How a Pandemic Transformed Death Stranding | Video Essay

“And though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps much the greater.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

When it was released in late 2019, Death Stranding was an enigmatic, divisive story about a man delivering packages at the end of the world. Now, after two years of pandemic, the game takes on a radically different message.

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A huge thank you goes out to our patrons for making this video possible: Our deepest gratitude goes out to Rachel DeLisio, John DeLisio, Samuel Copeland, Ethan Rudder, Jeanette Clark, Michael & Heather Clark, Peter DeLisio, Mariah Helm, Roger Anderson, Chris Heatherly, Hero, Salvador Reyes, and SkullHammerSmash.

Additional Voice Over work and script feedback provided by:
KaiAfterKai -    / kaiafterkai  
Max Tohline -   / 10oclockdot  
Kikikrazed -    / kikikrazed  

Thumbnail by:   / hotcyder  

Death Stranding footage from SourceSpy91

Visual Media: Death Stranding (2019), The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), Parasite (2019), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Music Used: Don’t Be So Serious - Low Roar, Chiralium - Death Stranding OST, Main Theme - Death Stranding OST, Infiltration - Firewatch OST, In Memory of Jean Talon - Mini Vandals, An Endless Beach - Death Stranding OST, Exploration (Ruins) - Sable OST

Sources:
Ahuja, Jabir. “Ordering in: The rapid evolution of food delivery.” McKinsey & Company. September 22, 2021
Maiman, Bruce. “I’m a postal worker. In the coronavirus pandemic, I am my customer’s link to the world.” Yahoo Lifestyle, 2020.
Ebert, Roger. “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Film Review. December 19, 2001.
LaSalle, Mick. “20 Years Later: 9/11 changed everything, including movies.” DateBook. September 8, 2021.
Borrelli, Christopher. “The Evolving Images of 9/11.” Chicago Tribune. September 11, 2011.