Hela Secret Locations & Easter Eggs: Every Hidden Spot in the Witch's Wilderness

Windup Games has a history of hiding things in their games - the Unravel series was packed with Swedish folklore references and developer inside jokes. Hela continues that tradition. These aren't collectibles that count toward completion percentage. They're just... things. Hidden places someone on the dev team cared enough to build and then deliberately not tell anyone about.

The Cherry Blossom Island

Eastern edge of the meadow, past the stone circle, there's a narrow cliff path that looks like a background decoration. It's not. Walk along it (the camera doesn't help - you'll be fighting the angle) and it leads to a tiny island with a single cherry blossom tree, a bench made of twigs, and the best panoramic view in the game.

Nothing happens here. No collectible, no quest, no achievement. The bench is sittable. The tree drops petals in the wind. That's it. I sat there for five minutes watching the day cycle shift. It's the kind of thing a developer adds because they want you to stop and breathe.

The Unravel Yarn Ball

Inside the hollow oak tree in the meadow (the one with the hidden cauldron), look up. There's a tiny red yarn ball wedged between two roots near the ceiling. Tongue-grab it and it falls down. Examine it and your mouse does a little head tilt. It's a direct reference to Yarny, the protagonist of the Unravel games.

Windup didn't advertise this. I only found it because I was trying to reach a high ledge inside the oak and accidentally aimed the tongue upward. The yarn ball serves no gameplay purpose - it's just a nod to the studio's previous work.

The Developer Burrow

In the mountain biome, after the Summit Ascent, there's a small side path to the left of the final cauldron. It's obscured by icicles that you need to plunge slam through. Inside is a cozy burrow with a tiny desk, a miniature computer (made of twigs and a bottle cap screen), and photos pinned to the wall. The photos are concept art from Hela's development. Mouse character sketches, biome color palettes, early Froggy Backpack designs.

There's also a guestbook. Interacting with it shows names - presumably the dev team. It's the kind of credits easter egg that feels personal rather than obligatory.

The Singing Stones

Scattered across all four biomes are small, flat stones arranged in circles. Stand in the center of any stone circle at dawn or dusk and the stones hum. Different circles play different notes. If you visit all four circles in one day-night cycle - meadow at dawn, wetland at midday, forest at dusk, mountain at midnight - something happens. I won't spoil what. But the soundtrack shifts and a new constellation appears in the night sky.

I found this by accident. Sat in the meadow circle waiting for dandelions to open and the stones started humming. Then I noticed other circles in other biomes. Connected the dots after about twenty hours.

The Witch's Childhood Hideout

Northwest corner of the forest, off the main path, there's a small cave behind a waterfall (not the wetland waterfall, a different one). Inside is a child-sized bed, a tiny bookshelf, and letters between the witch and her grandmother. The letters explain the witch's backstory: she wasn't always the protector of the wilderness. She was a lonely kid who befriended mice because other children thought she was strange.

This isn't marked on any map. No quest sends you here. The letters aren't voice-acted (unlike most story content). It's pure optional environmental storytelling that recontextualizes the entire main plot.

Frog Shrine

Deep in the wetland, behind a wall of reeds you need to burn away with a Fire potion (charcoal + dried grass, easy recipe), there's a tiny shrine dedicated to a giant stone frog. Interacting with it makes your Froggy Backpack glow gold for about thirty seconds. During that time, your tongue range doubles and grapple speed increases.

The shrine recharges once per day. If you're struggling with a platforming section, hit the shrine at dawn, magpie-fly to the section, and breeze through with super-tongue. It's a hidden difficulty slider and I love that it exists.

The Northern Lights

At night in the mountain biome, if the sky is clear (no snow effect), the aurora borealis appears. This isn't hidden - you can see it from anywhere in the mountain - but what's hidden is that the lights change color based on how many potions you've brewed total. Less than ten potions: green aurora. Ten to twenty: blue and green. Twenty plus: purple, blue, and green with occasional gold streaks.

It's a subtle progression marker that has zero gameplay impact and I kind of love that someone programmed it in.

The Mouse Band

In the village, on the night of a full moon (every seventh in-game night), four mice gather under the oak tree with tiny instruments. A fiddle made of a matchstick. A drum made of an acorn cap. A flute made of a hollow reed. They play a folk arrangement of the main theme. The game doesn't tell you when a full moon is coming. You just have to notice or get lucky. I got lucky on my second playthrough and it was genuinely magical.