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The retired, cane-wielding hero Gran Torino shares more than just a name with Clint Eastwood's 2008 film. Both are grumpy old war veterans who feel disconnected from the world around them but still can't help stepping in to protect people when it counts.
When Nuketown '84 launched for Cold War, fans quickly worked out that shooting the heads off every single mannequin scattered around the map triggers a hidden visual effect, dropping the whole screen into a green or purple-and-blue retro filter reminiscent of old arcade cabinets. It's a small touch, but it ties in nicely with the map's 80s setting and the game's love of arcade-era references.
The food court on the Arkaden map has a window looking into the kitchen, and if you look closely there's another giant teddy bear sitting in there, unarmed this time, clearly a cousin of the one hiding out on Lockdown.
Take over Battlehorn Castle and dig into its unmarked quest, and you'll learn the previous lord, Lord Kain, was brought back from the dead by a scheming necromancer after being killed in battle. Swap a few names and that's basically the setup of the Legacy of Kain series, where a nobleman named Kain is resurrected by the necromancer Mortanius.
Keep an eye on Toph's metalbending in Book Three and you might catch her twisting metal into a splat-like shape that mirrors the Nickelodeon logo, minus the lettering. It's such a quick gag that most people watch right past it.
There's a hidden poster you're not meant to see properly, tucked inside the Ammu-Nation in the northern part of the second island. Grab a rocket launcher, aim it at the right wall and the camera clips through, showing Ronald Reagan giving a thumbs up next to a bullet-riddled Mikhail Gorbachev. A weirdly specific bit of Cold War humour for a game about jet skis and mob bosses.
Jake's whole laid-back, do-whatever-feels-right vibe wasn't pulled from thin air. Pendleton Ward has said he based the character on Tripper Harrison, Bill Murray's slacker camp counselor from the 1979 comedy Meatballs, right down to the way Jake will drop the goofiness and give Finn real advice when it actually matters.
If you've only seen the theatrical cut, you've never actually seen Denethor in this film, he only appears once the Extended Edition adds his scenes back in.
Bruce Straley, who co-directed the original game alongside Neil Druckmann, left Naughty Dog in 2017 and had no involvement in the sequel. His shoes were filled by Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau, with Newman having previously worked as the melee combat designer on the first game.
Not long after the remake launched, fans started sharing screenshots of a pinboard covered in fantasy-style concept art, including what looks like a unicorn-esque creature. Similar imagery had already turned up in The Last of Us Part II, and plenty of players are convinced it's a breadcrumb pointing toward Naughty Dog's next original IP.
