Wish You Could Play Death Stranding Without Timefall or BTs? Now You Can

I've always wondered how enjoyable Death Stranding would be if it was just a delivery simulator.

Imagine wandering the beautiful, eerie landscapes, delivering packages, and connecting people without constantly stressing over timefall and BTs. I feel like it'd be the perfect companion for a late-night wind-down session.

Seeing the rain sweep in without the usual fear of timefall would change the dynamic of the game - for better, or for worse, depending on who you ask.

Sure, it changes a fundamental part of the game, and it’s not the way I'd suggest playing it initially. But I've always been curious about what a New Game Plus would be like without the stress of BTs.

Well, thanks to the modding community, if you have a copy of Death Stranding on PC you can now play it without timefall or BTs.

Enter AsparTheDog

This idea led a Redditor named AsparTheDog to start modding the game to remove these "stressful" elements, making it possible to enjoy Death Stranding in a more relaxed way.

Now, you can explore and deliver packages without the hassle of time-accelerated rain or the lurking threat of BTs.

Cracking the game's code to neutralise timefall was a challenge, but seeing the game in this new, chill mode made it all worth it.

It's a bit disappointing that there aren't many Death Stranding mods out there, so thankfully, AsparTheDog decided to dive in themselves.

With the few people who are working on mods, they've quickly banded together to help each other out. As usual with the modding community, their ability to collaborate with others who share the same passion for the game and its potential for mods is amazing.

The tools for modding the engine (Decima) are still pretty rough, especially when it comes to repacking the mod for others to use, but the community behind the tools has been super helpful every step of the way.

Not everyone is happy with the idea of removing the only real element of conflict from the game.

Redditor Edgezg said, "I just don't get why this would be the direction. You removed the main conflict you experience in the game? But...why? They are fundamental to the story and are the ONLY thing that adds any spice to the long back and forth tracking."

I'm personally reminded of Soma's safe mode, where you can remove all conflict elements to fully immerse in the story. It’s a great way to experience the narrative without stress.

Next Steps

What's next? Well, one Redditor suggested making a VR mode, which would be a phenomenal experience indeed, but not so fast according to Aspar.

"For what I have been tinkering with, the tools are probably not quite there. It seems doable but very hard. Almost all of the tooling progress for Decima is about modifying data files so scripting is very very hard. Not sure how it would be done honestly."

So, if you’ve ever wanted to play Death Stranding without the added stress of timefall or BTs, your dream is now a reality—on PC, of course. Stay tuned for more updates as AsparTheDog keeps exploring new possibilities and bringing fresh experiences to this awesome game.

Want to give it a go yourself? Grab it from Nexus Mods. Don't have a copy of Death Stranding? Grab it from Amazon.