Hideo Kojima's ambitious and bizarre Death Stranding opted to try something entirely new in the gaming scene. Following the theme of re-connecting a splintered humanity is poignant in retrospect, especially with real-world events that have transpired over the past few years. These implications aside, the brain-bending narrative in Death Stranding is one to be analyzed and questioned, where even when the credits roll not all answers are clear.
Even with Death Stranding: Director's Cut coming out next month, it's still unclear whether a follow-up is in the works, or if Hideo Kojima will move on to something new. Recently, Norman Reedus hinted at a Death Stranding sequel, and if true this title is likely a few years away considering the already grand scope of the original. Bearing that in mind, there are a handful of plot threads that can be revisited or introduced in a possible sequel.
Another Extinction Level Event
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"Once there was an explosion" are the words spoken by Norman Reedus' character Sam Porter Bridges in the opening moments of Death Stranding. He talks of a cataclysmic event that wiped out nearly all of humanity and splintered the remainder into small pockets scattered across the world. Much of the storyline is spent trying to reconnect society and build the world back up to the state it once was, or at least as close as possible.
However, a destructive event of that caliber likely isn't a one-off. Even in the real world, natural disasters occur repeatedly and are unavoidable. For this massive explosion to have happened once, no matter what the circumstances, odds are that it may happen again. A sequel to Death Stranding could follow Sam and his allies scrambling to find a way to avoid another impending extinction level event. Perhaps the game revolves around a time mechanic similar to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, tasking players to make careful decisions to keep the disaster from happening.
Finding Other Survivors
The main gameplay loop in Death Stranding consists of Sam delivering goods and equipment to other people scattered across the United States. These people have backstories and all experienced loss, but show tremendous gratitude whenever they recieve their requested items. These small but emotionally charged moments are some of the most effective in the game. A sequel should expand on this concept, fleshing out these side characters more, especially since the main theme of the game was about finding humanity and linking everyone together. On that note, perhaps more about the rest of the world would also be interesting, especially since the first game stays within the United States.
Cliff Unger's Backstory
Despite being a crucial player in the overall narrative of Death Stranding and a boss battle on more than one occasion, Mads Mikkelsen's character Cliff Unger doesn't have nearly as much screentime as expected. The game has a number of flashback sequences, all from the perspective of BB. Unfortunately, these don't provide complete clarity on who he is, and these scenes being presented in a non-linear fashion doesn't help. Should the character return in a sequel, a more fleshed-out origin story would be appreciated, possibly giving fans the chance to play as Cliff himself.
Exploring the B.T's
While a large portion of the gameplay in Death Stranding is spent walking across vast landscapes, there are moments of intensity and rousing action, specifically when facing off against monstrous B.T's. These B.T's (or Beached Things) are large, freakish creatures made up of black sludge. They provide some of the most visually spectacular moments in the game, something a sequel should spotlight. This entails more information about what they are, where they come from, and how they operate. Perhaps a plot thread about trying to harness the power B.T's use to travel between worlds goes wrong and sets about another extinction level event, as mentioned above.
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut will launch on September 24, 2021 for PS5.