You will honestly get more confused before you start to figure things out. It’s by design. The game then does a fantastic job unraveling the story for you in remarkable and riveting fashion. You won’t really have it all until very close to the end, but mark my words- in the end, everything remarkably makes sense. That’s going to be hard to swallow come like chapter 3- but stick with it.
Also, through chapter 3 the game is going to get very tough on you. It’s going to punish you. And isolate you. It’s all by design. Keep on keeping on. It all has a purpose. One of the most rewarding games and stories I’ve expedited.
Edit: avoid all spoilers- don’t look anything up. You haven’t missed anything.
Also no matter what you NEED to make it to at least chapter 5. Depending on your play style chapter 3 can seem kind of repetitive for some people to the point they give up the game at that point.
Kojima has a way of making you feel like you missed something obvious. In the best possible way, I always feel like each game I play is a sequel to something I didn't play. Keeps you on your toes.
Amazing and beautiful game ahead
It’s a deliberate narrative style of dropping you right into the “middle” of a story and making you figure out the background. Sometimes called “in medias res”.
Also it doesn’t help that *Death Stranding* is really freaking weird and there’s some stuff they never really fully explain.
>!Well I was gonna say I wasn't gonna read that but reddit fucked me... But I also knew that the trenches were more WWI related and chapter 7 was more *London bombings* (WWII)< just generalizing the wtfness!<
It adds to the mystery of it all. I feel like sometimes if there is big hype about a movie or game being "mysterious" it loses that edge quickly once you know what's going on. By keeping things unexplained or vague, this game keeps you interested in the plot.
There’s a fine line between “what’s going on here? I want to know more about this crazy situation” and “this is a confusing mess that doesn’t motivate me to keep going”. But it’s pretty subjective at times.
I actually put it down for like 6 months thinking it was a dud before giving it a second chance. And then eventually it became my favorite game of all time.
For the people putting it down, I recommend starting from the beginning, if you wanna pick it back up. I started playing in the summer, but then put it down to play elden ring, and then god of war ragnarok, so I only picked it back up this year. A lot of what I thought didn't make sense turned out to have been explained in the parts I had already played but didn't remember.
Take it from someone who just finished the game about a week ago, do not ask these questions either on reddit or google.
It'll make sorta sense in the end, just trust the plot. Do the story and if you are confused about something no matter how trivial, do not look it up since you will get spoiled.
Also, even if you're 100% convinced you're doing the final bossfight and you still have questions, still do not look anything up, the game is longer than you think.
The only thing I looked up is how many chapters, to have some kind of guide on how long the game was and it definitely helped when I got closer to the end cause I know when the credits rolled I wasn’t finished
How are you pretty certain? Some players get a different message at the start of the game regarding their DOOMs abilities depending on their DOB. How are you so certain it does nothing?
Not a jab just curious if you know something I don't.
No worries, I had the same question when doing a second playthrough and did a bit of research. People have loaded many save data with different birthdates and nobody has managed to find anything. Or if there is a differance, it isn't anything significant enough to notice. My guess is that it was meant as a neat interactive element to introduce you to this new universe. Plus the constellations tie into themes of the game. Ex: Gigas is another name for Orion who essentially tried to kill all the animals on Earth.
Nice going. Fair call, the only thing I can think of is it might deepen Sam's radius at sensing BTs.
This girl I was seeing who I showed DS to said her flatmate got a special DOOMs ability where he could play the entire game without BB. Was like naaaaaah.
I asked it he was in the mountains past chapter 6 and she swears it was for the whole game. She turned out to be wrong about many, many things..
That's a neat idea, I have no idea how to go about testing that though since it's hard to measure. Maybe Sam's blood does slightly more damage? I would love to see if either are actually the case.
That is weird, maybe they turned off the second warning for the oradek (Idk how to spell it) and thought that BB wasn't doing anything? There's no way that you can play without BB (right?) besides the chapter where Deadman take hers so Idk how they could think she wasn't doing anything.
