Introduction
This post is my best effort to put together the most accurate and reliable information about Death Stranding (DS) that fans have gathered throughout years' worth of discussing, analyzing, theorizing and putting together pieces of information provided by Hideo Kojima. It’s all based on educated guesses and should not be taken as a definitive guide for the game, so take everything with a grain of salt. This long essay is supposed to be an introduction to newbies, a somewhat comprehensive source for the interested but lost or a good reference point for the die-hard (pun intended) veteran crowd. I’m tired of people saying this game is just an overhyped walking simulator and not a beautiful and poetic work of art meant to be read in a meta level. I hope to convince you of the latter by the end.
Not in any way, shape or form do I claim all content presented here are ideas of my own and I’d be a terrible person if I claimed them as such, so bear in mind this isn’t, at all, only original content. My personal opinions/theories will be clear in the text. My main challenge was to figure out how some wonderful community takes could be put together in the most logical of ways, but naturally, my own view might interfere a bit, such as which particular theory I affiliate myself with. Since this is a compilation of many sources, I tried my best to give as many references and credits to people as I could in the text and at the bottom of this long read. However, I’ll be highlighting works of people I read or watched content firsthand, mainly through YouTube and Reddit. If you want credit (or get your content removed if I couldn’t reach you), please feel free to PM me. I came into the community not over six months ago so I couldn’t possibly have a reference of where most things came from.
I don’t care if you share, translate and discuss this post elsewhere, as long as you give credit and provide a link to this post. First, because the sources of other people’s work are all listed here. I tried to reach every single one of the 40+ contributors. This is a community’s work. Second, I worked on this in the span of six weeks and it wasn’t easy at all. Specially considering I've never written so much in my second language - by the way, thanks my friend Wilson who helped me with editing and grammar. However, I think the most important thing is to make everyone more excited about the game and this fascinating story. Comment below, PM me or reach me out on Twitter to talk about DS!
Since this essay is very long (14,000 words long), I’ll post it in a few parts. Part I will answer the following questions:
- What is Death Stranding?
- When does it take place?
- Where does it take place?
WARNING: this post contains potential spoilers in case the predictions turn out to be true. Details in the trailers analyzed here might spoil the fate of some characters. If you are sensitive to spoilers on gear, weapons, and locations, do not read this post.
What is Death Stranding?
Let’s suppose you’ve been reading random articles on Reddit or Wikipedia at 3 AM and somehow you end up in this sub, not knowing a thing of what this is all about. Death Stranding (DS) is PlayStation 4 exclusive video game title, written, produced and directed by Hideo Kojima and developed by his own company, Kojima Productions (KJP). There are six trailers for the game out there, and I recommend you to watch them before continuing your reading if it’s your first contact with the game. You can find all of them at KJP’s playlist, except for the TGS 2018.
Hideo Kojima | Photo by TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL/Variety
Hideo Kojima is a well-renowned name in the video game industry for his work on the Metal Gear Solid (MGS) franchise, “one of the first ever games to prioritize avoidance of combat and confrontation over direct combat itself”, that is, a stealth game. He worked over 30 years at Konami, but eventually parted ways by unfriendly means. His last work on this company was P.T., a groundbreaking playable teaser for the horror genre in the medium. It was a demo for an upcoming title in the Silent Hill franchise, but unfortunately, it was canceled. I strongly recommend you to watch Luke Stephens’ videos on DS1 and on PT2 if you want to know more.
DS’s genre isn’t conventional. It’s been described as “cinematic adventure”3 and Kojima himself said on his Twitter account, “DS is not a stealth game. Could move subjectively but not a FPS shooting game either”4. “It’s a brand new action game with the concept of connection (strand). I call it Social Strand System, or simply Strand Game”5. Kojima’s been heavily inspired by Kobo Abe, a Japanese author, and when discussing the game at E3 2016, when the game was first revealed, Kojima said the following to IGN6:
Abe states that the first tool mankind created is a stick. He states that the stick is the first tool that mankind created to put distance between himself and bad things — to protect himself. He states that the second tool mankind created is a rope. A rope is a tool used to secure things that are important to you. Most of your tools in action games are sticks. You punch or you shoot or you kick. The communication is always through these ‘sticks.’ In [DS], I want people to be connected not through sticks, but through what would be the equivalent of ropes… But of course, you will be able to use the sticks too.
