The latest installment in Rockstar Game’s premier franchise, Grand Theft Auto has taken the world by storm since its 2013 release. As of February of 2018, the game – an expansive re-exploration of Los Angeles – had sold over 90 million copies.
Even though the game has been out for nearly half a decade now, much of the game has still been left unexplored. Thanks to the sheer size of the map – it covers 49 virtual square miles – and the scope of the campaigns, it’s likely to take another 5 years before everything is finally uncovered.
But if you want to quicken your pace looking for GTA 5 easter eggs, we’re here to help. Below, we’ve listed 7 places you can start to begin uncovering all of the quirks hidden inside this game.
1. The Secrets of Mount Chiliad
While on the surface, Mount Chiliad may just look like a good place for a chill place for a dope hike with your bros. But beneath that towering peak, sitting on a cliff face is a mural, or potentially a map, promising untold treasures or Lovecraftian horror.
This map-mural has 4 important features: an eye (or UFO as some have theorized) on top, and three boxes on the bottom. The three boxes have drawings of a cracked egg, a UFO, and what could be a man wearing a jetpack.
What all this means has yet to be solved by the GTA community, but many suspect that this mural suggests that there is an unlockable jetpack and a flyable UFO somewhere in the city of Los Angeles.
2. Max Payne and Jack Torrance: Playable Characters?
Two of the main characters in GTA, Michael and Trevor have striking resemblances to some of the most famous men in film and video games. And if you do a simple wardrobe change it becomes clear.
While playing Michael, if you buy the Rimmers Steel Aviators, a parrot-print shirt, don the “Wood” hairstyle, and rock a full beard, Michael will look exactly like Max Payne, another Rockstar video game hero.
If you play as Trevor, all you have to do is purchase the Overlooked Red Blouson, and don the “Grown Out” hairstyle to look exactly like Jack Torrance. This will really strike fear in the next slew of pedestrians you strike down with an ax.
3. Drive Like James Bond
If you want to drive a Bond Car around Los Angeles, GTA grants you that opportunity. All you have to do is finish a mission called “Deep Inside” while playing as Michael. Upon completion, a sports car called the JB 700 will be available for purchase.
It looks eerily similar to a certain famous Bond Car.
4. Alien Encounters
There is a secret mission in Grand Theft Auto 5 that has you stealing a mysterious egg from a UFO crash site and returning it to your weapons manufacturing bunker.
The mission is a simple supply run that you’d be given while using your Disruption Logistics laptop in your weapons bunker. However, to get the mission from “Agent 14,” you need to have done at least 600 weapon sales missions and ask for the missions between the in-game times of 9 and 11 PM.
Could this stolen egg be the egg referenced in the mural on Mount Chiliad? We may never know.
5. Sick Refs, Brah
GTA 5 is filled with cleverly hidden references to pop culture and previous video games. For example, when you run over a pedestrian while playing as Trevor, he screams “ten points!” This is alluding to the original points system in the very first Grand Theft Auto.
For the Lost fans out there, there is also a hidden hatch on the sea floor of the ocean to the east of the map. If you approach the hatch, you’ll die immediately, but from a safe distance, you can observe it. While you’re near the hatch, you can make out a faint tapping noise.
One deft gamer determined that the tapping is Morse Code, which is saying “Hey, you never call, how d’you fancy going bowling.” This is a reference to Cousin Roman from the New York-based GTA 4.
6. Becoming Sasquatch
Interspersed throughout the map, there are “Golden Peyote” plants that, when ingested, kickstart a hallucinogenic experience. Each plant turns your player into a different playable animal.
So far, players have confirmed that you can play as a hawk, seagull, mountain lion, poodle, house cat, and many others. One plant even allows you to play as the famed Sasquatch.
However, there’s a catch. Well, a few.
In order for the Sasquatch Peyote Plant to appear, you have to meet a few requirements:
- You have to have a 100% complete game
- You have to complete the mission “The Last One”
- You must not kill the Sasquatch at the end of that mission
- You must have collected all 27 of the peyote plants
- It must be between 5 and 8:30 AM in-game
- The weather must be foggy or snowing
Only then can you become the mythical Sasquatch.
7. Star-Studded Cameos
The Grand Theft Auto franchise has been populated with some fantastically insane characters over the years. To make sure they remain unforgettable, Rockstar has secretly planted them in GTA 5.
In the “Hood Safari” mission, the OGs from San Andreas appear. While heading for the drug pickup in the mission, you’ll see three green-clad gang members head off the route from the drug pickup. If you track them, they’ll lead you to CJ, Sweet, and Ryder from San Andreas.
Niko Bellic, the protagonist from GTA 4 is also mentioned on the game’s very first heist. He’s described as an “Eastern European” creating a reputation for himself in Liberty City. You can also see his “LifeInvader” profile on the laptop in Michael’s dining room.
Good Luck Hunting for GTA 5 Easter Eggs
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to uncovering GTA 5 easter eggs. The designers of this game clearly took a lot of time to make sure players don’t get bored with the game before their next franchise installment.
If you’d like any more tips and tricks regarding different video games, check out the gaming section of our site.