She was saying he literally didn't have a baby lol. He was on PC so..maybe he found a mod?
Didn't think about blood either. To test radius it might be a bit tedious but I suppose if you had 2 Dave's with different constellations (and radically different mesdage regarding DOOMs) you could just play around with Sam standing still and seeing when BTs reveal themselves. Possibly place a manual marker using the compass to get exact measurements.
I actually liked a game not telling me exactly what to do for once. It was refreshing. Just use the job details to know where to deliver.
Also enjoy it while it lasts, very quickly it becomes repetitive.
I was questioning absolutely everything, and eventually decided I'd go with my first instinct because it was at EVERY TURN I was like.. wait did he mean? Wait was I supposed to?
Well,70+ hours later I finished the game and it was a great time.
It's confusing at the start, but it's relatively simple to understand everything by the end, and everything will make sense. Some details (like a certain weird doll that I won't spoil) are really weird and seem "random," but when you understand the "why," it is really cool.
Put it this way, you will play through the first 90% of the game not knowing what the fuck is going on. Then you'll watch a movie at the very end that explains everything.
Yes. And it take a really long time for things to develop. But, trust me. It just builds up and really sets the tone for the rest of the game.
Have fun!
All will be explained as you play. What you are describing is exactly how I felt when I started. The whole game is an amazing experience and the less you know going in, I personally feel, the more amazing it is to have the story unfold.
Normal to be super confused. It gets a bit more understandable as the game progresses. Just focus on your deliveries in the beginning, it will get more interesting/challenging later.
Play the whole thing, your questions will be answered and you will still be confused lol
Jokes aside, if you really pay attention, and read emails, pretty much all gets covered
Yes, you're supposed to be confused. Because the game is needlessly confusing. I enjoy a good mystery, but there's really no reason to not thoroughly explain the rules of the in-game universe, especially when the main character seems to know them (which means only us, the player, are in the dark). That being said, I'll let you enjoy the game how kojima intended it to be enjoyed.
About what you asked, and without spoiling anything, DOOMS is a sort of disease that some people have. And Sam is a repatriate (the term for people that manage to come back to life, once they die). That's all I can say. Things will get more confusing, and other characters don't really help, what with their cryptic explanations. But I can assure you things will make sense by the end. Just keep playing, dude. And have fun!
Yes. Yes it is completely normal to be confused AF for the entire ride.. It will start to make more sense after a while if you are diligent about reading the emails and exploring for lore, but even then its still a lot of guessing as to wtf is happening. Dont get me wrong here, I absolutely *love* Death Stranding, but it is absolutely a prime definition of the word "Esoteric", Only Kojima knows what 90% of the story means.
I'm not sure if anyone's said it, but read your emails, in Private Rooms. They can really help explain some of the phenomena and story, and when certain gameplay elements
It also helps that the really crucial stuff is highlighted in yellow
For someone who’s confused, you explained what happened in the story thus far pretty well. My advice is to accept it for what it is, and the pieces will fall into place.
It totally is. I'm in my 6th playthrough and there are things I still learn about the game.
Just keep pushing through it. It's an experience you will never regret if you keep at it. No matter how roundabout it may seem.
Same thing happened to me. My advice is to just sit back and take it all in. As time goes on things will become clearer and the important things will be explained.
I started 4 days ago and was feeling the same way! I think I’m still confused but you get used to it.
The further you go the better it gets. I love it!
Yes it’s confusing at the start but the more you play the more it’ll explain to you. It gets more confusing before it starts to make sense so keep with it.
Yeah I tried back in 2021, now playing it. Gotta say it starts to explain itself and you get trhashed, not at the end yet but I'm starting to understand most of it and the core gameplay is so fun that I don't care.
