Day Of The Tentacle ➔ Maniac Mansion

Is this the most famous example of a game within a game? It’s certainly one of the best. When LucasArts released the Best Adventure Game Of All Time™ in 1993, hidden on a PC in one of its many rooms is the entirety of its precursor, Maniac Mansion

There’s an alternative timeline where this became what all games did: include their previous entry within the sequel. It’s a beautiful place, where there is no war, no one goes hungry, and new Call Of Duty games are 50 terabytes to install. Sadly we are stuck in our hell dimension, and DOTT remains one of the very rare instances where it happened.

The 1987 adventure, Maniac Mansion, doesn’t need to be played to enjoy DOTT at all. In fact…lean closer so I can whisper…I’m not the biggest fan of the game. Shhh. But there’s no denying that you’re getting a heck of a lot of extra game here. MM runs about as long as DOTT, meaning you could double your play-time just by lingering in one Easter egg.

Also, it’s an excuse to boot up Day Of The Tentacle again, and marvel at just how brilliantly funny its puzzles were.