What happens if you ignore a corpse in Death Stranding? A comprehensive guide

As an avid gamer and streaming enthusiast, I was both fascinated and startled the first time I witnessed the consequences of leaving a body to decay in Death Stranding. Seeing the terrain devastated and a crater left where a waystation once stood really drove home the importance of properly disposing of corpses in this unusual post-apocalyptic world. In this guide, I‘ll provide some hard-earned insight into why you should never ignore the dead for too long when traversing Hideo Kojima‘s haunting landscapes.

The supernatural danger of Beached Things (BTs)

BTs are one of the most intriguing and chilling aspects of Death Stranding. These ghostly figures are stranded souls stuck between the world of the living and the "Seam" that separates our existence from the afterlife following the reality-shattering event known as the Death Stranding. Kojima has cited the deep themes of purgatory and stranded spirits in Japanese Noh theater and Kabuki mask drama as inspiration for BTs.

While often only visible as a handprint when sensed by Sam Porter Bridges, BTs manifest across a wide spectrum of forms – from amorphous humanoid shapes, to giant lions, and massive tar-dripping behemoths tall enough to rival skyscrapers. While their origins and motivations remain a mystery, one thing is certain – BTs are nearly universally hostile to the living and consuming a human will trigger an explosive voidout.

Here‘s an overview of the different classes of BTs you‘ll encounter and their threat levels:

While BTs may seem like ghostly apparitions, their dangers are all too real in Death Stranding. Now let‘s examine why you‘ll want to avoid the explosion of annihilation known as a voidout at all costs.

The catastrophic impact of voidouts

Voidouts are antimatter explosions triggered when BTs consume humans. Unlike typical video game explosions, voidouts have grave consequences in Death Stranding. These massive blasts create craters that can be seen from space, reshaping the continent‘s geography permanently.

I‘ll never forget the first time I witnessed the utter devastation of a voidout firsthand while playing. I had tripped and gotten swallowed by a BT while trying to sneak past with a delivery. After helplessly floating in the tarry abyss, a colossal explosion suddenly decimated the terrain, leaving a vast crater where a settlement had been seconds before. My screen faded to black as the Game Over message appeared, forcing me to reload my last save.

This eye-opening experience taught me to take the risk of voidouts very seriously from then on. According to in-game lore, the largest voidout on record measured over 1,500 meters wide and vaporized a city instantaneously. Smaller voidouts still render surrounding areas hazardous with increased levels of chiralium – the mysterious invisible substance brought by the Death Stranding.

Voidouts don‘t just annihilate geographical locations and structures, they also sever the connections between cities and people, stranding survivors in isolation. Since rebuilding after a voidout is arduous, prevention becomes imperative. Which brings us to proper corpse disposal…

Practicing safe corpse disposal

As Sam Porter Bridges traverses the rugged wilderness with deliveries bound to his back, defending against BTs is only part of the battle. Ensuring he also properly disposes of any bodies along the way is essential for avoiding those dreaded crater-forming explosions.

When Sam moves too far from a corpse he‘s transported, a one minute timer starts counting down. If he fails to return and incinerate the body within that time limit, a voidout is triggered. With how expansive and challenging to navigate Death Stranding‘s world is, this timer presents a constant ticking threat.

That‘s why planning efficient routes that pass by incinerator facilities along the way is so important. I‘d often load up the bodies of MULEs I‘d been forced to take down onto my vehicle to transport them safely to the nearest incinerator. Of course, the additional cargo weight slowed me down, so I had to account for that in my travels.

During intense timefall rainstorms that rapidly advanced decomposition, I‘d be forced to seek shelter while carrying a corpse I‘d recovered, nervously eyeing the timer and hoping to buy enough time. Transporting bodies from farther distances became especially tense – suddenly a 45 minute walk could become a race against time.

While often arduous, properly disposing of corpses allowed me to breathe sighs of relief as I activated those incinerators, avoiding area-devastating blasts and gaining likes from fellow players online for my conscientious body disposal.

Braving BT territory: Survival tips and strategies

Delivering cargo is treacherous enough with rough terrain, swift rivers, and bandits to contend with. But starting to sense BTs nearby as your Odradek scanner activates and concerned beeping quickens your pulse adds a supernatural level of danger.

