As a game that can be best described asHideo Kojima at his most unbridled,Death Stranding 2deftly balances the serious and the absurd.
Kojima loves putting self-indulgentreferencesandEaster Eggsin his games, so much so thatsome might even find it cringey.Death Stranding 2 is no exception. As Kojima once said in an interview, “If I like something, I’ll put it in,” to the point where his staff is even hesitant to put what he wants in the game at times.
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Still, it’s hard to hate a handful of cheeky Easter Eggs and references, andDS2is chock-full of them. Whether they happen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in a cutscene, completely at random, or require the stars to align,these Easter Eggs will have you getting up from your seat like that one Leonardo DiCaprio meme.
Not all Easter Eggs will make sense at first and might be a turn-off or go over some people’s heads if they’re not familiar with Kojima’s works. We’ll be ranking them based on how iconic and recognizable they are.
Warning: Mild to Heavy Story Spoilers!
9Soak And Relax In the Chiral Springs
Ii Yu Da Na And Kojima Productions
We begin with arather niche reference that might have easily gone over many people’s heads unless you grew up in Japan,which only triggers when Sam is bathing in a hot spring at night.
Sitting idle for a moment causes Dollman to dive into the water and reemerge with the likeness of Japanese comedian Cha Kato as he sings a rendition of the song"Ii Yu Da Na"(Translation: “What A Nice Bath!") while Sam acts as a backup dancer.
This song was originally a theme song of a longtime Japanese comedy show that played every night at 8 pm, which is also the same time you need to soak in the hot springs to trigger this Easter Egg.
Sung originally by Duke Aces and then covered by comedy troupe The Drifters,“Ii Yu Da Na” is all about enjoying hot springs,and what better way to represent Death Stranding 2’s hot springs than with a jaunty tune about soaking up some healthy waters?
Another Easter Egg you’ll notice while bathing in the chiral waters is if you gaze into the night sky and look at the constellations. You might see not only the logo of Kojima Productions, but also Hideo Kojima himself.
8BT Battles
Ultraman And Pokémon
Somewhere in the midgame, the game will teach you about a new mechanic: EX Capture grenades, which allow you to capture a weakened large BT and summon them from the tar in subsequent BT encounters for a modest amount of chiral crystals.
If you’re like me, then you might have initially written them off as another gimmick to stave off BTs,but who knew it would come in clutch when you eventually face off against three BT Bestias?
The ability to capture large BTs completely trivializes giant BT encounters,as not only can they serve as great distractions, but also deal a crazy amount of damage to your foe.
Perhaps one of the more unserious game mechanics ofDeath Stranding 2,BT-summoning pays direct homage to old tokusatsu shows likeUltramanorGridman, which is also referenced via the campy backing track that plays during those encounters while the kaijus battle it out.
Those who grew up watchingUltramanwill also undoubtedly recognize the three-minute time limit, similar to the classic kaiju-fighting hero’s color timer.
7Classic Literature
SparkNotes Not Needed
Kojima loves referencing classic literature in his games. Moby Dick was a huge inspiration for Phantom Pain’s revenge plot, and Eli’s gang of young boys was a direct reference toLord of the Flies.Death Stranding 2, of course, is no exception.
Tarman losing his limb to a “chiral mammal” is a direct reference to Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, which connects him to the tar currents much like how Ahab is connected to the sea, which also plays heavily in the nautical motifs that permeate both Death Stranding games.
Meanwhile, Mary Shelley’sFrankensteinis directly referenced in multiple ways. Because Deadman is an artificial human whose body is a hodgepodge of organ donors, he considers himself a Frankenstein’s monster, which plays into his character arc of wrestling with his identity as a human and finding his own Beach.
Igor from Death Stranding 1 and his brother Victor Frank are also references to Victor Frankenstein and his assistant Igor from the many movie adaptations. Igor did not exist in the original book.
The game itself is also directly inspired by Nevil Shute’s depressing novelOn the Beach,which has a similar apocalyptic premise where a group of survivors in Australia tries to eke out whatever they have left in a doomed world, thoughDeath Stranding 2is comparatively more hopeful than its source of inspiration.
6Celebrating Big Days With You
Happy Birthday And Happy Holidays!
SinceMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain,Kojima has consistently included secret cutscenes that surprise you with a little celebration on your birthday, as they ask for your date of birth before the game begins.
InPhantom Pain, Venom Snake is treated to a surprise birthday party from Diamond Dogs, and one where Quiet shoots a crate full of cigars and lights it for him.
