You’re sprinting across a rusted rooftop in Old Town. Zombies are screaming below. The sun is setting, which usually means you should be terrified, but honestly, you're looking for a chimney. Not just any chimney. You're looking for the one that teleports you into a blocky, pixelated nightmare. The Mario Dying Light easter egg is easily one of the most famous secrets in modern gaming history, and even years later, it’s still the coolest thing Techland hid in the Harran map.
It's weird.
One second you're in a gritty, post-apocalyptic survival horror game, and the next, you’re in World 1-1. But it’s World 1-1 if it were built by someone who had a fever dream about mushrooms and pipe-traveling plumbers. Most people call it "World 1-1," but the game technically labels the area as "All in the Family." If you haven't found it yet, you're missing out on the Pyza Suit, which is basically the closest thing Kyle Crane gets to a wing suit.
How to Actually Get Inside the Mario Dying Light Easter Egg
First off, stop looking in the Slums. You won't find it there. You have to progress the main story until you reach Old Town (Sector 0). Once you’re there, look for a specific building in the far southwest corner of the map. It’s a nondescript L-shaped block. If you look at your map, it’s near the bottom-left edge.
Look for a chimney with a green pipe sticking out of it.
🔗 Read more: Why Monopoly Go Dice Links Keep Breaking the Internet and How to Use Them Right
It’s not a subtle pipe. It’s bright green. It looks completely out of place against the Mediterranean architecture of Harran. You walk up to it, interact with the "plug," and suddenly the screen fades. You’re transported. The music changes to a legally distinct but very recognizable chiptune track.
The level itself is a 3D recreation of the first level of Super Mario Bros. You’ve got the brown blocks, the pipes, and even the Goombas. Except, since this is Dying Light, the Goombas are tiny, exploding zombies that look like little brown nuggets of death. If they touch you, you take damage. If you jump on them? They "pop" just like the real thing. It’s incredibly satisfying.
The Secret Blueprint: The Pyza Suit
Most people think the level is just a fun joke. It's not. There is a tangible, game-changing reward hidden inside. To get the Mario Dying Light easter egg reward, which is the Pyza Suit blueprint, you have to be observant.
About halfway through the level, you’ll see some "invisible" blocks. Just like in the NES original, you have to jump in a specific spot to make them appear. Once you climb high enough on these hidden platforms, you’ll find a pink cube. That’s your prize.
The Pyza Suit is a "Developer Tool." It takes up an equipment slot, and when you jump from a high ledge, you can activate it to glide. It’s not infinite flight—don't get cocky. It’s more of a controlled fall that lets you cover massive horizontal distances. It's perfect for crossing gaps in Old Town without having to descend into the street-level zombie mobs.
Honestly, the suit is a bit buggy. Sometimes it doesn't deploy exactly when you want it to, and if you’re too close to a wall, the physics engine gets a bit cranky. But it’s worth the craft. You’ll need 10 Gauze, 10 Duct Tape, 10 String, and 10 Alcohol to make it. It's expensive for early-game players, but by the time you're in Old Town, you should have plenty of trash in your inventory to spare.
Why Techland Loves These Secrets
Techland has a reputation for this stuff. They didn't just stop at Mario. They’ve got references to Excalibur, The Lord of the Rings, and even Plants vs. Zombies. But the Mario Dying Light easter egg feels different because it completely changes the game's mechanics for a few minutes.
💡 You might also like: Ellie Tattoo Last of Us 2: What Most People Get Wrong
It’s a tonal shift. One minute you’re decapitating Viral zombies with a flaming machete, and the next, you’re platforming over "lava" pits in a blocky dungeon. It shows a level of dev-playfulness that you don't see in many AAA titles anymore. Most modern games are so focused on "immersion" and "realism" that they're afraid to let the player have a goofy five-minute break.
There’s also a hidden "hidden" secret inside the secret. If you finish the level fast enough, or explore the ends of the pipes, you’ll realize the layout is almost a 1:1 scale of the 1985 classic. The attention to detail is wild. Even the flag at the end of the level works. You slide down it, and you get a point bonus before being kicked back out into the "real" world of Harran.
Misconceptions About the Level
I’ve seen a lot of rumors on old forums. No, you cannot keep the Goombas as pets. No, there isn't a secret "Luigi" mode if you enter the pipe at night. Some players claim they found a "World 1-2" warp zone. That’s partially true but mostly a misunderstanding of how the level resets.
The biggest mistake people make is thinking the Pyza Suit is a permanent upgrade like the Grappling Hook. It’s not. It’s a craftable item with limited uses (durability). If you use it too much, it breaks, and you have to craft a new one. Don't go jumping off the tallest tower in the game thinking you’re Superman unless you’ve checked your inventory first.
🔗 Read more: Why Revan from Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Still The Most Interesting Character In The Franchise
Also, be careful with the "Goombas." In the actual Mario games, they’re slow and predictable. In the Mario Dying Light easter egg, their hitboxes are a little janky because of the first-person perspective. If you miss your stomp by even a few inches, they will explode and take a massive chunk of your health. It’s actually harder than it looks to "perfect" the level without taking damage.
Actionable Next Steps for Completionists
If you want to master this secret and make the most of it, follow these steps:
- Farm the Materials First: Before you even go into the pipe, make sure you have the 10x Gauze, Tape, String, and Alcohol. There is nothing more annoying than finding the blueprint and realizing you have to go back to a safe house to build it.
- Use the Grappling Hook: You can use the hook inside the Mario level to bypass some of the trickier platforming sections, although it sort of ruins the "spirit" of the challenge.
- The Hidden Block Location: To find the Pyza Suit, look for the section with the three pipes. Jump around the area behind them. You'll hear a "ding" sound when you hit the invisible blocks.
- Test the Suit Safely: Don't test the Pyza Suit for the first time on a skyscraper. Go to a medium-sized house in Old Town, jump, and hold the "interact" button (usually F on PC or Square/X on console) to see how the glide trajectory feels. It’s much flatter than you’d expect.
The Mario world isn't just a gimmick; it’s a rite of passage for Dying Light fans. Once you’ve done it, you’ll never look at a green chimney the same way again. It represents a time when games weren't afraid to be a little bit "meta" and reward players for poking around in corners they weren't supposed to visit.