Foreign media thegamer published an article that "Death Stranding" successfully captured the loneliness of "The End of Havoc".
Havoc is a unique post-apocalyptic story, an empty world with almost no life and only a few survivors left. They insist on survival that is not worth holding onto, it is impossible to grow new food, and there are no animals to breed. The survivors can only die slowly in the dwindling decay residue, which is bleak, but more oppressive loneliness.
The Last of Us is directly inspired by The Last of Us and makes almost perfect use of a dystopian setting. But the infected person in the game reduces this loneliness, and the player does not wander in an empty, bare world, because he is still full of animals and "people", but these "people" are not so human-like. In contrast, the closest video game to Havoc is Death Stranding.
For most of the Death Stranding game, we've been on long journeys, where civilizations have been swallowed up by glaciers or left behind as monuments. And the protagonist Sam is completely alone during the trip, and any sign of life seems like a threat. It's like "The End of the Apocalypse" - loneliness is a beautiful respite, no need for zombies, monsters, aliens, humans are scary enough.
Of course, there are monsters in DEATH STRANDING, but they are more like life-giving elements than traditional apocalyptic creatures. It's clear from the very beginning of the game that the rain reminds them like an intricate web. These monsters are able to feel every wisp of rain, and when they appear, they are black footprints scattered across the walls. Time rain is not a physical threat, but the phantom and the earth itself are given a voice and embody the concept of death. This is very similar to the biggest villain "Nature" in "The End of Havoc".
In addition to nature, it is other humans who make these stories more disturbing, and in most cases, there are bandits along the way, which we see in Death Stranding and Havoc. The protagonist of "Doomsday" always avoids other people, because humans always mean trouble, especially well-fed and well-fed. In a world where there are no animals to farm and crops to grow, the last resource is human flesh, so those who have flesh on their bones are naturally suspicious.
However, we do meet good people in Death Stranding, the last bastion of civilization, an optimistic organization that offers a glimmer of hope in a bleak world. This is why Death Stranding is so close to Doomsday, and although Doom Havoc sends a desperate and implausible message that "survival is futile", he ends on a high note, the father of the protagonist's father and son dies, but the son meets another person who takes him to safety. This ending is ambiguous, leaving the possibility of a happy ending.
Death Stranding has a similar theme, not succumbing to suffering, and they can find help even if the world is empty.