Besides the strand and connections theme, the game also deals with life and death. Further, it’s probably named after cetacean stranding, “a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, usually on a beach”. That’s why dead whales, dead crabs, and dead fish are scattered all across almost every single trailer so far. As much as DS itself, these events are shrouded in mystery, as despite of “several explanations, (…) none have so far been universally accepted as a definitive reason for the behavior”7.
When does it take place?
TGA 2017 trailer begins and ends with a quote from Sam (Norman Reedus), the game’s main character:
Once, there was an explosion. A bang which gave birth to time and space. Once, there was an explosion. A bang which set a planet spinning in that space. Once, there was an explosion. A bang which gave rise to life as we know it. And then, came the next explosion. An explosion that will be our last.
The wording here is important. First, an explosion came; it means Sam seems to live in a period when the explosion has already happened. It’s likely Sam has experienced the explosion himself. He’s experiencing its repercussions. The official synopsis of the game from PlayStation reads8:
In the near future, mysterious explosions have rocked the planet, setting off a series of supernatural events known as the Death Stranding. With spectral creatures plaguing the landscape, and the planet on the verge of a mass extinction, it’s up to Sam Bridges to journey across the ravaged wasteland and save mankind from impending annihilation.
Cliff and his skeleton soldiers | Screen capture by Kojima Productions/PlayStation
This answers the question of what is Death Stranding, at least in an in-game level. Connecting the dots is easy: the Death Stranding transformed the world, they were the explosions that came and its ongoing changes will cause the universe to collapse and to end. These explosions seemingly triggered the main events shown in trailers. It caused all humanly incomprehensive things we watch perplexed and confused, the closest to a Lovecraftian apocalypse we have ever seen portrayed in any media form. What caused it, though, is unknown.
u/ULTRON_XIII has a very curious theory of what may have caused these explosions. It’s a very nice post you can read for yourself10 since I’m copying partially:
Humans have unified all the equations of quantum mechanics [and] relativity, in order to travel between the parallel worlds. They discover that there are two parallel dimensions: life dimension (…) and death dimension. This causes [a] bleed over effect between the two dimensions, blurring the lines of life and death to the point that the 'invisible' entities are invading the life dimension to feed on our souls while humans can now be resurrected so long as they are not captured.
This theory makes sense and I believe messing with quantum mechanics and relativity is definitely what happened. However, the question of why did they cause the Death Stranding is as important as what caused the Death Stranding. Human curiosity and experimentation are a reasonable motive, but as much as I don’t dislike u/ULTRON_XIII’s theory, I don’t believe they unified the equations in order to travel between worlds. Could it be? Sure, but I think they were messing around to improve Mankind lifestyle – science boils down to this – however, they went too far, caused the apocalypse and opened a path to interdimensional beings by accident. Fortunately, u/risen87 has my back. In his post11, he gave a few theories on why would scientists do this, appealing to a few things we worry about as species: conquering space, extend lifespan, genetic engineering, and alternative energy generation.
Lunar Exploration: Timefall would be an incredibly useful tool for terraforming - the ability to fast-forward the growth of an ecosystem would make living on other planets (or the moon) far easier. An external womb and the ability to suspend the development of a fetus in it would could also be part of a space [colonization] program.
Resurrection/Life Extension: being able to bring someone back from the dead (especially on a lunar mission) would be useful. The military might have wanted to be able to resurrect soldiers and control them. The rich (or the President) might have wanted to be able to live longer, either through cloning or through the BB extinction skill. It could also have been a plan to contact the dead.
