History Characters / DeathStranding

* BlessedWithSuck: How he views his condition, as shown by the above quote. Most people would've been driven mad with the knowledge that they will die every twenty-one minutes without fail and spend three minutes in the world of the dead, but he's gotten used to it now and uses his three minutes of death to look for A.) something on the other side that could aid in BRIDGES's mission, and B.) his dead family. Heartman even mentions that most of his hobbies and daily needs can fit into his "schedule" rather nicely. He does, however, mention that his condition makes sleeping difficult since he know he's going to be woken up by a shock to the heart every twenty-four minutes. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking There's also the matter of sexual intercourse, but being in his position, it's not something he has to concern himself with.]]

* RedHerring: The memories of Cliff that Sam experiences when he plugs into Lou's containment unit [[spoiler:aren't Lou's. They're Sam's own memories during his short stint as a prototype Bridge Baby.]]

* CoolGuns: Both his first trailer appearance and the Decima engine showcase has him armed with [[GunAccessories an incredibly decked-out]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CzdqdogVQAADaPI?format=jpg assault rifle]].

* GutturalGrowler: Courtesy of Mr. Reedus.

* WalkingSpoiler: Incase the numerous spoiler tags don't give it away. Amelie's true nature has a vast impact on the game's plot and late story events which makes it difficult to discuss anything related to her without spoiling the final episodes.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler:Downplayed. He doesn't show any interest in redemption other than minimal {{Heel Realization}}s that you would have to look very closely for. The closest you'd get to this is his surprised reaction to Fragile gently caressing his face [[TurnTheOtherCheek after]] he [[BerserkButton name-calls her]] in the aftermath of his final boss fight... [[BaitAndSwitch only for her to punch him down]], showing that no, she doesn't forgive him and [[KickTheSonOfABitch he got his just desserts]].]]

* HumiliationConga: His air of menace and dignity begins rapidly crumbling away the very second [[spoiler:Sam takes him up on his offer of a DuelToTheDeath. He's got an assault rifle, grenades, a knife, and teleportation, and he's going up against a mailman armed with nothing but a length of rope and his bare fists. The end result is a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown which may (if the player so chooses) largely consist of him being trussed up like a turkey, thrown to the ground, and repeatedly kicked in the gut before the whole thing devolves into a simple slugging match with the two combatants waist-deep in tar. Once he's incapacitated, he has his powers taken away by Amelie and is handed over to Fragile, the woman he betrayed, who mocks him, punches him, and leaves him trapped on the Beach with [[LeaveBehindAPistol no escape available but a loaded rifle]]. Even his suicide is undignified - there's a short burst of gunfire offscreen, and then Sam and Amelie go about their business with a hint of wry amusement.]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SatoshiMikami (Japanese)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Creator/IdziDutkiewicz (Latin Spanish), Alexander Gavrilin (Russian), Janusz German (Polish)[[/note]]

** [[spoiler: They get back together after the events of the main game, ultimately making this a realistic example of conflict and uncertainty in a relationship between two young, inexperienced young people during an ongoing state of crisis.]]

* BlingBlingBang: He uses a golden chiralium assault rifle in addition to his gold mask. Completing a post-game delivery lets Sam use these weapons as well.

* MeaningfulName:
** He is named for the Higgs-boson particle. As he puts it, "The particle that penetrates all of God's domain!"

* MultilayerFacade: Underneath his golden mask is a black one that covers his entire face, seemingly for protection.

* UnskilledButStrong: Unlike [[VideoGame/MetalGear the Snakes]] before him, Sam relies on the type of wild, force-filled strikes you expect from a practitioner of GoodOldFisticuffs. It doesn't stop him from punching guys the hell out when it comes to it. And as far as "strong," he carries around an incredible amount of cargo on foot, ''all the time.''

* PowerArmor: He has a low-grade version of this in the form of a few exoskeletons he can equip. One just massively increases his carrying capacity, another makes him run at incredible speed, and the all-terrain skeleton helps him move through snow drifts and up mountainsides quickly.

* CoolMask: On top of giving Higgs a rather intimidating appearance, it also crosses over with MaskOfPower.

* HumanNotepad: Higgs has an unidentified mathematical formula tattooed on his forehead.

* CerebusRetcon: Exhausted and lying down on the Beach after Sam defeats him in his final boss fight, Fragile approaches him and, in spite of him insulting her, she reaches down to caress his face, to his shock. [[BaitAndSwitch Only to get a face full of fist.]] Only his journal entries from postgame provide context: [[spoiler:he used to be physically beaten by his uncle, so that reaction was partially because he wasn't used to being touched that gently.]]
* CirclingMonologue: In one of his monologues to Sam his gold mask orbits and rapidly teleports around him.

* MetalSlime: When a BT is killed with a Hematic Grenade or other anti-BT weaponry, it leaves behind chiral crystals. Catchers, like the one Higgs summons in Port Knot City, offer up very large amounts of the stuff. So if you're feeling confident, you can wander into BT territory, let them catch you on purpose, then kill the Catcher to get a boost to your crystal supplies. This also carries the added bonus of preventing any more [=BTs=] from spawning there for a while, in case you need to clear a path for a delivery.

->'''Voiced by:''' Jesse Corti (English), Akihiko Ishizumi (Japanese)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Pedro D'Aguillon Jr. (Latin Spanish), Konstantin Karasik (Russian), Andrzej Chudy (Polish)[[/note]]

->'''Voiced by:''' [[note]]'''Other Languages''':Natalia Fischuk (Russian)[[/note]]

* FanOfThePast: In particular, Ancient Egypt. His shoulder has a pharaoh's crown symbol, the inner lining of his cloak is patterned after nemes (a striped head-cloth worn by pharaohs) and his room even has what looks like a copy of King Tutankamen's bust. This is probably a combination of his fascination with death and gold stuff.

* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: Despite the level of secrecy that wearing ''two'' masks and a hood would seem to imply about his true face, when he unmasks himself in front of Fragile during her backstory, he's revealed to look...basically just like [[InkSuitActor a slightly scruffier Troy Baker.]] [[spoiler:The fact that he was barely shown unmasked by this point is how he manages to trick Sam into delivering a nuke by disguising himself as a BRIDGES maintenance worker.]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's a big nerd, collecting figurines and old movies, but he also a skilled botanist.

* AGodAmI: He's developed some delusions of grandeur, claiming to be “the particle of God that permeates all existence”.