Death Stranding DPE

DPE
(Death Stranding Directors cut)

Designer’s Story - Hideo Kojima struggles with loneliness, He relates this to other
players who may feel lonely as they play games, That they don’t belong in society
and they don’t feel comfortable, He wanted his game to emulate this feeling during
play. His personal take on death is that the dead aren’t truly gone but still around,
you just can’t see them, But you’re still connected. This very connection is the main
theme of the game according to Kojima. He says his game takes a lot from politics
(The election of Donald Trump and Brexit) in the sense that the world needs to be re-
connected.
(Source - Time Magazine)
Story-Telling - "Death Stranding" is a video game set in a post-apocalyptic world

where mysterious supernatural events have caused the barrier between life and
death to weaken. Players take on the role of Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked
with reconnecting isolated cities and people in a fractured society. He must traverse
hazardous terrain, avoid deadly creatures, and reconnect a fractured society by
delivering vital supplies and reconnecting communication networks. The overarching
plot involves uncovering the nature of the Death Stranding phenomenon, dealing
with supernatural entities known as BTs, and ultimately working towards reuniting a
divided world while uncovering the truth behind the cataclysmic events that have
reshaped the planet.
Player’s Story - Death Stranding is an abstraction of a dystopian future where the

dead aren’t really dead, It can start off slow and grueling and is very demanding of
the players patience and time, Personally it felt like a commitment to play this game.
For the first couple chapters nothing really engaging happens, you spend hours
conducting deliveries (The Gameplay during this is also pretty basic thus the name
walking simulator) in a world you know nothing about. Information is scarce and rare,
even when its provided it is in a way that leaves you half satisfied and wanting more
clarity. Half way into the game I changed the way I looked at things and started
accepting these abstractions without much question since I knew closure wouldn’t be
provided unless I went looking for it in the emails and other text based inputs.
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Mechanics - Travel is one of the biggest mechanics of the game this includes many
sub-mechanics such as :
Balance
Cargo Placement
Player Speed
Maneuverability
Stamina
Vehicle Travel
BB (Stress)
Route Planning
Stealth and Combat are also key mechanics in this game

Resource/Ammo management
Holding your breath
Detection
Sound
Resources and building are another key mechanic that influences Long-term
Gameplay
Scavenging
Building (Roads bridges Generators etc.)
Cargo Health Management

Inventory Management
Fabricating Equipment (Ladders Anchors)
Another very interesting mechanic is the partial multiplayer system in this game,
Even though you will never see another player ever you are still connected to a
server, and if you and another player happen to be in the same area you may call out
to them and they will hear your voice without ever seeing you, The structures they
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build in that server will also be available to every player on that server making
deliveries much easier and quick. During enemy fights with BTs other players will be
able to throw items such as blood-bags grenades weapons to aid in the fight which,
goes back to Kojima’s purpose of showing players they are never truly alone.
Dynamics/Experience - The use of other players or you creating structures will

benefit in the long run as deliveries tend to become more difficult however other
players may build structures that can negatively affect you for example ziplines that
dismount you at the edge of a cliff killing you instantly and making you restart at a
facility, this is incredibly annoying as there is no way to verify the safety of a
structure, and not using them at all makes the game tedious and boring for the most
part however, The game encourages co-op in this sense. Another way the game
encourages Co-op is in inventory management, players on the same server can
store weapons, vehicles and consumables in safehouses, where they will be made
available to other players, This may not mean much for weapons and consumables,
As you’d only store the surplus to help your fellow porter out, but this may lead to
vehicles being taken from the safehouse without you wanting that and leaving you
back on your feet. BT Fights can sometimes be too easy as you’ll always have
players throwing you useful items during it, this may work in your advantage during
the fight, however it takes away from the engagement of the fight itself as the stakes
are pretty low.
In early game this is done pretty well paired with the stealth mechanic since if you do
come across a BT zone, You are not able to cut their umbilical cords and if you are
detected you are not able to fight your way out either since you do not have weapons
yet, this adds greater stakes to being detected, The bridge baby in this instance also
adds another variable to the stealth mechanic as without them it would be difficult for
the players to navigate between BT zones, The BB will periodically get stressed
during travel and deliveries this makes comforting it a key mechanic to avoid any
unexpected crying during a BT zone clear as sounds will attract them, regardless the
effect of this is mitigated once the player has weapons as fighting your way out of
trouble is easy and more rewarded since you will most like exit with more items than
you had before by players helping you, Sure cargo contamination is increased during
this but even a half decent player can avoid that with negligible contamination . The
Travel seems very basic considering it is a core component of the gameplay ,like
they wanted to cover many mechanics but no one mechanic is explored in depth, for
example the player balancing seems like an attempt to make the whole travelling
aspect of the game more engaging however holding R2 and L2 automatically
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balances the player through any terrain at the cost of stamina, which is a small price
to pay. The biggest feature is how your actions affect the world in the combat aspect
for example BTs are not the only enemy you come across, There is another group
called MULES who will only attack if you are carrying cargo, With human enemies
you must decide to use non-lethal rounds as killing them will cause them to go necro
in 48Hrs and cause a void out if not taken to an incinerator, This essentially feels like
punishment for killing them and is more work and required, However the sheer fact
that your actions have consequences in this world is a very meaningful thing,
aligning with the developers motivation to make this game in the first place. On a
more technical note the collisions in this game are absurdly bad, If the whole game
revolves around travel and getting from point A to B at least that could have been a
pleasant experience, but it is not instead the game focuses more on punishing
players by scattering packages on a trip or light fall. Vehicles such as the cicada
series or the heavy ones are quite useless due to the abysmal collisions in the game,
they feel useless and more like an add-on rather than a mechanic that was meant for
use. Often times in this game it feels like the developer has already decided how he
wants the player to play this game and any deviation from that plan is allowed but
not without consequence, for example in episode 13 Sam is stuck on Amelie’s beach
alone, during this the the credits play as the player runs around the empty beach,
(the credits play 3 times in the game) while the credits play this simulates a very long
and exhausting feeling which may be to give the player a small glimpse of how Sam
feels on the beach however the game is no where close to finished and just seems
self-indulgent and forceful.
User Experience - The GUI for the game is nothing special or out of the box it can be
very tiny at times but apart from nothing quite noteworthy or negative, However one
thing that stands out that games were not doing at the time is the diegetic UI during
gameplay for example this is shown when delivering cargo, as an ammo counter and
even when recharging a vehicle, it is a small aspect of the game but reduces screen
clutter and makes the whole sci fi vibe of the game that much immersive, The game
has a very vast playlist of tracks that play during the travel, however the player can
not choose based on their mood, it is affected by in-game variables for example the
weather, the terrain and what the character is doing. Another small note-able aspect
is the interactions with Sam in this room there are quite a few easter eggs and call
backs to the studio and Kojima’s previous games.
DPE 4
DPE 5

Death Stranding DPE

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DPE

(Death Stranding Directors cut)

Story-Telling - "Death Stranding" is a video game set in a post-apocalyptic world

Player’s Story - Death Stranding is an abstraction of a dystopian future where the

Stealth and Combat are also key mechanics in this game

Cargo Health Management

Fabricating Equipment (Ladders Anchors)

Dynamics/Experience - The use of other players or you creating structures will

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