Death Stranding Has An Unexpectedly Festive Update

Kojima games are weird. Death Stranding is weird. The 1.08 patch of Death Stranding is weird, but perhaps appropriate considering the spirit of the season. This update has placed Santa hats on the holographic prepper NPCs so that they can greet Sam Bridges with all the necessary Christmas cheer.

Sam can also put on a red and white hat himself and trudge through the world with his deliveries. All he needs is a reindeer-drawn sleigh to complete the Santa Claus ensemble. His job as a Porter is rather similar to what Father Christmas himself does, after all. Maybe that's what Hideo Kojima had in mind when making this unexpected addition to an otherwise bleak game.

Death Stranding is about the world after an apocalypse, but even with such heavy subject matter, it is well known that the game has some odd moments of brevity. Stare at Sam's crotch for too long? He'll punch you in the face. Then there's the addition of comedian Conan O'Brien who gives Sam another hat — this one fashioned to look like an adorable otter. Despite the eldritch nightmares of the world, we can have a little fun in the rivers and streams by pretending to be a cute, carefree otter.

Fans are thoroughly enjoying this festive surprise, posting pictures of their favorite NPCs delivering their very serious speeches while looking rather silly in their floppy hats. They may as well jingle. The fact these hats were coming was apparently kept on the down low, because most posts celebrating the Christmas spirit express confusion. Will we get a Valentine's Day update? Maybe a summer fun update? Sam already has some pretty cool shades; why not give everyone else a pair? 

The Death Stranding hype has yet to die, and perhaps will be kept alive with strange new additions like this. While Kojima has confirmed that his next project is definitely not Death Stranding 2, there are still rumors of a big DLC down the road. We'll keep you posted on any new content or costumes in Death Stranding.