How to Get All Half Life and Portal Content in Death Stranding

Updated November 29, 2024, by Christopher Norman W: With Death Stranding now available on the Xbox platform, porters everywhere are jumping back into Hideo Kojima’s most recent masterpiece. While longtime fans of Kojima are used to the master’s unorthadox team-ups, new players may not know that the Director’s Cut of DS brought all the special Valve crossover content to consoles. Yes, there is a Half Life Death Stranding crossover. This update will ensure that our coverage is up-to-date, and contains accurate information on how to get all Valve content in Death Stranding.

Given that Hideo Kojima is one of the most beloved and recognizable figures in gaming, it’s understandable that other creative luminaries would work with him to put themselves or their content into Death Stranding. From Geoff Keighley and Conan O’Brien to Edgar Wright and Junji Ito, Kojima clearly scoured his contact list when casting the game’s various roles. And while he seemed to give most of his friends and colleagues relatively minor roles, he had something else in mind for the team at Valve.

Though not included in the original PS4 release, Death Stranding‘s PC release brought with it two special collaborations that featured several pieces of exclusive content. Valve, the company behind the Half-Life and Portal series, was chosen along with CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Several key aspects of Valve’s games are referenced in Death Stranding, with some of the items even providing remarkably useful benefits.

All Valve content in
Death Stranding

is only available in the PC and Director’s Cut versions of the game. It is not available for the original PS4 version.

Where to Find Gordon’s Glasses in Death Stranding

The first item in the Valve Content group is Gordon’s glasses from the Half-Life series. Sam can actually wear the glasses, so they are absolutely worth finding.

Look for the 𝞴 Symbol in Sam’s Emails

During Episode 2, Benjamin H. will email Sam with the details of the first Half-Life item. Sam must recover the package and deliver it to Capital Knot City to receive the reward, which in this case is Gordon’s Glasses. Benjamin notes the package can be found north-east of the Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City.

Simply follow the river until Sam reaches this point. The package is practically impossible to miss, given that it looks like the Companion Cube from Portal. It will be sitting on the riverbank, right on the edge of BT territory.

Where to Find The Valve Valve in Death Stranding

Those who know, know that isn’t a typo. The Valve valve is quite literally a valve Sam can attach to the back of his head. Once acquired, Sam can access it by holding up on the d-pad. Maybe Sam can use the Harmonica behind his head now?

Sam will once again see the Half-Life lambda symbol in his emails, indicating another item is ready to be recovered and delivered.

This time, William L. will send Sam the details, which point to a location near Peter Englert’s shelter. Englert is the beloved pizza connoisseur who has a knack for ordering at the worst possible times. Also, he is suspiciously never home. We’ll just ignore that for now. The cube will be directly outside his shelter, right between the two silos. Deliver it to Lake Knot City to receive the reward.

How to Get the Gravity Gloves in Death Stranding

The third cube will be detailed in an email from Thomas S. asking Sam to locate his missing package. It will arrive shortly after Sam’s trip to the Weather Station.

To locate the cube, travel to the MULE camp that sits north-west of the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City. The camp sits at the base of the game’s biggest mountain, making it hard to mistake for another.

Make sure to bring enough weaponry to for a fight, as the cube sits right in the center of camp. Once Sam delivers the cube to the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City, he will earn the Gravity Gloves. These gloves are one of the most helpful items in the game.

How to Get the Half-Life Truck in Death Stranding

The mission to locate the fourth cube is also initiated by Thomas Southerland. Look for his email to come at the same time as Order 38.

Head to the old, dilapidated factory near the Craftman’s shelter. This is a high-BT zone, so be prepared to either sneak or fight.

Look for a broken-down tractor; the companion cube will be sitting directly in front of it. Take the cube to the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City to receive the blueprints to fabricate the truck.

How to Get the Headcrab Cap in Death Stranding

Sam will receive the fifth email from the Paleontologist, a prepper he encounters after bringing Mountain Knot City into the fold. This will occur around the same time the mission with the Paleontologist takes place.

He will send Sam to the ruins he passed previously while navigating the whiteout. They lie slightly north-west of the Geologist’s shelter. The building foundation where the cube rests can just be made out on the map if Sam zooms in.

Be careful! This area is completely overrun by BTs. It even has the special Super-BTs that can only b destroyed by cutting their umbilical cord. On a separate note, if Sam ever needs a great deal of chiral crystals, this area is tops!

The cube sits in the corner of the destroyed building. Deliver it to the Paleontologist to receive the Headcrab Cap.

How to Get the Strider Hologram in Death Stranding

Look for two 𝞴 emails

This final cube is a bit of a trip. Once the game is completed, Sam will receive an email from an Unknown sender, which thanks him for collecting the first five cubes and says the experiments can now continue. Right, whatever that means! Benjamin Hancock will then email Sam, asking about the strange message he received. He will send Sam out to get one final cube from the ruined shopping mall north of Middle Knot City.

At this point, players will likely realize that Middle Knot City was not visited in the game and was actually one of the cities destroyed by the Homo-Demens. The ruins, however, do exist. To reach them, travel up past the crater with the Ruined Shelter, and look for a bridge across the tar belt. In most cases, Sam will have to finish the construction. Bring 800 metal and at least one ladder to cross a smaller tar pit.

Using the Odradek from the bridge will reveal the cube up the hill. Be careful! This area is crawling with BTs. The cube itself will have a giant BT hovering directly above it. Red BTs also reside in the area, so come prepared.

Once Sam has the cube, he must take it to the Incinerator West of Lake Knot City. This is the one located on the road to Mountain Knot City. Cremate the final cube to complete the mission. Sam will receive two more emails related to this series of quests, but the strider hologram will be the final reward.