Intro / Preface
Hey everybody! I have adored the concepts, the art, and ideas behind death stranding as it stands today. However in my searching for fan theories, I have found that while quite a lot of them are close they are not quite what I deciphered from the cryptic trailers we have seen so far. So in this post I intend to make my full theory of the world of death stranding before then going on to discuss what I think this will mean from a gameplay standpoint.
In case, this applies and / or adds anything to my theory or analysis of what I have to say about death stranding, I am a first year games design student applying what I have learned so far in my analysis on ideas like gameplay and what it means for the world (discussed further below)
Events Preceding the Game
Some time before the events of death stranding as we will see them in the game, at least 2 dimensions collided. 2 - 3 completely different dimensions with different rules, laws, and realities came to occupy the same space to some extent. Not all of these worlds overlap as much as each other and there are clear limitations that I will discuss later. The dimensions that exist in the world of death stranding are as follows.
The human world
The World of Ludens (Explored later)
The Death World
This event could be the event known as the death stranding as it is something that sent the human world into catastrophe. There is evidence of this dotted throughout trailers, press releases, interviews. The one I will use for example in this time is Hideo Kojima's definition of Timefall early into the release of trailers, given by IGN: https://youtu.be/wEN_wFY_k1g?t=126
This is rain falling from 'another world' there is more evidence for dimensions colliding at other times but this is simply one example of many.
This event also gave way for 2 entities to spill forth into the human world. Homo Ludens, and a race (I say race for want of a better word, this feels more like a kingdom of animals or even simply the word for every creature native to the death world) named the Chirals (or this could simply be how they are described, more on this later).
Some Ludens sought to coexist with humans, others did not see it this way (more on this in Ludens and Delivery companies)
Timefall & the United Cities of America
It is the timefall that is what forced the United States of the human world to come to now be known as 'The United Cities of America' instead. Buildings, infrastructure, and anything manmade was worn away and eventually destroyed by timefall that saw the cities, towns, and homes of humanity age and die. Wood would rot away, concrete would crumble, and metal would eventually oxidise and become useless.
To prevent full on extinction as humans would age and die in the presence of timefall, the United Cities of America was formed out of what remained of America. Cities made out of small camps slowly rebuilding society after everything in the world was fundamentally changed. Homes, tools, equipment, and belongings all now need to be made of plastic as it takes thousands of years before it finally decays away.
http://www.ungeek.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/e3_2018_death_stranding_makes_sense_image_2.jpg
This image shows clear example of it, notice the raincoat, the tent, and the plastic gun all being equipment developed by the united cities of America or the bridges corporation (More on this in delivery companies). The United Cities of America and Holland are the only known bastions of humanity known at this time. Holland or the Dutch people are known to exist because of a Dutch flag seen on the chest of the woman in the recent trailer featuring the man in the golden mask.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UChQsuMHpDw
The flag is seen here.
The collapse of the United States in Favour of the United Cities also saw some major changes as every human now had to pull their weight to ensure the safety of humanity. This meant that anyone relevant in politics, high ranking military members, etc would now be relegated to much more base jobs as humanity now needed to focus on rebuilding. This is why we see the photograph of Sam 'porter' Bridges in what looks like the oval office. https://youtu.be/51qCCiNy4MQ?t=310
Homo Ludens
" We are Homo Ludens (Those who play). From the moment we enter this world, we instinctively invent ways to have “fun”, and share our inventions with those around us."
This is a quote from Hideo Kojima's own website. In this small quote from the book Homo Ludens written by Johan Huizinga in which the scholar explored the idea that our culture, society, and development is all powered and pushed by our pursuit of fun and play, something rarely seen in the animal kingdom.
Also on this website is Hideo Kojima's interpretation of a Homo Ludens a humanoid creature whose entire existence, being, and culture has been moulded around play. https://static.giga.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Kojima_Maskottchen_Ludens_ganzes_Bild.jpg
But what does this mean for death stranding? The Homo Ludens are a race that exist in the world of death stranding. They did not always, live in the human world but after the event known as the death stranding, the Homo Ludens or at least some of them now had to live in this world alongside humanity.
