My Thoughts on Death Stranding [PC Version]

 

This is the first game that was released after I bought my laptop that ran properly. I had tried Detroit: Become Human a while ago but it stuttered a lot. Death Stranding ran at a stable 40-50 FPS, and was a breeze compared to Detroit. I had seen a few gameplays and screenshots of this game, and it seemed to me that it was kind of a porter simulator, wherein I would be required to transport as much cargo as possible while scaling a rough terrain. That is just the tip of the iceberg, though.

While Death Stranding is, in essence, just that – a porter simulator – its lore and story help it capitalise upon that root element. You do have to carry cargo, transport it to different places, complete orders, but this is just one gear in a huge machinery. Death Stranding is so much more than that, and delivering cargo is just a means to experience the bleak world that the game is set in.

From the outset, it became clear to me that this was unlike any other game I had played and a far cry from what I was expecting it to be. A largely uninhabitable and apocalyptic world it was, in which I was guiding the protagonist, Sam, over mountains, hills, and rivers in order to deliver the cargo entrusted to him. The game made little effort to explain why the world was in that particular state, or why the things happening around Sam were happening, or why certain things were a certain way. The game threw a bunch of new concepts my way right at the beginning, and I was kind of forced to take them at face value, to accept that they just were.

It was difficult to make sense of what was going on through the major part of the story. Frankly speaking, it plays out like a Christopher Nolan movie. It seems so intelligent that you blame yourself if you aren’t able to grasp anything. You are afraid to point fingers at the story because it seems so very perfect on the surface, even if it may have a few plot holes inside. It’s fraught with novelties and highly imaginative bits that just overwhelm you and leave little space for questions, so you eventually stop thinking and just go with it, patiently waiting for a climax when, hopefully, everything will be explained to you in great detail.

Well, Death Stranding did not disappoint me on that front. As much as it ignored my frowns of doubt at the beginning, it tried its best to provide a clear explanation of everything that had happened, and I should admit, I could understand most of it only because the whole experience of playing this game is very, very immersive. And that is due to there being no shortcuts. If the destination is two kilometres away, you have to walk it. The whole way. You have to plan the route, balancing safety and distance, taking careful note of your supplies, what to take, what to leave, everything. You are in control of literally every step that Sam takes, and one miscalculation can send your protagonist tumbling down the rocky slopes, draining his life and equally importantly, damaging his cargo. You see, being a porter, it is Sam’s responsibility to ensure that the cargo reaches its recipient in optimal condition and this serves as the impetus for the player to adopt a meticulous planning routine every time a new order is assigned to Sam.

It's not only about the route. The player also has to keep an eye on Sam's vitals, right from the energy he has left to the deteriorating condition of his boots, which is why a fine amount of strategic thinking goes into the decision of how much cargo to carry and how much supplies to stock. Carrying too much runs the risk of exhausting Sam before he even reaches the destination, while there's also the fear of his supplies running out midway through the run. If they do, there are few options other than to seek help from another porter or visit a nearby distribution centre and fabricate some equipment there. Once Sam is out, he's on his own, and no other feeling is stronger in this game than the sense of loneliness when he steps out of his room to make a delivery run.

Hauling cargo that was sometimes triple or even quadruple Sam’s own weight, and making sure that it reached its destination felt even more significant because of the relatability of the deed. It hasn’t been long since we emerged out of nation-wide lockdowns. In those trying times, our life was kept on track by a few people who were going door to door, delivering any and everything that we needed. Even if we weren’t stepping out, we were still kept afloat by these deliveries, and even if we might not have stopped to think about those delivery boys and girls, Death Stranding forces us to step into those very shoes that once stood outside our doors.

Deliveries in Death Stranding are, however, a great deal more difficult than the conventional ones. There are threats on the way, arisen because of the apocalyptic event called the Death Stranding that occurred before the events of the game. People live in secluded shelters, cut off from the rest of the world because everything has been disrupted by the Death Stranding. They rely on porters such as Sam for their needs and demands and, due to lack of any kind of network, they have no way of knowing if their cargo will reach them until it actually reaches them.