I‘ve gathered some hard-won tips from my own travels through BT zones that helped me navigate safely and avoid catastrophic game-ending voidouts:

• Equip blood grenades – these specialized hematite weapons dissipate BTs in a red puff allowing you to sneak by undetected. But use them sparingly since they are somewhat rare.

• Crouch and move slowly when your scanner engages, and halt movement completely if the Odradek‘s orange strands arrange into a web shape. This indicates you‘ve entered a BT‘s proximity so staying still can prevent detection.

• Holding your breath with L2 is vital since even breathing can attract BTs once close enough. Just be sure not to asphyxiate!

• Lay down decoys like blood bags to lure BTs away from your path temporarily. This distraction can buy you time to move to safety.

• If grappled by the tarry black strands of a BT, mash circle to struggle free before being dragged fully into their world where chances of survival dwindle severely.

• Take routes around BT zones if possible. Though longer, avoiding confrontation is safer, and you can place warnings to alert fellow porters.

While BTs and voidouts undoubtedly produce some of Death Stranding‘s most terrifying moments, overcoming the challenges of safely navigating this inverted world also brings some of its most gratifying rewards through shared struggle. Which leads into how human connection ties into these game mechanics…

Sam Porter Bridges – Finding connections amidst apocalyptic isolation

Protagonist Sam Porter Bridges experiences the challenges of the Death Stranding firsthand through his arduous cross-country delivery missions. But Sam‘s difficult past also leaves him isolated in poignant ways that are reinforced through his missions.

Sam suffers from a condition known as aphenphosmphobia – the fear of physical human touch and connections. This affliction developed in Sam‘s childhood, when he was kept separate from others for research purposes related to his mysterious DOOMS abilities.

In interviews, Hideo Kojima has explained this phobia represents the increasing worldwide loneliness and disconnection between people – a theme that deeply resonates with me as well. Kojima aims to explore how we can forge new bonds and understanding in times of crisis.

Sam‘s phobia poses difficulties on his journeys, where limited touch and shared human experience are key to survival. Scanning lost memory chips from fallen porters foraged insight into their stories – hinting at the deeper connections beneath the isolated surface.

A key quote from Sam has stuck with me: "I was the one who thought I had to do everything alone, if I couldn‘t handle it on my own then I had no business being there."

This encapsulates Sam‘s disconnected outlook, which parallels the loneliness voidouts and BTs impose by severing communal infrastructure and shared hopes. But Sam‘s chosen profession as a porter relies on delivering vital tools for rebuilding – symbolic of the bonds he himself forges across America‘s fractured communities.

So while horrific at surface level, the shared spectral threat of BTs and mutual purpose of avoiding voidouts unite Death Stranding‘s world through social strands in much the same way Sam‘s arduous journey weaves them.

Building connections to aid fellow porters

Beyond its compelling single-player experience, I‘ve found Death Stranding‘s asynchronous online component immensely rewarding. Small ways we can build communal bonds and reduce isolation together exist even in the game‘s harsh world.

When I rest at a shelter on the crest of a mountain ridge after an exhausting uphill hike, seeing a fellow porter‘s sign left behind with a message of encouragement brings a smile to my face. And realizing I can leave ropes, ladders, and warnings about upcoming BT zones pays that kindness forward in a small but tangible way.

I‘ll never actually cross paths with those other Sam players, but we‘re all connected through shared struggle and the tools we leave behind. While playing, I‘d make detours specifically to place warning signs and ropes for BT areas along heavily-trafficked routes and give likes to any signs left by fellow porters.

Sometimes while incinerating corpses, I‘d even get notifications saying "X player liked your disposal of corpses," making me feel like I‘d helped the community in some small way. Tiny bits of player-driven connection like this bring Death Stranding‘s themes to life interactively.

Conclusion: Surviving the inverted world

My time as Sam braving the supernatural threats of BTs has given me a profound appreciation for the importance Death Stranding places on human bonds to overcome disaster. As Sam says when choosing to incinerate corpses rather than leave them adrift: "Help me make the connections. To bring us all together."

Death Stranding reinforces through its every mechanic and system that we forge purpose in times of crisis by building ties between people, not severing them. I hope this guide provides fellow porters with helpful insights and strategies to traverse its boundaries safely while appreciating the connections to be found along the way. Let‘s rebuild America, one strand at a time!