Egg-cellent video games for Easter

Easter is here and we know all what the best thing about this time of year is: eggs. Cute, fluffy little chicks hatch from them; they’re used to make all sorts of cake (the ultimate food group); and the sweet variety provide chocolate for us to munch on while we’re gaming throughout the bank holidays this weekend. And not only that, they feature in some classic titles.

Last year we discussed the best secrets in video games, but this time around we’re focusing on eggs themselves and making them the star of the show. From hard-boiled characters to hatchling dinosaurs to chickens with a grudge, read on for eggy-inspiration if you’re looking for something to play this Easter weekend.

Chuckie Egg

This classic was a ‘game of skill’ released in 1983. It’s also one of the most innocent in the list: Hen-House Harry must collect 12 eggs positioned in each level before a timer reaches zero, collecting piles of seed before they’re eaten by chickens for extra points. It’s worth a play just to hear the rendition of The Birdie Song over the title screen (a little bit of this, a little bit of that and shake your bum).

Dino Eggs

Players stepped into the shoes of Time Master Tim in this 1983 release to collect dinosaur eggs and rescue tiny dinosaurs. Make sure you avoid the snakes, flying creatures and the worst enemy of them all: Dino Mom. Physical contact with any animal would cause our hero to become contaminated and devolve into a prehistoric spider, unless he returned to the transport force field before a timer run out.

Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure

This 1987 title was the first featuring Dizzy – who started off as a face with hands and feet, but then changed to an egg when the developers accepted that everybody thought he was one. It’s up to our oval hero to roll through the land of Katmandu while searching for five items needed to make a potion to defeat the evil wizard Zaks. This was a tough game to crack (pun intended) with only three lives, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for a challenge.

Egg Venture

The aim of this 1997 arcade game was extremely simple: ‘shoot bad things’ and ‘avoid shooting bad things’. Each level involved a series of missions such as shooting frying pans instead of eggs, protecting egg scuba divers from piranhas and firing an egg’s submarine through the sea. Expect to have nightmares about CGI eggs with faces and floating hands after playing this one.

Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness

This 2002 puzzler was Tetris in reverse: instead of laying down shapes to create rows and eliminate them from your screen, the blocks are instead used to create a tower to reach a hot-air balloon. You’d expect an egg-heavy game from all the mentions in the title but this only relates to the characters and so it might not give you your Easter fix. But if you’re sick of eggs after working through the releases in our selection, it could be for you.

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg

The peaceful world of Morning Land, where the Chicken inhabitants live in harmony, is shattered when Dark Raven and his army of crows cover the world in a blanket of eternal night. Billy Hatcher must obtain the Legendary Chicken Suit to begin a journey to free the six Chicken Elders and stop his nemesis from hatching the Giant Egg to receive ultimate power. I think you’re going to be all chickened out after playing this 2003 title.

EggK47

There’s something strange going on at Terror Taste Farm: the mean, old, greedy farmers have killed all the chickens… except one, who’s now armed with a gun. Pick up eggs as ammo for your weapon, fight off the zombies and collect all the golden eggs to continue on your epic journey through this single-bird shooter. The Steam reviews aren’t entirely positive, but it’s one for you if you want to go on a clucking rampage.

Hell

Created by Babylon Brooks for the A Game By Its Cover jam last year, here’s a weird little title about cooking, rebirth and punishment. It might seem simple with the player cracking eggs into a frying pan as the game starts; but drop one onto the floor and you’ll set off a bizarre chain of events that could see you ending up in the underworld. If you fancy something small and strange this Easter, Hell could be worth a download.

K.S.-n-Kickin

I’d never heard about this title before completing research for this post: why has nobody ever mentioned there was a Kinder Surprise game made for Ferrero with music by Phats & Small and N-Trance? It’s like every 90s dream came true at once. Apologies for the poor quality of the video (and the amount of swearing); there isn’t much footage of K.S-n-Kickin online, which goes to show I’m not the only one who wasn’t aware of it.

Hopefully this selection of games hasn’t scrambled your brain (badum tish). Let us know what you’re playing this Easter in the comments below, and make you eat plenty of chocolate!