Death Stranding 2 has a handful of quirky Easter eggs that fans might have noticed, but guess what? Hideo Kojima himself slipped those in after his team seemed a bit reluctant to do so. Yep, the man behind the game took matters into his own hands when it came to these obscure nods to his past work and some personal touches.
In a recent Japanese interview with GameSpark, translated by Automaton, Kojima opened up about the hidden references scattered throughout Death Stranding 2. You might have caught appearances like the Hololive VTuber Usada Pekora as a Prepper, or cameos from celebrities such as Mamoru Oshii and Ma Dong-seok. The game’s filled with these cool shout-outs, which fit given that Death Stranding is also getting live-action and anime adaptations.
But the really interesting part? Kojima said the subtle, self-referential humor was mostly his doing. When asked who was behind these Easter eggs, he didn’t hesitate to say, “All of that stuff was added by me.” Apparently, when he asked his staff to include these quirky bits, they mostly pretended not to hear him. The translation from IGN quotes Kojima saying, “Even if I said to the staff, ‘Please put them in!’ they would just say, ‘Huh?’ and pretend not to know.” Sounds like a jokey way to say they weren’t exactly on board, huh?
Now, I wonder why the team wasn’t too keen on these Easter eggs? Kojima admits some might find them a bit cringeworthy, which might explain the hesitation. But he definitely enjoys adding his signature touch. For example, he gave a sly hint about one hidden gem: if you check the night sky at a hot spring and zoom in, you’ll spot some special details. I’m kinda curious to see what’s up there. Have you found it yet?
It’s also funny that Kojima once rewrote parts of Death Stranding 2 after testers thought it was too mainstream. So maybe those quirky Easter eggs are his way of keeping things weird and personal. What do you think? Are you a fan of these hidden nods or do they make you cringe a bit too much?
