Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has been out for quite some time now, but players are still diving in, either to discover something new or to piece together the game’s convoluted lore. However, one Death Stranding 2 player decided to take a very different path: he refused to let Norman Reedus’ Sam Porter Bridges take a much-needed shower break.
Reddit user u/ResidentNew8650 went six chapters without cleansing Sam Porter Bridges, even as his face began to reek of whatever chiral contamination or bacteria-ridden microbes might be lurking within the Australian continent. To make things more intense, this player is running the game on Brutal difficulty, in offline mode, with no guns and no access to any online structures. He's purposely making the game harder, so imagine Sam trudging through Mexico and Australia, absolutely reeking of human misery.
Apparently, the player never voluntarily showers when Sam is inside the DHV Magellan or any other private shelter. Instead, he continues pressing forward into the unknown, carrying with him every foul odor the world of Death Stranding can muster.
Players in the comments were baffled by this decision. Some jokingly said that even Dollman was left speechless by how badly Sam must smell, like mud, dirt, or something worse. Thankfully, Dollman is a doll and doesn’t have a sense of smell, but that doesn’t stop him from constantly pestering Sam to shower every time they rest.
In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, showers serve a minimal purpose. They’re mostly for immersion, contributing to the game’s already rich atmosphere. Players typically shower just to stop Dollman’s incessant rambling or to collect a few extra Chiral Crystals, which can be extracted from Sam’s body after bathing. It’s not quite like the first Death Stranding, where taking a bath, a dump, or a pee was actually useful since Sam’s bodily waste could be weaponized against BTs. Don’t ask why that works, Sam is just built differently.
As a result, the Reddit user wasn’t too concerned with the consequences of an unshowered Sam, even after spending over 40 hours in the game. Part of his motivation was curiosity, wondering if avoiding showers might trigger a hidden event. Unfortunately, it seems Kojima didn’t leave any secret reward for players who neglect Sam’s hygiene.
Fast forward a few days, and the streak was finally broken. The game eventually forced a shower scene when Sam reached a certain point in Australia (F6 Distribution Center), and after that, the player stopped resisting. Still, he's continuing his Brutal difficulty run in offline mode.
It’s going to be a lonely journey, but at least Sam finally got his much-needed shower.
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