. In it, the alchemist is complaining about his assistant, Jester (Jesse), who had "One Job. ONE." Also, the alchemist wrote that it would be "better to go out with a bang than to die slowly in a hospital."
Buffy the Vampire Slayer[]
- The name of the contract Wild at Heart is a reference to the werewolf centered love triangle episode with the same name from season 4.
Doctor Who[]
- Ciri is referred to as the Lady of Time and Space. Similarly the Doctor is referred to as the Lord of Space and Time.
- A graveyard near Lindenvale contains statues of weeping angels. When you go out of the small building, you will find they have moved and are staring at you. While at the Vegelbuds' Residence the angel statues in the grounds will grimace at you if you turn your back to them.
- In the quest Through Time and Space, when Geralt is sent to the frozen world, there is a breaking in the cave wall directly in front of Geralt that resembles the crack in Amy's wall.
- In the quest The Tower Outta Nowheres. Geralt, on entering through the portal says, "It looks smaller on the outside". This is an inversion of a classic comment when people enter The Doctor's TARDIS for the first time.
Fawlty Towers[]
- At Corvo Bianco, Geralt has a majordomo named Barnabas-Basil Foulty, a reference to Basil Fawlty, the main character played by John Cleese.
Gaki no Tsukai[]
- During the quest Rose on a Red Field, you will encounter two guards outside of the hideout of the Order of the Flaming Rose. When one of them threatens you to leave, counting to three, you'll be able to perform the Axii sign on him, forcing him to count to 100 instead. Once he reaches 20, he mistakenly counts "ten ten", which may reference the viral video of the infamous "Japanese English lesson" from the Japanese comedy show Gaki No Tsukai.
Game of Thrones[]
- A secondary quest found in Novigrad is titled A Feast for Crows. It shares its title with that of the fourth book from A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin's acclaimed book series.
- In the ruined fortress of Kaer Almhult, there exist sky cells, i.e. prison cells with sheer drops on one side in place of a wall. One of the cells contains the body of a dwarf. This is in reference to the incarceration of Tyrion Lannister in such a cell, in the first season of Game of Thrones. Upon examining him, Geralt says "Sky cells... Nice idea for a prison without bars. Shame he didn't know how to fly."
- There is a sword named Longclaw, possibly after Jon Snow's sword.
- In the cave underneath the Temple Isle, the sorcerer's notes tell that he tried using milk of the poppy, more commonly known as opium, in his experiments.
- After the fight in the arena, when some of Cleaver's dwarves attack Whoreson Junior's men, some of the dwarves will say, "You're the fucking dainklage!" an apparent reference to Peter Dinklage, the actor who portrays the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister.
- When you try to get help to fight the wild hunt from Crach an craite he shows you his ancestors sword Winter's Blade which is said to have been forged in Mahakam tempered with dragon fire, possibly a reference to Game of thrones Valyrian steel swords.
- The last opponent in the Fist-fighting Quest Chain is a bear in an arena not unlike the "Bear and Maiden Fair" scene.
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, you can hear a little girl say "My brother gave me a sword, I named it 'Needle'". Similarly, in Game of Thrones, Arya Stark is given a sword by Jon Snow, which she names 'Needle'.
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, you will sometimes hear a kid exclaim that he dreamt he was a wolf. This is in reference to the Stark children, mainly Bran and Arya dreaming of being wolves.
- The same kids, when interacted with, will also respond with either "Do you know how to swing a sword left-handed? I do." or "Is it true? Is winter coming?" A girl on the riverbank in Flovive is known to do this, but there are boys as well.
- In the Blood and Wine expansion quest, The Warble of a Smitten Knight, the final challenger of the knights' tourney, Gregoire de Gorgon is a reference to Game of Thrones Ser Gregor Clegane. with similarities in name, giant build, armor and sword. also Gorgon is the name of a volcanic mountain in Toussaint, also referring to Clegane's nickname "The Mountain".
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, during the quest Fists of Fury: Toussaint, there is a combatant that hides his face - he is only known as "Still Waters". After defeating him, it turns out that he is a lady and her name is Brigitte. A possible reference to "Brienne of Tarth", who is also a lady knight. Brigitte even looks visually similar to Brienne of Tarth, with her short blond hair and bulky build.
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, there is a quest called "Filibert Always Pays His Debts", a reference to the Lannisters.
- After the berserkers transform into bears and kill several attendees at the wake for the king, you can over hear some people talking in the courtyard below the keep about this being the worst thing to happen since the "Red Funeral."
- Early in the game, when you're tasked with finding the "Inn at the Crossroads" an easter egg occurs. This Inn is also famous in Game of Thrones and ASOIAF for several dramatic encounters. The game references one scene from the show (and book, though it happens slightly differently) when Arya and the Hound find themselves in a standoff with several Lannister soldiers at the Inn at the Crossroads (represented in-game by the three soldiers who walk in and want to start a fight). The hound is wounded, but Arya is untouched, despite killing a young squire, crossing Pollivar off of her list of names and retrieving Needle. This is also where the Hound speaks his famous "chicken" line.
Orange Is the New Black[]
- In the Blood and Wine expansion, the quest name Burlap is the New Stripe references the show and how it depicts life in prison.
Scrubs[]
- In the village of Lurtch, a woman can be found arguing with her husband. She asks why he has killed and stuffed her dog, Rowdy, to which he replies that the dog is stuffed with poison and will be used as dragon bait. The dog's name is a reference to Turk and J.D.'s beloved taxidermy dog, Rowdy. This also references the hunt for Borch Three Jackdaws (Villentretenmerth) in "The Sword of Destiny"
Sherlock[]
- During the Triss romance scene in the lighthouse, two sailors believe the subsequent flickering of the light to be a Morse Code message. This is a reference to the scene in "The Hounds of Baskerville" where Watson notices car headlights flashing on Dartmoor and thinks it to be Morse Code but turns out to be a dogging site.
Star Trek: The Next Generation[]
- A gravestone in the Mère-Lachaiselongue Cemetery makes a reference to Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the starship Enterprise. It reads "Jean-Luc Picard; Great commander; Even greater man".