If you’ve ever played a Hideo Kojima game, you know he stuffs every corner of his worlds with tiny, intentional secrets for dedicated players to find. Death Stranding 2 easter eggs are no exception, ranging from blink-and-you-miss-it references to deep cuts that reward years of familiarity with the director’s work and the wider Death Stranding lore. I spent almost 40 hours replaying the campaign after beating it the first time just to track down every hidden detail I missed on my initial run, and I’ve rounded up the most interesting, rewarding secrets you can hunt for on your next playthrough.
Death Stranding 2 Easter Eggs Nodding to Kojima’s Previous Titles
Kojima has never shied away from referencing his earlier work, and he packed DS2 with callbacks to games he made both inside and outside the Death Stranding universe. The first most players spot is the Solid Snake plush collectible tucked on a shelf in Fragile’s main ship cargo hold, right next to a stack of old military field manuals. Interacting with it plays a 2-second clip of the iconic Metal Gear Solid codec alert sound, and it unlocks a Snake-themed bandana you can equip for Sam later in the game.
Horror fans will recognize the subtle P.T. reference hidden in the abandoned research bunker near the southern coastal port. If you walk the back hallway of the bunker at exactly 2 a.m. in-game time, you’ll hear the faint, distorted lullaby from the canceled Silent Hills teaser playing over the facility speakers. You don’t get any reward for finding it, but the subtle creepiness is a fun nod to long-time Kojima horror fans. There’s also a small Gray Fox mask cosmetic you can unlock by completing 10 high-level stealth delivery missions, a clear reference to the iconic Metal Gear Solid antagonist.
Film and Pop Culture Easter Eggs Hidden Across the Wasteland
Kojima is famously obsessed with cinema, so it’s no surprise that dozens of DS2’s hidden secrets reference his favorite films and pop culture properties. The most obvious one is the Mad Max Interceptor wreck half-buried in sand near the central timefall farm. The license plate reads “MFP 1”, a direct nod to Max Rockatansky’s Main Force Patrol unit from the original 1979 film. If you dig around the wreck with your terrain scanner, you’ll find a vintage leather jacket cosmetic for Sam that gives a small resistance buff against timefall damage.
Stanley Kubrick fans will love the 2001: A Space Odyssey reference hidden in the northern mountain range. If you climb to the tallest peak during a full moon, you’ll find a solid black monolith half-buried in the snow. Approaching it triggers a 10-second clip of Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, and you’ll get 500 free likes from other online players for finding it. There are also tiny Kodama figurines hidden in all the game’s forested areas, a reference to Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, that give you a 10-minute stamina boost when you pick them up.
Lore Easter Eggs Tying Back to the Original Death Stranding
Plenty of DS2’s hidden secrets fill in gaps from the first game’s story, and many of them come with tangible in-game rewards for players who take the time to find them. You don’t have to 100% the first game to understand these references, but you’ll get a lot more out of them if you remember small details from Sam’s first cross-country journey. Some of the most rewarding prequel lore easter eggs include:
There’s also a hidden audio log from BB-28 that you can find near the first game’s final boss battle site, that explains what happened to the BB unit after the end of the first game. It’s a small, emotional detail that adds a lot of context to Sam’s motivation in the sequel, and it’s easy to miss if you rush through the final act of the campaign.
Tips to Spot Unfound Easter Eggs on Your Playthrough
New Death Stranding 2 easter eggs are being discovered every week as more players dig into the game’s massive open world, and you can find plenty of unshared secrets on your own if you know what to look for. First, always check off-the-beaten-path areas that aren’t marked as delivery or mission locations. Kojima almost always hides the best secrets in areas you have no reason to visit for main story content.
Listen for unusual audio cues as you explore, too. If you hear faint music, static, or quiet dialogue that isn’t tied to a nearby NPC or mission, you’re almost always close to a hidden secret. You should also use your terrain scanner after dark, because many easter eggs only show up as glowing markers on your scanner when the sun goes down. Don’t rush through the main story if you want to find as many secrets as possible. Take detours, explore side roads, and check every drawer and storage container in abandoned shelters, and you’ll stumble on way more hidden details than you would if you only follow mission markers.
Half the fun of playing any Kojima game is hunting for these tiny, intentional details that make the world feel more lived-in and personal. Even if you’ve already beaten the main campaign, going back to hunt for Death Stranding 2 easter eggs is a great excuse to revisit the world, and many of them come with tangible rewards that make subsequent playthroughs even more fun. Keep your eyes peeled and your scanner handy on your next run, and you’ll probably find a few hidden secrets no one else has shared yet.
