the gaming Mysteries Iceberg

Summary

The video surveys an iceberg of gaming mysteries: hidden assets, unexplained characters and objects, strange glitches, cut content, and elaborate secrets. Some have partial explanations, while others remain open to speculation.

Hidden Codes, Secrets, and ARGs

• FF06B5 — Cyberpunk 2077: A code on a Night City statue has inspired theories that it refers to a hexadecimal color, a MAC address, music, or religious symbolism. Later updates to Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 added more clues, but the mystery remains unresolved.
• Mount Chiliad — GTA V: A mural depicts an eye, UFO, egg, and jetpack. Completing the game and returning to the mountain at 3 a.m. in bad weather reveals a UFO, with other UFO sightings appearing elsewhere. The egg and jetpack later appeared in GTA Online, leaving debate over whether the mural’s full mystery was ever solved.
• “2113” — Trials Evolution: Hidden planks lead players to disable the music, follow a sequence of actions on a particular track, and analyze audio and website clues. The hunt led to real-world treasure chests and keys; one is reportedly intended to open a chest beneath the Eiffel Tower in 2113.
• Ben and Ed’s treasure hunt — Ben and Ed: Secret areas, a Facebook page, disturbing images, and coordinates led players to packages in Germany and France. The developers denied involvement, and the hunt’s purpose and creator remain unclear.
• “Let Go” — Destiny: A 2011 video by Joy U 7 contained imagery later associated with Destiny, including a similar logo and references that seemed to anticipate its lore. Bungie denied any connection.
• Camdrome: A mysterious horror-game exhibit appeared at PAX Prime 2013, accompanied by cryptic online messages. Edmund McMillen later said he had worked on it, but the FMV horror project was abandoned after a team member became too frightened to continue.

Unexplained Characters and Encounters

• The Strange Man — Red Dead Redemption series: In Red Dead Redemption, he sends John Marston on morality-testing errands, seems to know John’s past, and cannot be shot. In Red Dead Redemption 2, his changing paintings, cryptic messages, and appearances in a mirror deepen the mystery. Theories identify him as God, the Devil, Death, or another supernatural being.
• The Mysterious Stranger — Fallout series: This trench-coat-wearing figure can appear during VATS combat to help the player. His recurring appearances across the series, signature music, and links to a .44 Magnum fuel speculation that he is more than an ordinary person.
• Ghosts of Lockout — Halo 2 and Halo 3: Players have reported encountering an invisible-on-the-scoreboard Spartan that moves strangely and kills them, with deaths credited to the environment. Possible explanations include mods, enemy AI, or remnants of an unfinished bot feature.
• Demon Juice — Modern Warfare 3 (2023): Players reported an extraordinarily accurate, elusive opponent who seemed to appear in lobbies without a conventional account or gamer ID. Some suspect an AI or matchmaking experiment; others think the stories describe a highly skilled player.
• Bruz’s return — Middle-earth: Shadow of War: A player reported that an orc humiliated and killed in an old save reappeared unexpectedly in a new game, apparently retaining memories and scars. It may have been a save or Nemesis System bug, but the system’s workings are not public.
• The Freezer — Saints Row 2: A gray figure reportedly appeared before the game crashed, sometimes damaging the game or console. A Volition developer suggested that the glitch came from conflicting map data in the Zombie Uprising activity, though the more severe effects remain unexplained.
• The “Bite of ’87” — Five Nights at Freddy’s: The original game mentions a victim losing their frontal lobe in an animatronic-related incident. FNAF 2 seemed to offer a likely setting and possible culprit, but FNAF 4 introduced the separate Bite of ’83, leaving the victim and responsible animatronic uncertain.

