Death stranding

Don’t worry about your birthday
The game will ask for your birthday. Put whatever date you want. It doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect your gameplay or the story at all.

Log in, it’s free!
One of the game’s key themes in a connection with others — and you can do that for free. PlayStation 4 players do not need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play the game. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can instead log into and take advantage of the game’s free Porter network, which can be found above the “System” option after you bring up the in-game menu. If you get logged out, just go back in and click “Log in.”

Always pack extra shoes
The worst parts of Death Stranding are the long, painful animations of Sam Porter Bridges tending to his bloody, broken feet. The game is rendered realistically, so the footage is unpleasant to watch. These sequences will happen whenever Sam’s boots wear out. Boots can last you for a good while: You’ll probably change them out only once per night. As a survival game, Death Stranding is surprisingly forgiving. Still, to avoid seeing Sam’s feet, always pack at least one extra pair of boots on your boot clip. You can keep up to two pairs on the clip. They’re cheap to craft, and you can always go digging around the “Shared Locker," where other players contribute items and materials. You’re likely to find a free pair of shoes there.

Use the lockers, both shared and private
Private lockers stay in your game. You’ll be revisiting many stations, so anything you pick up along the way that you don’t need right now, consider saving for later. Shared lockers play into the game’s theme of connection. Hundreds of other Sams will contribute items to shared lockers for others to use. You don’t have to contribute. Take advantage of this — and maybe leave something for all the other Sams out there.

BTs will stress you out. Just stay calm
BTs, or beached things, are invisible ghosts that roam the rainy American landscape. The trailers sold them as the game’s “true horror,” and they weren’t lying: BTs are the biggest, scariest threat in the game. Eventually, you’ll get weapons to clear out BTs, but the gameplay loop around them will remain essentially the same: Navigate around the BTs, and every once in a while knock them out with one of the BT-specific weapons you get later in the game.

Place blood packs in your utility pouch
Your blood level corresponds to your hit points. You can fit up to four packs of your own blood into a utility pouch that doesn’t count toward space in your backpack. Your blood can also be used as ammunition. Bringing four-packs ensures that you have a safety net to survive and fight your way out of almost any encounter. You get free blood packs every time you sleep in a private room — which you will do often — so you’ll never be left wanting for blood.

You can skip the sleeping and showering cutscenes
The game seems slow thanks to all the elaborate animation work done to show how Sam showers, naps, and urinates. You’ll be doing all three more times than probably anything else in the game besides walking. Simply pause and skip them all once you’ve exhausted all the animation routines for each. Eventually, you should be able to recognize which animations are routine, and which ones present a new camera angle, indicating you’re about to get a story.

Don’t be afraid to auto-sort your luggage
Packing Sam with various boxes on his back, arms and legs can be tricky. I enjoy inventory management, so I found this mechanic fun, like a Jenga tower in the shape of Norman Reedus. But if you don’t want the hassle, simply press triangle in the cargo menu. The computer will optimize your luggage for the best possible balance and speed. You’ll eventually be tasked with delivering hilarious amounts of packages; Automated sorting will make life a bit easier.

‘Very easy’ mode will not play the game for you
Kojima has joked that his “very easy” mode is for movie fans, worrying gamers who believed that the game would play itself. That is not the case. Death Stranding provides no shortcuts around the walking system. You will have to do all the walking yourself. But you won’t get hit as hard, your stamina won’t drop as quickly, and your packages won’t deteriorate as much. You’ll still see just as many enemies. If you’re not sure about which difficulty mode is right for you, just know that you can switch the difficulty at any moment.