Microsoft Edge secret offline game reminds us of Chrome Easter egg Dino — but better

Microsoft Edge
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Surf's up, dude! Microsoft's stuffed a cute little Easter egg in its new Chromium-based browser -- a secret surf game that's reminiscent of retro PC game SkiFree -- and it's now available offline, The Verge reports.

To lure in the gaming crowd and promote its new browser, Microsoft developers hid a surfing game inside the new Edge. The "secret" game isn't so secret anymore -- you can access it via edge://surf/ if you are on Edge version 82 and up.

The game has three modes: classic surf, a time trial and slalom.

Classic surf mode allows players to surf through the waves endlessly while dodging the evil Kraken and avoiding obstacles. The time trial mode challenges players to get to the end as quickly as possible. With slalom, players must zig zag through the game and hit incoming gates. There is a high score feature, but it's only stored locally, so you won't get to brag about your amazing surf accomplishments on a global scoreboard.

The game reminds us of the '90s computer game SkiFree that was released almost 30 years ago for Microsoft’s Entertainment Pack 3 for Windows.

The SkiFree-like game will now be available offline in the Chrominium-based Microsoft Edge browser. The software maker will also stuff this surf game into Edge Canary and Dev builds of the browser.

"If that’s not enough fun, Microsoft is even going to all the trouble of supporting keyboard, mouse, touch, and even gamepads like the Xbox One controller," The Verge said.

This Easter egg planted into the new Edge browser is in competition with Chrome's addictive Easter egg -- Dino. Microsoft's surf game is far more fun than Google's Dino, though.

Microsoft's Easter egg game won't be landing on the top of Twitch streamers' list any time soon, but it's an entertaining time killer that will allow you to escape from the everyday monotony.

Kimberly Gedeon

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!