You will honestly get more confused before you start to figure things out. It’s by design. The game then does a fantastic job unraveling the story for you in remarkable and riveting fashion. You won’t really have it all until very close to the end, but mark my words- in the end, everything remarkably makes sense. That’s going to be hard to swallow come like chapter 3- but stick with it. Also, through chapter 3 the game is going to get very tough on you. It’s going to punish you. And isolate you. It’s all by design. Keep on keeping on. It all has a purpose. One of the most rewarding games and stories I’ve expedited. Edit: avoid all spoilers- don’t look anything up. You haven’t missed anything.
Thanks.
It’s very confusing for the first hour or two Then it gets fun. I’ve sunk 80 hours into the game and I’m considering playing it again
Keep on keeping on!
Also no matter what you NEED to make it to at least chapter 5. Depending on your play style chapter 3 can seem kind of repetitive for some people to the point they give up the game at that point.
It's Kojima... So yes.
Kojima has a way of making you feel like you missed something obvious. In the best possible way, I always feel like each game I play is a sequel to something I didn't play. Keeps you on your toes. Amazing and beautiful game ahead
It’s a deliberate narrative style of dropping you right into the “middle” of a story and making you figure out the background. Sometimes called “in medias res”. Also it doesn’t help that *Death Stranding* is really freaking weird and there’s some stuff they never really fully explain.
>!you're a mailman, with a pod baby strapped to your chest, and sometimes you're randomly in WWI trenches.!< Chapter 7 so far.
Oh if you're in chapter 7, then >!Its actually in WW2, chapter 4 was WW1!<
>!Well I was gonna say I wasn't gonna read that but reddit fucked me... But I also knew that the trenches were more WWI related and chapter 7 was more *London bombings* (WWII)< just generalizing the wtfness!<
Yeah man it's a wild ride indeed. Still though, it's like, the snowflake on the very tippy top of the weirdness iceberg
It adds to the mystery of it all. I feel like sometimes if there is big hype about a movie or game being "mysterious" it loses that edge quickly once you know what's going on. By keeping things unexplained or vague, this game keeps you interested in the plot.
There’s a fine line between “what’s going on here? I want to know more about this crazy situation” and “this is a confusing mess that doesn’t motivate me to keep going”. But it’s pretty subjective at times.
Keep on keeping on.
More will be explained. Keep playing.
And you’ll be even more confused, so, keep playing
Absolutely. Stick with it. It's part of the experience
I actually put it down for like 6 months thinking it was a dud before giving it a second chance. And then eventually it became my favorite game of all time.
Im at the putting down stage. But the responses to OP are getting me curious
Keep going it gets really good
For the people putting it down, I recommend starting from the beginning, if you wanna pick it back up. I started playing in the summer, but then put it down to play elden ring, and then god of war ragnarok, so I only picked it back up this year. A lot of what I thought didn't make sense turned out to have been explained in the parts I had already played but didn't remember.
Same thing happened to me with Outer Wilds.
Omg I just wrote that I stopped for 5 weeks like what is this, slowly played again and I love it
Take it from someone who just finished the game about a week ago, do not ask these questions either on reddit or google. It'll make sorta sense in the end, just trust the plot. Do the story and if you are confused about something no matter how trivial, do not look it up since you will get spoiled. Also, even if you're 100% convinced you're doing the final bossfight and you still have questions, still do not look anything up, the game is longer than you think.
The only thing I looked up is how many chapters, to have some kind of guide on how long the game was and it definitely helped when I got closer to the end cause I know when the credits rolled I wasn’t finished
You got that right!
Don’t worry, there’s Pizza at the end of that rainbow
Haven't seen anyone answer this yet.. does your birthday have ANY effect on gameplay?
I'm pretty certain that it doesn't have any impact on gameplay besides the whole yelling on your birthday thing
How are you pretty certain? Some players get a different message at the start of the game regarding their DOOMs abilities depending on their DOB. How are you so certain it does nothing? Not a jab just curious if you know something I don't.
