On the one hand, PS has just posted about “Death Stranding 2” and asked who is connecting late, and on the other hand, I can’t stop thinking about the replies. It’s 3 a.m., and people are building monorails and fighting BTs as if it’s a normal Tuesday — which it is, for DS2 players, anyway.
The tweet contains a picture resembling an in-game image and uses the hashtag “#DeathStranding2”, which is practically a beacon to the porters that only come out at late hours. The replies, on the other hand, seem to express an idea beneath the surface; The game is more than a game. It’s a game about the joined many and undiscovered community of delivery people, road builders, and connection optimizers people that have waited together.
A player named TylerOutland2 has already said it is his game of the year. Having played only 4 games this year, Tyler shared that he played this one for 141 hours. He even stated that this is one of the best sequels he has ever had the chance to play, which explains a lot. On the opposite side, a player named Mixatli says that he has spent 70 percent of his playtime building roads, and he is STILL not done. That is the Death Stranding experience, the grind, and it’s a grind that is strangely satisfying with this game.
Then, with Sherwinmarifsimon comes the person doing everything — connecting roads, building monorails, making deliveries, infiltrating mule camps, and handling BT zones, and he is doing all that in DS2. He says it is fun. To an uninitiated person, that sounds like a list of chores. But, to the players, it’s apparently a blast.
Like most games, there is a lot to dig into and enjoy with the title, but it is not exempt from criticism. Take, for example, Robert L Peters, who seems to think or at least said, that the “game is terrible.” That is, in this case, a completely subjective opinion. No game is going to be to everyone’s liking. TylerOutland2 even replied to him with, “You are 100% wrong.” Both of these views seem to be overly opinionated. There has always been a division with regards to Death Stranding — it is the kind of game where if you do not fall for it, you will not get it, and if you do, you will appreciate the weirdness.
What stands out the most is the great number of people who still actively engage with the world’s game. Tom Young says that he wants to move to Mexico to continue the game’s story, but at the same time, he wants to max out connection levels to all the facilities, which is very much a ‘gamer problem.’ He wants to advance the story and complete everything as a completionist.
The global players jump in, almost as if issuing their demands. One requests an Iraqi PlayStation store, and another, from Turkey, requests that Sony return to their country with sales and authorized service guarantees. It really says a lot because gaming is a global phenomenon, and all of them want to experience the same thing.
The phrase “Keep On Keeping On” is a classic Death Stranding phrase, and it appears in the replies as well. In Death Stranding, it represents words and actions. It involves pushing through hard times, assisting others, and building connections. And it is all literal.
Some are just starting out on their journeys. One person remarked, “Spoiler. I’m not at that part,” a note that is all too familiar to anyone who scrolls through social media in search of spoilers for their games. You have to stay vigilant while browsing social media, especially for games like this.
Then there’s the timezone confusion. As someone put in a comment, “Late? It’s 4:30pm,” which is very reasonable. For a game such as this, immersed gameplay results in time stopping. Whether it’s 4pm or 4am, the player is immersed in delivering and linking.
The community is all on the same page with one goal. The objective is not about playing alone; it’s about contributing to a player-constructed world. Constructing paths for others to walk, leaving items for strangers. It is a low combat form of multiplayer.
This probably contributes to the near-universal lack of sleep. There’s always a new package to collect. A new stretch of road to build. A new facility to connect. The game is purposefully designed to cultivate the “just one more thing” attitude, turning short sessions into marathon binges.
And judging by the excitement in the comments, Death Stranding 2 has definitely mastered the magic once more. Everyone is completely absorbed in the game, fully collaborating and constructing. And they are supposedly accomplishing all of this at unhealthy times. If you happen to be awake and witness strange constructions appearing in your game, rest assured there is an over-caffeinated porter doing their utmost to slowly unite the world, in the game, bit by bit.
The game clearly has its critics—every game does—but for those who are into it, they’re REALLY into it. And that’s what makes gaming communities so interesting. One person’s terrible game is another person’s 141-hour masterpiece. And right now, for a lot of people, Death Stranding 2 is that masterpiece they can’t put down, even when they should probably be asleep.
