Speaking of "sense" I mean gameplay, not the actual plot. We still have no clue what this Death Stranding is other than it's some kind of cataclysm that results parallel worlds of sorts collide or something. Also this "stranding" made death as we know it obsolete and there is a new phenomenon that occurs instead of death which is much worse than death because you don't die but this occurrence makes yours and others life worse. This made the civilization collapse. I won't dig dipper since this is basically all that we know for sure so far. Let's get back to gameplay.
A quote from
E3 2018 trailer:
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You can see them, right?
—
No. But I can sense them.
Them — means BTs. BTs are the entities that can drag you to the parallel world. Those hand prints and goo splashes are BTs. You as a player need to avoid them at all cost. Black misty figures with umbilical cords in the air indicate that BTs are nearby.
The whole
TGA 2017 trailer was dedicated to an encounter with BTs. This group was in the middle of a delivery task. Something happened that made the van to topple over. One of the guys crushed by the van. Then BTs attack. The guys decided to kill themselves because they won't die anyway, but if BTs take them something even worse will happen. And this "even worse" happens when the big BT consumes one of the guy. It results into a giant explosion that creates a crater.
A quote from
E3 2018 trailer:
—
My status is fucked. There's tons of 'em.
Them — means BTs.
—
Can you sit out the rain?
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No. They are closing in on my position. I have to move before they realize I am in here.
—
Sam, if one of those things eats you, it will trigger a voidout. You'll come back, sure, but the surrounding area will still be a crater.
This is exactly what we've seen in a TGA 2017 trailer. A voidout is an explosion that triggers once BT consumes a player. So, you as a player want to avoid BTs at all cost, because if they eat you, something terrible will happen that even worse than death. Probably, this wipes out your recent progress, or makes the game harder due to landscape alteration, destruction of nearby safehouses and settlements.
As for the
"You'll come back, sure ..." this means that the player can't die. The Death is broken in this world, so if a player dies, this triggers a third person shooter event that takes place in WW1 theme world or something where a player needs to do something to come back. Not clear if this WW1 even triggers on every death or only if BTs kill you. But
as we can see in the latest trailer, human enemies don't try to kill Sam. They only try to shock and stun him using these yellow sticks. Same is for Sam. He doesn't try to kill them. Instead he is trying to avoid them to save the payload. This indicates that any death has consequences. You, as a player, don't won't to make Sam die AND you don't want to kill other guys. Because
They will come back, sure, but ....
What these consequences are? In
this scene from TGA 2017 trailer you can see how BTs consume the dead body after which a new black misty figure with umbilical cords appears. To prevent this
you need to burn the body before BTs reach it. So you don't want to kill your living enemies, because this will attract BTs to this area which makes your game harder.
A quote from
E3 2018 trailer:
—
I can't help you with that. I make deliveries.
This leads us to the main gameplay loop of the game. Making deliveries. By making deliveries Sam restores the communication between isolated cities, towns and settlements across the US. There is a plot happening around this main task. But still you play as a delivery boy. In
E3 2018 trailer they have showed us a lot of delivery gameplay. Let' take a closer look.
This is basically our playground. A sandbox. You are free to go anywhere and free to choose any path that leads you to the destination. You, as a player, need to plan your route thoroughly and equip yourself accordingly. You need a ladder if there are a lot of obstacles on the path. As
u/SamuraiAdler pointed
here every piece of equipment in fact takes a spot in your inventory and you have to decide what you need to make the delivery. As we can see, Sam is equipped differently in different scenes:
•
Here we can see that Sam is pretty equipped. Yellow barrel on his back is a payload. On top of that we can see two boxes which is, most certainly, an equipment. Also, he carries two extra pair of boots which makes me believe that footwear is expendable. It is impossible not to notice a small levitating cart with payload. Also, Sam drinks water in this scene. And we've seen
a pee icon in the menu which leads us to the conclusion that there are survival elements in the game.
•
Here we don't see a lot of equipment. This makes me think that this delivery task is not that hard and the destination is nearby. No extra boots too. It is possible that in this scene Sam doesn't have a payload at all. Just a basic equipment inside this thin case on his back. Because...