Genetic Manipulation: trying to engineer a human being who could survive in adverse conditions (like on the Moon), or trying to overcome an infertility problem, trying to solve a medical issue. (...) An infertility problem (or too many deaths and [need] to create more children) might have led to the creation of BBs.
Energy Generation: it might have been as simple as trying to tap into another dimension to get more energy. In this (as well as in other scenarios above) there would be the “conservation of energy” catch - that nothing can be created or destroyed, so if you take something from another dimension, it takes something back.
This also explains Sam’s last quotes from RDR trailer: “Covering the world in cable didn't put an end to war and suffering. Don't act surprised if it all comes apart if you try to do it again”, which suggests that in a high-tech future and with unprecedented scientific discoveries, maybe the extensive knowledge backfired: progress, despite being legit and done with the best intentions in mind, caused the Death Stranding. The cataclysmic event lead to suffering and, as in any great calamity, caused anarchy in a worldwide scale, which lead to more war.
DS takes place “in the near future”. This is obvious due to the presence of many devices with futuristic looks, such as shackles with colors indicating health, a motorcycle and a car that looks nothing like ours, especially compared to the ones displayed in the wreckage, and the levitating cargo units Sam has behind him. These are a technology we could see coming in future years, that don’t depend on Death Stranding's occurrence.
Where does it take place?
DS likely takes place on our universe, Kojima himself said “something from another world [is] stranding in our world”12 but it’s debatable. Kojima has placed various equations, as u/xraizy commented here13, in the game’s footage. In general, they hint at time travel, space travel, multiverse, multiple worlds, and black holes. In short, sci-fi stuff. It can’t be determined exactly if the game takes place in our universe since there is no hint whatsoever. I think the lack of evidence is deliberate and it means it’s indeed our universe and our Earth, which makes players get attached and have more sympathy for the characters and the repercussions of the explosion that changed the world, our world. The earlier quote by Sam is fundamental to understand why the game takes place on Earth.
It has been extensively debated that these explosions are all related to our universe and our planet. The explosions mentioned are the Big Bang, the Theia Impact and the Cambrian Explosion14 and as we’ve determined, the last explosion was the Death Stranding. In case you skipped Science class, the Theia Impact, and the Cambrian Explosion are related to how Earth was put in spinning at its own axis by colliding with celestial bodies and to an event that caused most of animal groups we know to exist, respectively. So, two massive Earth related events pretty much point to Earth being the game’s stage. Otherwise, these sentences would serve no purpose, and it isn’t how Kojima works.
Now with Earth out of the way, where on Earth does the main story take place? Our first glimpse of this matter occurs on the second trailer showcased in TGA 2016, on which we meet Deadman (Guillermo Del Toro’s likeness) for the first time. He has a remarkable lapel pin on his suit: Bridges logo. The logo consists of a map of the United States of America (USA), covered by a spider web pattern, the name Bridges and United Cities of America (UCA).
BRIDGES lapel pin | Official Death Stranding merch (Japanese store)
In the RDR trailer, we learn from Sam that “America’s finished” and “we don’t need a country. Not anymore”. After the explosion, not everything is as it used to be, and this includes how geopolitics and countries operate after this apocalyptic event. In the trailer, we met a woman called Bridget (Lindsay Wagner). Sam reminds her she is “the president of jack shit” and, interestingly, the Japanese subtitles read “you’re no longer president”15. Safe to assume, Bridget was the former president of the USA before the Death Stranding happened. It might explain why she is at the Oval Office, after all, confirming u/fossmonz’s theory16. Bridget is sick and dying, and she wants Sam to “make America whole”. This is not going to be an easy task since Sam seems to be stubborn and skeptic, and because the world is now home of “extremists everywhere, plotting in the shadows” like the Homo Demens.