Now for evidence for why these Ludens exist in this world? This thirty six second video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqBhyqq6xE
In the logo movie for Kojima productions we see Hideo Kojima's 2 favourite things; absurd visuals and Moby Dick. But in actuality what this is, is infact a ludens enjoying their favourite thing in the universe, Play.
We see at the very end the sun rising from behind the earth at the very end of the trailer. An astrological event that;,if you ask the bbc at least, puts the sun at the right angle to cause a "circumzenithal arc" or, an upside down rainbow. An upside down rainbow that can be seen in the second death stranding trailer.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/0CAQtl11vQY?t=35
BBC Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35343629
We already know that the events of some of these trailers happen at the same time thanks to the 1st and 2nd trailer syncing up so well. So it is not hard to put 2 and 2 together and draw the conclusion that while del toro is running through the mud in trailer 2, our Unnamed Ludens is stomping around on the moon at the same time. (Also the keychain on the baby pod in the E3 trailer showing the same ludens)
Ludens love adventure, they love feeling like the centre of the story, they relish in an epic chronicle with them in the centre, as is their nature as 'Those who play'. Ludens are video game protagonists.
Now let me clarify, Ludens aren't the protagonist of this game (give or take) They are the protagonists of all video games. Imagine a tale of fighting dragons like skyrim where you happen to be the chosen one for 12 different secret orders at the same time. Imagine a game like call of duty where one lone gunman takes on hundreds of evil soldiers all singlehandedly. Now imagine the fear the NPC's must feel when the chosen one walks into the room, draws their sword, and quicksaves.
The Ludens are evolved beyond humanity, they are their own race, and they posses reality bending powers to allow them to carve their own epic stories so they can play as they please. Now, since the death stranding has forced their worlds to collide, that they have to share their home with humans, these humans have become but NPCs in their great adventures, whether either party likes it or not.
So far we have seen four Ludens in the world of death stranding.
Mads Mikkelsen: The first Ludens to be seen up close, Mads exhibits qualities that cement the Ludens as being a race of video game protagonists with several clear examples. When we meet him, we see world war 2 planes flying overhead in a war-torn city, old tanks chug through the streets, and then we meet him. A man accompanies by the resurrected corpses of World War 2 soldiers, Just like anyone playing a WWII shooter. When you play one of those games you are fighting along side men who have been long dead for years. And at the centre of all of it is Mads with equipment better than his peers, leading the squad, He is the protagonist of his story and this city is his playground to play it out.
To further show him off as the protagonist, watch the reveal of his face. the night vision goggles he wears simply disappear into the aether as if they were never there. Just like a video game character removing an article of clothing; despite it remaining in their inventory, it is nowhere to be seen. Juxtaposing this against this clip from the E3 trailer: https://i.redd.it/vspdnxcoeh311.gif we begin to see the post modern games design Hideo Kojima is getting at. While a Ludens (the protagonist) can hold a plethora of weapons, clothing sets, armour, A human (NPC) has to struggle with lugging countless crates and boxes over a ravine just to keep up
Léa Seydoux: Employee of fragile express (explored later) and the only person on this list that I would question being a Ludens. Léa represents Ludens that have decided to coexist amongst humanity without terrorising them with their games and adventures. She shows that it is possible for these Ludens to be peaceful with humans while still retaining the qualities of a Ludens. We can see her jovial and carefree nature hinting to the idea that she is a Ludens, her only protection from the deadly timefall that could see her waste away and rot in seconds is an umbrella, and her defence from the Chirals (Explored later) is a jacket that focuses entirely on style over functionality.
Troy Baker: A Ludens in the same camp as Mads Mikkelsen, neither of these 2 want to stop their games, but interestingly enough, this one still seems to work for a delivery company (or employ the same technology as a delivery person) like Sam and Léa. (Delivery companies will be addressed later). His ability to fly without anything that would make it seem as if he could makes him a prime candidate to be a Ludens using his reality bending powers to achieve flight. This allows him to remain carefree as the only Chiral creature we have seen that could possibly hurt him was the colossal creature from the 3rd trailer. He has several quotes that seem indicative of him being ludens from his most recent trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln4ej0h6MAw
"We can always Tweak the rules a bit"
"Sound like fun? Of course it does!"
