Death Stranding is one of the most exciting upcoming games appearing at E3 2018. The next project from famed developer Hideo Kojima has had us intrigued ever since its provocative E3 2016 reveal trailer. With the game confirmed as one of the four major games Sony intends to primarily focus on during its press conference, our hype and anticipation only continues to build. To prepare you for what's ahead, here's what we know about Death Stranding, as well as what we're hoping to see from it at this year's E3.
What We Know So Far

After a long-standing corporate conflict, Kojima parted ways from publisher Konami in July 2015 and reformed his longtime studio Kojima Productions as an independent developer. During the same month, Kojima announced he was collaborating with Sony to create a new PlayStation game. This ultimately turned out to be Death Stranding, which was first shown at Sony's E3 2016 press conference. Two subsequent teasers were shown at The Game Awards 2016 and 2017.

There aren't many concrete details about Death Stranding's narrative aside from the provocative imagery of its trailers and Kojima's musings on Twitter. It stars actor Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead, The Boondock Saints) as protagonist Sam, and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Hannibal) as a bizarre unnamed antagonist. Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro will contribute his likeness to another unnamed character. In addition, voice actors Troy Baker and Emily O'Brien are confirmed to appear.

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Death Stranding is being made with the DECIMA engine, the same game engine used to make Horizon Zero Dawn. Kojima has stated that it will be an action game set in an open world with multiplayer functionality. According to Kojima, the game aims to eschew some of gaming's most time-honored traditions--in this case the mechanics that dictate life and death. When Sam dies, you're sent to an upside-down world submerged in water that you can explore in first-person. But once you return to the world of the living, anything you've done or any damage you've caused in the world persists.

Another major mechanic in Death Stranding involves a type of rain known as "Timefall." This substance has the ability to age or deteriorate whatever it hits. It's likely the reason why the characters in the third teaser trailer are wearing hoods, and why the one who isn't ages rapidly--and quite painfully--in a matter of seconds.

Of course, the most bizarre aspect of every Death Stranding trailer is the baby that Sam and others can be seen holding. Kojima has confirmed that this mysterious infant is more than just a plot device, and that it actually relates to the game's narrative and gameplay mechanics.
What's Confirmed For E3?

Sony has confirmed that it'll discuss Death Stranding in detail at its E3 2018 press conference. It's one of the four games the company had stated it'll be showcasing in-depth at this year's show. According to a recent post on Kojima's Twitter account, it also appears that he's creating another big trailer for the game. In addition, he shared an cryptic image of the game--likely a shot from the trailer.
What We Hope To See At E3

Three trailers in and we're pretty desperate to hear more about what Death Stranding is actually about. So far we've only gotten vague details about the story and how it'll play. While the surreal imagery from the previous footage has piqued our curiosity, we can't imagine that another teaser like that will do Death Stranding any favors--lest it wants to turn out like No Man's Sky, in the sense that intrigue can only take a game so far; we want something more substantial.

We're hoping that Kojima will take to the stage at this year's Sony press conference to go into explicit detail about what you'll be doing in Death Stranding, as well as show off actual gameplay footage. We'd love to see an in-depth demonstration of the life and death mechanic that Kojima discussed late-last year. At the very least, we want to get a sense of how it'll feel to play the game, as well as what its combat and UI looks like.

Aside from gameplay, it would be great to see more story and characters. It's doubtful that Death Stranding's star-studded cast stops at Reedus and Mikkelsen. We'd love to see the presence of other high-profile actors. Rumors and theories have circulated suggesting that Emma Stone, Diane Kruger, Kevin Durand, and even Idris Elba could potentially join the cast. However, none of this has been confirmed and is mostly based on hearsay. Regardless, the possibility of more big-name actors and actresses potentially being in Death Stranding has us excited.

Death Stranding has garnered massive interest due to the sense of mystery that veils its story and gameplay. We're hoping that Kojima and Sony will at least provide some answers to the questions its initial trailers gave us.

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