Troy Baker Explains the Real Reason Why His Death Stranding 2 Character Sings (Exclusive)

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Troy Baker recently shared why his character, Higgs, in Death Stranding 2, is so connected to music. Hideo Kojima is known for creating amazing games with memorable characters, and he often gives them unique quirks to make them stand out. A great example is Revolver Ocelot, who’s famous for his flashy gun-handling skills. Death Stranding also features unusual characters like Heartman, a man whose heart stops briefly every twenty minutes, connecting him to both the living and the dead. This talent for creating distinctive characters is one of Kojima’s strengths, and people are curious about where he gets his inspiration.

Hideo Kojima is well-known for his love of film, and he often draws inspiration from movies. For the character Solid Snake, he was heavily influenced by Kurt Russell’s character, Snake Plissken, in Escape from New York. In fact, Russell was approached to voice Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid, but he declined, not wanting to play a similar role again. Kojima also seems to base his characters on his own life experiences and emotions.

Troy Baker Reveals Why Higgs Sings in Death Stranding 2

I recently interviewed actor Troy Baker about his work on the new Screamer reboot, and we also discussed Death Stranding 2. Baker reprises his role as Higgs, the game’s villain, who wields an electric guitar as a weapon. He even uses it to torment the main character, Sam Porter Bridges. The game features a memorable boss fight where Higgs and Sam battle each other with guitars, creating one of the most spectacular showdowns in recent games.

I asked Baker about the music in Higgs, and he shared a surprisingly heartfelt story behind it. Baker is a musician himself, having released his own music and even streamed performances online during the pandemic. He didn’t realize then, but those streams actually inspired a significant change to the character of Higgs in Death Stranding 2.

We added a scene where Higgs plays guitar and sings, and the story behind it is actually quite touching. It wasn’t until after filming, at The Game Awards, that Hideo Kojima explained why. He said he used to watch my Instagram Live streams during the pandemic when he was feeling down, and they always cheered him up. He wanted to include that feeling in the game by having Higgs do the same. I was shocked! I couldn’t believe he hadn’t told me that while we were actually making the game – it would have been great to know while filming!

Baker said he’s glad he didn’t know this particular detail beforehand, as he worried it might have affected how he played. He used this as an example to show how much thought and intention goes into every aspect of a game. He encouraged players to take their time and truly appreciate the details, especially considering how expensive games can be.

The team even created a physical replica of Higgs’ unique guitar for the filming of Death Stranding 2, but it wasn’t finished in time for the first shoot. They ended up using the acoustic guitar from The Last of Us Part 2 instead, which was a fun coincidence for him. I also spoke with Troy Baker about working with Neil Druckmann again on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and he shared a fascinating story about the production. You can find Baker’s comments on his experience with Intergalactic here.

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2025-11-11 23:12