Ghost of Yōtei’s open world is full of activities to do (and foxes to pet). From dueling ronin to parkouring toward shrines, there’s no shortage of ways to pass the time — winning mon at the coin-flicking Zeni Hajiki game is a personal favorite.
While out exploring (and not gambling), you may encounter various murals on the way to shrines or inside buildings. Turns out, developer Sucker Punch Productions has scattered Easter eggs referencing its past games throughout the land of Ezo.
The game’s subreddit has seen a flurry of posts where players have shared screenshots of the various murals. One in particular has tripped people up, the painting of a man in red and purple riding on a wheel. This is a reference to 1999’s Rocket: Robot on Wheels, Sucker Punch’s first game. It launched on the Nintendo 64, and is Sucker Punch’s only game on a non-Sony platform. The studio signed a publishing deal with Sony for its next game, the first Sly Cooper, and was eventually acquired by Sony in the early 2010s.
Players may not be terribly familiar with Sucker Punch’s Rocket: Robot on Wheels, but the Sly Cooper mural is much easier to identify. Sucker Punch developed three Sly Cooper games from 2002 to 2005 before turning its focus to the Infamous series. Sanzaru Games developed a new Sly Cooper game in 2013, and the franchise has largely been on ice since.
There are several more Easter eggs to be found in Ezo, with a large mural referencing the beast battle from Infamous 2 being the coolest. The series is also referenced in the Katana kit called Infamous Strike, and there are cosmetics for Sly Cooper as well. Sucker Punch developed three mainline Infamous games from 2009 to 2014 as well as two standalone spinoffs, one of which turned Infamous and its sequel’s protagonist Cole MacGrath into a vampire.
Sucker Punch’s next title was 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, which had plenty of Easter eggs of its own, including murals (that also tripped people up). Tsushima’s Jin Sakai too gets referenced in Ghost of Yōtei, though the references to Jin go beyond just Easter eggs.
Outside of its Sucker Punch Easter eggs, the game also seemingly references Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. It’s a grim tale that’s regarded as one of the best Turtles stories in years — and it’s also being turned into a video game.
Ghost of Yōtei’s Ezo is comparable in size to the first game, meaning there’s plenty of nooks and crannies for players to explore — and where even more Easter eggs might be hidden.
