Strand Walker

Reconnecting a shattered America through delivery and connection.

Death Stranding is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by Kojima Productions, marking director Hideo Kojima's first project after splitting from Konami in 2015. Set in a post-cataclysmic United States, the game tasks players with controlling Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), a courier navigating an open world plagued by destructive creatures known as Beached Things (BTs). The primary objective involves delivering supplies to isolated colonies called Knot Cities and reconnecting them via the Chiral Network.

Quick Facts

Type: Traversal Mechanic; Concept
First appears: Death Stranding (2019)

Lore & Background

The world was devastated by the 'Death Stranding,' an event causing BTs to roam Earth. These invisible creatures originate from the 'Beach' and produce 'Timefall,' rain that rapidly ages whatever it touches. Porters must navigate this environment using a robotic sensor called an 'odradek' to detect BTs. As 'repatriates,' characters like Sam can return from death via the underwater 'Seam,' though contact with a BT causes a 'voidout.' The Chiral Network serves as the backbone of society, facilitating instant communication and allowing players to construct ropes, bridges, and power generators using blueprints. This system relies on Bridge Babies (BBs), premature children who can sense BTs when connected mentally by porters.

Reader's Guide

Players control Sam Bridges as a porter for Bridges, tasked with delivering supply cargo to Knot Cities and researchers. Performance is evaluated based on delivery status and cargo integrity, earning 'likes' that level up statistics like stability and weight capacity. Packing strategy directly affects navigation ability. The game features enemies including BTs, MULEs (rogue porters), and Demens (killing porters). To survive voidouts and detect invisible threats, players must utilize the odradek sensor and manage their BB unit effectively. As the Chiral Network expands, players access maps and use a Portable Chiral Constructor to build infrastructure. Structures left by other players can be recovered or used, though Timefall eventually destroys them.

Did You Know?

The game was first released for PlayStation 4 in November 2019, with a Windows port following in July 2020.
As of March 2021, Death Stranding had sold 5 million copies worldwide.
The soundtrack heavily features music from Low Roar; after frontman Ryan Karazija died in 2022, Hideo Kojima stated, 'Without [Low Roar], Death Stranding would not have been born.'
A sequel titled Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has been announced but has not yet been released; no specific release date has been officially confirmed.
The game includes the likenesses of film directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn as supporting characters alongside actors like Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydoux.