The very first Death Stranding trailers were deliberately obscure — they sought to engage the audience through their mysterious and oppressive atmosphere.
With explanations offered by the latest trailers and by Hideo Kojima himself, the whole thing has become more understandable.
Here we break down what we know so far.
Death Stranding: Synopsis
In the near future, mysterious explosions have occurred on Earth. These have triggered a series of supernatural events known as 'Death Stranding'. Spectral creatures now haunt the planet, and the human race is on the verge of extinction.
It will be up to Sam Porter Bridges, played by The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus, to travel the devastated land in order to save humanity.
What is Death Stranding?
The main theme of the game is inspired by the phenomenon of cetacean stranding, or beaching. This refers to whales or dolphins stranding themselves on beaches.
When entities from the world of the dead, are washed ashore in the real world, that is 'Death Stranding'.
This event comes with many paranormal consequences and deaths. One of these is Timefall, a kind of rain that causes accelerates aging of the human body.
It is likely that finding the causes of Death Stranding, and putting an end to them, will be one of Sam's primary objectives.
Beached Things
The spectral creatures in Death Stranding are nicknamed 'Beached Things', or BTs. They have beached themselves in our world, and they seek to devour the living.
When a BT eats a living person, it leaves a crater called a Voidout. After being defeated in a fight, Sam has the capability of returning to the world of the living through a place that looks like an intersection of the two worlds.
There are several types of BTs. Some act as sentinels, and some will chase Sam on sight.
They are not always invincible, either — some can be immobilized by Sam's electric bolas, while others can be killed with large grenades.
The Bridge Baby
You can learn more about the baby in our dedicated article.
In summary, these babies were extracted from brain-dead mothers and inserted into special pods. These babies trigger a 'Trance Connection' that allows you to see the normally-invisible BTs.
Human Antagonists
Sam Porter Bridges works for a company — also called Bridges — which seeks to reconnect the USA. On his journey, he will meet humans who have very different goals.
The first of these is Cliff, who appeared in the first trailers released. In one, he emerges from a pool of black liquid, followed by skeletal soldiers with red eyes.
He seems to know a lot more about Death Stranding than anyone else. In a trailer, he is seen promising a baby to let him visit all the worlds — including the Moon — which suggests that he has great ambitions.
Another group of antagonists are Homo Demens. These are armed separatists who seek to maintain the independence of Edge Knot City, a city on the West Coast.
They are also detaining Amelie, who occupied a similar role to that of Sam. She should also have become the new President of the United Cities of America (UCA).
The most notable representative of this organization is Higgs, the Man in the Golden Mask, who invokes a special BT to attack Sam. He claims to have excellent contact with the 'other side' and a good understanding of the Death Stranding phenomenon.
You can also visit camps and meet groups of soldiers from his organization while traversing the map, as shown in The Drop trailer.
Travelling and Deliveries
Sam's role is to connect towns, cities and outposts to the Chiral Network.
This is facilitated by his Q-pid — a necklace which is covered in special equations and which contains all the operational and security protocols necessary to integrate a location to the Network.
We still don't know where all this will lead, but the establishment of the Chiral Network can be seen as a form of reconnection between human beings.
The game may well be metaphorical — even philosophical — with the Death Stranding caused by the breakdown of human relations in modern society.
Death Stranding comes to the PS4 on November 8, 2019. We're sure to have all the answers then!
