Death Stranding 2’s Weirdest Secrets and Easter Eggs, Explained

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is packed with bizarre choices, hidden cutscenes, and obscure unlocks. Kojima Productions didn’t hold back with this one — there’s more tucked behind missions and menus than most players will ever see.

IGN compiled an enormous breakdown of the game’s Easter Eggs and hidden secrets, and we’ve expanded on the most memorable ones here. This isn’t just a list of funny voice lines. We’re talking unlockable birthday parties, strange director cameos, constellation trophies, combat toggles, and even Pac-Man. Some of it is useful. Some of it is just deeply Kojima. But nearly all of it is missable unless you know where to look.

Egg 1: Groundhog Day Loop If You Refuse Fragile

Right after the first mission, Fragile offers Sam a major questline that sets the story in motion. Normally, you’d pick the final option, “I’ll do it,” to continue. But if you click through all the other dialogue choices first, a fourth option pops up: “I won’t do it.”

Pick that, and the game rewinds itself. The scene loops back into itself in a weird Groundhog Day-style cutaway, replaying the sequence again and again until you give in and accept the job. No consequences, just a surreal break in the flow that shows Kojima is still having fun with player agency.

Egg 2: Happy Birthday Cutscene and Pizza Party

If your in-game birthday rolls around and you’ve reached Episode 3, there’s a full party waiting on the DHV Magellan. After completing Order 9, head down to your private room, and a surprise cutscene plays out. The crew jumps out, throws a cake in Sam’s face, sings “Happy Birthday,” and gives you a pizza.

It only triggers if your birthday matches the actual in-game date, so either wait it out or set up a new save with a convenient birthday. But you’ll need a few hours of playtime before you reach the right moment — the party doesn’t unlock until you’ve made deliveries in Australia and completed that ninth order.

Egg 3: Lethal Rounds Code (But There’s a Catch)

Most of the game is built around non-lethal combat, but Death Stranding 2 lets you unlock live rounds for your weapons if you really want to go lethal. To do it, open the weapon wheel (d-pad right), hold L2 + R2 + Circle, and you’ll toggle on lethal ammo.

You can do this any time, even before getting the message from the Pizza Chef. But it’s not without cost. Every person you kill means you’ll need to dispose of a body. That’s time-consuming and reduces your delivery grade. Still, it’s a solid option for players who want fewer rules during combat.

Egg 4: Song Skip Shortcut on the Music Player

The game’s iconic soundtrack makes a big return, featuring Low Roar, Woodkid, and CHVRCHES. But this time, you get more control. Once the Music Player is unlocked, hold L1 to open compass mode and press R2 to skip the current track instantly.

It’s a small feature, but one that cuts out a lot of annoying pauses when you're trekking across huge empty stretches and need just the right vibe.

Egg 5: Your Birthday Is the Code to Unlock Motherhood

During Order 26, you’ll need to enter a locked facility called the Motherhood. The code? It’s your birthday. Literally. Month and day — MMDD. So January 1st becomes 0101.

If you forget the date you set for Sam, no problem. Just press Square while reading the Corpus entry for Motherhood in the Databank, and it’ll reveal your set birthday right there. Enter it and you’ll gain access to the delivery terminal and finish the mission.

Egg 6: Dollman Dance Scene

Once you’ve got the Music Player after Main Order 11, you can play a track called “Horizon Dreamer.” This unlocks a hidden interaction with Dollman, a strange little figure in your Private Room.

Play the song, talk to Dollman, then select “Just a quick one.” What follows is a full-on solo dance performance that comes out of nowhere. Watching him go all-out triggers the “A Private Show!” trophy. It's weirdly elaborate, purely cosmetic, and unmistakably Kojima.

Egg 7: Cameos from Mamoru Oshii and S.S. Rajamouli

Both directors show up in full roles. Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) appears as the Pizza Chef during Main Order 24, and S.S. Rajamouli (RRR) plays The Adventurer, a major NPC in Main Orders 21 and 37.

Rajamouli even gives you the Yotei Mask, a visual reference to Ghost of Yotei, after helping him twice. It's one of the few collectible gear pieces tied to a character cameo, and yes, you’ll only get it if you go back and check in on him later.

Egg 8: Pac-Man Minigame from the Pizza Chef

Complete a few deliveries for the Pizza Chef, and he’ll hand you a strange reward: a playable Pac-Man clone that overlays the Australian map. First, retrieve his lost Misanga from a nearby camp, then raise your connection with him to level 4.

After that, make another delivery, and you’ll get the full Pac-Man game — BTs are ghosts, and the Pizza Chef gives you a pizza shaped like Pac-Man. Beat the game, and BTs disappear from the areas where you ate ghosts in the minigame. It’s both an homage and a form of supernatural pest control.

Egg 9: Kojima’s Face in the Stars

At certain Hot Springs, mostly found later in the game, Sam can rest and look up into the sky. Do this at night and you may see constellations shaped like Hideo Kojima’s face or the Kojima Productions logo. It’s not available at every spring, though.

To see Lou and the Kojima Productions logo, go to the Miracle Spring. To see Kojima himself, find the Chiral Spring. Staring into the cosmos like this also unlocks the Written in the Stars trophy.

Egg 10: Porters Say Happy Birthday, Lou Flies in Sam’s Dreams

Small touches keep coming. If it’s your birthday and you shout out to other Porters, they’ll wish you happy birthday. Stay idle for long enough and Sam falls asleep. Then Lou appears in a dream, giggling and floating around Sam’s head as he mumbles about sleeping longer.

There’s no reward for this — it’s just a vibe. But it adds to the bizarre intimacy that this series is built on.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach doesn’t spell out any of these secrets. Most players will miss half of them unless they’re digging through menus, replaying scenes, or delivering pizza to weirdos in the outback. But if you're chasing completion or just want to see how deep Kojima's rabbit hole goes, this stuff is worth the effort.

Some unlock trophies, some trigger hidden scenes, and some (like lethal rounds) give you more freedom to play your way. Either way, it’s proof that On the Beach is more than a sequel — it’s a sandbox for secrets.