Bridges is an organization, we can see its name printed on other people’s vests, on the door of a vehicle, on Sam’s equipment and most importantly, Kojima referred to Die-Hardman (Tommie Earl Jenkins), as “commander of the organization”17. We can see part of Bridges’ logo on his arm patch in the official artwork by Yoji Shinkawa, the game’s character designer. It’s safe to assume either UCA is what remains of the USA or a superior organization, affiliated with Bridges. I personally believe it’s the government. Only a few cities remain, those not obliterated. Bridges might be the closest thing of a governmental organization that exists now. This means, most likely, that the game takes place in an area that used to be the USA.
The story, therefore, takes place in the USA, or what is left of it. This seals the deal, right? Well, not really. Apparently, there’ll be multiple countries represented. Del Toro’s character in the second trailer is seemingly in Saint-Malo, France, as u/Hikometi pointed out in his blog18. The soldiers are also speaking German, which is historically consistent according to Wikipedia: Saint-Malo was invaded in World War II19. Not only that, but the latest trailer has very clear footage of this place and players will be able to play on it. Even if it happens not to be this specific city, it’s safe to assume at one point we will see something unfolding in France, involving war, decay and fallen armies/soldiers to rise up as reanimated skeletons of those who perished long ago.
Sam at the upside down realm| Screen capture by Kojima Productions
There is one more place in the game worth discussing before debating what this war scenario is about: limbo or “upside down realm”, as it’s called on PlayStation website20. Upside down realm is probably the canon term and that is what I’ll use from now on. In the game, a grey/blue-ish photography represents this Realm. When the player is closer to interdimensional beings that can cause death, TGA 2017 showed us that the gravity shifts. Not only that, but also in this same trailer, all elements are upside down and floating upwards when Sam’s in this bizarre Realm: the fish and the whale are swimming upside down; a heavy truck is floating up, and also are several corpses and rocks. As YongYea pointed out in his TGA 2017 trailer analysis21, most objects behave more naturally if the footage is flipped vertically.
“Purgatory” is a common term among the fans to describe this place, due to an interview Kojima made with IGN, on which the writer called it “purgatory”. However, “purgatory is a final purification to achieve the holiness necessary to enter Heaven (...) Unlike the damned, those in the state of purgatory have the joy of knowing that, upon purification, they will enter eternal life in heaven”22. If I’m not mistaken it means if you’re going to Hell, you skip purgatory. Anyway, Sam doesn’t die for good. Whenever he dies, he’s sent to the upside down, a handprint appears in his chest and eventually, he comes back to the world of the living. His name might be a reference to samsara, that is, the cycle of birth and rebirth for Eastern religions, such as Buddhism. Sam will keep coming, Low Roar’s song was not on accident. The notion of purgatory is, therefore, not compatible with rebirth. Maybe neither is Heaven and Hell, but I’ll comment on that later. Now that my crazy nitpicky rant is over, I transcribe IGN’s article below, as it’s crucial to understand the upside down realm:
From the sound of it, this is where Sam, and the player, go every time they die. But don’t make the mistake of calling this “game over.” When you die in Death Stranding, you’re transported to [upside down realm], where you’re free to explore in first-person. Because of some mysterious “unique” abilities Sam possesses, you can wander outside of your body, recovering items among other things. As Kojima explains, “At that point, you’re not dead or alive. It’s the equivalent of that screen that says ‘Continue?’ and a counter ticking down towards zero”.
From what Kojima told us, here's how it sounds -- when you’re ready to return to the world of the living, you can get back into your body. However, unlike most games which set you back to a point before you died, Death Stranding acknowledges your defeat, and seems to even embrace it. You’re transported back to the world after your death -- like in Dark Souls or roguelikes -- where your actions maintain an aura of persistence. The mechanic of “dying” is ubiquitous in video games, but it sounds as though Kojima is implementing systems inspired by purgatory and reincarnation as well.
