Really just a walking simulator, thought this was the PEAK you guys were talking about..
The graphics and world setting are excellent. However, the story is a bit lacklustre, and many missions are tedious.
Overall 7.5/10.
Overall 7.5/10.
Auteurism in all its glory and in small spots its tedium. Even the backbreaking moments add to the overwhelming payoff of this story.
Once, There Was An Explosion, A Bang Which Gave Rise To Life As We Know It. And Then Came The Next Explosion.
Death Stranding is a game about connections, it's not only about connecting America to make the UCA but also about Sam learning how to connect with other people, have friends, and not have such a pessimistic worldview. This is the main theme yet one of the many themes throughout the whole game; a game riddled with symbolism and messages down to the very gameplay of it all. The story is a mess for the most part but once you get to the end it all wraps out so nicely and you'll say "I get it now." Now on the topic of gameplay, it seems shallow at first; I mean it's just walking right? Yet once you play it you realize it's much more complex than that, If I had to describe it's kind of like Qwop where the gameplay loop lies in trying not to fall, yet in this game you have more options in minimizing your chances of falling, and ruining your package its honestly good fun. I will admit there was times I wanted to quit but the game is so worth completing I mean like the game says, "keep on keeping on".
Death Stranding is a game about connections, it's not only about connecting America to make the UCA but also about Sam learning how to connect with other people, have friends, and not have such a pessimistic worldview. This is the main theme yet one of the many themes throughout the whole game; a game riddled with symbolism and messages down to the very gameplay of it all. The story is a mess for the most part but once you get to the end it all wraps out so nicely and you'll say "I get it now." Now on the topic of gameplay, it seems shallow at first; I mean it's just walking right? Yet once you play it you realize it's much more complex than that, If I had to describe it's kind of like Qwop where the gameplay loop lies in trying not to fall, yet in this game you have more options in minimizing your chances of falling, and ruining your package its honestly good fun. I will admit there was times I wanted to quit but the game is so worth completing I mean like the game says, "keep on keeping on".
EN EPIC
4 stars, one for each time the credits play in the ending of this game. While the story is somewhat scattered and occasionally nonsensical and pretentious, I loved the gameplay loop of Death Stranding and found it addicting to keep delivering packages and building up the world of the game. I loved the sound design and the visuals were always amazing as well, everything has an inspired design to it.
I think later in the game it starts to get more annoying to do quests, once you have enough of the world connecting it just becomes a chore to zip around or truck around, with BT's just showing up to potentially mess your shit up.
But Death Stranding was fascinating to me, with very interesting music, weird and misleading casting, and gameplay more reminiscent of American Truck Simulator than Metal Gear Solid (not a bad thing).
I think later in the game it starts to get more annoying to do quests, once you have enough of the world connecting it just becomes a chore to zip around or truck around, with BT's just showing up to potentially mess your shit up.
But Death Stranding was fascinating to me, with very interesting music, weird and misleading casting, and gameplay more reminiscent of American Truck Simulator than Metal Gear Solid (not a bad thing).
I loved this game so much. I get why some people love Kojima so much, and I do too now. The visuals are gorgeous and evocative, and the gameplay is excellently paced between tense supernatural encounters and walking or riding your trike to chill tunes. The long and frequent cutscenes--especially at the beginning and end--could put some off, but I enjoyed them. Heartman is committed to his motif on levels I've never seen and I love him.
Kojima predicts the future once again.
Sigo pensando que es increíblemente graciosa la manera en la que el juego intenta tratar las relaciones interpersonales a través del gameplay, en el que se sienten exclusivamente transaccionales y que cuando llegas al máximo de la amistad la única razón para visitarles es usar la zona de descanso y dejas de tener razones para mantenerla.
Como no hay razones para visitarle empiezas a enviarle la carga a través de los bots y darle la carga perdida a otros, solo para recibir likes, porque llegados a ese punto qué más da.
Como no hay razones para visitarle empiezas a enviarle la carga a través de los bots y darle la carga perdida a otros, solo para recibir likes, porque llegados a ese punto qué más da.
At first I didn’t get it. That was because I was playing the launch version of the game. I get it now. The traversal, world building, and gameplay mechanics are really well done. There is a real sense of accomplishment trying to get to the ends of the country to connect the network. Going through rain and snowy terrain, using different equipment to get around easier, all of these things help make the gameplay a rewarding experience, especially when the game looks as good as it does graphically. Overall, I really enjoyed my time exploring this game and doing side missions more than actually playing for the main story. That’s probably the games biggest flaw, trying to keep up with what is going on and who everyone is. That might just be a personal problem though. This game was an interesting experience nonetheless, and I’m glad I could see this game through.
Чудеснейшее приключение, растянувшееся на более чем полгода, с непрекращающимися открытиями и откровениями на протяжении всего пути.
Игра заботливо принимает тебя в свои объятия и щедро одаривает всевозможными богаствами в виде звука, графики, геймплея и собирающего это всё воедино повествования. Но того же она ожидает и от новоиспеченного Портера - внимательности к открывающимся возможностям, усердности в труде и сострадательности ко всему живому.
Игра заботливо принимает тебя в свои объятия и щедро одаривает всевозможными богаствами в виде звука, графики, геймплея и собирающего это всё воедино повествования. Но того же она ожидает и от новоиспеченного Портера - внимательности к открывающимся возможностям, усердности в труде и сострадательности ко всему живому.
I love you Lou :>) fantastic ending
I've never played anything like this for all the good and bad it came with. Special game. Will ★★★★★ a few more characters then pack it up but totally captured by this game the past month.
I've never played anything like this for all the good and bad it came with. Special game. Will ★★★★★ a few more characters then pack it up but totally captured by this game the past month.
