Death Stranding EXPLAINED: All Ending Questions Answered

8. The Last Stranding

The major twist at the heart of Death Stranding is that the player has been unwittingly working for the bad guys the whole time. Spurred on by his 'sister' Amelie to reconnect America, the entire game sees Sam going from place to place to establish the Chiral network, something which should bring communities closer together from one end of the country to the next.

That still happens, but it turns out the Chiral network serves another purpose: to bring about The Last Stranding. The idea is that the Death Stranding that happens before the start of the story is one of five that have occurred throughout history, all extinction events that offered something of a reset button for species on Earth.

One of these took out the dinosaurs, for instance, and have been recurring all throughout history, but humanity has always endured. Now though, by connecting the Chiral network (and linking everyone's Beaches to Amelie's) you've enabled The Last Stranding, which will end the cycle by eliminating all life forever.

The Big Bang is referenced throughout the game, and The Last Stranding is intended to be an event on this scale: only instead of bringing life to the cosmos, it will take it all away.