What I learnt from Death Stranding

What is Death Stranding?

Death Stranding is an action game developed by Kojima Productions and released in November 2019. It has become a well-known title for its unique gameplay, setting, and mind-bending non-linear storytelling, along with characters being played by A-list actors like Norman Reedus, Troy Baker, Léa Seydoux, and Mads Mikkelsen, and cameos from the likes of Conan O’Brien and Sam Lake.

By the time I finished the 50-hour story (plus the 2 hour cutscene/movie at the end of it), I was left staring off into the distance, pondering about the meaning of it all.

Here’s what I was left with.

The world of Death Stranding takes place in a post-apocalyptic America decades after the titular event takes place, seemingly causing dead souls to be “stranded” in the world of the living.

The attendant atmosphere of isolation and despair in the game is all too familiar to everyone from the past few years, as friends and family were cut off from each other, connected only by the online world.

One of the central themes in Death Stranding is the power of connections. As Sam Porter Bridges (played by Norman Reedus), you must traverse a desolate, treacherous landscape to connect isolated cities and settlements by delivering packages and establishing bridges. Each settlement you connect to the network allows them to share data, 3D print resources, and aid you in turn on your journey ahead.

Conspiracy theorists have already spoken at length about how Kojima has the power of prophesy and predicted how essential workers like delivery men would become the backbone of society. But that’s not what I’m getting at. My focus is on the stories of the people you connect. The sisters reconciling after finally speaking to each other. The despairing elderly man who was just waiting to die, seeing a glimmer of hope through your perseverance.

In the real world, our connections with other people are what help us solve problems and make progress. They bring in perspectives, knowledge, and expertise that we may not have on our own. When we collaborate with others, we can combine our strengths and work towards a common goal, allowing us to achieve more than we could alone.

Every person you help is another reason to keep going. You are not alone.

Death Stranding features an “asynchronous multiplayer”. Meaning players will never actually come across each other in the game, but can perform actions in the game world that reflect for other players.

For example, let’s say you’re at a turbulent stream and carrying a lot of cargo. You can lay down a ladder to walk across safely, and then pick it back up for use ahead.

Or, you could just leave it there. And it will show up for the next person in their instance of the game. Make their life easier. They have to option to give you a “like” for it.

Players also can drop signs, marking important information such as danger ahead, resting spots, or useful resources.

These actions and likes has no other benefit in-game. But what was observed was that players were just helping each other out for the sake of it. Small, insignificant things, like leaving an extra pair of boots, rope, or ladder behind for the next player.

Has someone’s seemingly insignificant action ever put a smile on your face, or even made your day just a little bit better? A stranger holding the lift for you. The disproportionate amount of tail-wagging a stray dog does when you pet it. An innocuous “you have pretty eyes” from a random girl in a club (wherever you are, Drunk Yellow Tank Top, I appreciate you).

Keep an eye out for that one nice thing today. Or be the one nice thing today in someone else’s day. Pay it forward. 🙂

In the world of Death Stranding, you face hopeless situations time and again. You come across people in hopeless situations time and again. Deadly BTs, deadlier voidouts (nuke-like explosions which destroy everything in a radius, caused by a BT consuming you).

And yet, a glimmer of hope remains. Someone, somewhere, has requested a delivery of supplies for a newborn. As you connect each “Knot” city, you hear another hopeful “we’re really gonna make this happen”.

We humans have always persevered in the face of overwhelming odds. As a species. As individuals. Even when most of us want to curl up into a ball and cry, it takes just a few of us to stand up, dust ourselves off, and keep on keeping on.

The landscapes of this post-apocalyptic America are equal parts desolate, hostile and curiously beautiful. From lush green mountains to harsh deserts, gentle rolling hills and intimidating snow-capped mountains. Traversing this terrain is a challenge in itself, as you precariously balance your fragile cargo.

And yet, even through the tedium of cargo management and terrain traversal, you can’t help but stop and take in the scenery. Even in this dangerous, brutal world, there’s a harsh beauty to appreciate.

All of it so delicately balanced on the edge of a knife. This is it. This is all we have. And it is ours to preserve, for generations to come.

Realizing that even in times of despair, small acts of kindness can bring joy and comfort

Death Stranding will usually have you deliver seemingly mundane items from point A to B. Along your path, you can also spot “lost cargo”, which you can optionally pick up and deliver to its intended destination. Doing this sometimes results in unique interactions that speak to a memory of a lost loved one, of happier times, or even just a little bit of hope for tomorrow.

Our world has similarly seen a time that brought a lot of us to the brink. A time of despair and isolation, nearing a state of “every man for himself”.

And somehow, it never really got there. Even from the farthest corners of the world, if you were willing to look, you could see wholesome stories of kindness and compassion. I heard the first of these through John Krasinski’s Some Good News. Amidst constant reports of looting and riots, highlighting stories of people coming together filled my heart with hope for humanity.

Another theme in Death Stranding is the importance of working together. Throughout the game, Sam (you) must rely on connections to other players, who can provide assistance in various ways such as providing supplies to rebuild roads and other critical infrastructure across the entire friggin’ continent, throwing emergency combat supplies your way, and providing moral support. This is a reminder that even in the most challenging of times, working together with those around us is essential in achieving our goals.

You thought walking is as simple as moving the analog stick forward? Think again.

The game also emphasizes the importance of finding your balance. Sam is constantly faced with difficult decisions that require him to find a balance between his personal goals and the needs of the people around him. This is a lesson that we can all take to heart. There will always be competing interests — such as what you want, versus what your partner/family needs — and we must find a way to balance them.

If a dying Cliff Unger (played by Mads Mikkelsen) singing a lullaby doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, I don’t know what will. It’s played at two devastating points in the story, which somehow coincided with someone cutting invisible onions in my house.

Death Stranding is a unique video game that hammers home the point of “we’re in this together”. No man is an island.

Let’s try to leave this world at least a little bit better than we found it, yeah?