For shout-outs in the first game, go here.
- The Soldier levels borrow heavily in terms of tone and story from Apocalypse Now, right down to a commanding officer who goes insane and starts ranting about how Humans Are the Real Monsters.
- Fish, Eyes, Crystal, Melting and Y.V all show up as cardboard cutouts in the 2nd Scene, Homicide. The achievement for shooting all of them has the description "They won't reach the Nuclear Throne" which is a nod to Nuclear Throne's Game Over screen. Their presence can be arguably seen as an unusual form of Foreshadowing to the game's ending.
- Speaking of which, one of the game's synth tracks is titled "Technoir". The connection is much more blatant on the soundtrack, where this track begins with Sarah Connor's phone call from the club.
- In one level, you can see some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys in Evan's son's room.
- The Son's Cool Car is almost identical to the one from Smokey and the Bandit.
- One level is titled First Blood.
- Another level is titled Death Wish.
- Giving the fictionalized version of Jacket a pig mask evokes Motel Hell (and by extension Manhunt).
- Martin's police station rampage in Scene 4: The Final Cut is quite reminiscent of the police station shootout where the T-800 goes after Sarah Connor from the original Terminator.
- Martin's death is eerily similar to Brandon Lee's accidental death on the set of The Crow (1994).
- Manny having a psychotic break while holding a .44 magnum is weirdly reminiscent of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. As are a lot of things in the game, oddly enough.
- Manny Pardo as the Miami Mutilator shares some similarities to Dexter being the Bay Harbor Butcher. The main difference, however, being that Pardo kills for attention while Dexter is a vigilante.
- The song "Ghost" is a remix of Akira Yamaoka's "Tears of..." which was featured in Silent Hill.
- Among the arcade cabinets in the game is one for
Mother Russia Bleeds. Also counts as Early-Bird Cameo, as Mother Russia Bleeds would not be released until September 2016.