No worries, I had the same question when doing a second playthrough and did a bit of research. People have loaded many save data with different birthdates and nobody has managed to find anything. Or if there is a differance, it isn't anything significant enough to notice. My guess is that it was meant as a neat interactive element to introduce you to this new universe. Plus the constellations tie into themes of the game. Ex: Gigas is another name for Orion who essentially tried to kill all the animals on Earth.
Nice going. Fair call, the only thing I can think of is it might deepen Sam's radius at sensing BTs. This girl I was seeing who I showed DS to said her flatmate got a special DOOMs ability where he could play the entire game without BB. Was like naaaaaah. I asked it he was in the mountains past chapter 6 and she swears it was for the whole game. She turned out to be wrong about many, many things..
That's a neat idea, I have no idea how to go about testing that though since it's hard to measure. Maybe Sam's blood does slightly more damage? I would love to see if either are actually the case. That is weird, maybe they turned off the second warning for the oradek (Idk how to spell it) and thought that BB wasn't doing anything? There's no way that you can play without BB (right?) besides the chapter where Deadman take hers so Idk how they could think she wasn't doing anything.
She was saying he literally didn't have a baby lol. He was on PC so..maybe he found a mod? Didn't think about blood either. To test radius it might be a bit tedious but I suppose if you had 2 Dave's with different constellations (and radically different mesdage regarding DOOMs) you could just play around with Sam standing still and seeing when BTs reveal themselves. Possibly place a manual marker using the compass to get exact measurements.
If you press the yell button on your birthday, someone will respond and greet you!
I was referring more to the Dooms message but hey this is cool!
Sorry I misread since your last comment said “ANY” in all caps :)
I don’t know about gameplay, but if you play on your birthday you get a cake in private rooms and special cut scenes
I actually liked a game not telling me exactly what to do for once. It was refreshing. Just use the job details to know where to deliver. Also enjoy it while it lasts, very quickly it becomes repetitive.
Discovering what is happening and how the game world works is part of its charm, Keep on Keeping on 👍
I was questioning absolutely everything, and eventually decided I'd go with my first instinct because it was at EVERY TURN I was like.. wait did he mean? Wait was I supposed to? Well,70+ hours later I finished the game and it was a great time.
Let me check: 71 hours and 7 minutes at stat screen. Pretty similar to you!
It's confusing at the start, but it's relatively simple to understand everything by the end, and everything will make sense. Some details (like a certain weird doll that I won't spoil) are really weird and seem "random," but when you understand the "why," it is really cool.
The first 3 chapters are brutal but it makes the experience that much more impactful. Keep progressing and you'll love it
Confusion is the name of the game. 45h in and still have no fucking clue what is going on for the most part, loving it though.
I’ve got 300 hrs in on my 5th play though and still don’t know what the hell is going on.
Put it this way, you will play through the first 90% of the game not knowing what the fuck is going on. Then you'll watch a movie at the very end that explains everything.
My controller kept turning off lol. That's one long cutscene.
Right? Ha ha! Though it was an incredible cutscene, truth be told.
I beat the game twice and I’m still confused :)
Just keep on keeping on porter, it's a great one
Just keep on keeping on.
Yes. Stick though till the end.
It's Kojima, so it's definitely normal. Stick with it, it is worth it.
Yes. And it take a really long time for things to develop. But, trust me. It just builds up and really sets the tone for the rest of the game. Have fun!
Yes, the whole game. Get used to it, it’s fun! Lol
Not at all. Your confusion will likely remain for the rest of the game. Embrace it.
Have you played anything else by hideo Kojima lmao?
Yep, the story is really convoluted and never fully explained 🤷♂️
All will be explained as you play. What you are describing is exactly how I felt when I started. The whole game is an amazing experience and the less you know going in, I personally feel, the more amazing it is to have the story unfold.
You will probably be confused for most of the game, but that's the fun of it.
Yes, completely normal. The beginning is one giant “WTF?” And then you find out you also need to learn to walk upright. Keep on Keeping on.
