Oh Man, Look At These Death Stranding Dropkicks

Death Stranding is an objectively beautiful game, though sometimes that beauty isn’t found in its lush environments or character interactions but how players use the tools at their disposal to pull off amazing feats.

I recently stumbled upon Twitter user kota (@RB_SKKN), who for the last few months has catalogued their journey through Death Stranding Director’s Cut since it launched in late September. While kota is typically content with sharing artfully composed screenshots, their masterpiece is, in my opinion, a one minute, 21 second video uploaded on November 1 showcasing how to take down the game’s MULE enemies with long-range dropkicks.

ミサイルドロップキック！
なんか出来そうだなあと思って試してみたら出来てしまったw
調子に乗って連発してたら報復に会い、最後は偶然の出来事w#DEATHSTRANDINGDIRECTORSCUT #デススト#おふざけ pic.twitter.com/zunHNuXt0n

— kota (@RB_SKKN) November 1, 2021

Sadly, I don’t speak Japanese, but when asked in English how they managed to pull off these stunts in the replies to the original tweet, kota offered up an easy-to-parse explanation.

The secret lies in combining two new Director’s Cut additions — the dropkick attack (duh) and the stabilizer, a backpack attachment that functions as a pseudo-jetpack — with the speed-increasing variation of the active skeleton from the original game. With all that in place, it’s simply a matter of building up speed, jumping from a high spot, and presto, you’ve turned protagonist Sam Porter Bridges into a living javelin.

As shown in another of kota’s videos, our hero eventually gets bored if he’s in the air too long and returns to his normal position. But check out the air you can get with the new ramps! That’s a far cry from the stumbles and bumps Sam takes while traversing rocky terrain in the beginning of the game.

ジャンプ台と例のドロップキックは重なるのか。
気になったので、たくさん頂いた????にビビりながら帰宅した後、早速試してみました。#DEATHSTRANDINGDIRECTORSCUT #デススト#ありがとうございます pic.twitter.com/AIfLKRCrwu

— kota (@RB_SKKN) November 2, 2021

In Death Stranding, auteur video game director Hideo Kojima and his team at Kojima Productions developed an incredible adventure with deep, resonant themes about the human spirit. On the other hand, the game is also a compelling sandbox wherein players can experiment with its numerous movement options and gadgets to create wonderful highlight reels like this.

I’m not sure which is more important, but I’ll admit I’m having an inordinate amount of fun watching Sam dropkick fools with a baby attached to his chest.