10 Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Easter Eggs Almost Everyone Missed

Jul 01, 2025

From fourth-wall-breaking moments to Easter eggs from previous titles, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach wouldn't be a Kojima Productions game without its share of iconic references. Returning to the cargo business after a well-deserved break with Lou, Death Stranding 2 has an even greater scale than the original, with a much higher level of fidelity to boot. With how gorgeous and absurd Death Stranding 2 is from start to finish, it's easy to overlook some smaller details hidden throughout the game.

Kojima's love for Easter eggs goes all the way back to the start of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, with each entry being filled to the brim with nearly too many Easter eggs or references to count. WithOn the Beach taking things to even more emotional and unbelievable levels, it's clear that Kojima's love for references and meta humor hasn't gone away after his departure from the iconic stealth series. While you might have heard about some of the more obvious or creative secrets that Death Stranding 2 has to offer, there's still plenty that are easy to miss without knowing where to look.

Showcased long before the launch of Death Stranding 2, the in-game camera is a fun way to bond with your fellow crewmates on board the DHV Magellan. While the alternative photo mode itself isn't a secret, it's what you can use the photos for that can be easy to miss.

One of Death Stranding 2’s greatest running mysteries is the red samurai, and I can’t believe I didn’t figure out their identity before the reveal.

While you can choose to save any photos taken with the camera to put up on the walls of Sam's room, gifting a photo to Tomorrow provides an alternative purpose. Whatever photo you decide to give Tomorrow will appear in DS2's final cutscene as she fondly looks at the memories you made yourself with the crew, which can be easily missed among the pre-made options.

Throughout DS2's story, you can come across several Chiral Springs, which offer a momentary respite for your overworked courier, similar to the original game. These post-apocalyptic hot springs not only offer beneficial effects and fast travel, letting you gaze at the stars for additional likes and some meta fan-service moments.

Kojima including his own likeness has become a running gag in his games.

While most skies are populated by standard constellations that appear after looking long enough, occasionally you'll come across the logo for Kojima Productions, and even the easily recognizable image of director Kojima himself. From NPCs in Metal Gear Solid V to grotesque good monsters in the original Death Stranding, Kojima's including his own likeness has become a running gag in his games.

Unlike some of the more hidden secrets in Death Stranding 2, Sam's hallucination is one that you could reasonably come across while playing normally. After staying still without pressing any inputs for roughly 5 minutes, Sam eventually goes to sleep for some much-needed rest.

In a new interview with ScreenRant, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach composer Ludvig Forssell teases the game will have more of everything fans love.

After resting for long enough, a familiar-faced Lou sporting his adorable angel wings will appear and float around Sam while he sleeps. Being surprisingly one of the more tame Easter eggs in Death Stranding 2, Lou's dreamlike appearance is a creative way to show how much Sam's adventuring companion means to him.

The Pizza Man fight is easily one of Death Stranding 2's most absurd moments, with clips and screenshots of the scene quickly going viral online. Although the scene itself is an unmissable part of DS2's story, it's the person behind the mysterious saucer-slinging chef who is the real surprise for players.

The Pizza Man fight is easily one of Death Stranding 2's most absurd moments.

Despite the sheer number of celebrity cameos on DS2, you might still be surprised to hear that the Pizza Man himself is played by none other than Mamoru Oshii, the director of the Ghost in the Shell films. Compared to the more in-your-face cameos like Pekora or Ma Dong-seok, the Pizza Man's voice actor is one of the deeper cuts in Death Stranding 2, showcasing Kojima's deep love for both anime and film simultaneously.

Despite positive moments like imagining Lou flying above his head while resting, it's clear the events and Dooms afflicted during both Death Stranding games have had a lasting effect on Sam's psyche. Having a random chance of occurring anytime Sam sleeps in his room, several nightmares in the form of hidden cutscenes are entirely missable without knowing they exist.

Several nightmares in the form of hidden cutscenes are entirely missable without knowing they exist.

