Conflict is at the heart of nearly every video game. Whether it's saving the princess in Super Mario Bros., fighting the Reapers in Mass Effect, or trying to stay undetected in Metal Gear Solid, conflict gives players a goal to work toward. In the case of Death Stranding, the conflict is that of an ever-present struggle between a wanderer and a world that doesn't want to be wandered on.
The terrain in Death Stranding is rough; players can't walk more than ten feet without protagonist Sam Porter Bridges tumbling over. Much of the game revolves around figuring out how to best traverse the open world, and players are given all sorts of resources to develop efficient delivery routes between any two points on the map. Troubleshooting delivery methods is arguably one of the most engaging elements of Death Stranding, and the upcoming Director's Cut looks to offer even more ways to do that. Of the new additions, there are two in particular that should make delivery routes more dynamic.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut's Cargo Catapult
At launch, Death Stranding featured structures like bridges and rainfall shelters that one could expect to find in a post-apocalyptic world. Death Stranding: Director's Cut takes itself a little less seriously than the original release did, and that's partially evident through the newly introduced cargo catapult.
There's not much footage of this unique approach to long-range cargo delivery in action, but Death Stranding: Director's Cut's State of Play trailer did showcase Sam using the launcher to fling a piece of cargo through the air at a very high speed. However, it's worth noting that it doesn't look like Sam travels with the cargo, so wherever it lands Sam will probably have to retrieve it before completing his delivery.
Even so, the cargo catapult seems like it will be an effective way to move cargo quickly across each region, especially when it comes to areas without roads that are lacking in flatland, like the snowy slopes by Mountain Knot City. Another possible use could be for avoiding enemy-dense areas. Setting a catapult up right outside of a MULE camp or a BT-infested location and using it to hurl precious cargo over destructive threats seems like it would be a clever approach to package preservation.
Going on Foot With Death Stranding's Buddy Bot
As stated before, Sam doesn't do very well when walking around the open world, in large part due to the absurd amount of cargo he carries at nearly any given moment. The addition of the Buddy Bot — Sam's robotic travel aid — looks like it should make going on foot a more appealing proposition.
The full extent of Buddy Bot's capabilities remain to be seen, but the trailer demonstrates the robot companion carrying cargo alongside Sam, who later jumps onto the bipedal mech to ride around. It's evocative of Metal Gear Solid 5's D-Walker, another Kojima-created bipedal mech that could either operate independently or be directly controlled by the player.
Buddy Bot seems to have no issue moving quickly through the game's harsh landscape, giving it a quality that no other piece of equipment in Death Stranding possesses. Additionally, being able to distribute cargo between Sam and Buddy Bot during deliveries should lighten Sam's load significantly, reducing his risk of erratically losing his balance.
Open-world traversal is Death Stranding's greatest conflict, so it makes sense that the Director's Cut would offer more ways to resolve it. Even with the limited first looks at the cargo catapult and Buddy Bot, it's evident each addition should add a little bit of variety to the core gameplay, encourage creativity when plotting delivery routes, as well as address prior criticisms of Death Stranding's gameplay being too slow and stagnant for many players.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut will release on September 24, 2021 for PS5.