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Death Stranding was a highly anticipated release. The game’s announcement at E3 2016 roused a positive reception. The game was even nominated for the Golden Joystick Awards in “Most Wanted Game” in 2017. Yet, when the game came out, it had a polarizing effect.
Death Stranding has been called a masterpiece and "the most advanced walking simulator the world has ever seen." This was Kojima’s comeback, partnering with Sony Interactive Entertainment after a drawn-out corporate conflict with Konami.
The game boasts an ensemble cast of actors that could rival a Hollywood production. The protagonist, Sam, is played by Norman Reedus. Other notable actors include Lea Seydoux, Mads Mikkelsen, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Troy Baker, and Guillermo Del Toro.
Apart from the cast, the story of Death Stranding, interspersed with the haunting soundtracks, especially from the band Low Roar, shines through its, sometimes, tedious gameplay. The narrative, albeit running at a slow pace, masterfully elevates the game from a walking simulator to something unique.
Death Stranding bridges America
The world of Death Stranding is set after the triggering of an apocalyptic event known as the "Death Stranding" in the broken-up pieces of the erstwhile United States. The country, after the Stranding, has broken down into remote colonies called "Knot Cities," which form the UCA or the "United Cities of America."
The Stranding has also resulted in entities like "Beached Things" (BTs), which are invisible to normal eyes and are one of the primary reasons people have confined themselves to remote colonies underground. BTs are souls stranded in the world of the living. If they touch and consume a living thing, a void out is triggered, resulting in a massive explosion.
But what ties the game together for the players to experience is Norman Reedus’ Sam Bridges. The protagonist of the story, Sam, is supposed to deliver packages from point A to point B, limping along with picturesque settings and negotiating with difficult terrains while accompanied by post-rock songs.
The main focus of the narrative is the task of reforming America assigned to Sam by the company Bridges, which he reluctantly agrees to. Sam contacts the remaining cities and survivors across the continental United States and connects them to the Chiral Network.
He walks across desolate lands that look more Icelandic than America on his arduous journey. There’s almost always a constant drizzle. To finish his deliveries, Sam walks over rocky ground, crosses rivers, and climbs up mountains.
On his back, some orders range from required materials and emergency equipment to pizza and wine. Players have to decide how much they want to carry and can carry and how many trips they want to make.
With each completed delivery, the player is closer to convincing the NPC to join the Network. The aim is to bring people together—one delivery at a time.
Sam has to pay heed to the evenness of the ground to stay balanced as he traverses with the huge load. Not doing so can result in a nasty fall. This is done by pulling on his right or left strap as required. Falling damages the cargo and decreases points when he finishes the delivery.
As the game progresses and the player makes more deliveries, his boots start to get worn out. His feet are chafed. He gets tired and needs to rest. The steady rain seems to be a constant companion and a threat. Timefall is an otherworldly rain or snow that accelerates the progression of anything it comes into contact with.
Along the way, dodging cargo terrorists called MULEs and BTs, Sam takes it one step at a time as he walks across the country in an attempt to reconnect it.
The notion of a one-person hero is tried and tested. It feels stale now. Yet it works here. Sam's success is pretty much a given, or at least it's expected that he will win. But it is his expansive journey that makes Death Stranding an immersive experience.
Although Sam is alone in the wild most of the time, other characters constantly support him. The long, arduous journeys are interrupted by emails from other porters, among others expressing their gratitude.
How haptic feedback works
Death Stranding was expanded and remastered for PS5 in the DIRECTOR’S CUT addition, which Kojima would want us to call ‘director’s plus.’ The update introduced additional weapons and vehicles, new enemy types and locations to explore, and extra missions and minigames.
Another feature is for players to experience the game with the DualSense wireless controller’s haptic feedback. Movement in different environments, like grass, snow, and water, will be distinctly felt. Players can also feel the rain as it pours onto Sam.
Death Stranding is about long journeys on foot or a bike. This rumbling function of the controllers adds a special kind of immersion for the players to get into. One can feel the strain of the journey, the lay of the land, and the feel of the place.
The haptic feedback also does wonders in feeling more connected to the BB, or Bridge Baby. A Bridge Baby is an unborn fetus that has been taken from a stillmother. Bridges personnel use the equipment as it helps in sensing BTs in the wild.
A BB is carried in a portable pod mimicking the condition of the stillmother’s womb and is strapped to the carrier's chest. The swaying and sloshing of Lou, Sam’s BB, inside the pod is now felt through the controller.
Being Sam
A Redditor, who goes by the handle u/mronins, posted on the Death Stranding subreddit discussing more nuances regarding the introduction of haptic feedback in the game’s update, changing the experience of playing Sam. The Redditor notes that the rumbles only kick in when Sam feels anything.
Death Stranding essentially allows the players to feel what Sam is feeling. The tactile nature of this immersion is further complicated against Sam's aphenphosmphobia. The irony of the narrative lies in the fact that the Goliathan task of reconnecting cities of America falls on the shoulder of a man who suffers from a fear of touch.
When Sam overcomes his fear of being touched in the end, Deadman, one of the primary characters in the game played by Del Toro, hugs him. It is an emotional connection intensified by this haptic feedback.
As u/mronins writes:
"Once Sam overcomes his fear of being touched, every time a main character hugs him or rubs his cheek or pats his arm, it is felt and each feeling is unique."
Death Stranding is built around the notion of connection in a world much like ours, a pandemic-struck world that is devastated by an unknown entity and driven into secluded corners. The game is about pushing through the isolation of our existence into connecting with others.
This haptic update to Death Stranding not only nuances the sense of immersion but also showcases why Kojima is called a video game auteur. Irrespective of its dividing reviews, the game is unique in its ambition and delivery. Death Stranding further establishes itself as one of the possible futures of video gaming with this latest update.
This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
