Death Stranding's gameplay received criticisms from fans for the largely monotonous trekking that players must endure to reach their destinations. This is mainly because Sam Porter Bridges, Death Stranding's protagonist, is a courier who is tasked with connecting a chiral network throughout the entirety of a dystopian United Cities of America. Death Stranding's narrative, on the other hand, is encumbered with existential themes, such as life and death. Recently, Death Stranding has been given fan art treatment that crosses it over with another controversial game.
The Last of Us Part 2 received its own accolades and criticisms, with its narrative being held in contention by many players. The Last of Us' beloved characters, Joel and Ellie, are taken down particular paths that fans have openly disagreed with. Either way, both games were massively successful upon launch and remain a significant topic when it comes to character-driven games. One fan has managed to combine both The Last of Us and Death Stranding into fan art that blends each protagonist's roles together.
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Knutsdeez portrays Joel as Sam Porter Bridges' character, with a slightly older Joel sporting distinctly grey hair. Joel is superimposed onto Sam's character from Death Stranding's promotional material, and can be seen wearing the raincoat which protects his skin from exposure to timefall precipitation. However, disturbed fans have also pointed out that the connection between both games in this fan art does not end with Joel's inclusion. Seen in the Bridge Baby's portable womb-like pod, Lou is given Ellie's hair and is thus represented as her character.
Fans acknowledge that this fan art is not only strange but also inaccurate to the game's explanation of who the BB is. Players do not initially understand that Lou is actually Sam himself, and it has been his own memories that he has been seeing and experiencing throughout Death Stranding. This fact makes the fan's art implausible from a rational standpoint, but it is humorous nonetheless as they explain that they simply wanted to include Ellie's character somehow.
Rather, Ellie being represented as the BB makes sense when comparing and contrasting the two first-party Sony games. Joel and Sam both traverse post-apocalyptic environments and battle creatures as they attempt to reach their destinations and protect their companions. Ellie is well represented as Lou in this case, though the former character is an NPC capable of foul-mouthed banter in The Last of Us, while Lou must be pampered and soothed to lower the infant's stress levels and autotoxemia in Death Stranding. Regardless, this fan art is certainly unique.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut is currently scheduled to release for PS5 on September 24, 2021.
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