Death Stranding is finally here on PS4 and PS4 Pro. If you haven’t read our spoiler free review yet, we loved the game. Check out our review here. While Death Stranding does a great job of introducing you to new terms and mechanics with explanation, there are a lot of new in-game terms used quite often during dialogue. They aren’t explained as well as they should be despite adding a welcome amount of nuance and depth to the game world. The story in Death Stranding is great so it is best you understand the basics of the game early on. Here’s what you need to know about terminology and lore in Death Stranding’s opening hours.
Beach
The beach is a location that exists in between life and the afterlife. Think of it as a purgatory.
BB or Bridge Baby
A BB or Bridge Baby is a baby that serves as a connection between the world of Death Stranding and the Beach. It’s this link that lets porters use BBs to detect BTs and avoid them.
BT
Beached things, known as BTs, as otherwordly beings stranded in the real world after the Death Stranding event. There are multiple types of BTs and they all try and consume Sam. They’re the most threatening type of foe you’ll be up against in the game.
DOOMS
DOOMS are abilities certain people gained after the Death Stranding event. These include the ability to sense BTs, see them, teleport from one location to another, and even summon BTs.
UCA
The UCA (short for United Cities of America) is essentially America in-game. It’s a collection of cities that have been fractured and disconnected from the chiral network forcing Sam to go on his journey to reconnect them. It also serves as the government of America with Bridget Strand as president.
Fragile Express
Fragile Express is a delivery service run by one of the game’s central characters Fragile (Lea Seydoux). It’s a privately owned delivery service rivalling Bridges that’s owned by the US government or UCA as the game refers to it.
MULE
MULEs are bandits who are seemingly obsessed with stealing your cargo. They are either patrolling around locations on their own or present in camps with other MULEs.
Q-Pid
Q-Pid is a necklace Sam uses to connect to the Chiral network. It allows cities and distribution centres to connect to the Chiral network.
Cufflinks
Cufflinks are handcuffs-like devices worn by Bridges members as well as Sam. Details such as mission objectives, email, data logs, and cargo management is possible through cufflinks. It also lets Sam and his crew communicate while he’s on his voyage to reconnect America.
Chiral network
Chiral network is a system in Death Stranding developed by Bridges to connect different locations together share information and transfer data. Think of it as a super high-speed internet connection that allows for 3D printing (or chiral printing as the game calls it) and lets its user access vast, previously unobtainable archives that help piece together the setting and lore of Death Stranding.
Bridges
Bridges is a company formed to reconnect America by delivering parcels across the nation and connecting recipients of said parcels to the chiral network. It’s government-run and includes the likes of Die-Hardman, Deadman, Heartman, and Sam.
Timefall
Timefall is a supernatural rain that accelerates the flow of time that damages cargo as well as organic matter, humans included. It accompanies BTs when they are near and is a hint to be wary of a possible attack from these otherworldly creatures.
Repatriate
Repatriates are able to come back to life after dying. On death they navigate parts of their beach known as the seam before re-emerging into the world. Known repatriates include Sam and Heartman.
Chiralium
Chiralium is a mineral that allows you to craft gear and equipment. In addition to this, it also powers the chiral network. Chiralium can be found growing in the world of Death Stranding as crystals. It can also be obtained when you defeat a BT.
Odradek
The Odradek is equipment carried by Sam on his shoulder that lets him scan his surroundings for points of interest, BTs, and more.
Voidout
If Sam or any other individual gets consumed by BTs, a massive crater is formed on the map. This is called a voidout and it is caused by the interaction of antimatter and humans.
Death Stranding (event)
The Death Stranding refers to a series of events that led to BTs seeping into the world from their beaches.
Homo Demens
The Homo Demens is a group of extremists. They’re a decentralised lot with Death Stranding antagonist Higgs being the most high-profile of them. The Homo Demens are against the reunification of America and are thus opposed to Bridges and the UCA.
Likes
Death Stranding lets players leave “likes” on things they see while exploring. These aren’t a currency but just useful for letting other players know when they have helped you and to ensure that players know if something is worth looking into or not based on the number of likes it has received. A bridge constructed that has a lot of likes is most likely worth exploring.
Strands
Strands are connections that Sam forges through the events of Death Stranding. It also refers to the social strand system a fancy term devised by Hideo Kojima of which Death Stranding is a first due to its asynchronous multiplayer, cooperation, and focus on making connections where you’re never quite alone in the world of Death Stranding. Unless you’re playing it offline of course.
