History TearJerker / DeathStranding

* Take a close look at the way BTs group together, and all too often you'll see two adult-sized ones near a tiny, infant-sized BT. That's right, more often than not you're either fleeing from or fighting through the ghosts of parents and their children.

* The ''Director's Cut'' introduces a few new missions in an empty factory, where we are eventually introduced to a new PosthumousCharacter via her final message: Fragile's mother. She'd learned the AwfulTruth about how Bridges was saving America and decided to do something about it, leaving a husband, a daughter, and an adopted son (Peter, the man we know as [[FromNobodyToNightmare Higgs]]) in pursuit of stopping Bridges and saving the BBs. Her efforts ended in failure: she did save one Bridge baby, but [[YourDaysAreNumbered that child's days were numbered]].

* Bridget/Amelie revealing that [[AntiVillain they don't]] [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne want to end the world]]. She's been plagued with nightmares of past extinctions foretelling her destiny to carry out the final extinction of all life, all just because [[PlayingGod she wanted to find]] [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow the collective memories of all life to the beginning of the universe]].

* The ENTIRE ending sequence, starting with [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Die-Hardman's breakdown,]] Lou dying, [[ActOfTrueLove Deadman offering Sam a chance to be free,]] [[PlayerPunch Sam carrying his decomissioned BB to the incinerator]] [[GriefSong while a beautiful rendition of BB's Theme plays in the background,]] [[PleaseDontLeaveMe Sam not being able to burn Lou,]] [[GoodAllAlong then learning the truth about Cliff]] [[CradleOfLoneliness and then cradling the seemingly dead Lou to eventually find that]] [[ImprobableInfantSurvival she lives after all.]] Some will find the ending too melodramatic, while it will freaking '''haunt''' others for days.

* Meta-example: It's no coincidence that Cliff's wife shares her name with [[VideoGame/SilentHills the ghost of a woman who was killed while with child]]. And with Cliff's tearful MercyKill of Lisa, any fan speculation that ''Silent Hills'' might still happen, far-fetched and wishful [[WildMassGuessing as it is]], [[RealitySubtext dies with her]]. True, there's no further official confirmation from either Konami or Kojima, but Sam's journey through the [[TitleDrop silent]] post-Stranding countryside will likely be the closest we will ever get to [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Kojima's original vision for]] ''Silent Hills''.

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!!Meta
* An [[https://www.reddit.com/r/DeathStranding/comments/e2wskk/vulture_h_kojima_admits_to_regrets_about_not/ interview]] reveals that Kojima Productions and ''Death Stranding'' were born from Kojima's protective desire to his mother, as his father passed away when he was 13. Unfortunately, he was never able to tell her about this aspect of the game, as she passed away while ''Death Stranding'' was in its infancy. This, on top of the ''Metal Gear'' series, which was Kojima's way of working through his relationship with his father... One can only imagine how painful this turn of events was for him.

* The ENTIRE ending sequence, starting with [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Die-Hardman's breakdown,]] [[IllGirl Lou dying,]] [[ActOfTrueLove Deadman offering Sam a chance to be free,]] [[PlayerPunch Sam carrying his decomissioned BB to the incinerator]] [[GriefSong while a beautiful rendition of BB's Theme plays in the background,]] [[PleaseDontLeaveMe Sam not being able to burn Lou,]] [[GoodAllAlong then learning the truth about Cliff]] [[CradleOfLoneliness and then cradling the seemingly dead Lou to eventually find that]] [[ImprobableInfantSurvival she lives after all.]] Some will find the ending too melodramatic, while it will freaking '''haunt''' others for days.

** Gets even more emotional when you realize Amalie was pleading Sam to talk her out of commiting suicide, which was ultimately her motivation for hastening the Last Stranding [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as she won't die before it happens.]]

** Gets even more emotional when you realize Amalie was pleading Sam to talk her out of commiting suicide, which was ultimately her motivation for hastening the Last Stranding [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as she won’t die before it happens.]]

* The ENTIRE ending sequence, starting with [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Die-Hardman’s breakdown,]] [[IllGirl Lou dying,]] [[ActOfTrueLove Deadman offering Sam a chance to be free,]] [[PlayerPunch Sam carrying his decomissioned BB to the incinerator]] [[GriefSong while a beautiful rendition of BB’s Theme plays in the background,]] [[PleaseDontLeaveMe Sam not being able to burn Lou,]] [[GoodAllAlong then learning the truth about Cliff]] [[CradleOfLoneliness and then cradling the seemingly dead Lou to eventually find that]] [[ImprobableInfantSurvival she lives after all.]] Some will find the ending too melodramatic, while it will freaking '''haunt''' others for days.

