The Witcher 3 Gameplay Easter Eggs Ps5

Hidden Secrets and Hidden References in the Next-Gen Version

The PS5 version of The Witcher 3 runs a different build than the original. That means some easter eggs hit differently on this version, and a few of them are entirely dependent on the higher frame rate and improved rendering to even register properly. I spent about three weeks going through the game specifically looking for hidden content on my PS5, and what I found was a mix of well-documented jokes, genuinely clever developer nods, and a handful of things that only work because the PS5 build has slightly different collision data. This isn't a guide to every single hidden reference in the game. Those already exist in dozens of forms across the internet. What I'm covering here is stuff that either behaves differently on PS5, is easy to miss on this version, or requires specific conditions that most walkthroughs don't mention because they were written for the PC or original console release. The Ciri model swap. There's a well-known trick where if you pause the game at certain checkpoints during the "Tower of the Mole" quest, Ciri's character model briefly reverts to an earlier, less polished version from development. On PS5, this is easier to trigger accidentally because the pause menu timing feels slightly different with the improved input response. I ran into this myself when I was just testing save scum on that quest. The workaround is simple: do it intentionally by pausing at the exact moment Geralt reaches the top of the tower steps before the cutscene triggers. On PS5, that window is maybe half a second wider than on the original PS4 build, which is why I missed it on my first two attempts.

Cross-references to other CD Projekt Red games that require PS5-level loading speed. One specific easter egg involves visiting the Skellige island of Hindarsfjall and checking the cave with the "old woman's bones." On the original Xbox One and PS4, the loading time between islands meant most players never bothered returning to check certain environmental details. The PS5's fast SSD means you can return to this cave immediately after completing the main questline, and there's a subtle reference on the wall that most people walk past because they already loaded in and out so quickly they never actually examined the interior. It's a small carved symbol referencing The Witcher 3's own development studio name, not anything major, but it's easy to miss if you're just speed-running back and forth. The gwent card cheat sheet. CD Projekt Red hid a full gwent strategy guide inside the game files. On PS5, this isn't something you access in-game — it's part of the asset cache. If you want to see it, you need to use a file browser tool or mod manager, which isn't officially supported on console. I had a friend who actually found this by accident when his PS5 was running a system update that briefly exposed the game's temporary files, and he copied the path before it cleared. This is the kind of thing that can't be reproduced at will on console without developer tools or a workaround that requires jailbreaking or homebrew access, which most players won't attempt. The Griffin medal glitch that isn't a glitch. There's a specific location near the Kaer Morhen area where a Griffin medal spawns in a geometry clip. The medal is partially inside a rock. On the original game, this was largely fixed with patches. On PS5, the higher resolution makes the clipping much more visible. I noticed this when I was just exploring and my game framerate dipped for a second because the engine was struggling to render the medal through the rock face. It's not a hidden easter egg in the traditional sense, but it's a developer oversight that only became noticeable after the PS5 version shipped with the fidelity upgrade. It doesn't break gameplay, and it doesn't affect anything — it's just a visible mistake.

Easter eggs involving voice lines. The PS5 version includes additional voice acting passes in some areas. There's a specific NPC in Novigrad, a merchant near the temple district, who has a voice line that references a cancelled game concept. This line exists in both versions, but on PS5 it's slightly clearer because the audio upgrade removes some of the ambient noise that previously masked it. I only caught it on my third playthrough, and I was wearing headphones, which made a difference I wouldn't have expected to matter for dialogue easter eggs. Not all easter eggs on PS5 are better than on other platforms. The frame rate improvement means some visual jokes land less effectively because they rely on momentary confusion or motion blur. A few references that worked as subtle background details on PS4 become too obvious at 60fps, which actually reduces their charm for some players. There's also the issue of the PS5 version using slightly different environmental assets in a handful of locations, which means one or two easter eggs that depend on exact object placement don't trigger the same way. I found two cases where a hidden chest that appears in the PC version simply doesn't spawn on PS5 due to a minor geometry change in the terrain mesh. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of everything hidden in the game, the community guides are thorough. But if you want to know what's actually different or unique to the PS5 experience, these are the areas worth focusing on. The fast loading, the higher resolution, and the changed input timing all change how and when you encounter these secrets. Most of them still require the same curiosity and attention to detail they always did.