Death Stranding is a gargantuan journey through the unique world Kojima Productions crafted. Its story is similarly massive and while most of the threads are tied up by the conclusion, some mysteries and questions are left up in the air. The following list will detail ten of these which are still nagging at us.

Fortunately, it’s nothing major; just the typical things a writer would leave open to interpretation or to get people hyped for a sequel. It should go without saying, but spoilers are heavy going forward, so maybe look here for some spoiler-free lists if you haven’t beaten it yet.

10 The BB’s Stillmother

All BB’s have a still-mother, women from whom the children were taken. They are kept in a comatose state and remain linked to the child in order to help simulate the womb inside the pod.

At the end of the game, Sam’s BB is free from the pod, ready to live in the real world as a full child. What happens to the still-mother now that the child is out of the pod? All of them are brain dead, so will she be taken off of life support? Was she in an accident in the first place or did she volunteer for the program? Was she forced into it? If so, maybe a father is in the picture and is out for some answers.

9 Higgs

Fragile couldn’t bring herself to end Higgs, so she gave him the choice of death or eternity on the Beach. A gunshot is heard during the cutscene, but it never shows what choice he made.

Assuming he chose to spend the eons isolated, what will ultimately happen to him? Repatriates don’t revive on this plane of existence, so he could take his own life if he got desperate. Will he starve to death? Maybe he’ll end up finding his way back to the world of the living.

8 Heartman’s Family

An interview found after the game reveals Heartman’s new life. He abandons the search for his deceased family, resolving that finding them won’t change anything. He meets a new woman and starts a relationship.

He still has to live with the twenty-one-minute cycle, however. Maybe his family is still out there, though, on the beach and unwilling to cross over to the other side without him. Perhaps he’ll dedicate his efforts towards curing his ailment.

7 Is Cliff Gone For Good?

This whole time Cliff wasn’t out for Sam’s BB, but was instead out for Sam himself. All those memories the main character experienced weren’t those of his infantile comrade. They were his own memories.

Now that Cliff has found peace after reconnecting with his son, will he go away or is he still sticking around? The ending insinuates the the former, but nothing is set in stone.

6 Is There A Larger Force At Play?

Despite all her power and knowledge, Amelie isn’t sure who sent her. She ponders whether or not she was the universe’s attempts to eliminate life, which it considered a fluke.

If this is the case, is the universe a sentient being, or is a larger entity controlling everything? If either of these are true, neither would be too happy with how events turned out. Will it just sit back and let humanity be, or will it take matters into its own hands, like the post-credits scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

5 Lisa Bridges

Lisa Bridges was Cliff’s wife. She suffered an accident while pregnant and her husband volunteered her for the Bridge Baby program in an attempt to save their child. When things didn’t turn out as planned, he hatched an escape plan. Unfortunately, this meant killing his comatose wife. She may be gone, but in the world of Death Stranding that doesn’t mean she still doesn’t have a role in a future story or the chance to show up again.

Why is Cliff the only one filled with anger and vengeance and not her? Maybe she feels similarly and her time has yet to come.

4 Why Did The Extinction Entity Come When It Did?

The game’s titular event is the sixth time the world faced extinction. Humanity existed for over one hundred thousand years prior, so why did the universe wait this long to try and eliminate it? Does it have something to do with the rise in technology or the Chiral network?

Amelie muses about an extinction’s ability to expedite progress. Did humanity reach its peak and it was time for them to wipe the slate clean for a new, more advanced species to take over the planet?

3 What Lies Beyond The Beach

The Beach isn’t the afterlife. It’s more of a pit stop on the way there. This being the case, it makes one wonder what lies beyond it. Does an afterlife exist? Most Beaches are separate and people are alone on it unless they happen to die together, so are people eternally alone wherever they head afterwards?

It was this fear which prompted Heartman to start his desperate search for his family. If his hypothesis turns out to be true, it would prove an awfully dark turn of events for the game’s lore.

2 The Mules

The country is on its way to being whole again, but threats still exist out in the world. Mules and terrorists still roam the lands. The former seems like a lost caused, while the latter’s future is up in the air now that Higgs is out of the picture.

What will they do with the new president in power making it a point to make the UCA stronger than it ever was? With no leader, maybe the terrorists can be brought back into the fold. As for Mules, their future is anyone’s guess.

1 Die-Hardman

As far as anyone knows, John McClane is dead. The truth is sealed in archives, but it is out there. What would happen if the secrets come out about the country’s new president? Would the people accept his past indiscretions?

Would higher-ups within Bridges be content with letting someone who did what he did lead the UCA? Scandal follows almost every president, but few have done something so dirty with their own hands like Die-Hardman did. He’s not hiding behind a mask anymore, so he’ll have to take negative repercussions head-on.

Next: 10 Most Shocking Moments From Death Stranding, Ranked