It seems pretty clear that the player will control the BB (Bridge baby) in the upside down realm and that they will navigate in the limbo waters. In TGA 2017 trailer, Sam dies from an explosion caused by the colossi and then the camera pans from outside to Sam’s mouth, and then BB appears. It can’t get much better than that. Worth pointing out u/Mohamed_Ibrahim18’s find23: “Ancient Egyptians believed that the esophagus lid directly to the uterus, and in the trailer, it appears that the baby inside Sam’s body is located directly beneath his esophagus”.
To add my theory on something, there is a certain scene where Sam is at Upside Down Realm but out of water in the latest trailer that confused almost everyone. My bet on this is surprisingly simple: the player will be able to navigate Upside Down Realm in first person and “you can wander outside of your body, recovering items among other things” – we assumed “limbo” would be just underwater, turns out, it’s not. Maybe, to get out of this state, players will have to find and use a specific item to come back to the world of the living. That shot is Sam having to use the gun in himself, and how he gets a new weapon, such an important gameplay mechanic. Sam will fall unconscious on the ground, and then BB will find his way into his body again.
This is consistent with the TGA 2017 trailer, which probably takes place early in the game; my guess is it’ll be the very first time Sam dies - at least the first time players know of. Like a tutorial, to learn to navigate limbo. What will the players find in their first visit? The most important thing revealed in that trailer is how Sam and BB, who powers a vital game mechanic, started their journey together. Thus, BB is the crucial item needed to be found. It means he only has to go around, find something else – a charming Ludens keychain, for instance – for the sake of it. Then BB will swim back into Sam. Sam here is unconscious the whole time, maybe because it was the first time he died for an interdimensional being or the first time he dies in a long time. With time, during our gameplay, he will probably die more often, so at the time that scene happens, maybe he will be able to be conscious.
REFERENCES
Main Sources: Kojima Productions playlist on YouTube, PlayStation playlist on YouTube (with subtitles), TGS 2018 video for The Man In The Golden Mask trailer, YongYea’s playlist on YouTube and Blader Koyotte’s playlist on YouTube. “Useful Threads” on r/DeathStranding. Death Stranding Takes Place in a Chiral World - My Theory, by u/Mohamed_Ibrahim18.
1 Death Stranding Is Doing Something Incredible, by Luke Stephens on YouTube
2 P.T. Did Something Incredible, by Luke Stephens on YouTube
3 Official Death Stranding page by PlayStation US
4 Tweet by Hideo Kojima on June 4th 2019
5 Tweet by Hideo Kojima on May 30th 2019
6 Kojima Explains Death Stranding Gameplay and Lore, by Marty Sliva on IGN
7 Cetacean stranding article on Wikipedia
8 Official Death Stranding page, by PlayStation US
9 Tweet by Hideo Kojima
10 My Tinfoil Hat Theory, by u/ULTRON_XIII on Reddit
11 Making Connections – A (Long) Death Stranding Analysis & Theory Post, by u/risen87 on Reddit
12 Death Stranding is an open world game with online elements and "something from another world", by Leon Hurley on GamesRadar
13 Comment, by u/xraizy’s on Reddit
14 Death Stranding TGA 2017 Trailer Analysis, by YongYea on YouTube
15 Death Stranding- Japanese Trailer Analysis by Frontline Gaming Japan
16 Theories: Could Lindsay Wagner be the US president before the DS event, Now the leader of Bridges?, by u/fossmonz on Reddit
17 Tweet by Hideo Kojima on September 27th 2018
18 I analysed the 2nd death stranding trailer. I can say where it (probably) takes place: In France, Saint Malo, by u/Hikometi on Reddit
19 Saint-Malo article on Wikipedia
20 Tweet by Daniel Ahmad on May 29th 2019
21 Death Stranding TGA 2017 Trailer Analysis, by YongYea on YouTube
22 Is purgatory like hell?, by Jim Blackburn on Catholic Answers
23 Death Stranding Takes Place in a Chiral World - My Theory, by u/Mohamed_Ibrahim18
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