Sam Porter Bridges

Lore & Background

Sam operates in an apocalyptic United States where BTs, invisible creatures born from necrosis, roam the Earth. These entities produce 'timefall,' rain that rapidly ages and damages cargo and armor. Sam's suit is equipped with an 'odradek,' a robotic sensor that points toward nearby BTs, allowing him to scan and reveal them. Unlike standard individuals, Sam can sense BTs due to his condition known as DOOMS and his status as a repatriate. He utilizes a Bridge Baby (BB), a premature child in a pod simulating a stillmother's womb, to detect BT presence. If killed by a BT, a voidout occurs, creating an untraversable crater; however, Sam can revive from the underwater world called the Seam. The game features actors Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Lindsay Wagner, alongside likenesses of directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn.

In Their Own Story

Sam begins by transporting cargo to Central Knot City but is interrupted by timefall. After receiving help from Fragile (Léa Seydoux) to evade a BT, he arrives at his destination only to find a citizen who died by suicide, with the corpse near necrosis. An encounter with BTs triggers a voidout that destroys Central Knot City. Sam revives in Capital Knot City and meets Deadman (Guillermo del Toro), delivering morphine to Bridget Strand, his adoptive mother and President of the UCA. Bridget pleads for him to reform America before dying; Sam refuses to incinerate the BB involved in the voidout, adopting it as 'Lou.' He then receives a message from his estranged sister Amelie Strand (also played by Lindsay Wagner/Emily O'Brien), who was captured by Homo Demens at Edge Knot City. She urges him to complete the Chiral Network pilgrimage to rescue her and replace Bridget as President. Guided by Die-Hardman, Sam travels from the east to the west coast of North America.

Reader's Guide

Players control Sam Bridges in an open-world action-adventure setting defined by asynchronous online functions. The core loop involves packing cargo efficiently, as weight and balance affect navigation across diverse environments. Performance is evaluated via a 'likes' system similar to social networks; high ratings increase standing with locations and characters, unlocking better rewards. As the Chiral Network expands, players access maps and use blueprints on a Portable Chiral Constructor (PCC) to build ropes, bridges, and power generators. Structures left by other players can be viewed and used but are eventually destroyed by timefall. Players cannot directly encounter others but can recover lost cargo. The game features licensed music from Silent Poets and Low Roar; after frontman Ryan Karazija's death in 2022, creator Hideo Kojima stated, 'Without [Low Roar], Death Stranding would not have been born.'

Did You Know?

• Sam is a 'repatriate,' allowing him to return from death by swimming back from an underwater world called the Seam.
• Being killed by a Beached Thing (BT) causes a 'voidout,' creating a permanent, untraversable crater at the location of death.
• The game features likenesses of film directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn as supporting characters.
• Sam's BB is nicknamed 'Lou' after he refuses to incinerate it following the Central Knot City voidout.
• Hideo Kojima credited the band Low Roar with giving birth to Death Stranding, stating it would not have been born without them.