The third trailer is finally out and I can finally get back to more analysis videos for
Death Stranding.
So many moons have past since I made an analysis video about specifics for the game and now
we have a much wider, yet confusing, trailer that we can speculate from, and I must say
this was a damn good one too.
I do have a lot to say, since the trailer had so much packed in 8 minutes, so I’ll
spread out my thoughts on it all in a series of videos.
I’ll categorize them, which I’ll release in the coming weeks.
I promise I’m not trying to swindle you guys by separating everything.
There is just so much to cover and I want to get them out to you guys as fast as possible.
To start getting back to the Death Stranding game, let’s begin with Sam Porter, Norman
Reedus’ character.
I’ll explain why I’m calling him Sam Porter and continue on what I have so far with this
mysterious character, and even theorize his presence.
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Alright, Sam Porter.
Since the debut trailer for Death Stranding we have been wondering how Norman fits into
this outlandish territory.
Now we have come to a point to where we can, at least, analyze the meaning of his character
and to start it off by his name.
During the 3rd trailer, one of the affiliates for the “BRIDGES” organization recognized
Norman character and screams out “Sam”.
Kojima even confirms this to be his name on a tweet that he posted the day after the trailer’s
release, where he discusses Norman’s necklace.
He quotes, “This is the necklace replica that SAM (the player) (Norman) is wearing
in DEATH STRANDING.”
As for my speculation that Sam’s last name is “PORTER”, let’s simply look at Norman’s
outfit.
The word “PORTER” is spread all over his uniform and could easily be identified as
a nameplate.
Nameplates, which are usually neighbored by a rank insignia, is a way to quickly determine
a soldiers name and position without question.
Although it is possible that this is not his surname and yet another organization that
is called “PORTER”, but the word isn’t accompanied by any brand or emblem and it
seems to rather establish Sam with this Name.
The serial number “0914-137” also associates Sam to a registry for an organization or it
could even signify as a prison identification number.
It almost looks like this inflated looking uniform Sam wears is something similar to
the uniform of none other than Ludens , the mascot for Kojima Productions, but of course
that’s impossible, am I right?
Either way, Sam’s uniform is distinctive and doesn’t associate him to any organization.
Let’s quickly talk about the two characters associated with the “BRIDGES” organization
in this third trailer.
Sam wakes up, once again, to an atrocious scene.
In this case, he finds a vehicle collapsed on top of a “BRIDGES” member.
Since it doesn’t seem that Sam is a “BRIDGES” employee, which I’m speculating by his unassociated
uniform, he could either be cooperating or imprisoned by the organization.
I’m guessing Sam was in the car with these two individuals before it tumbled over, as
he seemed to be unconscious at the start of the trailer.
I’d like to indicate that he wasn’t in handcuffs in this trailer, which would allow
me to surely prove he was in their captivity.
In spite of this, Sam was in handcuffs in the 1st trailer, so its apparent that he is
in some confinement in a different light.
Before I start getting off track about parallel dimensions, let’s look at Norman’s raw
naked body, well rather, let’s actually discuss it.
In an interview with IGN, which took place soon after the third trailer’s release,
Kojima clarifies the death mechanic in Death Stranding.
He explains that the player is able to continue playing after they die, but maintaining their
current progress.
Instead of a replaying from your last save point you’d go into a sort of suspense or
purgatory, which we actually do see in the new trailer.
Hideo confirms that Sam, in fact, dies from the giant monster’s beam of light and ends
up floating with not a care in the world in this suspension state.
At this point, you’re not alive or dead, but equivalent to being on a continue screen,
where you are free to float around and return back to your body, but with the consequences
that you maintain your past actions and move forward.
During his time in purgatory in that trailer, Norman’s body gains another silhouetted
handprint on his chest, which I have come to believe to represent his last casualty.
Every individual handprint must illustrate a past death that Sam has already experienced.
I have talked about this before, but the handprints we have seen in the past 3 trailer could be
lost souls, and at this point, they can in fact be dangerous.
These handprints could be the players in purgatory searching for their body.
Even though the handprints on Sam’s body are static and of a different nature, it wouldn’t
be too far off to say that they are tallying up all the souls that has entered his body.
This brings us to question what brings Sam back to life.
Have we looked at how many babies we have seen in these initial trailers?
It’s no mystery that a baby is rather significant to this universe and what symbolizes life
more than anything in this universe, little tiny babies.
It’s the baby that could be what revives Sam in third as well as the first trailer.
For gods sake, these fertile babies are mostly kept in a container held near the holder’s
lower abdomen, similar to the womb of a pregnant female.
But let’s keep in mind that the only people, we have seen so far, who hold the babies in
this manner were “BRIDGES” members and this Mads Mikkelsen lookalike and we have
yet to understand where any of them stand.
So it’s possible they are taking advantage of people who could reproduce, like Sam.
I’ll talk more about this in a future analysis that will relate to the “BRIDGES” organization,
but let’s go back to those handprints for a second.
Imagine if the angry handprints we see in the third trailer are also players, but they
choose to be on the conflicting side.
One of the oily blob characters we see pulling the “BRIDGES” member into the ground is
of course, Hideo Kojima.
You can see his glasses if you look close enough and Kojima has in fact scanned his
body for the game.
Although placing himself in his own games is not unusual for Kojima, what if he is he
actually trying to hint that these blobs will actually be players.
Since why would a oily blob need oily blob glasses to see where he is going?
Do these blobs have blob optometrists they see on a yearly basis?
It sounds like these blobs live lives similar to our own.
What if the player were able to decide and move freely throughout the game, good or bad.
It has been confirmed, by Kojima, that the game will be free roam, but maybe it’s even
more complex than we anticipated.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if we were able to choose to play Norman Reedus or Mads Mikkelsen’s
characters, based on which side we were on?
If the two characters are opposing after all.
Sam is an unordinary character, especially for the Death Stranding environment.
It seems he has something that makes him valuable to “BRIDGES”, the floating figures and
even the player.
There is something he holds that will connect and bring humanity back together, but will
he use that power for good?
Stay tuned for the “Part II” analysis of Sam Porter in the near future as well as
more Death Stranding analysis content.
Next Tuesday, I’ll talk more on parallel dimensions and the game’s environment.
There is more to this world that we still don’t know, but we can try to figure it
out.
Where do you think Sam stands and how powerful do you think he actually is, since he is the
main protagonist after all?
Thank you everyone for watching this analysis.
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I know you guys are wanting more Death Stranding material and I appreciate you all be patient,
you have much more coming your way.
Thank you once again and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.