Screamer All Secret Locations & Easter Eggs Revealed

Milestone Hid a Lot of Stuff in This Game

For a studio best known for the MotoGP and Ride series, Milestone went absolutely wild with the Easter eggs in Screamer. Polygon Pictures clearly had fun too, there are anime references buried in backgrounds that you'll miss if you blink. I've been cataloging everything the community has found. Here's the full list.

Track Secrets

Neo Rey Downtown Circuit, The Original Screamer Arcade Cabinet

At the starting line, look at the billboard on the right. It's an ad for "SCREAMER '95", a direct reference to the original 1995 Screamer game by Graffiti (which Milestone now owns the rights to). The billboard cycles through three ads. The '95 reference appears every 45 seconds.

Neo Rey Underpass, Drainage Tunnel Mural

The drainage tunnel shortcut (right side after turn three) has a full-wall graffiti mural depicting a stylized version of the original Screamer's box art. You'll only see it for about half a second as you drive through. Photo mode lets you stop and appreciate it.

Actually, the mural is visible from the track if you slow down near the tunnel entrance. But who slows down in a racing game?

Neo Rey Expressway, Burnout Billboard

The billboard on turn four (one of the four smashable billboards) advertises "TAKEDOWN ENERGY DRINK" in the exact font and color scheme as Burnout 3: Takedown's logo. Smashing through it is almost certainly intentional, Burnout's signature takedown mechanic is an obvious inspiration for Screamer's Strike system.

Oasis Run, Ridge Racer Reference

The oasis shortcut path goes through a shallow lake. On the far shore, there's a small dock with a red speedboat. The boat's nameplate reads "RIDGE" in the classic Ridge Racer font. You need photo mode to read it, you're going too fast otherwise.

Industrial Loop, Half-Life Crowbar

In the warehouse section with the moving cargo containers, one container has an open side door. Inside is a crowbar leaning against a crate. It's the exact model from Half-Life. The community debated whether it's a reference for about a week until a Milestone developer confirmed it on Twitter.

Woodland Sprint, Miyazaki Tree Spirit

Near the waterfall in the forest section, there's a tree with a small glowing Kodama-like spirit sitting on a branch. It's visible for about two seconds as you round the corner. Impossible to see at race speed unless you know where to look. Photo mode is your friend. It's a clear homage to Princess Mononoke's forest spirits.

Canopy Descent, Akira Bike Slide

The long downhill section has a billboard on the right side depicting a red motorcycle in mid-slide, the exact pose from Akira's iconic bike slide. Polygon Pictures also animated the Akira movie. The reference is very intentional.

Echo Space Station, 2001 Monolith

During the zero-G section, there's a floating black rectangular obelisk in the distance. It's not on the track, you can't interact with it, and it serves no gameplay purpose. It's just there. A black monolith. In space. Come on.

Story Mode Easter Eggs

Chapter 3 Dialogue

In the garage scene between races, Lyra mentions she used to race "in the mountains near a lake", a reference to Initial D's Mount Akina setting. Her character bio later confirms her home region matches Gunma Prefecture geographically.

Chapter 5 NPC Names

The background NPCs in the Chapter 5 paddock area are named after famous F1 drivers from the 90s. Look at the nameplates above their heads during walking segments. Schumacher, Hakkinen, Hill, Villeneuve, all there.

Chapter 7 Pre-Finale

The scene where all surviving racers gather before the final confrontation mirrors the Avengers assemble shot from Endgame, complete with similar camera pan and music swell. Polygon Pictures having fun again.

Hidden Interactions

Warmup Lap Freedom

During the ten-second warmup before every race, you can drive anywhere on the track, including shortcuts, alternate paths, and areas normally blocked during the race. Some collectibles are ONLY accessible during the warmup. The breakable wall on Underpass and the maintenance tunnel on Industrial Loop both require warmup exploration.

Horn Button Interaction

Cars have a horn. It's mapped to clicking the left stick. It serves no gameplay purpose. Honk at other racers in online lobbies and sometimes they honk back. It's the universal language.

Photo Mode Secrets

Photo mode reveals details invisible at race speed. The Neo Rey skyline has readable billboards with fake product ads and in-universe news headlines. The desert track's distant mesas have ancient ruins carved into them. The forest track's undergrowth has individual mushrooms modeled.

Someone at Milestone spent a lot of time on things most players will never see.

The QR Code Trail

There are four QR codes hidden across the game's environments. Scanning them (with your actual phone) leads to different Milestone web pages:

• QR Code 1: Chapter 5 midpoint cutscene, billboard in the background. Leads to a hidden Screamer wallpapers page.

• QR Code 2: Neo Rey Expressway, inside the cargo container with the Chapter 3 datapad. Leads to a Polygon Pictures behind-the-scenes page.

• QR Code 3: Echo Space Station, on the side of the first relay structure. Leads to a countdown page (speculated to be DLC announcement).

• QR Code 4: Post-credits scene, on a crate in the background. Leads to a Milestone "Thank You" page with developer messages.

The Original Screamer Connection

Milestone acquired the Screamer IP from Graffiti and rebooted it as this anime-styled arcade racer. But the connections to the 1995 original go beyond the billboard reference.

Some of the track layouts in Screamer 2026 are modernized versions of 1995 Screamer tracks. Neo Rey Downtown is heavily based on the original game's first circuit. The Industrial Loop mirrors the 1995 game's factory track. The forest tracks borrow from the original's mountain course.

The 1995 game was a pure racing game, no combat, no story, no anime cutscenes. It's fascinating to see what Milestone built on top of that foundation 31 years later.

And yes, the original Screamer's soundtrack composer contributed two remixed tracks for the 2026 version. They play during the credits.

There's more to discover, but you get the idea. The game's depth keeps surprising me even after all these hours.