Microsoft resurrects Windows 95 game Hover!, adds Easter egg

Shawn Knight

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When independent developer Dan Church first heard about WebGL in Internet Explorer 11, he reached out to Microsoft. Church grew up playing Hover! – a video game that was included on CD-ROM versions of Windows 95 – and hoped Microsoft would be interested in bringing the classic back as a browser-based title. They were.

Microsoft worked with Church and Pixel Labs to create a modern version of Hover for IE11. Despite the upgraded graphics, the gameplay, physics and original levels have all been brought back so everything should be very familiar to those that played the game back in 1995.

windows hover microsoft windows 95 easter egg game

It gets even better as Microsoft has baked in a web version of Windows 95 as a secret retro-mode in the game. To access the Easter egg, simply visit the game’s website and type “bambi” at the main screen. Those letters backwards, ibmab, were used to reveal an Easter egg in the original game which let players view portraits of the developers that worked on the game.

When entering the code on the new version, you’ll be taken to a web version of Windows 95 complete with the original game. It’s not a full version of Windows, mind you, but there are some neat features such as share_fb.exe and tweet.exe on the desktop which when clicked, will share the site on Facebook and Twitter.

The game developed a bit of a cult following in the years since its release as there are more than 10 unofficial versions of it floating around the web today. Now you can play the original once again.

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:O I remember playing this when I was young. I thought about it now and then later on but realized I never knew the name. Going to play right now!
 
YES! THANK YOU! I used to play this all the time. For the past year or two, I've been wanting to find it but had forgotten the name.
 
Hahaha, awesome! I forgot about this game. I'd play but we must have traveled back in time to the 90s, it requires Internet Explorer.
 
This game was fun... but I enjoyed two other vehicle based games at the time. Did anyone play these? Wip3out and Death Drone. Anyone?
 
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