This final line is especially like a Ludens as only a protagonist would see a chase from a giant demon lion to be a fun adventure
He also possesses technology allowing him to make use of the death world as a weapon. looking closely, you can see he is actually sucking the black tar like sludge from the death world before re moulding it into the giant creature that he sicks on the protagonist. This could be a product of his company or something completely different as the lamp over his shoulder clearly used to detect chirals is of an older design and make. Note how the bulb has yellowed from time but still makes the same movements as one of the 4 pronged lamps. Initially my theory over this individual before the release of his trailer was that he was a veteran or an older delivery man, hence his older looking technology and more worn clothing. But now it is clear he is a ludens with a patch on his arm signifying he works for a completely different group.
Unnamed Ludens on The Moon: He has been my problem area for some time. Many people have been quick to point out that him and Norman Reedus share many visual similarities, hence it leads me to believe this is some form of end game Sam. This would be a Sam that has evolved to become a Ludens through the trials and tribulations he has faced over the course of this game, forming him into a video game protagonist or a Ludens. However, as I discussed earlier, his video takes place at the same time as trailer 2, which seems to be synchronized with trailer 1 which features Sam. My current explanation is this is either Sam using his new Ludens powers for time travel or another explanation I am yet to discover.
Chirals, DOOMs & The Death World
The Chirals, the beings of the death world. Currently the most mysterious thing about the world of death stranding so me. We know that at least since Death Stranding, when a human Dies, they are sent to the death world. We do not know if Ludens go to the same place as we are yet to see one that has been put into a situation where they fear for their life. I understand there is the E3 trailer for death stranding where we see Sam and Léa hide in fear of a chiral creature but I will get into why I think this is not the same but this is further material to support the idea that Léa may not be a ludens.
We know that death has no longer become a permanent issue in the world of Death Stranding. By some marvel of the Death Stranding event, humans who die can navigate the death the world and come back to the material world with DOOMs. A consensus has been drawn in the community that DOOMs stands for Death Obtained Organic Mutations. From the E3 trailer we know that both Sam and Léa have DOOMS, and that different levels of DOOMs can be gained, likely from dying multiple times. Gaining these mutations grant certain abilities that let people better defend themselves from Chirals. We see that Sam has an allergy to the chirals and as a result tears up and his skin rashes in presence to them, this is the product of his DOOMs being at a lower level than Léa as she can now see them with her level of DOOMs. She makes mention of this ability in the trailer but this is also seen when Sam has to look down at the handprints of the Chiral while Lea can look directly at it and see the creature.
Chirals are the natives of the Death world and these can possibly be separated into 2 categories on their own. I will call these Lost Souls and Predators for want of proper nouns. Both of these Chirals have the ability to exhibit themselves outside of the death world with their own limitations.
Lost souls can only exist in the black tar like pools that come to existence in the handprints of Predators and when Ludens use their powers to warp reality. we see this in trailer 2 when the sewer is flooded with black fluid in the presence of Mads Mikkelsen, and when Troy Baker creates his giant lion. My theory currently stands that while humans can cheat death through the death world there is a certain point where a human can no longer come back through conventional methods and find themselves trapped in the death world. At this point a human will try and seek out a new body to possess to come back this is why we see hands in the tar grabbing at Troy Baker, the body disposal team from the third trailer, and Sam at the end of the E3 trailer. We could even see the effects of a lost soul succeeding in the third trailer when the dead body begins to writhe in the spot when the black tar begins to rise around it.
Predators are Invisible to Humans with low levels of Dooms. However they can be seen by Ludens (Explained later). These creatures exsist in physical space and appear to be blind or at least unable to see creatures living in the world. They are able to hear living creatures. this forces humans and possibly ludens to have to cover their mouths and noses to prevent predators from hearing them and trying to eat them. Clearly these predators are either extremely strong and resilient as no one as of late has been seen making any attempt to attack them except for as an absolute last resort when panicked in the 3rd trailer. Also known is that when a human is eaten by a predator it causes an event known as a 'void out' humans will attempt suicide to prevent void outs, meaning that a predator must have to eat a living being to cause this event. This being said, great care is taken to dispose of dead bodies from these predators so maybe killing oneself only lessens the effects of void out.
