While I still don't think I could adequately explain to you exactly what Hideo Kojima's upcoming PS4 exclusive Death Stranding is actually about, one thing that's clear is that the game will rely heavily on asynchronous online multiplayer that allow players to form "strands" between one another's worlds.
This will apparently, in essence, work a lot like it does in Dark Souls, but a bit more ambitious. Players will still be able to come across helpful hints left by other players, just like they could in FromSoftware's series, but in Death Stranding they'll even be able to find objects and items left by others to help them more efficiently explore the world. For example, you might leave a ladder or rope somewhere in your playthrough that helps another player in their world cross a gap with ease. It's an interesting idea, and I'm intrigued to see how well it works.
Given that this feature is apparently so crucial to the experience, Kojima has confirmed that you won't need the PlayStation Plus subscription typically required to use most online features in PS4 games. This is, in my opinion, the right call. It always bothered me that you couldn't really enjoy one the co-operative multiplayer - easily one of the coolest things about Dark Souls - unless you subscribed to PS Plus. Or you know, got a free trial and attempted to smash through the game in a week. You couldn't even see messages left by other players unless you had a subscription, which really dilutes the Dark Souls experience, IMO.
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Thankfully we won't have to worry about any of that nonsense when Death Stranding arrives on November 8. Kojima recently confirmed that the game had finally gone gold, which means it can finally be played all the way through and is of a high enough quality that it can be sent of for manufacturing, which is incredibly exciting.
"Got the gold master approval," Kojima wrote on Twitter. "It's been three years nine months since the studio's inception. Able to mark the first step as the new Kojima productions. Thanks to Sony, Guerrilla, cast members, musicians, artists, staff & fans for supporting us from the start and all the way through!"
I still honestly have no idea if Death Stranding is going to be good or not, but the fact that we'll all be able to experience the asynchronous online multiplayer in the same way, regardless of subscription status, implies to me that Kojima has a clear vision for the game that Sony is happy to back up, and that's a fairly promising sign.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: Death Stranding, PlayStation, PS4