Kojima’s Weirdest Ideas Made It Into Death Stranding 2, Even When No One Else Wanted Them

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is filled with grief, solitude, and hard deliveries—but that’s not all. As confirmed by Hideo Kojima himself, the sequel is also stacked with weird Easter eggs, jokes, and obscure references. Some of them are personal. Some are awkward. And many of them were apparently added even when no one else on the team wanted them there.

Fan Fact: IGN France gave it the lowest rating of DS2 among all critics. It's easy to guess why.

In a new interview with GameSpark, Kojima explained that most of these hidden details were his idea alone. He admitted that when he asked his team to add specific Easter eggs, they just kind of ignored him. So he did it himself. According to Kojima, these odd additions are designed to be discovered on second or third playthroughs.

"I put all of these things in. Even if I said to the staff, 'Please put them in!', they would just say, 'Huh?' and pretend not to know (laughs)," said Kojima.

He didn’t give a full list, but he did mention a celestial surprise. If you go to a hot spring at night and look up at the stars, zooming in will reveal unexpected visuals. He said the moment might make some players uncomfortable. That’s the tone of a lot of the game’s jokes—offbeat and self-aware. This is classic Kojima, adding serious drama and personal trauma next to awkward jokes and pop culture nods.

Fans of the first Death Stranding will remember how it also had its fair share of goofy secrets. You could wear an otter hood thanks to Conan O'Brien, and Geoff Keighley made a cameo as an NPC. There were Metal Gear-like stealth sequences, pee-based weapons, and a working shower that characters would comment on. All of it sat beside emotional themes like connection, isolation, and death.

The new game follows the same formula, but pushes it further. One of the most obvious nods is the new character Neil. He looks and sounds like a clone of Solid Snake, and it turns out that’s not an accident. The actor himself thought he was playing Snake. Kojima never confirmed it outright, but fans can do the math.

Kojima also revealed that many real-world figures were scanned into the game. Celebrities and friends of the studio often visited and asked to appear. There are so many scans now that some of them haven’t even been used yet. These “preppers,” or delivery clients, are spread all across the map. Some are recognizable. Others might take years for players to spot.

We’ve already started to see a few fan discoveries. On Reddit and forums, players are posting about odd names, familiar voices, and strange map markers. But there’s still a lot hidden in the fog. And according to Kojima, that’s by design. He wants players to keep digging and theorizing for a long time.

For anyone jumping into the series late, this is all part of the fun. Kojima’s games don’t separate the serious from the absurd. The original Metal Gear Solid featured nuclear disarmament speeches next to mind-reading boss fights. Death Stranding continued that style, with long monologues about extinction followed by scenes where Norman Reedus pets a holographic dog. It’s confusing, but it works for fans who enjoy picking everything apart.

So far, reviews suggest that Death Stranding 2 leans even harder into this split tone. Our DS2 review from PC Player is already live, and it points out how the story walks the line between sadness and surrealism. The gameplay still involves long-distance deliveries, but the world is denser and more reactive. And now, with all these Easter eggs, it’s even more layered than before.

To give some perspective, here are a few old-school Easter eggs from Death Stranding 1 that fans still talk about. You could find a Half-Life-themed headcrab hat by completing crossover missions. You could watch BB give you a thumbs-up from inside the pod. Sam would react if you stared at his crotch too long in the private room. Even the name “BB” had multiple hidden meanings, which led to endless fan theories. These weren’t just jokes—they helped turn Death Stranding into a mystery box.

With Death Stranding 2 now in the wild, Kojima is continuing that legacy. He’s filling the game with secrets that might not be found for months—or years. And this time, he’s being fully open about it. He wants you to get weirded out. He wants you to pause in strange places, look up, and wonder what he was thinking.

Some players will laugh. Others will cringe. But that’s the point.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is out now for PS5. Expect PC news later this year. Until then, the community will be busy figuring out what the stars are trying to say.