Hideo Kojima's recently released Death Stranding has taken the gaming world by storm. It's the first time in years such a strange game play concept paired with a uniquely bizarre plot came to fruition with the backing from a major publisher. Given its oddities, several things about just plain make no sense, ten of which are detailed below.
None of these are slights against the game, however, as it executes its premise almost flawlessly save for a couple of wonky mechanics. A couple of these are genuine, and some of them are silly to ponder. At the end of the day, it wouldn't be a Hideo Kojima game if everything made perfect sense. From here on out, major spoilers are abundant.
Updated by Jason Wojnar on July 15th, 2020: Death Stranding is an absolutely massive adventure filled with minute details making up its unique world and concept. With the game having hit PC recently, we thought it a good idea to look at the game again and find five more facets of Sam Bridges' adventure that do not quite add up. The game is a real head-scratcher, and are plenty of fun things and oddities to wonder over when traversing the large landscapes and watching the gorgeous cinematics.
15 Sam's Back Of Steel
Sam Bridges dedicates his life to delivering packages between cities and outposts. He regularly carries more than a one hundred kilograms worth of supplies on his back and travels hundreds of kilometers to his destination. How has he not developed debilitating back problems? Good technique can only take one so far when so much stress is put on a certain part of the body.
Sam is young, but all continued back abuse should catch up to him eventually.
14 The Continent Sure Is Tiny
The game takes Sam from the east coast to the west in his efforts to reconnect the United Cities of America. The actual game area is divided into three sections. Walking across the entire map takes about twenty to thirty minutes as the crow flies, notably shorter than it would take to walk from one side of the US to the other.
Maybe the Death Stranding condensed the country into a tiny little package. It's weird to traverse the whole country in a matter of minutes, but we're thankful the game doesn't literally make players walk for weeks upon weeks to reach a destination.
13 Beaches
The purpose and idea of beaches are made clear while playing the game, but how did they originate? The soul makes it and it is where people go when they die, but is it a physical space or purely the mind's interpretation of death? Humans are of a limited intellect and can only understand so much about the universe, so something beyond our understanding might get interpreted as something tangible by our brains.
In the world of Death Stranding, souls are proven as scientific fact, which is weird enough. The addition of beaches just confuses us more.
12 How Does Cliff Continue Living?
After his death, Cliff continues to have an effect on the world through his connection to his child and anger towards Bridget Strand. Many of the concepts in the game are science fiction, but this one is straight up fantasy. No rational explanation exists for his ability to conjure up supercells and reach Sam other than their bond.
We're not complaining though. Mads Mikkelsen is such a talented actor, giving him more screen time is always a treat.
11 Where Did The Extinction Entity Come From?
This is a point brought up in the game itself. Amelie doesn't quite understand why she exists or where she comes from. She ponders whether or not she is the universe's way of setting things right after it considers humanity's existence a fluke in need of correction. This is not given as a definitive answer, however.
When dealing with cosmic themes, questions are always going to be left in the air. Until a sequel or DLC expansion elaborates on her existence, this will remain something nonsensical.
10 Myocardial Cordiformia
Heartman briefly mentions a disorder he has called Myocardial Cordiformia. This fictional ailment means his heart is literally in the shape of the organ as it is typically drawn. Why give him a bizarre fictional ailment instead of something more grounded and realistic? Is it supposed to say something about his personality?
His emotions towards his now deceased family are so strong to make him change his life in an effort to search for them on the beach. Making his heart look like the artist's rendition of one might try to symbolize this in some way.
9 How Does Sam Get Dressed So Quickly
Before Sam gets into a shower, the camera pans away from him for a hot second before he enters the frame again nude. After washing and drying he exits the camera's eye again for a similar amount of time before reappearing fully clothed. No way could anyone put on pants and a shirt so quickly.
Even if he goes commando - which he really shouldn't, considering his hazardous line of work - it would still take anywhere between five and ten seconds to clothe one's self. Maybe the advanced technology present in Death Stranding has found a way for clothes to put themselves on quickly.
8 The Otter Hat
After finding the cosplayer, portrayed by Conan O'Brien, he gifts Sam an otter hat which helps the porter in deep water. We're thankful for the helpful tool, but how does this hat actually help? What properties could one possibly imbue into a piece of head ware that would assist with traversing violent rivers? It sounds more like an object of power from Control than something belonging in Death Stranding.
This connection is appropriate, however, since Sam Lake makes a cameo appearance in Kojima's work.
7 Wouldn't Timefall Still Hit His Face?
When timefall starts, a hood automatically covers the character's face. Firstly, several drops hit him before the hood comes up. Secondly, even with a hood wouldn't bits of the stuff still land on his face, causing him to age? It's only a little bit, but over time it would surely add up.
At the same time, we're thankful timefall wasn't made into a potentially game ending mechanic where it would steadily age Sam and eventually send him to the grave, forcing players to start the game over from the beginning. Knowing Kojima, this very well could have been an idea of his early on in development.
6 How Does Monster Energy Survive The Death Stranding
No other soft drinks survive the apocalyptic event, but somehow Monster Energy is still alive and kicking. How is this possible? Is the company really functioning, or do the people have a stockpile?
Fortunately for those who hate product placement, a side quest allows for the drinks on Sam's table to be replaced by an in-world product. This shouldn't be too surprising for Hideo Kojima fans. Metal Gear had its share of product placement as well.
5 Repatriation
Sam Bridges gains his abilities when he dies as a baby and is revived by Amelie on the Beach. It would have been great if the game went into greater detail about this phenomenon. Does Sam still have sores and pains from the injuries which caused his death? What would happen if Sam dies from a fire that scorches his body or an explosion that completely obliterates his body and organs?
4 The Landscape Of The Country
A prior entry questions the small size of the country, but how and why does the landscape of the United States change following the titular cataclysmic event? Perhaps Timefall erodes parts of the landscape, morphing it into a different form? Additionally, if he goes somewhere in the southwest, part of the game map should resemble a desert and have significantly more plains than mountains. The design was partly intentional, perhaps, to give the map a hint of ambiguity.
3 Why Does Sam Look Like Norman Reedus?
This would not be a problem in the slightest under normal circumstances. No one ever questions why Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver looks like Robert de Niro from Godfather Part II, after all. However, in Sam's room there is a sometimes an advertisement for the AMC channel documentary series Ride with Norman Reedus, complete with a picture of the famous actor portraying Sam Porter Bridges. Additionally, why is a show from decades ago being advertised in this near future?
2 Why Can't Different Networks Be Established?
Why does the country have to be connected through the Chiral Network and not some other form of communication? Maybe the Timefall would quickly erode phone lines, but they have material that resists the strange precipitation which could protect them. If this was not an option, couldn't they establish underground lines to help transfer data between cities? Chiral connections are completely wireless, however, so that is a plus.
1 People In The Bunker
While most of the population lives in big cities, a large number of people choose to live on their own in shelters that protect them from the elements. They rely on porters like Sam for supplies and survival. Only a few moments see these residents open their doors to greet Sam. It is quite rude for most of them not to meet the porter face to face, and one would think they would appreciate the company, considering how lonely some of them are.