Even if one is less than impressed with Hideo Kojima's body of work, no one can ever decry it as bland or uninteresting. The gameplay always takes risks and the story aims to elevate the medium to new heights. One signature aspect of his stories is the often bizarre, incongruous humor, which sometimes breaks the fourth wall or references facets of pop culture one wouldn't expect the characters to know.
Death Stranding continues this trend in full force, as the following ten quotes will prove. A couple of these are from late in the game or revolve around certain plot points, so be wary of spoilers going forward.
10 "If you were a spy on a mission, you would have failed. But you're not, so be proud of those tracks, they're proof you existed." - Die-Hardman
This quote is in reference to sneaking past and through Mule camps. Getting spotted isn't the end of the world like it was in some of the Metal Gear Solid entries. Die-Hardman's words towards Sam work in two ways as an homage to the iconic series. The first and most obvious is the stealth. Secondly is the idea of leaving behind some trace of existence. Solidus Snake from Metal Gear Solid 2 laments about this right before the final boss fight. All he wanted was to be remembered. Thankfully, Sam doesn't have this problem.
9 A Strand is a part of a rope or bond, while stranded means being washed up on the shore, and being stranded is when you can't go home." - Amelie
Where would America's reading comprehension skills be if it weren't for Amelie explaining the subtle differences between words? The line has its place in the story, but it doesn't make it sound any less ridiculous.
The game's titular post-apocalyptic event left humanity disconnected, stranded in their own little cities, communities, or shelters. Sam is going across the country connecting them all once again, making each of them a strand of the Chiral Network.
8 "Everything is true, except for the lies." -Fragile
This piece of philosophical gold comes from Fragile as she's explaining why everybody hates her. Like most inane statements, an ounce of genius can be found if one looks deep enough. What they say about her is true. Fragile brought a bomb into a city, contributing to its destruction. The lie is her willing part in the plan. She was tricked by Higgs into transporting the weapon and even went so far as to sacrifice her body to timefall in order to save another city from the same fate.
7 "Nothing like the eve of extinction to bring focus to the mind. Makes folks honest." - Higgs
This is classic Higgs, but is he wrong? After all, what's the point in lying and distractions if existence's time is short. A real apocalypse would put things into perspective for a lot of people, making them realize what is truly important.
How many spouses would turn to their partner with minutes left on the world's lifespan and say "I never really loved you," or "I'm in love with someone else?" Employees would call up their bosses and curse them out, getting all that frustration off their chest. Of course, one thing they don't think about when doing this is the afterlife and the possibility of seeing these people again.
6 "If she dies, America dies." - Die-Hardman
This sounds less like something from Death Stranding and more like a trailer for a Jack Howitzer movie, the fictional action star from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Amelie is supposed to take over for Bridget Strand following her death, but the president's daughter is held hostage by Higgs.
Of course, this all turns out to be a ruse, but Sam doesn't know at the time. This line probably came off as insufferable to the main character, since his disdain for the current state of the UCA is well documented. To him, reconnecting the country is a pipe dream.
5 "Great, so I'm Mario and you're Princess Peach." - Sam
This reference to the gaming icon comes at an odd moment as Sam and Amelie are on the Beach. He says this in frustration as he learns about the scheme to get him to reconnect the Chiral Network. Amelie and Die-Hardman set the whole thing up. As if this comparison wasn't silly enough, Amelie adds on to it by saying "like Mario and Princess Beach" before they start running their way home. Nothing says morbidly serious science fiction with the fate of the universe at stake like wordplay.
4 "No BTs, no voidouts... just a good old-fashioned boss fight." - Higgs
It wouldn't be Hideo Kojima without reminding the player they are in a video game. Higgs' above quote directly references boss fights. The actual battle with Higgs turns into fisticuffs where the two characters get traditional health bars.
Later on, the antagonist talks about winning the game and says game over. The jest also speaks to Higgs' personality. All this power makes him take the apocalypse like a joke. He's having the time of his life tormenting Sam and Fragile.
3 "Back then, I thought I was invincible. I thought I was some kind of action hero." - Die-Hardman
This line comes up as Die-Hardman explains why he is helping Cliff in the flashback. As if being named after a famous action movie franchise wasn't enough, he has to literally explain how dying was hard for him because of Cliff's heroic actions in combat. To make the connection even stronger, the character's name is literally John McClaine. Kojima's love for movies is well documented, so these less than subtle homages are no surprise.
2 "The name's Higgs, the particle of god that permeates all existence." - Higgs
Higgs is all about theatrics. He directly explains what his name references, in case laymen miss the connection. As the mysterious prepper asking for pizza, the alias he uses is Peter Englert, the first name of Peter Higgs and the last name of Francois Englert, two scientist awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in the area of study related to the Higgs boson. The power gets to Higg's head, so it makes sense why he would name himself after a particle connecting all things, living and inanimate.
1 "Yeah Boyee!" - Sam
It's not the quote so much as the actions surrounding it. In the middle of speaking with Heartman, the scientist collapses due to his twenty-one-minute life cycle. While leaving the premises, Sam takes the opportunity to do a record scratch on a record player. It's a rare moment of levity from the protagonist. When all alone, who could possibly resist the temptation? Considering it is set far in the future, this very well could have been the first gramophone Sam saw in his whole life.