After keeping the gameplay secret for years, Kojima has opened the floodgates and a solid overview of what Death Stranding will offer can be found in the video above, unfortunately in Japanese. We have therefore prepared a summary in English of the main information step by step.
Cargo & deliveries
- One of the objectives of the game will be to connect different cities and outposts across the USA, as well as to make deliveries of goods. You will therefore have to choose what to take on board at your departure base, and how to distribute the boxes of goods on your character. The weight is to be taken into account, but also the general balance. When you have to transport all this on steep paths and over ravines, it is better to do it twice.
- Different tools and instruments to make your task easier can also be taken along, but they have their own weights and they will also have to be carried. At first they are quite simple, like the folding ladder and the grapple. The ladder can be used to climb a cliff, or, if placed horizontally, it can act as a bridge. The grapple allows you to abseil down, among other things.
- Walking will require managing your balance, endurance, as well as the state of wear of your boots, for example. A GPS allows you to plan your route and the scanner allows you to find objects and the dangers posed by the terrain. It is quite possible to lose your goods in case of a fall, or if you cross a river for example.
- Managing fatigue and your health seems important, it is possible to sit down to change your boots, massage your shoulders and sleep among others things. It is also an opportunity to socialize with the baby.
- Later, more advanced tools will help you transport more goods faster, such as an exoskeleton dedicated to transport or speed. It is also possible to have a small flying platform capable of carrying heavy loads and following you. It can also be used as a fast backup vehicle once unloaded, which is useful in combat. All these elements are limited by their battery, however.
- Real vehicles are also available, such as a van (driven by enemies) and a motorcycle. However, the field doesn't allow you to use them everywhere. In addition, outside the network, their energy is limited. Energy terminals and hot water sources can be used to recharge them, for example.
- Special terminals are sometimes available in the wild, to make deliveries, change equipment or store it.
- When a delivery is made in a new city or outpost, you will sometimes receive special rewards, such as a harmonica, and it will be possible to add this place to the network via your special «dog tags». The effects of the network are not fully known, but it updates the map, with points of interest for example, as in other open world games.
Cooperation & social
- The one feature of Death Stranding that is currently quite unclear seems to be related to multiplayer, or at least to the online features of the PS4. It seems that players are free to place signs, like in a Dark Souls game, to warn other players and to score points of interest. Likes marked with thumbs can then be given. The functionality seems to go further, however, with the possibility of placing objects that other players will benefit directly, such as a bridge over a river that allows them to pass with a vehicle, or a ladder to overcome a chasm.
- The baby also seems to give you Likes based on your actions, such as playing the harmonica. The impact and use is still unknown.
Battles
- Camps occupied by hostile human beings (or who look like human beings, even if the suit does not help to judge) are present. They are full of resources and objects, but you will have to be discreet or use your high-tech weapons to pacify the opposition. A silent execution weapon called literally «strand» is used.
- The second weapon used is the poi lance. It ties and immobilizes opponents without killing them. It also works on some supernatural apparitions.
- Some areas are haunted by the oily monsters seen in the trailers, but quality equipment seems to be used as bait to encourage the player to take risks.
- Some monsters are invisible, others attack from the ground and drag Bridges into a strange dimension/world flooded with black liquid, as seen in the trailers. Vehicle carcasses, and even complete buildings, float in this material. To get out of this world, you have to defeat some kind of monstrous boss. The one in the gameplay demonstration was described as a «small fry» many times by Kojima, but in practice, it looked far from weak because it was firing lasers, sweeping the area with its tail, and it took about 5 minutes and about 20 grenades to kill it. The world then returned to normal without transition or loading.
Written by Robin "Raiden" Bouquet. Translated from French by Millenium.us.org
Kojima moved to Gamescom to unveil strange and destabilizing new videos of his next game, Death Stranding, which seems rich in tragic and incomprehensible stories out of context. And, surprise, a gameplay video.