The void out is an issue I have wanted to address greatly as everywhere I read and watch, I see a void out being described as 'an explosion' though I feel like this is a poor description. We do not see an explosion ever when witnessing a void out in the 3rd trailer. We see a great expansion very quickly and a huge crater with no debris. This does not feel like an explosion creating a massive crater but instead the very matter making up the land being removed and taken somewhere else. I think this is why we see so much sea life in the death world when we visit it in the 3rd trailer. Dead bodies are likely dumped in the ocean where if a void out is caused, it has minimal effects on the human settlements trying to rebuild. This explains the team of people sent to dispose of a dead body
Delivery Companies
The main conflict of the game will play out between 3 groups, 2 of which I am confident are delivery companies. After the Death stranding event and America fell, one thing that struggles to die is capitalism. So delivery companies managed to survive in the ashes of America and become the back bone of the new United Cities of America. Technology was researched and developed by these companies to further aid the new world in rebuilding, for the right price of course. This can be seen clearly in the newest line-up of major characters presenting the president of the Bridges delivery company. (4th one from the left) https://i.redd.it/54gz1kcho0o11.png
The 3 groups as we know them today are:
Bridges: This company seems to be the official nationalised state delivery company that delivers goods between the United Cities of America. Their logo is a web over a map of north America to signify the state of the country as it is today with small cities loosely held together by trade routes followed by the Bridges delivery company. They do not have the best technology but they make do and mend with what they have to make it work. We know Sam works for this company at the time of the 3rd trailer and the E3 trailer
Fragile Express: If bridges are Microsoft then Fragile Express are the Apple of the post apocalyptic delivery world. Their entire ethos seems to follow form over function and leans into a much more Ludens way of thinking, leaning to the idea that this company staffs Ludens. This company is higher paying for their employees, and charges higher rates than their competitor Bridges for their services. Cities would likely pay more money for this company for the confidence that a Fragile Express courier is guaranteed to arrive at their destination. Anyone confident to walk out into timefall with nothing but a stylized umbrella to protect themselves is going to get the job done. We see Léa's umbrella vibrate in the E3 trailer, clearly a feature to prevent timefall build-up on the surface of it. This shows a clear focus on aesthetics as the same outcome could be achieved with one of the porter jackets or a normal looking umbrella.
The Masked Man's Group: We do not know much about this group except they have the infrastructure to create uniforms with printed logos and the Masked man is a part of them. I am not clear on weather or not they are a delivery company but my thoughts are they are a completely different group. YongYea made an excellent video drawing connections between this group and Ancient Egyptian lore. While I do not agree with every part of his theory it is definitely worth a watch and forms the basis for who I think will be representing this group in the game. I believe that the 5 flying individuals in the 1st trailer are 5 members of this group, one of these being the man in the golden mask. All of them possess the ability to fly, an ability seen exhibited by the man in the golden mask. According to YongYea's theory and mine to an extent these 5 members are Ludens representative of the Egyptian gods Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus. I believe that in-universe these 5 do not represent these gods in a way that will be noticed by characters in game but on a meta level they will follow these thematic inspirations.
From the E3 trailer we can garner that Sam feels a sense of loyalty to his nation as he is offered an opportunity to work at fragile express and turns down the offer despite being the better paying job and the better company over all. This could be for many reasons, the first being he cannot leave Bridges. We have seen that the wrist band he wears that indicates health looks a lot like a pair of handcuffs with both ends attached to the same wrist, we never see someone outside of Bridges wearing these handcuffs. The second reason could be that the entire of the United Cities may not be able to afford Fragile Express' prices, and leaving Bridges would mean weakening the only affordable shot at survival the country has.