•
In the next scene we see the same thin case AND a payload. Also, in this scene Sam has only one extra pair of boots. Probably Sam goes not as far as on the second picture and don't need two extra pairs of boots.
•
Next we see how Sam carries a body which is heavily unbalanced cargo that makes Sam to stagger and lean. This is not just a fancy picture. Balancing is a separate mechanics in the game. The more you carry the harder it will be. You might lose the balance and fall. Also, as you can see, Sam doesn't have much equipment here. No extra boots, no additional boxes with equipment. But the
road ahead is not that easy. See? Mountains, rocks, a river... You, as a player, need to decide how to overcome this path without equipment. You can't climb mountains obviously, so you need to look for workarounds. You need to try to avoid rocks and bumps in order to not to lose the balance.
•
In this scene Sam walks through the dead city. It's relatively simple path, that is why he has nothing except a payload. No extra boots, no boxes with equipment. But this means that you, as a player, can only use simple roads that don't assume using ladders, anchors or something.
•
Next is probably my favorite scene. Sam is heavily loaded with not just a payload but with equipment as well. Overloaded I'd say. In this scene player takes a very very risky route. The cargo is unbalanced, heavy and, I guess, expensive. If player fall, he will lost all the cargo, but, apparently, the risk worth it.
•
In this scene Sam falls and loses part of his cargo (or equipment) in the river. River stream is so intense, the player loses the balance and falls. As Sam falls, a life vest inflates. Life vest is likely a part of equipment too. If you don't equip a life vest, you will most certainly get drown.
Also, take a close look
at this scene from the latest traier. Yellow guy attacks Sam that makes him lose a piece of cargo. Next, the moment Sam walks through the piece of cargo on the ground, Sam picks it up and places it on his back. Then he attacks a yellow guy and knocks him out making him lose the yellow case. Sam immediately picks it up and attacks another yellow guy making him lose his yellow case. Now remember
the scene where Sam crosses a gap using a ladder. See, his both hands are busy carrying cases? You can find more on your path and decide whether you can afford picking it up, or should you abandon it making your trip easier.
Summing up, you, as a player, need to decide what you might need during upcoming travel. A ladder, extra pair of boots, a rope, a life vest, water, food, you name it. Analyzing the landscape you come up with the most efficient route that makes you to the destination. Will you take the risk and go through mountains, or you find a safer but longer path? Some physical state of surroundings will change due to BTs activity. And you have to solve this landscape puzzles to find the best possible route. On the road you might encounter other humans that might want to steal your cargo. It is safer to avoid them rather than kill them, since the death consequences are severe for both sides. Also, you can meet BTs that, in case they eat you, can alter the landscape and make your next delivery even harder. In rare cases
Sam can even use firearms to protect himself or to attack someone. Knowing that death is not permanent in this game and what the consequences are, this is rather a desperate measure.
On top of that there is an asynchronous multiplayer. This means that you won't meet other players in your game, but you can help them by supplying the safehouses and sharing the routes that you have discovered.
This is basically the gameplay of Death Stranding. Landscape puzzles and inventory planning mixed with non-lethal fighting encounters and rare third person shooter elements plus stealth when it comes to BTs avoidance. I strongly believe that there are some elements that are still a secret. It may happen that at some point the game will turn into a pure TBS in WW1 setting with fish and octopuses. Sam will abandon his delivery job and join the forces of whatever to save the planet or even travel to Moon... But the big picture is clear. Now read again what the game description says:
Arm yourself and take aim at a variety of objectives in your mission to reunite a broken nation, while balancing under the weight of your cargo as you travel. Unpassable obstacles block your path and force you to find different routes, while supernatural elements alter the physical state of your surroundings. Protect your supplies from wild bandits, and stay safe from the terrifying Beached Things… or face failing those who depend on you. Lose your life during combat and you’ll find yourself in an upside-down realm, searching for a way back to the living. Choose your combat methods carefully, as killing your foe is almost never the solution – and every death carries a consequence.
Much clearer now, isn't it? It is up to you to decide whether it's fun or not.