Death Stranding 2 – 15 Secrets You Likely Missed

One of the most fun and entertaining aspects of any Kojima game is the wild and unpredictable callbacks and references contained within. The original Metal Gear Solid was packed with little references; from Miller telling Snake to go to the bathroom before sitting behind a monitor for long periods (breaking the fourth wall about the player sitting through cutscenes), to Mei sticking her tongue out at Snake when calling without saving. Death Stranding 2 continues this Kojima tradition with a boatload of references.

Oh, and a warning: there are heavy spoilers contained in some of these entries, so proceed at your own  risk. Here are 15 references and callbacks you likely missed while playing Death Stranding 2.

Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima is no stranger to video game cameos. The legendary game designer has been in dozens of games, some that hide his appearance better than others. Unlike Cyberpunk 2077’s realistic depiction of Kojima, Death Stranding disguises him very well – blink and you’ll miss it. And what’s more, players are sure to come across this cameo since it occurs right at the start of the game. As you return to the hideout, a group of BTs rise up from the tar to threaten Sam. Kojima happens to be one of those BTs, his glasses being a key giveaway to his likeness despite the tar-drenched face.

Creepy Scene With Dollman

You would think sleeping would do Sam a world of good considering all his hiking, but in Death Stranding 2,  going to bed can lead to some chilling nightmares for the courier. Choose to sleep in Sam’s bed and there’s a chance to trigger one of four dreams, but one in particular is rather notable for its creepiness and hilarity. Dollman, a human man stuck inside the body of a puppet, accompanies Sam throughout his journey, even hanging there near his bedside. He can’t even leave Sam in his dreams, apparently, as one nightmare features Dollman rising up inside Lou’s pod as Sam goes to check on the baby. Sam is horrified that Dollman has replaced Lou, but Dollman proceeds to sing and dance inside the pod regardless, adding to the creep factor even more. Maybe Sam just needs some alone time away from Dollman.

MGS5’s Moby Dick Reference

This one’s actually a double reference. The scene begins with Sam opening up the novel, Moby Dick, with Dollman narrating. This is an obvious callback to Metal Gear Solid 5’s Moby Dick reference with Snake’s Ahab codename accompanied by a hook arm, just like the sea captain protagonist of the novel. As Dollman ends his narration of the Moby Dick section in DS2, he comments that the striving for a common goal is similar to Kojima Productions, a rather blatant fourth wall break nestled inside the Moby Dick callback.

Cyborg Ninja

As we all know, there can’t be a Kojima game without a cyborg ninja in there somewhere. I mean, MGS1, MGS2 and MGS4 had them so why not Death Stranding 2? Death Stranding 2 doesn’t disappoint on this front. You encounter this ninja as he slices and dices a group of robots like it’s another Tuesday. The choreography performed here is top-notch, and the outfit design of the ninja is pure Yoji Shinkawa.

Kept You Waiting Huh?

One of the most iconic lines in the Metal Gear franchise is referred in Death Stranding 2, As a shirtless Higgs starts a duel with Sam, he utters the iconic ‘Kept you waiting, huh?’ line from the Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid games.

MGS4 Microwave Reference Scene

But that’s not the only reference featuring Higgs (there are a lot). One encounter between Sam and Higgs mimics Snake’s treacherous walk through the microwave hallway in Metal Gear Solid 4. Higgs even sings as Sam crawls forward, eerily mirroring the operatic singing from MGS4’s hallway scene.

Say No and Get In A Loop

We all love consequential decisions in games and Death Stranding 2 wastes no time setting one up immediately. After arriving at the base, Fragile asks if you’ll undertake the new mission. Upon which the option to outright refuse becomes available to the player. Selecting ‘I won’t do it’ rewinds the opening moments of the game and reverts back to Fragile’s question again. Select ‘I won’t do it’ again rewinds even further back to the very start of the game, before once more allowing players to answer the question. Well, turns out the only real option is to accept the mission, but the illusion of choice here is still well done even if Sam doesn’t really have a say in the matter.

Sam Loses His Hand

This one takes place inside another of Sam’s creepy nightmares. In this one, Sam walks to the ship’s cockpit to see a tentacle and a cat emerging from an opening. Sam curiously puts his arm inside the hole only to have his hand ripped off before finally waking up.

The Elder Returns

In yet another of Sam’s nightmares, a dancing mannequin is seen in the hallway. As Sam turns around, the mannequin wildly sprints towards him as the camera gets a good shot of his face. That face strikingly resembles ‘The Elder’ from Death Stranding. How Sam is dreaming of an old man he helped in Death Stranding 1 is beyond our comprehension but at the very least it’s another fun reference.

Higgs Taken Out Gray Fox Style From MGS1

This one’s a pretty big spoiler for the game, but the list is spoiler-tagged anyway, so here we go. The main antagonist of Death Stranding 2, Higgs, goes out the same way Gray Fox did in Metal Gear Solid 1. After gloating his dominance over Sam, Higgs suddenly gets pinned to a wall by a machine arm, which ends up slicing him in two. He couldn’t get a more honorable death than one that resembles Gray Fox’s. On a related note, Fox’s monologue and heroism during his death to Metal Gear REX made him one of the most beloved characters in the franchise.

SS Rajamouli

Kojima loves interacting with the global film industry any way he can, and this next callback incapsulates that passion. One of the many people Sam comes to rescue has the face of none other than one of India’s most prolific filmmakers, SS Rajamouli. Known for his action filmmaking style often utilizing CGI, Rajamouli was motion captured for this brief cameo, in which he gives a thumbs up for being rescued by Sam without ever uttering a word.

MGS5 Phantom Pain Reference

This is yet another double reference. Tarman, the pilot of Sam’s base of operations, the DHV Magellan, is modeled after filmmaker George Miller. During one scene, Tarman directly references the name of Metal Gear Solid 5 by stating “it’s something akin to a ‘Phantom Pain’”. We still feel the pain, Mr. Tarman!

Higgs Coffin Scene

Coffin Boards are pretty useful, and fun, in Death Stranding 2. They transport and dispose of corpses that otherwise would turn into dreaded BTs, and also can be used as a surfboard for Sam to use across water. But sleeping beside one of these coffins can result in a truly bizarre nightmare for Sam. The nightmare begins with Higgs crawling out of the coffin and ends with some next-level Kojima stuff involving octopus tongues and well, we won’t spoil the rest because it needs to be seen to be believed.

Callback to the Shirtless Boss Battle from MGS1

This shirtless fight between Sam and Higgs is a direct reference to the battle between Solid and Liquid Snake brawl on top of the destroyed Metal Gear Rex in Metal Gear Solid. This begs the questions: Are Sam and Higgs brothers?!

Solid Snake

This is perhaps the most iconic reference in the entire game. One of the characters, Neil, dresses just like Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series. It’s almost a one-for-one cosplay. Indeed, Neil is sporting a bandana tied in the back, a military camo outfit, and an identical haircut to Solid Snake. What really puts the bow on this reference is Neil’s hesitant head movements, mirroring Solid Snake’s own movements from the MGS games. It’s rather poignant that Kojima was able to revive his beloved Solid Snake character from Konami’s grip one final time, even if it’s just a callback to one his older works.