** [[https://thosetwistedtales.tumblr.com/post/613323730098208768/higgs-journal-entry-25-year-unknown-my-mama Troy Baker's reading]] of it is also equally tragic.

* You can unlock a series of interviews called "Lucy's Report". Lucy was Sam's wife. The first few are about how she's the therapist assigned to Sam and how she doesn't really believe in the Beach. Then she quits to begin a relationship with him. When she's pregnant with Lou, she starts having nightmares about the end of the world. Then
Bridget tells her they aren't nightmares, they're visions of the Last Stranding and how Sam is supposed to fix it. The Beach and the whole Bridget/Amelie/Sam thing becomes very real to her. Report #12 is an account of her suicide, mentioning how she just swallowed every pill she could find and is about to shoot herself up with tranquilizers until she passes out.

* Fragile revealing her past to Sam: She was betrayed by her former colleague Higgs, who tricked her into delivering a nuke that destroyed a city and then presented her with a SadisticChoice: run almost completely naked through timefall with another nuke until she can get out of the city or teleport away to save herself and let another city die. She chose the former, and she's obviously scared out of her mind as she does so. Though she saved many people, it was at the cost of her body's health and youth and people still think she was responsible for the other city's death, making her question if she should have saved herself instead.
* Deadman revealing why Sam named BB-28 "Lou": it was the name Sam was planning to give his own child. However, at some point in the past, [[TheLostLenore Sam's pregnant wife]] caused a voidout, completely wiping out Sam's hometown. Since Sam was the only survivor, he was made the scapegoat for the incident. As Deadman explains all this, an uncomfortable Sam tries to deny the event even happened, before [[NotSoStoic finally snapping at Deadman]] to "shut the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] up."

* Sam gets stranded at the Beach after talking down Amelie, running around the limbo and getting [[AndIMustScream a glimpse of her future]]. He gets saved by the concentrated efforts of his Bridges contacts: Die-Hardman suggests that his gun can be used to find him, Heartman and Mama's spirit search the beaches for Sam and finally, Fragile teleports Deadman and Lou to get Sam out. Later on, it's revealed that Sam has been on the Beach '''for a month''' - they really wanted him out of there.

* Finally seeing Clifford's full story. After submitting his comatose wife Lisa and a prematurely born Sam to a government lab for treatment, he's continually strung along with false promises by Bridget, completely unaware of [[PoweredByAForsakenChild her true plans for Sam]]. When Die-Hardman warns him about Bridget's true motives, Clifford has no choice but to MercyKill Lisa and try to flee with Sam, only to be gunned down by Bridget. Clifford dies with Sam in his arms, but is able to have one final reunion with a now adult Sam in his restored memories before passing on into the afterlife.
* Meta-example: It's no coincidence that Cliff's wife shares her name with [[VideoGame/SilentHills the ghost of a woman who was killed while with child]]. And with Cliff's tearful MercyKill of Lisa, any fan speculation that ''Silent Hills'' might still happen, far-fetched and wishful [[WildMassGuessing as it is]], [[RealitySubtext dies with her]]. True, there's no further official confirmation from either Konami or Kojima, but Sam's journey through the [[TitleDrop silent]] post-Stranding countryside will be the closest we will ever get to [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Kojima's original vision for]] ''Silent Hills''.

** Cliff and Sam--revealed to be father and son--having one final talk and embrace.
* Post-game, after being the butt of Higgs's {{troll}}ing, you find his journals that delve into what he's been thinking throughout the story and his DarkAndTroubledPast, as well as [[RoomFullOfCrazy his bunker]]. Turns out his parents died when he was very young and he was raised by his abusive uncle. Not only that, but when he was caught preparing to run away, he finally killed his uncle in self-defense. After sitting emptily next to his uncle's corpse for some time out of despondency over what he had done, he eventually snapped out of it enough to carry the body up a mountain to an incinerator. Even before Amelie got to him, he was always messed up, which almost certainly contributed to his mental deterioration. AlasPoorVillain.

* An [[https://www.reddit.com/r/DeathStranding/comments/e2wskk/vulture_h_kojima_admits_to_regrets_about_not/ interview]] reveals that Kojima Productions and ''Death Stranding'' were born from Kojima's protective desire to his mother, as his father passed away when he was 13. Unfortunately, he was never able to tell her about this aspect of the game, as she passed away while ''Death Stranding'' was in its infancy. This, on top of the ''Metal Gear'' series, which was Kojima's way of working through his relationship with his father... One can only imagine how painful this turn of events was.