Death Stranding PS4 to PS5 Save Transferring Is a Classic Kojima Move for One Last Journey on Last-Gen

Death Stranding Save Transferring Guide 4

Death Stranding PS5’s release is finally here, and while no doubt many of you are planning on using your old PS4 saves, it would seem that you may have one last delivery to make before you can do that.

Save Transfarring With a Twist

Death Stranding recently got an update on the PS4 in preparation for the PS5 release, so that users can continue with their progress by transferring their game save via the in-game menus.

PS5 owners no doubt should be familiar with this process, as countless titles before it required the PS4 version to be downloaded in order to perform a save transfer.

A rather annoying process, although Ghost of Tsushima recently changed that, as the PS5 version of the title would scan the console for PS4 saves, and handle everything directly from that version, which is a great time saver that we hope gets implemented in other titles.

Sadly, Death Stranding doesn’t support that kind of save transferring, but instead opts in requiring users to have the original PS4 version installed in order to start the process of transferring a save. However, unlike all those other titles that allow you to upload your saves directly from the main start menu, Death Stranding adds an extra step to this by only making the menu accessible from a delivery terminal. Meaning you’ll need to play the game before you can transfer your save.

I know, I know, this sounds dumb, and if this were any other title I would agree (I still do truth be told) with you, but it’s staying in theme with what the game is about, the journey. It’s rather clever if I’m honest.

One Last Last-Gen Journey

You know, if you’ve ever transferred your PS4 save to a supported PS5 version, chances are you probably didn’t revisit the said title beforehand. I know that for me, I didn’t play an second of Spider-Man, Marvel’s Avengers, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Final Fantasy VII Remake since their original launch windows, and getting the platinum. Basically downloaded them again just to access the main start-up menu to do the quick transfer and then deleted them, never to touch their last-gen versions ever again.

With better graphics, frame-rate, faster loading, and in some cases, more content, there really was little to no reason to go back and play the original over the new unless it was to mop up some remaining trophies. Death Stranding would be no exception to that rule, however, a bit annoyingly, you can’t just transfer your save from the start screen like so many other titles.

Like I mentioned, you need to actually play the game, and this is all pretty dependent on where you last saved. Some people may be lucky and be at a delivery terminal, while others (like in my case) may be somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, possibly mid-mission.

For those unaware, Death Stranding is a game that is literally about making deliveries. There’s more to it of course, but without getting into anything complex, that’s the gist of it. In the case of transferring your PS4 save to the PS5, you are literally making one last delivery on the PS4 version. It’s one last time that you’ll ever get to experience the game with locked 30fps, lower resolution, and long loading screens. And by no means is, or was that experience a bad one, because Death Stranding is a beautiful game that made use of the hardware it ran on. A technological gem for the PS4 no doubt, and for returning players we are reminded of that as we venture to the closest delivery terminal.

Yeah, it’s dumb that this isn’t readily available from the main menu (on PS5 it is) like every other game, but at the same time, as someone who Platinum-ed the original I can’t help but chuckle due to sentimental feelings of doing this very same thing throughout the entire game before. It’s a nod at itself. You could also say that you are bridging a connection between the two versions.

Yeah, sure, you could say that maybe I’m looking too much into this, but do you really think there was some sort of technical limit that forced Kojima Production to have save transferring like this when everyone else does it from the main menu? Heck, it’s right there on the main menu of the Director’s Cut.

I’m leaning towards it being intentional, but either way I do think this gave me a bigger appreciation for the PS5 version when I finally completed the save transfer. It allowed me to re-experience the game, even for a tiny bit, and immediately compare it to the newer and improved version. Yeah I could have watched Digital Foundry’s lengthy analysis of all the improvements, but at the same time I just witness the bulk of it for myself. It gave me an opportunity for one last hoorah, and to say goodbye to the last-gen version one last time.

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