After Hideo Kojima’s departure from Konami, we all thought that we won’t be able to get the same Metal Gear Solid experience ever again. However, we did know that there will be a lot of other amazing games by Kojima and BOOM! Death Stranding’s trailer gets launched. The gaming world went crazy when they heard about Hideo Kojima making another game. I remember myself literally jumping off my couch and going crazy. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the game’s release.
Finally, the game hit the stores on 8th November 2019 and there were massive lines outside the stores. The online stores starting running out of stock on the very first day. Fortunately, I pre-ordered the game and it was delivered to me hassle-free on my doorstep. Sometimes, I admire my intelligence. Jokes apart, the game has been a huge thing even before it’s release. Hideo Kojima had delivered yet another masterpiece.
As soon as I got my hands on the game, I installed it in my PS4 Pro and started playing it. Beautiful… just beautiful! The graphics, the gameplay, the story… the everything… just breathtaking. I played for hours and hours, days and days and still couldn’t get enough of that game. The gameplay is so good that I am still playing the game even after two months of its release. Most people stopped playing the game after finishing the main story and I can’t stress enough on how big of a mistake they have made.
Well, I think that it is clear by now that I am still playing the game even after completing the main story and thank god I did that because I’ve been finding many things that most of the players may not have encountered. Yes, I am talking about hidden (not literally) things in the game. So, buckle up and ride along with me on this journey of some secrets, easter eggs, and references that you probably missed in the masterpiece known as Death Stranding:
Hideo Kojima Cameo Reference
In Death Stranding, the very first meeting with Mama is a hilarious yet epic reference to Hideo Kojima’s cameo in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. During a Side Ops mission in the game, Kojima plays an NPC and after he has been rescued, he would ask Snake, “What took you so long?”. This is the same thing that Mama says after meeting the main character in Deah Stranding for the first time. Fun fact: Hideo Kojima’s cameo became a viral meme after Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and that is why Kojima added this reference in Death Stranding.
The Opening Quote Has A History
When you start playing the game, there is a quote on the screen by Kōbō Abe,
“The Rope, along with the stick, are two of mankind's oldest tools. The stick to keep the bad away, the rope used to bring the good toward us. They were our first friends, of our own invention. Wherever there were people, there were the rope and the stick”.
While this quote might seem unrelated to the game at first, but it will make a lot of sense when you play through the story. The concept of the quote is in co-relation with both the theme and gameplay.
Kojima has been a huge fan of Kōbō Abe’s work and almost all of his work is inspired by that of Abe’s. Fun fact: The Metal Gear Solid franchise is inspired by another poem by Abe called “The Box Man”. The poem was about a man who wore a box around his head.
Now, This Is Adorable
Every person who has played Death Stranding will agree with me on this, BB is freakin’ adorable. But he doesn’t just look adorable... if you play the game on a PS4 Pro in 4K resolution, you’ll be able to notice something precious during the cutscenes that include BB. Look closely and you’ll notice that when BB is looking at someone he likes, heart-shaped bubbles will come out of his mouth. This is just a fun and cute thing added to the game by Hideo Kojima. This is what makes him one of the best video game developers ever.
Snake? Snaaaaaaake!!
OK, this is not in the game, however, the reason I titled this section that is because there is an easter egg related to this in the game. When you meet Deadman at the beginning of the game, he talks about the voidouts being the reason for turning the surrounding area into a crater and ultimately, causing a Game Over. As soon as he says this, a Game Over screen appears in the background. And guess what it looks like… yes, it looks like the memorable game over screens from the earlier MGS games. Even the font is nearly identical.
These were the 4 secrets, easter eggs, and references that I have caught and encountered in Death Stranding as of now. While I would be searching around for more. I would love to know if you guys have seen any of these or any other that I missed. Let’s start a conversation in the comments below.