Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain - 15 Easter Eggs, References & Secrets You Must Find

After a wait that seemed like it would never end, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is finally out in the wild, and unsurprisingly, it's scooping up the year's best reviews so far, confirming its widely-expected status as a masterful re-imagining of the classic franchise. In every previous MGS game, series creator Hideo Kojima has taken evident delight in including eccentric Easter eggs and nods to prior games, usually blink-and-you'll-miss-it asides that someone else will have to point out to you. The Phantom Pain is no different, and with a 50+ hour run-time making it easily the meatiest game of the lot, there are surely plenty of secrets that still remain undiscovered amid this brilliantly immense open world. Note that while we've deliberately avoided mentioning any specific spoilers, there will be very vague references to a few later events in the game, so please proceed with caution if you're particularly averse to knowing even light information about late-game moments. Nevertheless, here are 15 Easter eggs, references and secrets you absolutely must find in MGSV...

15. Kojima Productions Poster In The Hospital Prologue

During the game's opening prologue sequence, you'll be led through a labyrinthine series of hallways by the mysterious Ishmael, and shortly after you're able to get to your feet, you'll lean against a wall that has a pin-board with a very familiar poster on it. Yes, that's poster art from MGSV: Ground Zeroes, with the Kojima Productions logo slapped all over it. It's almost impossible to look at this Easter egg and not feel like it's Kojima yet again sticking two fingers up at Konami for their acrimonious split earlier this year, as if having his name appear at the beginning and end of every mission wasn't already enough to do that...