One evening, I pushed too far and took too many dangers whereas enjoying Dying Stranding 2. I used to be in the course of an space infested with lethal BTs, aka evil tar ghosts who can kill you. I used to be working low on battery, that means my exosuit would cease functioning and all my cargo would out of the blue develop into an excessive amount of for me to hold. I used to be correctly screwed.
However then, after rigorously trekking throughout one final hill, I noticed a small, glowing shelter not removed from my location. I shortly made my strategy to it and was capable of cost my battery, catch my breath, and shield myself for a bit from close by BTs. As I arrived at this glorious little bit of hope that was created by one other participant, I smashed the PS5’s touchpad, leaving a whole lot of likes for the shelter’s creator within the area of some seconds. And someday later, they obtained a notification {that a} construction they constructed had helped somebody and acquired some likes.
I do know this as a result of it occurred to me many occasions whereas enjoying Dying Stranding 2, which is each a online game from Hideo Kojima and the world’s first completely good and never unhealthy social community.
The Likes Economic system Of Dying Stranding 2
Dying Stranding 2: On The Seashore launched final month to largely optimistic evaluations. I personally loved this very unusual open-world post-apocalyptic cargo supply simulator starring Norman Reedus, even when I discovered the ending not very satisfying. However whereas Dying Stranding 2 is a sport obsessive about delivering packages, connecting in-game NPCs to a bigger community, and saving the world, additionally it is an odd multiplayer expertise.
To be clear: You by no means meet different gamers immediately whereas enjoying, however you’ll be able to see what they construct, work together with their creations, and even depart behind holographic indicators, buildings, and provides. And all of this—together with the mushrooms that develop from the bottom when gamers all pee in the identical spot—may be “appreciated” in-game as if they’re items of content material in your telephone’s timeline.
This can be a massive a part of Dying Stranding 2 that you may technically ignore. However good luck doing that. There’s something deeply satisfying and rewarding about constructing a shelter or a humorous signal and getting a whole lot of likes on your effort. It creates this “Likes economic system” the place gamers work onerous to “go viral.” Nevertheless, to go viral in Dying Stranding 2 means you’ve carried out one thing tremendous useful.
Not like precise social media networks like Fb or TikTok, the one strategy to go viral and get hundreds of likes is by being a very good, useful individual. In the event you place a ladder in opposition to a cliff and it results in nothing, it’s probably that no one will use it or prefer it. It is going to be buried beneath higher, extra useful creations. And you may’t even dislike something, both. You simply need to ignore it.
Useful Spam And No Racism
This “likes economic system” does result in a lot of Dying Stranding 2’s hubs and in-game shelters being surrounded by what quantities to spam. In the event you’ve performed for even just a few hours, you’ve probably skilled this when driving right into a supply centre and encountering the handfuls of holographic indicators that dot the pathway. Otherwise you see that folks have left weapons, ammo, or therapeutic objects outdoors doorways, cluttering up the area of their efforts to win some likes.
However whereas this spam is typically a bit annoying, it by no means feels imply spirited or shitty. It’s simply lots of people making an attempt to be useful in a single singular location.
Evaluate that to the shit you probably see each single day on social media in the true world, and it’s clear which is healthier. And as a bonus, Dying Stranding 2 doesn’t allow you to depart textual content notes or voice messages on the earth. No racist rubbish or terrible slurs are sprinkled round. It’s simply folks working collectively to make the world of Dying Stranding 2 a greater, simpler place. It’s a social community that rewards kindness, empathy, care, and hope. And in 2025, all of us want extra of that.
I’m not silly sufficient to consider Dying Stranding 2’s social network-like options will substitute Twitter or Fb. Nor do I feel it can change the world. Nevertheless it does present one thing I believed unattainable: A social community that doesn’t make me offended and unhappy each time I exploit it. And that’s one thing, at the least.
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