Strange Objects, Unfinished Content, and Visual Oddities

• Bob and the Face — Sonic 2: A disturbing image of a man in a green suit was found on development disks supplied by former Sega employee Tom Payne. It may have been an internal joke or placeholder, but its intended purpose is unknown.
• Insects in jars — Skyrim: Five carefully placed insects have no clear gameplay use. A level designer reportedly said their markings have no meaning, although the jars may be remnants of a larger cut idea.
• The column in Spooky Castle — Donkey Kong 64: A hidden pillar beneath a ceiling opening has no known function. Rare said it once had a reason to be there, but development changes removed that purpose.
• The book in Noki Bay — Super Mario Sunshine: Players can glimpse a book behind a locked door in the “Red Coins in a Bottle” episode. Game data shows that the book and door are non-interactive geometry, but why the book was placed there is unclear.
• The locked chest — Banjo-Kazooie: A chest sits in a room accessible through a window in the mansion but cannot be opened. It appears to be part of the room’s geometry, though players have wondered whether it once served a cut purpose.
• The fridge — Kingsley’s Adventure: A locked refrigerator in castle ruins cannot be opened. Developers reportedly said it contains talking celery and carrots, but there is no way to see them in-game.
• Unused doors — Shadowgate: Some doors are out of reach or inaccessible, despite prompts indicating they are difficult to reach. They may be leftovers from cut content or unused plans.
• The unfinished bar — Breath of Fire: Guards block the bar during ordinary play, but glitches or mods can let players enter and find an unfinished interior with NPCs. It was likely meant to be accessible before being cut.
• The invisible staircase — Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest: A strange swamp area contains invisible stairs and platforms but no obvious reward or purpose. It may be unfinished content.
• The hidden Ironclad Easter egg — Call of Duty 3: A developer reportedly asked for a message to be hidden on the Xbox 360’s Ironclad map, but it may never have been added—or may still be undiscovered.
• The corpse boss — Ikari Warriors: A level-three “boss” in the NES version is a dead body at a table that can be destroyed with grenades. The game provides no clear explanation for it.
• The mysterious sound test — Sonic CD: In the North American version, entering 46, 12, 25 produces a strange Sonic image, unsettling music, and the Japanese message “The fun is endless. Sega Enterprises.” The other regional versions use a less eerie presentation.
• The pendant — Dark Souls: The starting gift appears to do almost nothing, though it can be traded for a Souvenir of Reprisal. Miyazaki’s recommendation to choose it or nothing encouraged theories of a secret function; he later said the recommendation was a prank.

Environmental and Lore Mysteries

• The Boreas — Half-Life 2 and Portal: The research vessel belonged to Aperture Science and disappeared with its crew and part of its dry dock. Its dry dock appears in Portal 2, and concept art suggests it was meant to feature in the cancelled Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Its fate is unknown.
• The “Heavenly Trees of Hell Valley” — Super Mario Galaxy 2: Shadowy figures watch Mario from a distance in Shiverburn Galaxy. Their unsettling internal asset names and resemblance to Japanese tree spirits called kodama have inspired speculation about what they are.
• The desert rings — Shadow of the Colossus: Stone rings in the 13th colossus’s arena align with parts of Phalanx’s flight path. One theory is that the rings form a barrier that keeps the colossus confined to its arena.
• The Misery Mire ghost — The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: Strange, hard-to-hit enemies appear in the swamp. A level editor identified them as a Dark World fire Zora variant, but why they behave unusually and appear there remains unclear.
• Other FNAF lore questions: The video emphasizes how even a brief line in the original game has spawned years of conflicting interpretations, especially after later games introduced similar but separate events.

Character and Canon Questions

• Glass Joe’s one win — Punch-Out!!: Glass Joe’s record is 1 win and 99 losses, prompting theories that his win was against Gabby Jay, Little Mac, or another boxer. References in a comic and Nintendo Power do not fit neatly with the games’ records, so the answer remains uncertain.
• The deleted ending — Modern Warfare 3 (2011): A cut scene appears to show Price dying after killing Makarov, while a mysterious figure watches. The figure uses a reused Russian agent model, so it may simply have been a placeholder for a sequel that was never made.

Sources and People Mentioned

• Creators, investigators, and players: Tom Payne, Natt is Cool, Nomad Colossus, Wang, Camelworks, Mr. Saints Godzilla 21, Brendan Graeber, Joy U 7, Edmund McMillen, Rocket Sloth, Afro Sauce, BurzGamer, and Thull.
• Publications, studios, and other sources: IGN, Nintendo Power, Rare’s website Q&A, Bungie, RedLynx, Volition, and Trials Evolution’s online puzzle site, fixpatterncodes.com.
• Other people referenced: Hidetaka Miyazaki, Jason McCord, Mike Denny, and Dominique Plassman.