The Death Stranding terminology is an intriguing aspect of Kojima Productions' new game. Death Stranding is out on PlayStation 4, introducing millions of gamers to a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is struggling just to connect with each other. Norman Reedus takes up the mantle of Sam Porter Bridges, a porter who works for Bridges to deliver packages across the United Cities of America while avoiding MULEs and BTs.
Along the way, he meets other DOOMs sufferers and preppers and works to unite everyone under the Chiral Network with the help of Die-Hardman and the rest of his crew. If that sounds utterly baffling, that's because Death Stranding terminology can be confusing at the best of times, even after an extended playthrough. Hideo Kojima's newest game doesn't pull any punches when it comes to establishing an imaginative, complex world, and the result is a lot of words that mean nothing until they're explained to the player - and even then, they're a little dicey at times.
Even worse, any misunderstood Death Stranding terminology might result in some catastrophic events during play, so the stakes are quite high for players to get educated on the game world quickly. With that in mind, we've put together an extensive guide to the key phrases in Death Stranding and what they mean.
BB - Also known as Bridge Babies. Infants who are ripped out of their mother's wombs prematurely and establish a trance connection with operatives. They are connected to the world of the dead and can sense BTs as a result.
The Beach - The Beach serves as a bridge between the world of the living and the next. Every human has their own beach, but they are all connected to The Beach. It is the area that allowed BTs to enter the human world as well.
Bridges - The company that was formed to reconnect the United Cities of America.
BT - Also known as Beached Things. Otherworldly entities that are impossible to see for people without DOOMs and prey on the living. There are three different types of basic BTs: Gazers, the floating ones that manifest during Timefall; Hunters, ones that emerge from the tar to hunt Sam once he's been found by Gazers; and Catchers, the BTs that appear when Sam is dragged away by Hunters.
Chiral Network - A network made of Chiralium that serves as a more modern Internet.
Chiral Printer - A 3D printer connected to the Chiral Network that is able to reproduce inorganic things over expansive areas.
Chiralium - A material that was previously invisible to humans but became visible after the Death Stranding. A mineral or element that can power items to levels previously unachievable by humans. Chiralium attracts BTs, and is also left behind by them when they are killed.
Cryptobiote - A small life form in the world of Death Stranding that can be ingested to combat the effects of Timefall. They are scattered across the UCA and can be harvested by Sam just by grabbing them.
Death Stranding - The terminology given to the event that preceded the narrative of Death Stranding. A disaster that brought BTs to the UCA and wiped out Manhattan, but very little is understood about what triggered it at the beginning of the game.
DOOMs - An affliction that came as a result of the Death Stranding. Humans who possess DOOMs are connected more directly to the Beach and have supernatural powers as a result. Measurable in levels - the higher the level, the more abilities a DOOMs sufferer has.
Extinction Entity - A harbinger of mass extinctions. Said to have caused the previous five Strandings.
Homo Demens - Latin for "mad man." A group of militant separatists that deliberately trigger voidouts across the UCA.
MULEs - Rogue porters who have developed MULE Syndrome, which causes obsession with cargo.
Necrotize - A process undergone by dead bodies in Death Stranding that eventually sees them ooze tar and sink into the next world, triggering a voidout and summoning a massive BT to the area.
Odradek Scanner - A shoulder-mounted mechanical sensor attached to BBs and used by Bridges members to help detect BTs, pointing them out and alerting porters to their presence. Also used by other groups in game.
Porter - Delivery people in Death Stranding who pick up and deliver orders between the various settlements of the UCA.
Prepper - People who live outside the established network of the UCA, often on their own or with few others.
Q-Pid - A necklace made up of physics equations, containing all the necessary protocols to integrate a settlement into the Chiral Network.
Repatriate - A special classification of DOOMs sufferer who is able to resurrect after death by following "strands" on the Beach to the surface of the water, returning them to the land of the living.
Reverse Trike - The three-wheeled automobile of choice for Bridges.
Tar - The thick, black liquid that wells up out of the ground when BTs are present.
Timefall - Rain that has taken on new properties post-Stranding, aging anything it touches. Once Timefall interacts with something inorganic, it becomes water.
Trance Connection - The psychological and spiritual connection formed between a porter and their BB unit.
UCA - United Cities of America, used to refer to what used to be the United States of America.
Voidout - A massive explosion triggered by a human being consumed by a BT, leaving behind a crater.