Death Stranding's core claim is physical: heavier cargo, harder trek, more stress on Sam's body.
Hideo Kojima is arguing that human connection exhausts us — that bringing supplies to isolated communities drains your reserves.
Neuroscience says the opposite. Social bonding reduces cortisol, lowers blood pressure, decreases allostatic load — real connection metabolically *restores* you.
Watch him at a shelter after delivery. No animation for relief. No stat boost for completing the loop — instead, the interface stays brutally transactional, with cargo transferred, BT avoidance logged, and timefall exposure calculated.
Sam doesn't get tired from helping people. He gets tired from planning how to help them efficiently — which means Kojima built a game about social bonding that mechanically proves connection isn't costly because it's meaningful, but because coordination is expensive.
Load a save at a Distribution Center and spend 10 minutes just managing cargo without moving — sort, reorganize, check stats — and notice the game never rewards you for the thought work, only for the delivery completion.
Read the 2019 Edge Magazine interview where Kojima discusses how he designed carrying mechanics to 'make players feel the weight of responsibility' — notice he never mentions cognitive overhead, only physical metaphor.