5 Death Stranding Quotes to Remind You to Keep on Keeping On

The world of Death Stranding is bleak. The dead linger in the land of the living, human beings are isolated from each other, and Sam Porter Bridges’ endless suffering is difficult to stomach. But through it all, Sam’s deliveries connect him and others with what’s left of humanity.

It might seem silly to scale mountains and engage in fisticuffs with bandits just to get some art to a prepper in exchange for “likes,” which don’t have any practical utility, but it’s not meaningless. And neither are the brief glimpses of hope in dialogue even in the most haunting moments.

Major spoilers for the first game ahead.

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“I’m Fragile, but I’m not that fragile.” – Fragile

Some (okay, many) call it a cheesy line, but it takes tremendous strength to look in the face of your trauma and say hey, I’m not going to let this break me. The character expresses pride in her name while also refusing to let it define who she is. Given the tumultuous history of Fragile Express, understanding that distinction couldn’t have come easily.

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“But I had it wrong. Being a father didn’t make me scared, it made me brave. Don’t make the same mistake. Be yourself. Be free.” – Cliff

This quote — especially the full version of Cliff’s speech — is heavy with regret. He didn’t get to be the good father he wanted to be in life. But he gets the chance here to use it to pass on the gift of wisdom, allowing him to be a good father in his final moments. He advises Sam to live. Not to be a cliff for people, but to be a bridge.

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“Pull the rope or cut the noose, but whatever you do, don’t hesitate.” – Amelie

In the context of the story, it means a little more than just get the task done. At the end of the game, Sam is given a choice to watch the world end or to delay humanity’s extinction. He’s given a gun and he’s out of time. But he chooses compassion, allowing humanity to live on a little longer. He doesn’t know how much longer, just that it won’t die now. Human connection wins out over a connection as bad as violence (a theme that we see play out more in Death Stranding 2). He doesn’t hesitate to be the good in humanity.

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“Nothing lasts forever. Not even the world. But we gotta keep it going as long as we can, right? Patch the holes, change the parts, all that. So we can say we had a good run. That we lived.” – Sam

Sometimes all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and clean up the mess that’s in front of you. This quote comes at a moment in the game when it’s exceedingly clear that the end of the world is about to happen, and that any hope that remains relies on one final connection — with an Extinction Entity. But the team’s hope doesn’t just come from the possibility that they might survive. It also comes from recognizing that they had a good run. That even if the world does end, their efforts weren’t for nothing.

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“I was living a lie, hung up on past regrets. I was broken. But somewhere along the way, I started changing. Started meeting people that made me think that maybe it wasn’t all bad. People that put their faith in tomorrow and in me. That kept the lights on and waited for hope to arrive. So I gotta deliver, for their sake.” – Sam

Sam’s entire character arc culminates in a speech as he comes to realize why he keeps making deliveries. It’s all about making good connections with people, with humanity, and that keeps life going. And it’s worth it to keep it going, even if extinction can only be delayed, not prevented. Even in Sam’s inner world, making those deliveries is healing to him. Human connection is the point of the story in the wider context, but it also saves Sam, finding that purpose.

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Bonus: “Stories allow you to experience places you could never go — the past, the future, or distant worlds. You can become a different ethnicity or gender. Even when you’re reading all by yourself, you’re sharing those stories as they unfold before you with countless people whom you’ve never met. We are alone, but we are connected.” – Hideo Kojima

This bonus quote comes from Death Stranding’s creator himself, Hideo Kojima, in his book The Creative Gene: How Books, Movies, and Music Inspired the Creator of Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid. It drives home how, when he created Death Stranding, he had something to say about the human condition, and he believed it.

The story of the game shows how important human connection is through its character arcs, but it also shows this through the game’s features. As you explore the world, you run into signs and structures left behind by other players. Sometimes, this means coming across a conveniently placed bridge that helps you on your way back to base or finding a warning that you’re about to cross into a BT area, reminding you to save your game. And each time you log in, you see how many likes you’ve received from players who appreciated your assistance on their journeys. You are alone, but you’re connected to other players.

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So keep playing video games. Keep yourself open to human stories. And keep on keeping on.

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