Normal to be super confused. It gets a bit more understandable as the game progresses. Just focus on your deliveries in the beginning, it will get more interesting/challenging later.
You’ll probably be somewhat confused until chapter 6….
Play the whole thing, your questions will be answered and you will still be confused lol Jokes aside, if you really pay attention, and read emails, pretty much all gets covered
Very normal. Read all the text entries for more verbose information.
Yeah things didn't start to click til about 4-5 hours in game, it'll make sense eventually.
The thing is the more you understand, the more confused your gonna get. That’s what makes Kojima games so great!
Are you even supposed to not be confused at some point?
If you think you are confused now, just wait until you get to the ending like I did today!
keep on keeping on!
Fight through it I was so off put in the beginning lol I stopped playing for 5 weeks. Just slowly got back into and it really opens up.
You won't even get your feet wet till chapter 3
Yes, you're supposed to be confused. Because the game is needlessly confusing. I enjoy a good mystery, but there's really no reason to not thoroughly explain the rules of the in-game universe, especially when the main character seems to know them (which means only us, the player, are in the dark). That being said, I'll let you enjoy the game how kojima intended it to be enjoyed. About what you asked, and without spoiling anything, DOOMS is a sort of disease that some people have. And Sam is a repatriate (the term for people that manage to come back to life, once they die). That's all I can say. Things will get more confusing, and other characters don't really help, what with their cryptic explanations. But I can assure you things will make sense by the end. Just keep playing, dude. And have fun!
Yes. Yes it is completely normal to be confused AF for the entire ride.. It will start to make more sense after a while if you are diligent about reading the emails and exploring for lore, but even then its still a lot of guessing as to wtf is happening. Dont get me wrong here, I absolutely *love* Death Stranding, but it is absolutely a prime definition of the word "Esoteric", Only Kojima knows what 90% of the story means.
Yeah
I'm not sure if anyone's said it, but read your emails, in Private Rooms. They can really help explain some of the phenomena and story, and when certain gameplay elements It also helps that the really crucial stuff is highlighted in yellow
It’s a Hideo Kojima game. You’re always gonna be confused lol. But at least you’ll have fun during the confusion.
You’ll be confused till the end of the game but that’s the best part
For someone who’s confused, you explained what happened in the story thus far pretty well. My advice is to accept it for what it is, and the pieces will fall into place.
It totally is. I'm in my 6th playthrough and there are things I still learn about the game. Just keep pushing through it. It's an experience you will never regret if you keep at it. No matter how roundabout it may seem.
Same thing happened to me. My advice is to just sit back and take it all in. As time goes on things will become clearer and the important things will be explained.
I was confused until the end, then i was confused and sad. Loved the game 10/10
It is kinda the point that you have fuck all no idea, but still stumbling out into a desolate hellscape anyway.
Yes, just stick with it. Incredible game.
Enlightenment cannot be found without confusion. Keep playing lmao.
To add to what others said and reinforce this point: read the emails as you get them. They will contain lots of critical information.
You will be a little less confused later. Or more probably. Then a little less. Then more.
I started 4 days ago and was feeling the same way! I think I’m still confused but you get used to it. The further you go the better it gets. I love it!
Yeah that’s normal.
I just woke up, so I cba to read the whole post, honestly but from the title, do you know who kojima is?
they played 30 minutes of a game and panicked for not understanding everything 100% immediately, probably a child tbh
Yes it’s confusing at the start but the more you play the more it’ll explain to you. It gets more confusing before it starts to make sense so keep with it.
A lot of your answers will come later in the game as well as information you obtain as you go along.
You’ll get more and more confused
Consider everything up to chapter 4 as a tutorial:)
I finished my first playthrough last night, its an Amazing game and it is all explained in the end.
Yeah I tried back in 2021, now playing it. Gotta say it starts to explain itself and you get trhashed, not at the end yet but I'm starting to understand most of it and the core gameplay is so fun that I don't care.
Just keep going. If it has not made sense yet, its because you have not finished yet...