Death Stranding - Prologue and Chapter 1 Walkthrough (No Commentary)

After Death Stranding's introductory cutscenes and a Metroidvania-style loss, we join Sam (Norman Reedus) on top of a rainy mountain. Your goal? Pick up your stuff and get down the mountain.

Here, you'll be introduced to the pickup mechanics that will form the backbone of the rest of your, say, 60+ hours with the game. Throw that first box on your back and power forward!

Keep moving and climbing in a straight line for a little while, picking up any cargo you come across, and you'll quickly hit a cave that will trigger the next cutscene. Congratulations! You've completed the prologue to the prologue of Death Stranding!

After finishing the prologue and making your way to Chapter 1, you’ll want to keep in mind that a big part of Death Stranding is in the flexibility of the environment, and the creativity of how you want to forge a path forward.

There are a whole heap of different ways to tackle each mission, and on top of that, the map you encounter might also be different to the one you see in this guide--that's thanks to the multiplayer aspect of the game, where members of the community will clear different paths and place helpful structures in different ways depending on your personal game.