And then enters Sam. He has DOOMS, is a Repatriate, and can sense BTs to a limited extent. Doesn’t make sense, right? These are just some of the many novel concepts that Death Stranding introduces, and what made me scratch my head all through the game until the very end. If I tried to explain what a Repatriate is, it would sound complete baloney coming from me, but that is the beauty (or irony, perhaps?) of stories that take so much creative liberty as Death Stranding does. Most of it does not make much sense, but the story presents it in such a way that you are forced to accept it as true because there is nothing against which you can evaluate it. No previous knowledge, no laws, rules, nothing.

Why is Sam a Repatriate?

Because he can come back from the dead.

How does he do that?

He follows the Strand in the Seam.

What?

Exactly.

There are many, many such theories that make up the lore of Death Stranding. It’s almost fantasy, borrowing elements from the real world as per convenience. It is undoubtedly the brainchild of some of the best creative thinkers on the planet but the problem is that it is placed precariously between fantasy and distant reality. Questioning it is akin to falling down an abyss which sucks all the enjoyment out of the game. Once you stop holding on to your questions so tightly and just accept the ongoings of the game, you open yourself to the experience that Death Stranding is aiming to provide.

Futurism is abundant, as is quite natural with such settings. There are plenty of gadgets, vehicles, weapons, and tools which are extremely well designed. Nothing is conventional in this game, and it is quite obvious that the makers put a lot of effort into thinking about the smallest of details that come together and add to the credibility of the world in Death Stranding. In fact, it is these small details that make even the most preposterous of imaginings believable when Death Stranding presents them to the player. No doubt the creators had to reimagine the whole world as we know it, and they truly did succeed in painting this completely new picture, but as I said, it can be admired only when one lifts the veil of questions and doubt, much like abstract art.

Digging deeper into how the game plays, the physics is quite clunky in some parts. This feels a little out of place in a game that is centred so heavily on maintaining your balance while carrying a towering pile of cargo boxes on your back. Where small movements like turning too quickly can and do have an impact on your centre of gravity, it is disappointing to see a bike stop and speed up unpredictably while riding, without any reason, especially on rougher terrains. Apart from this, everything else is quite polished.

While at first Death Stranding can feel like a tranquil game that involves making deliveries, there are some chapters that hand a gun to Sam and force combat upon the player. I’m not denying that the story demanded this, but gameplay-wise it feels awkward to shift styles so abruptly. One moment you are wandering amongst hills and mountains and the next you are wielding a gun on a battlefield and shooting enemies. It just made me feel like maybe Mr. Kojima tried too hard to incorporate a bit of all genres in Death Stranding.

Remember how I mentioned the relatability aspect of making deliveries? There’s another responsibility that Sam is entrusted with that feels relevant in today’s time. His journey begins on the east coast of America, which is now a decrepit and dilapidated version of itself. Without any connectivity whatsoever, people are living in complete isolation when an organisation named Bridges takes it upon itself to reconnect the nation, rebranding it the United Cities of America, and chooses Sam to be its flag bearer. This advanced network not only connects people but also enables them to “print” anything they need out of the materials they have using something called a Chiral Printer, much like a 3-D printer. This functionality really comes through for one of the inhabitants whose wife is in labour. They connect to a doctor over the network who oversees the whole operation through an advanced medical apparatus, without either party travelling anywhere. This reminds me of how companies and businesses managed to continue their operations during the lockdown, without leaving their home, all thanks to the Internet.

There is a lot in Death Stranding to talk about. At times, it feels similar to a reimagined zombie game, a post-apocalyptic game, a delivery simulator – but on the whole, it is far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s an experience in itself, a truly unique one, which owes its effectiveness to its incredibly detailed graphics and scenic environments along with a story that manages to bind the player despite bordering on absurdity at times.

It manages to drive its concept home in the end, though. Anyone who has finished the game will not see beaches in the same light again.