Honestly, nobody expected Higgs to just stay dead. In a Hideo Kojima game, "dead" is more of a suggestion than a final state of being. But when the first trailers for Higgs Death Stranding 2 dropped, the collective internet basically lost its mind. We went from a guy licking people's faces in a gold mask to... a cybernetic, guitar-shredding undead glam rocker?
It’s wild.
He’s back. And he’s somehow even more ridiculous than before.
If you played the first game, you remember Higgs Monaghan as the "Particle of God." He was the guy who tried to usher in the apocalypse because he had a massive crush on the end of the world (and Amelie). After Sam Bridges beat him into submission on a literal beach made of metaphors, we all thought his story was over. Fragile left him there. Alone. Without his powers. Most of us figured he’d just rot in the chiral tide.
But Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has turned him into something else entirely.
The New Look: From Pharaoh to Alice Cooper
The first thing you’ll notice about Higgs Death Stranding 2 is the aesthetic shift. He’s ditched the Egyptian-inspired golden mask. Now, he’s rocking white and red face paint that looks like a cross between The Crow, a Kiss member, and a very caffeinated Joker.
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It isn't just for show.
Kojima actually revealed that this new musical obsession came from watching Troy Baker—the actor behind Higgs—playing guitar on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic. He liked it so much he wrote it into the game. That’s peak Kojima. You have a villain wielding a high-tech electric guitar that doubles as a melee weapon and shoots lightning. It’s absurd. It’s loud. And according to the developers, it's about "100 times" more over-the-top than anything in the first game.
What’s with the mechanical body?
Look closely at his new rig. It’s not just armor. Higgs appears to be wearing a mechanical shell that looks suspiciously like a BB pod or a sarcophagus. His "guts" are replaced by orange-glowing tubes and what look like tentacles.
There's a lot of chatter about whether this is even Higgs’ original body. Some fans theorize he’s "broadcasting" his consciousness from the Beach into this puppet. Others think he’s literally stitched himself together using the remains of the Chiral Network. Whatever the case, he’s clearly no longer human.
Why Higgs Still Matters in the Sequel
A lot of people asked: why bring him back? Why not a new villain?
Because Higgs is the perfect foil for Sam. Sam builds; Higgs destroys. Sam connects; Higgs severs. In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the central question is "Should we have connected?"
Higgs is the living, screaming answer to that question. He represents the dark side of the network. He’s the guy who uses the very tools meant to save humanity to terrorize it. In the new Australian and Mexican settings, Higgs leads a faction called the "Homo Demens" (again), but this time they’ve got "ghost mechs" and a much more militant vibe.
He’s not just a terrorist anymore. He’s a cult leader.
The Battle of the Guitars
There is a sequence in the trailers—and eventually the game—where Higgs takes on a mysterious "Red Samurai." This isn't your typical cover-shooter boss fight. It’s a rhythmic, chaotic duel involving parries and power chords.
Troy Baker has talked about how much work went into the performance capture for these scenes. They actually 3D-printed a replica of his in-game guitar so he could use it on the mo-cap stage. This isn't just a gimmick; it’s a core part of his new identity. He’s a performer now. The world is his stage, and the "Last Stranding" is his final encore.
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What Most People Get Wrong About His Return
You’ll hear people say Higgs is just "fan service." That Kojima brought him back because he’s a popular character. While that’s partly true—Kojima admitted he "couldn't kill him" because fans loved him too much—his return serves a massive narrative purpose.
- The Amelie Connection: Higgs was Amelie’s puppet. Now that she’s "gone" (mostly), Higgs is acting on his own. He’s a wild card.
- The "Lou" Mystery: There are hints that Higgs knows exactly what happened to BB-28 (Lou). His obsession with Sam’s "daughter" is the driving force behind a lot of the conflict in the sequel.
- The Mirror Image: If Sam represents the "Strand" (connection), Higgs represents the "Stick" (violence). You can't have one without the other in this universe.
The game also leans heavily into the idea of "drawbridge"—the organization Fragile and Sam are working for. Higgs sees this new attempt to connect the world as an even bigger mistake than the UCA. He’s there to prove that connection only brings more pain.
How to Prepare for the Higgs Encounters
If you’re diving into the game, don't expect the same fight you had in the first one. This isn't a fistfight in the mud.
- Watch the Telegraphed Moves: His guitar isn't just for show; the "riffs" he plays correspond to different area-of-effect attacks.
- Focus on the Mechs: Higgs rarely fights alone. He uses automated drones and "ghost mechs" to pin Sam down.
- Don't Get Distracted by the Monologue: Higgs licks. He taunts. He sings. It’s easy to get tilted, which is exactly what he wants.
Honestly, the best way to handle Higgs is to treat him like a boss from a character-action game rather than a stealth-delivery sim. He changes the genre of the game whenever he’s on screen.
Final Insights on the Particle of God
The return of Higgs Death Stranding 2 proves that Kojima Productions isn't interested in making a "safe" sequel. They took one of the most polarizing characters and made him even weirder.
Whether you love him or hate him, you can't deny he brings a specific energy that the game needs. He’s the chaos in a world that’s trying too hard to be orderly. He is the glitch in the system.
To get the most out of his storyline, make sure you’ve read the "Peter Englert" journals from the first game. They provide the necessary context for his descent into madness. Also, keep an eye on the lyrics of the songs he sings in the sequel; Kojima famously hides plot points in the music.
If you're looking for more, go back and re-watch the 2024 State of Play trailer. Pay close attention to the scene where Higgs is being carried by his robot minions—it reveals more about his physical state than any line of dialogue ever could.
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Check your cargo, keep your boots repaired, and maybe practice your parrying. You're going to need it when the music starts playing.
Next Steps:
- Replay the "Peter Englert" pizza delivery missions in the original Death Stranding to unlock the full backstory of Higgs' transformation.
- Study the "On the Beach" trailers frame-by-frame to identify the specific equations written on Higgs' new mechanical shell.