For the past three years, trailers for the game “Death Stranding” have kept the internet intrigued and in anticipation for the PS4 exclusive’s release. Now that the game is available to the public, reactions and reviews have been polarizing. Now that I have completed the game’s main campaign.
The narrative of “Death Stranding” is one of its strongest selling points. In the years leading up to the game’s release, multiple cryptic trailers captivated viewers and kept an air of mystery around what the plot would even be about. Without spoiling anything but the basic premise, you play as Sam Porter Bridges, portrayed by Norman Reedus. You work for a company called “Bridges” which is attempting to reform a united America after society was decimated by a catastrophic event known as the “Death Stranding,” in which beings from the world of the dead stranded themselves in the world of the living. You deliver extremely important cargo from one isolated city and bunker to another, and expand Bridges’ ability to repair the broken country as you progress. The game serves as a commentary on what makes America a united nation, the nature of life and extinction, and the importance of forming bonds with those around us.
At its most basic form, Death Stranding is a game about travel. When you begin the game, you must use your own two feet to carry important packages from one person to another, often losing your balance or buckling under the weight of your load. As you progress and form connections with unique individuals, the infrastructure of the world around you begins to reform. You can build roads and bridges to make traversal quicker, vehicles expand your ability to travel, and you can gain exoskeletons that allow you to pass through harsher environments. These things are bolstered by the connections you form. New contacts provide new technology, resources, and information, encouraging the player to make as many deliveries as possible.
However, the obstacles the player encounters throughout the game keep it a consistent challenge. Timefall, a type of rain that accelerates time, will ruin cargo if your packages are exposed too long. MULES, a band of thieves, will steal your cargo at the first opportunity and will do anything to get it from you. Later on, you’ll encounter the “Homo Demens,” which are a band of seperatist terrorists who are determined to stop America from reforming. However, the game’s most terrifying and unique threat is that of “BTs”, or “Beached Things,” which are creatures from the world of the dead. Most often taking the form of human silhouettes, these ghosts will attack the player if they detect them. Without spoiling anything, the consequences of being caught by a BT are game changing. All of these threats keep the player on their toes and makes each delivery unique and tense.
Many refer to this game as a “walking simulator” as an insult of the core gameplay, and while this isn’t necessarily false, the game makes walking complex. The more cargo you carry, the slower you move and the harder it is to balance. This process is expedited through the growing infrastructure and equipment you gain as you make more and more deliveries. This means that the game is a cycle of sorts, as making more deliveries makes making deliveries easier, and making these deliveries progresses the story. To many this process is tedious, but to me it is relaxing and surprisingly complex. Plotting routes through an increasingly familiar landscape, avoiding ghosts and terrorists, and uncovering the mysteries of this destroyed world are all intriguing tasks.
Overall, “Death Stranding” is unlike any game I’ve ever played, and that’s a good thing. Hideo Kojima, the head developer of the title, famously claimed that this game would be the first in an entirely new genre, and while that may not be completely accurate, there is no doubt that this experience is entirely something of its own. I would recommend it to those who are okay with a slow and atmospheric experience, and who are okay with sitting through plenty of exposition and world building, Despite these minor flaws, this is one of my favorite games of the year and I will personally continue making deliveries for the foreseeable future, even after the credits have rolled.
