Apocalypse as practice: Labour, technology and environment in Death Stranding

Abstract

This article examines how the video game Death Stranding demonstrates the enmeshment of video games with the material conditions of our planet during an era of compounding ecological crises. This article focuses on Death Stranding’s engagement with apocalypse, both as a fictional backdrop and as a form of practice for the player. Exercises of labour undertaken by the player and their avatar, and their involvement in the proliferation of communication technologies within the gameworld, are shown to be ruinous in ways that are resonant with our contemporary conditions of crisis. Through this analysis an understanding is developed of how Death Stranding enlists players in the process of repeating apocalypse(s) and invites reflection upon the place of video games and play in these fractious times.