In the firstDeath Stranding, you’re treated to a sweet cutscene where Mads Mikkelsen’s Cliff Unger wishes you a happy birthday while you’re in the BB pod, and you receive a cake in your private room to eat.
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Death Stranding 2’sbirthday party has a lot more warmth to it, as the crew of the DHV Magellan surprises you at the bridge with even Higgs making a surprise appearance to deliver some pizza.
During Christmas, every shelter you approach comes with a Christmas tree, and their respective preppers wear Christmas hats to celebrate the occasion.
Say what you will about Kojima and his games, buthaving your birthday celebrated in-game never fails to make you feel nice and warm inside.
5Sam’s Nightmares
Major Foreshadowing
Nightmares can reveal a great deal about someone’s inner world and are often used as a means to gain insight into the future.
Sam has gone through a lot. From constantly dying and repatriating to his traumatic backstory,our favorite porter doesn’t exactly have the soundest of minds, and often suffers from many nightmares.
These nightmares are randomly triggered when Sam sleeps in his private room on the DHV Magellan. He can have a nightmare about Dollman turning demonic, or losing his right arm like Tarman, but one of them can reveal a lot of spoilers in retrospect.
Inspired by horror films, this nightmare has Sam finding Charlie in the hallways of the DHV Magellan, dancing in a full mannequin body before ambushing him from behind with the face of The Elder from the first game, which is a huge story spoiler considering the plot twist in the late game.
4Napping Brings Some Familiar Faces
While we’re on the topic of Sam’s sleep, he also dreams of two particular characters while he naps while in the open world.
For the most part, Sam will dream of baby Lou as she floats around him like a little cherub, and you’ll even hear Sam sleeptalk while he dozes off.
But on the flipside, you can get a rather weird and disturbing hidden cutscene if Sam naps around a Coffin Board, which is acquired after connecting The Mechanic to the chiral network.
This secret cutscene has Higgs emerging from the Coffin Board before putting Sam in a tentacled embrace and makeout session.No Kojima game is complete without some homoeroticism between two men hell-bent on fighting each other.
3Celebrity Cameos
I Knew They Looked Familiar!
Love it or hate it, Kojima loves putting his celebrity friends in his games.
Much like the first game, Kojima has included numerous cameos of various artists, actors, film directors, and even Internet celebrities inDeath Stranding 2.
Barring the star-studded main cast,almost every prepper in the game bears the face of a notorious figure in their respective field,or at least adjacent to someone incredibly famous.
The list is huge, but here are some notable celebrities that I found particularly interesting:
2You Get To Fight Mamoru Oshii
Those Who Disrespect Pizza Do Not Deserve To Live
In the midgame, you’ll also find the Pizza Chef, who bears a striking resemblance toMamoru Oshii, the director of the originalGhost in the Shellmovies in 1995.
The reason he’s a separate entry here is that there is a sidequest regarding the Pizza Chef’s business, which has you delivering pizza across Australia.
Progressing through his storyline will reward you with a secret cutscene where Sam and the Pizza Chef duke it out in a Jackie Chan-inspired improvised Kung Fu fight.
Not only that,but maxing out the Pizza Chef’s connection level will also give you some crazy Pizza-do karate moves,allowing Sam to perform some insanely strong melee combos on his foes.
1Metal Gear Franchise
Paying Homage To His Baby
Last but not least and certainly unsurprisingly,theMetal Gearfranchise is relentlessly referenced throughout this game.It’s evident that Kojima still considers the franchise his darling despite his separation from Konami afterMGS5, and paying homage seems to be his way of saying goodbye to his most influential work.
Not only is much of the character design done byYoji Shinkawa,as evidenced by how the DHV Magellan resembles Metal Gears REX and Sahelanthropus, but the climactic encounter is similar to the many Metal Gear fights, most especially how bothDeath Stranding 2andMGS4have a final fight wheretwo shirtless arch-nemeses fight in an arcade-styled battle at the end of the world.
Emblematic of Kojima’s style of writing, you can also hear a few lines that reference previous Metal Gear games, like Higgs saying the iconic"Kept you waiting, huh?“line, or Tarman just straight up mentioning Phantom Pain as if fans wouldn’t perk up like Pavlov’s dog at the mention.
The standout reference has got to be Neil Vana, who would put on his bandana before every boss fight in the exact way Solid Snake does it. Kojima really misses working on Metal Gear, huh?
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