Setting the scene
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach propels us back into a world shaped by the Death Stranding. Sam Porter Bridges, having successfully reconnected the United Cities of America, initially seeks a tranquil life with Lou. However, Fragile’s sudden reappearance with Drawbridge disrupts this peace. She implores Sam to venture southward and reintegrate Mexico into the Chiral Network.
Upon reconnecting Mexico, a discovery is made: establishing a Chiral Network connection triggers the opening of Plate Gates, massive portals to other continents. These portals offer the potential to reunite a fractured world. Civilization remains largely isolated post-Death Stranding. These gates offer a promising solution for global reconnection. As Sam concludes his mission, tragedy unfolds as armed assailants attack his home, resulting in Lou’s death and Fragile’s injury. Distraught, Sam joins Drawbridge aboard the DHV Magellan, embarking on a mission to connect Australia, the destination of the Mexican Plate Gate.
Who are the Armed Red Attackers?
The group responsible for the attack on Fragile and Lou are robotic soldiers manufactured by a resurrected Higgs. Following his demise in the first game, Higgs returns as a glam-rock mercenary robot bent on revenge against Sam and Fragile. He attacked them because of his vengeful desires, but who resurrected him?
Higgs’s revival is orchestrated by APAS, a corporation overseeing the automated delivery robots across the UCA. Their goal is to integrate Mexico and Australia into the Chiral Network, unlocking more Plate Gates and eventually uniting the globe. However, APAS is secretly controlled by APAS 4000, a sentient entity comprised of the APAS AI and the souls of 4,000 Voidout victims. Their plan involves elevating humanity to a spiritual state, preventing future evolution and trapping them in the afterlife, thereby preventing another mass extinction event. Their misguided benevolence aims to safeguard Earth’s population, but at the expense of humanity’s defining traits, reducing people to digital copies of their would-be saviors.
How Sam Defeats APAS 4000
APAS 4000 believes it is using Sam to promote its goal of confining humans to their shelters indefinitely. Secretly, Fragile’s Drawbridge is working to undermine these plans with the benefactor being Die-Hardman. They use a new Q-Pid to connect Australian settlements. This device is designed to sever the connection between the living world and the realm of the dead.
Because APAS 4000 is formed of deceased souls, cutting off its connection to the world is important. By fully connecting Australia using the Q-Pid, APAS 4000 loses its grip on the world of the living. This cripples its plan to trap humanity, securing the world for the living, or so it seems.
Wait, but what about Higgs?
Despite being resurrected by APAS 4000, Higgs has an agenda of his own, fueled by personal revenge. He orchestrated the attack on Fragile and Lou during Sam’s mission in Mexico. Ultimately, Higgs seeks to initiate “The Last Stranding,” an apocalyptic event aimed at extinguishing humanity, a plan started in the original title.
In the previous game, Higgs sought to use Amelie to end the world. This time, he uses Tomorrow, a young woman discovered in the realm of the dead. Tomorrow’s powers enable her to manipulate tar to accelerate decay, making her an Extinction Entity. Higgs intends to use her to end human life and eliminate Sam and Fragile. Although Sam triumphs over Higgs in a unique battle involving swordplay, electric guitars, and hand-to-hand combat, Higgs achieves one of his dark goals…
Fragile Dies
Throughout Death Stranding 2, players are led to believe that Fragile survived the attack, while Lou perished. However, Fragile used her abilities to send Lou to another dimension. The truth is Fragile was killed by Higgs, and the character that was traveling with Sam and the DHV Magellan crew was actually Fragile’s soul, temporarily separated from her body to help Sam and the crew.
Fragile’s presence in the living world is fleeting, and she meets her true demise at the conclusion of the game. But what about Lou’s fate?
BB-28/Lou/Tomorrow/Louise
It turns out that Lou was spared during Higgs’s assault in Mexico. Fragile used her abilities to transfer Lou to another beach, a different dimension. The soldier Neil Vanna raises Lou in the world of the dead. Sam Porter Bridges fights Neil in that world. Sam inadvertently rescues Lou, who turns out to be Tomorrow.
Tomorrow is actually the same baby Lou that Fragile transported at the game’s start. Lou, whose full name is Louise, is the BB-28, with whom Sam crossed the UCA in Death Stranding. She is actually Sam’s biological daughter.
The Neil, Sam, and Lucy Love Triangle
Louise survives Higgs’s initial assault and becomes Tomorrow, but why did Higgs want Lou in the first place? Years prior, Sam was with Lucy, a therapist. During that time, Lucy was seeing Neil Vana, a smuggler working for Bridges. He was delivering brain-dead pregnant women who would be used to create the first Bridge Babies.
Neil sought Lucy’s help, and they rekindled a relationship, despite Lucy being with Sam. Despite their connection, Lucy stayed with Sam, and they conceived a child. Because of Sam’s Repatriate status, the baby held high value for Bridges. To protect Louise, Lucy had Neil pretend to be the father. However, they were both killed, but not before Louise was saved. Louise became BB-28, hidden by Bridget Strand until reunited with Sam later. Neil’s revenge against Bridges resulted in a Voidout. His soul haunted Sam until their final duel, giving them peace.
Post-credits scene, and will we get a Death Stranding 3?
Death Stranding 2 features a post-credit scene showing Tomorrow/Louise is now older and is dressed in porter gear. She also inherited Fragile’s second set of hands and smoking habit. She faces a Plate Gate, hinting that she might attempt to connect another continent to the Chiral Network, following in her father’s footsteps.
Could Death Stranding 3 take us to Europe, Asia, or Africa? Will we play as Tomorrow in the sequel? Playing with her unique tar-infused martial arts skills would be interesting.
Leave a Reply