The Babies
The focal point of so many trailers, theories, and fever dream like death sequences. There have been many theories about what these babies in artificial wombs are. They could be clones to replace people who die of time fall by aging at the same rate as the person who could not cover themselves. I disagree with this idea as it would require someone to already have this baby, have it plugged in, and not be wearing one of the standard issue raincoats anybody equipped with a baby has, raincoats that automatically shield you from timefall the second you touch anything that vaguely resembles timefall (seen in the E3 trailer). Others have theorised that the baby may be clairvoyant or have some ability to see Chirals, this is backed up by the Chiral detecting lamp that comes to life when the baby is plugged in. But fragile express have clearly already developed technology that detects chiral activity nearby, we even hear on the radio in the E3 trailer that there is chiral activity nearby, this is before the baby is plugged in. Even in this trailer when the lamp is detecting Chirals, the baby is not paying attention and Sam needs to tap the glass.
Now It was the tapping of the glass that made me have to stop and think, before it all clicked. What could a human baby have that an adult would not? Why could the infant's attention be required. The answer is nothing, because it is not a human infant. In those pods are baby ludens, possessing the same reality bending powers as a Ludens. And the evidence just begins to stack up from there.
We know the game is 3rd person from gameplay footage, and when looking at the 3rd trailer the shoulder lamp comes to form the shape of a crosshair. If there were a third person camera over that man, the lamp would line up to make a crosshair allowing the 3rd person camera to aim.
In trailer 2 we see Del toro's character terrified to the point of refusing to enter the cave where Mads and his squad are advancing. This is until he plugs the child into himself and is visually more determined and ready to charge headlong into battle like a video game character.
Smaller visual changes are also there to make clear the connection between the baby and a Ludens. When the pod is off, the glass looks like a PS4 touchpad. There is a zoom in to the pod showing writing that says "Ensure seal is tight" on the chord coming out of the pod like that of a PS4 charging chord, even the bands around the wrists of Bridges workers glow the colours a PS4 controller glow as it runs out of battery. Starting blue, and becoming more orange before becoming red as the mas loses health from stabbing himself in the 3rd trailer.
An old interview with a gaming news outlet after another death stranding trailer, prior to E3 2018 had 2 reporters talking about how there were not fleets of these babies, how this was 'the' baby. This was this was not a face in the crowd but this baby was its own individual of few
I think that the baby is the player. The player of this game, like how each other Ludens is a video game protagonist this baby is the protagonist of this game and thereby we are the baby. We are homo ludens as the quote itself said, and when the people of this world need help, they need a hero, they plug in the pod, and allow us, the ludens to take control if just for a while, to help them through hardship. The pod represents the controller and we are the baby inside of it. the controller is our bridge into their world just like the pod is the baby's way of interacting with the world.
There is now the issue of the baby belonging to the man in the golden mask. I am yet to have an explanation for this baby as we are yet to see it in action but it could be the case that the man in the golden mask himself is not even a ludens. That he is just a human and hence the older equipment that would have been used for delivery work for the Bridges company or Fragile express, however thanks to the baby taking control and wanting to play (as a Ludens would) It decided to stop making deliveries and joined this nameless group.
Applications to Gameplay
What does this mean for gameplay? A couple things. Firstly we have a structure to the game we have seen before in Hideo Kojima's work, look to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater where the player saw themselves facing off against a litany of signposted and clearly sectioned off, themed, bosses one after the other at the ends of levels. Now look at death stranding with a group of 5 people possessing extraordinary reality bending power with a theme of Egyptian gods that would all get to have their own unique boss fights themed around their associated god.
The bulk of the game will be made up out of delivery missions with difficult obstacles to face along the way. Chirals, playful yet destructive Ludens, the ever more tempting call of a job at fragile express, even the elements will prove difficult. Our character will make his way over all of these obstacles completing a full hero's journey and over the course of the game though us playing as him and him experiencing evolution through play and adventure he will evolve into a Ludens just like how we see him in the images of the Ludens in armour.
One final note I would like to add is that the head of the Bridges company wears a mask with a striking familiarity to the mask inside of the Ludens armour, this likely means that this company will have something to do with Sam's ultimate evolution into a Homo Ludens.
If you read this thing all the way through I commend you. This took me all day to write and I am just happy to have my theory out there for people to see. If this gives you any ideas, if you disagree, or if you have anything to add at all, please comment. I would love to see what everyone here has to say.
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