After a great deal of anticipation,Death Stranding 2was officially revealed at The Game Awards 2022, giving players a glimpse of what to expect from the sequel. This includes an older Sam Bridges in what feels like an uncanny callback to Hideo Kojima’sMetal Gear Solidlegacy. Ever since Konami and Kojima parted ways, leading to the latter’s successfulDeath Strandingas his first independent venture, sights had been set on where Kojima’s work would take him and his team next. Though it was unclear how a sequel would take shape followingDeath Stranding’sclimatic ending,Death Stranding 2felt inevitable for players.
What also seemed unclear was whether Norman Reedus would return for the sequel, especially given that his protagonist’s end inDeath Strandingseemed equally final. But the recent teaser has not onlyconfirmed Sam Bridges would returnto walk the post-apocalypse ofDeath Stranding 2, asit has also led to speculation that some years must have passed between the two games. Sam’s aged appearance with graying hair could be a parallel to an earlier story arc Kojima explored with an aging Solid Snake, and it could also provide players with an early insight into what to expect for Sam’s future inDeath Stranding 2.
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Comparing Sam Bridges and Solid Snake
Across the many games in theMetal Gear Solidseries with Kojima at its helm, the various iterations of Snake have always dabbled with unusual story-telling and plot twists alike. To date, severaldifferent versions of Snake have lived and died, whether they were protagonists or antagonists, the Big Boss himself or an all-new copy, but a handful have been celebrated by fans as favorites. One of these is Solid Snake due to his position as the series' main character and protagonist, but his comparison to Sam Bridges' return ties toMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns for the Patriotswhich saw Solid Snake at the end of his life.
Due to factors such as accelerated aging and deterioration from the FOXDIE virus, and fatal injuries received during the events ofMetal Gear Solid 4, the last canonical appearance of Solid Snake presented players with a character arc that ultimately foretold the longstanding protagonist’s death. Now faced with a similarly aged Sam Bridges, players are speculating thatKojima is leaning onMetal Gear Solid’sinfluenceand could once again be exploring similar concepts of human mortality, especially whenDeath Strandingalready tackles themes of extinction, human relationships and connections, and life on the other side.
The Implications From Snake to Sam
However, besides simply sharing the obvious parallel of both characters having been aged up between respective games, some fans believe that things could go much deeper than a few gray hairs. Kojima’s games have always been known for theirsubversive twists across theMetal Gear Solidseries, from the meta mechanics of Psycho Mantis inMetal Gear Solidto Raiden being the actual protagonist forMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.EvenDeath Strandingsaw its fair share of rug pulls, from Sam being the first bridge baby to Amelie as the true antagonist and orchestrator behind the game’s narrative.
Therefore, fans already expect thatDeath Stranding 2will similarly introduce its own plot twists, but while it’s difficult to predict what these might be, Sam’s parallel to Solid Snake could be a potential clue. More critical fans suggest that Sam’s appearance could actually be because of exposure to timefall similar to Fragile, while others believe thatDeath Stranding’s endingcould have resulted in some ramifications for the world. Some have even theorized that theseMetal Gear Solidparallels could go even further, with Fragile taking over asDeath Stranding 2’s protagonist like Raiden and Sam being sidelined like Snake.
