The hype is through the roof for Death Stranding following one of the most monumental reveals in recent gaming history. Yesterday saw the official release of the launch date trailer for Hideo Kojima’s newest title, which players all around the world will get to experience on November 8, 2019.
Of course, while some people have already watched, dissected, and thoroughly scraped and combed what was revealed in the official release trailer, there is still plenty of footage to be found hiding in unexpected places. The Japanese version of the PlayStation launch date trailer is one of those, as it revealed some new footage for what we can expect from Death Stranding – more specifically, with regards to BTs, or Beached Things. Check out the trailer below at around the 6:05 mark to learn more.
After the cast announcement, the footage skips to a scene in the same forest where Sam (Norman Reedus) finds himself earlier in the trailer. Instead of just invisible monstrosities, however, he gets to fight against a very tangible BT, which looks like a glob of tar with transforming tentacles. At the very least, this part of the trailer did clear up some things about the game: it seems that you can actually fight against some of the BTs, and the encounter felt like a boss battle more than anything. It’s also possible to see them at one point, which also raises more questions of the various confrontations you will have with them.
The trailer also featured Sandra Nasic singing a different version of the song used in the original launch date trailer.
The Japanese trailer isn’t the only new video to drop some clearer focus on Death Stranding. The PlayStation Blog for Europe also opened its official page for the game as well, which was far more liberal in stating the game’s plot outright, as well as clarifying some of the gameplay elements.
According to the game overview, Death Stranding is set in the near future where “mysterious explosions have rocked the globe, setting off a series of supernatural events known as the Death Stranding.” These events led to otherworldly creatures called BTs to plague the planet, threatening humanity with mass extinction. It’s therefore up to Sam Porter Bridges, played by Norman Reedus, to traverse this hellish landscape and save the entire human race.
The blog also noted key features found in the game, further detailing what we can expect from Death Stranding.
- Face unique challenges – Death Stranding will play out in a variety of missions, but under the priority of properly balancing the cargo you bring. The game will feature wild bandits that seek to take your supplies, as well as the terrifying Beached Things.
- Explore the world – the game utilizes the Decima Engine, which renders a hyper-realistic environment transformed by the Death Stranding event. While you have a lot of options for traversal, there are still some areas where you will not be able to pass, forcing you to find alternative routes. The Decima Engine was developed by Guerilla Games for Horizon Zero Dawn, another PlayStation 4 exclusive.
- Death is not the end – Death Stranding won’t feature ‘game over’ scenes, which is an amazing contrasting callback to Kojima’s Metal Gear series that were well-regarded for the inclusion of those aspects. Losing your life during combat will find Sam in a purgatory of sorts, where he searches his way back to the land of the living. I’m inclined to think that this is where the tank babies come into play.
- Assist other players – in a surprising move, Death Stranding will feature an asynchronous online gameplay mechanic, very much in the same vein as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. You can send supplies to other players, share various safe houses with them and walk in their footsteps to successfully reunite civilization.
There’s also a huge case for playing it on the enhanced PlayStation 4 Pro, as most of the screenshots and video footage taken are captured with the console. It also allows for 4K resolution, provided you have a 4K display available, which is what I think will be the best option to play Death Stranding on.
Death Stranding releases exclusively on the PlayStation 4 on November 8, 2019.
