Death Stranding - Half-Life & Portal Missions Guide & Locations

Death Stranding is now out for PC players to enjoy via either Steam or the Epic Games Store. In my review, I said, “Death Stranding on PC is another way to play one of this generations greatest games.”

The major piece of new content added for this new version of the game is some Half-Life/Portal cross-over missions that are spread throughout the game. These missions aren’t given to you by normal means and instead arrive through messages in your inbox. Each one rewards you with a new piece of cross-over gear which can include things like Gordon Freeman’s glasses to the Gravity Gloves from Half-Life: Alyx.

Here’s a guide to when all the missions show up in the game and how to finish them.

(do note that when you receive the missions could be slightly different, but I believe the timing should be mostly the same.)

Quick tips:

The Gravity Gloves are legitimately helpful, so I’d suggest getting them.
All of the messages appear as yellow text with a Half-Life logo making them near impossible to miss.
Each mission has you looking for a companion cube. They’re easy to spot from a distance but you can also use your scan to spot it at a distance as it’ll be listed as “lost cargo: companion cube.”
I haven’t tested if the deliveries don’t unlock at certain story points unless you’ve already completed the prior deliveries.

HALF-LIFE MISSION ONE

After travelling to the the ‘Wind Farm’ for the first time early in the game you’ll need to return to ‘Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City’ with [Order 11] Urgent Resins. On your way back down the hill, you’ll receive a message titled “How About Taking a Breakin In a Private Room?” So head to your private room when you arrive at the Distribution Center and drop off your package.

Inside the private room, you’ll receive another message titled “[Test Order] I Want You to Look for Some Lost Cargo” from Benjamin H again. He says that rumour has it Sam is a massive Half-Life fan and he has a job for him.

Benjamin asks you to look for a cube located north-east of the river just north of the Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City.

It’s not located very far. Basically head outside and head straight right. It’s near the rocks of the river.

Return the companion cube to the Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City and you’ll receive your first reward, Gordon Freeman’s glasses.

HALF-LIFE MISSION TWO

The next message arrives when you’re on your way to the Distribution Center Center South of Lake Knot City for [Order 24] Prototype Bots Delivery.

This message is from William L and is titled “[Test Order] Find my Lost Cargo, Please!”

The location of this cube is next to Peter Englert’s house, the guy who keeps asking for pizza’s to be delivered to him. If you haven’t been doing this side-missions, you can find it just off to the side of Lake Knot City, at the backend of the Ruined Shelter crater.

Next to Peter’s house, you’ll find the companion cube in plain sight.

Deliver this back to Lake Knot City and you’ll receive a valve as a reward that Sam can wear in the back of his neck.

HALF-LIFE MISSION THREE

The third message arrives when you return from your trip to the Weather Station & the Timefall Farm. When you get back at the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City you’ll pick up [URGENT] Old Compact Delivery: Junk Dealer. You’ll receive around this time the next Half-Life message from Thomas S titled [Test Order] You’ve Got To Find my Cube!

This companion cube is located northwest of the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City.

You’ll find the cube deep inside a MULE camp, at the backend inside one of their tent areas.

Return the cube to the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City and you’ll receive the Gravity Gloves as a reward. You can craft these like any other material in the game and they let you pull any cargo from within 15 metres. They’re general very helpful, and also just very cool to use.

HALF-LIFE MISSION FOUR

The fourth message will arrive when you arrive at Lake Knot City to pickup up [Order 38]

This requested cube is located west-northwest of the Craftsmen’s shelter. These coordinates will lead you to a BT infested ruined factory with the cube located roughly in the middle of the zone.

Deliver this cube to the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City and you’ll unlock the Half-Life truck. It’s more than just skin however as this truck has a slightly better battery and health.

HALF-LIFE MISSION FIVE

Around when you pick up ‘[Order 61] Tar Extraction Device & Ammonite Delivery’ from S41-22 you’ll receive the next mission.

It’s titled ‘[Test Order] Could You Please Go Look For My Cube?’ and sends you to the ruins located north of the bunker.

You’ve probably seen a part of this ruin before as you’ve been travelling around this section of the map. It’s a PT infested area.

Sneak in and grab this fifth companion cube.

Make your way out without being attacked by the BT’s and head back to bunker S41-22 and return their cube.

As a reward this time you’ll get a headcrab cap, which does actually do something. It drains your blood for stamina.

HALF-LIFE MISSION SIX

This is the final mission & cube in the game, but you won’t be able to do the mission until you finish the game. You also won’t be able to do it unless if you’ve already completed the other five companion cube deliveries.

When you finish the game and sit through the credits for… three times? Your clock is rewound to two weeks earlier and you’ve free to do what you want. When you load back into your restroom you’ll receive two messages.

I made a video for this last mission since it was a little bit more complicated. Check that out below if you’d prefer that, otherwise keep reading.

The first is from a mystery person and is simply titled, ‘Thank You, Sam.’

The second is from Benjamin Hancock and is titled, ‘Have You Been Receiving Some Weird Emails…?’ In it, Benjamin explains that all of the people who have been asking for Sam to collect these cubes, himself included, had been hacked.

Benjamin does point out there is one more cube to find, however. This one is the ‘Ha’ of whoever has been sending these fake messages to Sam. If you find it and destroy it, they should be gone forever.

Finding this companion cube is the most confusing of the bunch, but it’s nothing too hard to handle. Firstly you’ll need to fast travel to Lake Knot City. When you get there take at least 800 metal, all the chiral crystals and two ladders. Spawn in a truck and head towards the Craftsman’s place.

When you get there you’ll basically want to hug the left side of the crater where the Ruined Shelter is located and head towards the river at the back. There you’ll eventually hit a bridge that needs to be completed. This is why you need metal and chiral crystals.

When the bridge is completed you’ll find the cube in the back right side of the BT infested area ahead. If you do a scan you’ll be able to see where the cube is located. Half-way through you’ll need to cross a small gap of water and this is where you’ll need the ladder. Just beware of all the BT’s in the area as the ladder can be noisy at set-off a BT near it as you place it down.

There’s about 3-4 BT’s around the cube so be extra careful or clear them out before grabbing the cube and heading back down to your vehicle.

Now you need to head for the Incinerator West of Lake Knot City. If you hug the waterline you’ll hit the road/path that heads straight to the incinerator.

When you arrive burn the cube to a crisp and you’ll have completed the last of the Half-Life/Portal missions in Death Stranding on PC.

You’ll receive two more messages at this point. One from Benjamin congratulating you on a job well done, and another from GLaDOS who reveals themself as the one behind all the cube gathering.