THE VIDEO GAME WE NEED.
When legendary video-game auteur Hideo Kojima was setting the vision board for what would eventually culminate in last year’s critically acclaimed “Death Stranding” — the pastiche of 1980s cult films, campy collection of popculture references and an A-list cast of celebrities who would eventually voice Kojima’s characters — no one could have predicted how deeply salient the game’s message would be amid a public health crisis.
Explaining the plot of “Death Stranding” would be a futile attempt to condense hours of fantastic world-building and immersion that is only experienced through gameplay. Instead, the focus of any discourse surrounding the game and its commentary should be targeted to its setting, which drops players into a desolate wasteland in postapocalyptic America, following a supernatural disaster known as “the death stranding.”
The threats brought upon by this phenomenon immediately caused unprecedented levels of decay to American infrastructure, forcing residents to seclude themselves in remote, makeshift settlements called “Knot Cities,” and ushering in isolation, hopelessness and a breach in the population’s expectations of life in community, civilization and national identity.
Playing as delivery man Sam Porter-Bridges, it is then the player’s mission to deliver essential goods to those in need, collaborate with a diverse cast of characters who want to thrive in the face of near-extinction and eventually connect the different settlements through a resource-and-supply network, restoring a sense of unity to a fragmented country that fights a threat it doesn’t understand completely.
The game’s connections to the current COVID-19 crisis that has claimed thousands of people don’t stop there. Most of the characters you meet practice social distancing, as you only communicate with them via holograms as you supply the requested materials. In many cases, these delivery missions will have the player deliver medical goods that are vital for the birth of a child, or will help deal with some of the unprecedented effects of living in a world at the edge of annihilation.
The player is allowed to complete whatever task they must at any given time, truly conveying the notion that everyone matters during a time of crisis. No one is above another and everyone can contribute to the eventual sunrise that awaits on the other side of desperate times.
Glimmers of hope also shine through the game’s different landscapes, which range from snowy mountains to valleys. Its focus on mixing rich natural sound with a star-studded soundtrack, which includes songs from such artists as Khalid and Major Lazer, evokes a harrowing sense of desolation that is contrasted by the beautiful scale and graphic photorealism.
And yet, when “Death Stranding” teaches the player to appreciate the silent, the serene and the individual sense of accomplishment that comes from building up the collective, its most essential system kicks into gear.
In “Death Stranding,” every player shares the same world, which rewards collaboration and — due to the nature of the game’s limited reward in seeking conflict — discourages players from battling others. Want to speed up deliveries that require vehicles? Players are encouraged to build roads that will recharge renewable energy-powered motorized gadgets. These roads will then be available for all players who are connected to the game’s “social strand” system.
While players don’t physically appear in others’ game worlds, the repercussions are felt beyond simple infrastructure. Players can drop virtual signs warning of a heavy river current that can sweep away Sam and damage all of his cargo. They can also warn others against heading into an area that is heavily infested with “BTs,” the game’s most fearsome foes. While these are lifesaving warnings, other signs are simpler and come in the way of humble “cheer up” holograms that restore Sam’s stamina while triggering a voice recording that greets the player with “keep on keeping on.”
“Death Stranding” is a technical achievement with a robust gameplay loop that sees players attempting to rekindle hope and unite a country in a fascinating sci-fi world that replicates similarities with modern life. It also stands as a gold standard for a medium that often fights to marry the human experience with its interactive understanding of reality.