The promotional material for Death Stranding 2 presents players with several mysteries about its main cast, and all of them may have a similar explanation. Death Stranding 2 continues the adventures of Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), Fragile (Léa Seydoux), and the Bridge Baby (BB) turned toddler Lou, and the three major mysteries surrounding the protagonists of the game are the changes in their respective ages.
Sam appears much older, Fragile’s injuries from an initial Timefall seem to have healed, and Lou is no longer an infant. Hideo Kojima’s casting of Elle Fanning also hints at the potential for an older Lou to join the toddler version of the character seen in the game’s first trailer. While the mysteries remain until the game comes out, Death Stranding’s most dreaded precipitation might explain the three age differences.
Timefalls Might Be Key in Death Stranding 2
Timefalls are notoriously nasty weather events within the Death Standing universe, as they not only degrade and damage cargo, shelters, and inanimate objects, but are also detrimental to flora, animals, and humans. Timefalls take time away from lifeforms, accelerating the aging process of those unprotected from the rain. Death Stranding 2’s timefalls might just be a feature rather than a danger within the narrative experience.
Timefalls are already a key component of the narrative in the game, as it seems that they began after the Death Stranding happens, and Fragile’s story is carefully intertwined with their occurrences and consequences. After she saves South Knot City, the antagonist of the first game, Higgs Monaghan, punishes her by leaving her wearing only a hood during a timefall. The precipitation accelerates the aging of all of her body except her face.
In Death Stranding 2, timefalls might work in two directions. Sam may be rapidly aged due to an early game timefall event, and he would not be the first of Kojima’s protagonists that were rapidly aged for narrative purposes. This early game event might even change Sam’s playstyle and reactions to the world around him similar to Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, possibly having an impact on how Sam interacts with the world around him, deals with BTs, and even carries out delivery requests. In-game timefalls may even pose more of a threat to a player's control of Sam, including unpredictable or unexpected outcomes.
Reversing timefalls may also be a mechanic within Death Stranding 2. In Death Stranding, Fragile tells Sam that, “a cryptobiote a day, keeps the timefall away,” with cryptobiotes seemingly being immune to the effects of the timefalls, meaning that humans that consume them gain a temporary resistance. A scientific breakthrough made during the sequel could make the cryptobiotes even more valuable to Sam and the overall narrative, considering that the first trailer for Death Stranding 2 reveals a Fragile that seems unaffected by timefall events. If Fragile or someone else has found a way to replicate the immunity of the cryptobiotes, it might be that time reversal is also possible. If timefalls steal time, a mechanic built on reversing timefalls could return it.
A timefall and reverse timefall gameplay or narrative mechanic might also explain one of Death Stranding 2’s most exciting mysteries. The poster reveal of Elle Fanning’s casting in Death Stranding 2 was accompanied by the question “Who am I?” While Fanning might be a new character, she may also portray an older Lou, the BB that accompanied Sam during the first game. Her story paralleled the first game’s theme of connection, whereas the sequel may not only pivot on the more interrogative theme of the game’s tagline—“Should We Have Connected?”—but also the consequences of playing with timefalls and whatever the reverse of a timefall might be. Lou’s aging may prove less linear than expected, too. This development would give Kojima Productions even more opportunities to play with the game’s narrative structure.
Death Stranding 2 is currently in development.