A Death Stranding player just discovered that if you don’t put up enough of a fight in its climactic boss battle, antagonist Higgs will pull a Mike Tyson and bite your character’s ear off. It’s not just an attack animation, either. Once bitten, a good chunk of Sam’s ear is gone for good.
On Sunday, Twitter user naven0m uploaded a Death Stranding clip of themself uncovering the hidden gameplay detail in its final climatic boss fight. In the clip, protagonist Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus) is facing villain Higgs Monaghan (Troy Baker) in a knock-down, drag-out battle of fisticuffs. The sequence even has Tekken-like health bars that appear above the characters, making the walking simulator’s climactic face-off feel like something out of a genuine fighting game. It’s kinda wild, but then, it is a Kojima game, after all.
However, if you refuse to jab Higgs in his very punchable face while blocking his attacks, he’ll eventually guard-break Bridges and chomp the tip of his right ear clean off. The presentation and horrifying energy of it all is weirdly reminiscent of what clickers often do to Joel, also played by Troy Baker, when you get killed in The Last Of Us.
In a follow-up post, naven0m posted screenshots of Bridges’ ear post-boss fight, revealing that a sizable chunk of it remains missing. You can check out the gnarly clip below.
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According to GamesRadar, the event will only be triggered by players blocking every one of Higgs’ blows and never countering him when prompted. Most players would never stumble upon this, since the game clearly expects you to fight back, and since Higgs is such a dastardly scamp who can’t keep getting away with more demonic acts of terrorism.
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Last December, director Hideo Kojima revealed his next project was a direct sequel to Death Stranding titled Death Stranding 2, and he showcased a typically bizarre trailer featuring a noticeably older Bridges, with Léa Seydoux also reprising her role as Fragile. While the game doesn’t have a release date, it’ll be neat to discover if there’s a unique Bridges character model reflecting the possible outcome that players got Sam’s ear noshed off by Higgs.