NPCs will live or die depending upon your decisions in Death Stranding
"We really hope that the significance of the connection between people - how it is formed, how it develops - will be revealed."
Your actions - or lack thereof - can affect the outcomes of some of Death Stranding's NPCs, said creator Hideo Kojima.
Addressing fans at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Hideo Kojima revealed that the fate of one particular sick character lies purely on the player, and what you choose to do, or not do, will affect their outcome.
"We have a character who lives deep underground. He is sick and needs medicine, and Sam can deliver it," Kojima told the crowd (thanks wccftech via Reddit). "Since this happens at the beginning of the story, this is a must. After completing this quest, the player himself chooses the following actions: you can constantly go to the old man and carry medicine; you can deliver other items; You can listen to his stories from the past.
"But the player is constantly moving forward and moving away from the character. And I'm sure that there are gamers who forget about this old man. And then they will remember and return to it. Since they have not carried medicine to him all this time, he will die by this moment. Through such actions, a connection arises with the character.
"We really hope that the significance of the connection between people - how it is formed, how it develops - will be revealed, and it will be interesting for you to play it."
While Kojima stopped short of elaborating on whether or not this means there are multiple endings for the game as well as the characters within it, it stands to reason that a game that focusses so heavily on connections and relationships will insist you choose between some polarising decisions. It remains to be seen if you'll be able to save everyone you encounter, of course.
As Wes reported last week, you know that creepy jar baby in Death Stranding? The one with the thumbs up from down Norman Reedus' throat? Well, according to Hideo Kojima you can hear its voice coming out of the creepy Death Stranding controller that comes with the Death Stranding limited edition PlayStation 4, and you too can rock your controller "to emulate holding the BB pod in your own hands".
Not long to go now, eh? Death Stranding is scheduled to release on 8th November, 2019, on PlayStation 4.
