The secret Death Stranding Briefing Trailer that was to be shown exclusively at Gamescom 2019 appears to have leaked. It what should come as a surprise to no one familiar with the industry, a sneaky individual managed to smuggle in a camera and record this trailer that purports to explain the plot of this upcoming game by Hideo Kojima. Do bear in mind that this will (obviously) have some spoilers.
The trailer begins with a conversation in the White House. Tommie Earl Jenkins’ character Die-Hardman talks with Norman Reedus’ character Sam and tells him about the plan to reconstruct an America that has been wracked by terrorist attacks. He then reveals Lindsay Wagner’s character Amelie, although it comes to light that she is not actually there. Saying that her body is “still on the beach,” she is presented as the person who will lead the upcoming “United Cities of America.”
ALSO: Why Death Stranding starting on ‘full Kojima’ is worrisome
The Death Stranding Briefing trailer then explains what the player is going to be doing in the game. Amelie had put together an expedition and headed westward. After he makes this statement, Amelie walks across the room and reveals a massive holographic map that fills up the entire room. Unfortunately, the poor recording quality shows it as a white blur. The expedition reveals that Amelie’s expedition convinced “community after community to join the UCA” over their three-year trip to Edge Knot City near the Pacific Ocean.
Regrettably, the team was wiped out and Amelie was “taken.” She’s allowed to communicate with Die-Hardman and is kept in relative comfort by the Homo Demens, a group of separatist terrorists that want to keep Edge Knot City independent. Amelie then emphasizes that if they don’t reunite America, humanity will not survive.
It is then that the player’s mission is revealed in more detail. The people that Amelie left behind have been setting up “chiral network terminals” that are somewhat isolated. A “Q-Pid” is revealed, a floating necklace of tags that will allow Sam to integrate the chiral terminals into the network. Sam is instructed to head west, reconnecting these terminals and ultimately making it all the way to Edge Knot City where he will hopefully be able to bring Amelie home and let her assume the presidency of a reunited America.
The Death Stranding Briefing trailer was previously said to be only viewable to people who attended Gamescom 2019 in person. Thanks to this leak, we can all see it in a fashion (even if the quality is pretty terrible). It doesn’t answer every question we have about the game, but the overarching plot should now make a little more sense. You can watch it for yourself below. Hopefully, Sony will release a better version soon.
