BTs

Lore & Background

BTs are formed when dead humans fail to cross over properly, originating from the Beach which serves as a link to the afterlife. They produce timefall, a destructive rain that accelerates deterioration of everything it touches, including the player's equipment and supplies. Their most dangerous trait is their ability to cause voidouts; if a BT consumes a living person, the resulting explosion mimics a nuclear bomb, leaving permanent craters in the landscape. While normally invisible, these entities can be revealed using an 'odradek,' a robotic sensor integrated into Sam's suit that points toward nearby threats. The game also features a specific mechanic where being killed by a BT results in a voidout, whereas other deaths simply send Sam to the underwater world known as the 'Seam.' This distinction highlights the unique lethality of BTs compared to standard combat encounters with MULEs or Demens.

In Their Own Story

Sam Porter Bridges, a courier for Bridges, frequently encounters these invisible threats while delivering supplies to isolated Knot Cities. During one mission in Central Knot City, an encounter with BTs caused a voidout that destroyed the entire city after a corpse on the verge of necrosis was consumed. Sam survived this event only because he is a 'repatriate,' allowing him to return from the Seam. The narrative underscores the danger when Sam refuses UCA instructions to incinerate a Bridge Baby involved in the Central Knot City voidout. Instead, he adopts it, nicknaming it 'Lou.' This bond allows Sam to sense BTs more effectively as he travels westward. Later, the threat of Homo Demens and their leader Higgs looms large, but the immediate danger remains the invisible creatures that can trigger devastating explosions if they consume any living person, including Sam himself.

Reader's Guide

To navigate BT zones safely, players must rely on the Odradek sensor built into Sam's suit. This device points toward nearby entities, allowing the player to scan the area and reveal the invisible BTs before they can attack. Additionally, carrying a Bridge Baby (BB) is essential for detection, as the BB allows a person to sense the presence of BTs through a mental connection. Players must avoid direct contact at all costs. If a BT consumes Sam, it triggers a voidout that creates an untraversable crater and permanently damages the location. Unlike other enemies, BTs are not defeated by conventional weapons in standard gameplay but must be avoided or managed through careful use of the Odradek. Timefall rain, produced by the BTs themselves, further complicates traversal by speeding up the deterioration of cargo and armor, requiring players to seek shelter frequently.

Did You Know?

• BTs produce a rain known as 'timefall' that rapidly ages and deteriorates whatever it hits.
• If a BT consumes a living human, it creates an explosion on the scale of a nuclear bomb called a 'voidout'.
• Being killed by a BT results in a voidout, while other deaths send Sam to the underwater world known as the 'Seam' where he can revive.
• BTs are normally invisible but can be revealed when the player scans the area using their suit's Odradek sensor.
• The game features actors and film directors such as Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn as supporting characters alongside BT encounters.