Video game Death Stranding's realistic graphics has people using Sam's face to bypass UK age restrictions

The true-to-life graphics of Hideo Kojima’s adventure game Death Stranding are being used by people in the United Kingdom to find a way around the country’s new age verification checks. By using the extremely realistic rendering of Death Stranding’s protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges played by actor Norman Reedus, users are able to enter age-restricted material on the internet.

UK’s contentious Online Safety Act, which went into effect on July 25, requires that users either provide verification of their ID to access material flagged as adult online, or that they scan their faces to verify their age, according to Game Rant. The news outlet notes that Discord tested these requirements before they fully went into effect, and used a facial scanning and ID scanning system called K-id, which assures users that their data is promptly deleted after being verified. All the same, netizens have largely criticized the UK government’s age verification requirements, as per Game Rant.

How are netizens in the UK using Death Stranding to bypass age requirements?

An X user recently went viral after sharing that Death Stranding’s ‘photo mode’ could be used to bypass age restrictions imposed by the government. The age verification software requires users to open up the video selfie mode and follow its commands, such as ‘open your mouth,’ to avoid people bypassing the system with scanned images of other people.

You can use Death Stranding's photo mode to bypass Discord's age verification https://t.co/o9n0c0lwkI pic.twitter.com/mvYmhZZCVp

— Dany Sterkhov 🛡✈ (@DanySterkhov) July 25, 2025

By going to Death Stranding’s ‘photo mode,’ users can prompt Reedus’ Sam to do the tasks required by the age recognition system, as per the X user Dany Sterkhov, who was able to successfully bypass the system. Another X user demonstrated the various poses that Sam can do at the camera, such as closing his mouth and looking in various directions.

PC Gamer employed the strategy to test it out, and discovered that it indeed worked. However, the publication did warn against attempting to bypass age restrictions, and concluded that the strategy was merely a “fun hack.”

Death Stranding’s visuals have stunned gamers and netizens

Apart from being used to bypass UK’s age restrictions, Death Stranding and especially Death Stranding 2: On the Beach’s realistic and stunningly beautiful visuals have taken gamers by surprise.

In a review of the game, Digital Foundry’s John Linneman focused on the character animations of the game and said,

“Death Stranding 2 places a renewed emphasis on storytelling and in pursuit of that goal Kojima Productions once again taps into its extensive Hollywood connections, assembling a cast of high-profile actors and actresses to bring its unconventional narrative to life. The original game already featured some of the most impressive character modeling and animation work of the previous console generation, so my expectations were high. But even then the improvements on display here managed a surprise and delight.”

Continuing, Linneman added,

“The character models themselves are instrumental in selling this illusion, skin shading has received a significant upgrade subsurface. Scattering is more nuanced and pores, micro details and blemishes are rendered with extraordinary clarity. Eye rendering has also improved, bringing characters to life in a way that almost feels tangible while hair rendering shows progress as well. The strands move believably, clump together naturally and respond to lighting in a way that further grounds the characters in this strange world.”

As per The Gamer, Hideo Kojima, the game’s director, spared no effort on the second edition of Death Stranding. Kojima was eager to work on game engine Decima to support the intense details of the game in addition to nuances of characters.