C.B.I Sanctum

Death, feeling stranded, but then awakening again.

death stranding

Death Stranding is a game that I think about forever. I can still remember, the slick of the BTs, and the weight of wading through thick oil, or at least something like it, a game which began my love for Iceland in a funny way, a game which encouraged me to feel a little less disgusting every time I showered.

The sequel is set to come out near the end of June, 2025, it looks like everything great about the first game is made even better and better. I see the lush environments, the dead ones, the weight and light of the world, and...no Low Roar.

Death Stranding wouldn't have been as impactful as it was without Low Roar's deeply resonate music. He's been gone for a few years now and had passed at such a young age, I never knew the guy, but I think about his music forever, I think about how I didn't know I didn't want to keep living but I wanted to keep living back then.

Woodkid - To The Wilder was an absolutely amazing choice for the official release trailer, it makes me want to cry, it makes me happy too, I have high hopes for Woodkid's music.

Rest in peace Low Roar, your soul and music will forever be beautiful.

But...this is a game review, I'm thinking about Death Stranding, its story, themes, gameplay, what it means/meant to me.

I mean like many games it meant everything to me.

It meant rolling dark green hills and volcanoes, except it was supposed to be America, it was just like a portrait of Iceland.

Hideo Kojima spent his time scouting Iceland, and Icelandic culture, history, it was an undeniably huge inspiration for Death Stranding and it shows, it always shows.

Screenshot 2025-03-18 at 22 Kirkjufell Screenshot 2025-03-18 at 22 Arctic Fox, only native mammal to Iceland. Screenshot 2025-03-18 at 22 Bárðarbunga

Iceland and Death Stranding and me are intertwined, yeah it is a popular tourist spot, but for me it means much more than that. Screenshot 2025-03-18 at 22 Screenshot 2025-03-18 at 22

The quiet spaces in between and the far reaching landscapes, it is Iceland through and through. The concept of the timefall sort of explains as to why the east, midwest, and west of the US all look...like Iceland hehe, but it is also an art choice.

Iceland is I guess my dream vacation spot, possibly retirement spot, I'd like to live there with the people I love, maybe a partner, I may be queer and marriage is a man made concept and not entirely real, but I would also want something akin to a honeymoon there, I just think I would like it, it's a silly dream, but I think it's a fun one.

Regardless, Death Stranding is an abstract game upfront, certainly in line with Kojima's Metal Gear games with its storytelling and blend of absurdity and seriousness.

Before I get into the actual review, I must preface my mental state and timeframe when I got into D|S.

D|S was something I don't remember thinking about too much, I may have just seen it somewhere and thought it looked like something I could imbibe, could love; it looked different above all.

I was right of course, an unmatched atmosphere meets death, but also life. Where was I then?

I played it a year after it came out or so, in 2020, starting April 5th, at around 16:00 hours. The time of day was natural, normal, but I soon learned to love playing it in the dead of night. My apartment then was small, but haha, it was cozy, it felt like orange lights and that is a good feeling.

I would sit in the living room with the lights off, playing, playing it, I remember. I was drawn in by the title screen...and by everything else, but above all by Low Roar.