From Dollman's demonicly possessed body jumpscaring Sam, a dream about getting his hand cut off, or haunting mechanic dancing, Sam's nightmares are still only a fraction of the horrors he's had to experience. If you want to see them for yourself, repeatedly napping at the home base is a surefire way to trigger any of the 4 nightmare sequences.

Even when compared to Death Stranding 2's nightmare Easter eggs, a hidden cutscene with Higgs easily takes the cake as the game's most disturbing, yet strangely intimate moments in the series. All you have to do to achieve this hidden moment between the two characters is to have Sam sleep next to one of the transportable coffins.

Ending with Sam awakening in distress from yet another nightmare with his nemesis.

After falling asleep, Sam will have a more than a little unsettling dream with Higgs suddenly appearing out of the coffin to hush the player, before waking Sam up. After a quick exchange, large tentacles will sprout from their mouths before they hug and become enveloped in even more limbs, ending with Sam awakening in distress from yet another nightmare with his nemesis.

Being the source of several of Death Stranding 2's most comedic or creepy Easter eggs, Dollman's secret cutscene is by far one of the most developed out of the bunch. To activate this unforgettable moment, all you have to do is play the song Horizon Dreamer through the in-game music player, unlocked later in the game while resting in Sam's room.

Activating this Easter egg also provides you with Death Stranding 2's "Private Show" trophy.

Initially starting as a simple animation of several Dollman's sliding and roughly dancing together, the cutscene quickly shifts into a full-blown motion-captured music video featuring lead singer Daichi Miura himself. The sheer amount of detail in this cutscene makes it one of the more unforgettable moments in Death Stranding 2's feverdream of a story, offering a private concert all from the comfort of Sam's room.

You won't have to wait long before getting a chance to experience Death Stranding 2's very first Easter egg, which is activated depending on your response to Fragile in the game's first decision. If you end up refusing Sam's new mission after his time away with Lou, an alternate cutscene will play before looping back to the decision.

You won't have to wait long before getting a chance to experience Death Stranding 2's very first Easter egg.

In the cutscene, we get another glimpse at what a peaceful life between Sam and Lou really looks like, while getting a chance to reject the offer once more after being brought back. Replaying the same scene, although unfortunately, there's no way out, as the game still forces you along the main story even after several teases at a potential alternate ending.

Even if it's not much of a surprise given Kojima's track record of comedic inclusions, Death Stranding 2 keeps the franchise tradition alive with another birthday cutscene. While it's an unavoidable secret, you might have to wait an entire year before seeing this cutscene for yourself normally, with DS2's offering more than enough incentives to lie about your birthday.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is already an incredible game with a lot of content, but there's an obvious opportunity that went overlooked.

Compared to the simple cutscene with Mads Mikkelsen from the original, Death Stranding 2 brings out the whole cast to celebrate your real-life birthday, even featuring a song by the antagonist Higgs himself. After the cutscene itself, roaming around the world of Death Stranding 2 will have disembodied voices shouting happy birthday at Sam, keeping the festive spirit going for the whole day.

Following the tradition of the original Death Stranding, Kojima hid yet another Christmas-themed Easter egg within Death Stranding 2 that can only be activated by playing on the 25th of December. The first thing you'll notice when booting up the game on this festive date is that every holographic NPC will be sporting Santa hats, and can occasionally be seen next to a decorated tree.

By adjusting your PlayStation 5's internal clock in the system settings, you can force the Christmas-themed Easter egg to activate regardless of the real-world date.

You'll also notice the moon has drastically increased in size with the potential for a makeshift Santa to appear in the sky in the form of floating cargo containers, while disembodied voices will respond to Sam with Holiday cheer. Setting up this secret months in advance, there are likely even more Easter eggs that are still waiting to be discovered in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, especially given its ambitious increase in scale.

Source: Dan Allen Gaming/YouTube, Dan Allen Gaming/YouTube, Ben-Gun/YouTube, The Easter Egg Hunter/YouTube

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