Man, I wish I loved this. But I’d be lying if I said I did.
Inventory management, fetch quests, and weight equipment loads. Maybe my least favourite things in video games turned into the main mechanics. This game is just boring and tedious. And not in an interesting artistic way, just slow and uninteresting. All you do is walk long stretches of land. Having to walk long distances, and ‘spicing up’ the gameplay with the obstacles of rocks and snow only made this more frustrating and tedious.
To be fair, the game starts with beautiful visuals, and I was excited to get out there an explore. But what baffles me is in a game about walking through terrain in a fantastical post-apocalyptic environment…they never change the landscape apart from one snowy mountain. In a game about travelling, I would have thought it obvious to at least include some diverse environments?
It sucks because sometimes I could kind of see what they were going for with the idea of making travel fun, but this was only 1% of the time for me in very rare instances and the rest was a slog. Honestly the ‘best’ time I had with the gameplay was when I decided to just listen to podcasts late at night while walking. While this was relaxing, I don’t think a podcast should be required for me to enjoy your game.
It’s unfortunate because the idea of other players helping to make your journey easier through seeing their structures is a great concept, and felt good when it happened. And perhaps it’s because I played the game almost 5 years after release, but this didn’t happen even nearly enough for me. A game about connecting people works wonderfully with this concept, but the absolute rarity of this happening made it fall flat for me. It should have been a reward for my efforts, and instead felt like a very random odd treat. And maybe it was my fault too! Is the lack of help because I skipped a lot of the optional ways to improve my ‘connections’? Perhaps, but I found the main story so tedious that I didn’t want to be subjected to more of its gameplay, and I don’t think I should miss out on the thematic gameplay moments because of this.
A game around traversing a harsh environment is interesting, but this game misses the mark for me. Gameplay aside, the controls didn’t work for me the whole time as well as I would have wanted, and the vehicles felt off too. And it’s weird because Zelda made the simple traversal of a barren world fun already, and that was 2 years before this game came out.
The combat is also extremely simple too. I understand that third person shooting is not the focus of the game, but how do you go from MGSV’s combat system to this. Not to mention the absolutely horrendous boss fights too.
And the worst part is that even if you trudge through the gameplay, you aren’t rewarded with a story worth telling either. Far too much exposition, making it difficult to digest, and horrendously paced too. You could watch the opening hours, play Roblox for 30 hours, and then watch the ending hours and still get the same experience. It is kind of classic Kojima, but his other games didn’t feel as bad as this and they definitely didn’t have meaningless middle portions. It’s a shame because there are incredibly good concepts here. The death stranding itself, voidouts, and timefall are all good enough to be the core mechanic of a single game. And the only thing I love more than Cliff Unger in this game is Mads Mikkelsen’s stellar performance as him. The cinematic cutscenes are directed very well too. But nothing else works for me. I don’t care for a single character in this game other than Cliff, and the actual plot fell so flat for me.
This game is so so frustrating. There is an unreal amount of talent attached to this, and I still think Kojima is very talented, and so I wish we got something else. I will be forever mad that this team and cast was once destined to make a Silent Hill game, especially after how good PT was, and instead we got a 40 hour isolated walking game.
Inventory management, fetch quests, and weight equipment loads. Maybe my least favourite things in video games turned into the main mechanics. This game is just boring and tedious. And not in an interesting artistic way, just slow and uninteresting. All you do is walk long stretches of land. Having to walk long distances, and ‘spicing up’ the gameplay with the obstacles of rocks and snow only made this more frustrating and tedious.
To be fair, the game starts with beautiful visuals, and I was excited to get out there an explore. But what baffles me is in a game about walking through terrain in a fantastical post-apocalyptic environment…they never change the landscape apart from one snowy mountain. In a game about travelling, I would have thought it obvious to at least include some diverse environments?
It sucks because sometimes I could kind of see what they were going for with the idea of making travel fun, but this was only 1% of the time for me in very rare instances and the rest was a slog. Honestly the ‘best’ time I had with the gameplay was when I decided to just listen to podcasts late at night while walking. While this was relaxing, I don’t think a podcast should be required for me to enjoy your game.
It’s unfortunate because the idea of other players helping to make your journey easier through seeing their structures is a great concept, and felt good when it happened. And perhaps it’s because I played the game almost 5 years after release, but this didn’t happen even nearly enough for me. A game about connecting people works wonderfully with this concept, but the absolute rarity of this happening made it fall flat for me. It should have been a reward for my efforts, and instead felt like a very random odd treat. And maybe it was my fault too! Is the lack of help because I skipped a lot of the optional ways to improve my ‘connections’? Perhaps, but I found the main story so tedious that I didn’t want to be subjected to more of its gameplay, and I don’t think I should miss out on the thematic gameplay moments because of this.
A game around traversing a harsh environment is interesting, but this game misses the mark for me. Gameplay aside, the controls didn’t work for me the whole time as well as I would have wanted, and the vehicles felt off too. And it’s weird because Zelda made the simple traversal of a barren world fun already, and that was 2 years before this game came out.
The combat is also extremely simple too. I understand that third person shooting is not the focus of the game, but how do you go from MGSV’s combat system to this. Not to mention the absolutely horrendous boss fights too.
And the worst part is that even if you trudge through the gameplay, you aren’t rewarded with a story worth telling either. Far too much exposition, making it difficult to digest, and horrendously paced too. You could watch the opening hours, play Roblox for 30 hours, and then watch the ending hours and still get the same experience. It is kind of classic Kojima, but his other games didn’t feel as bad as this and they definitely didn’t have meaningless middle portions. It’s a shame because there are incredibly good concepts here. The death stranding itself, voidouts, and timefall are all good enough to be the core mechanic of a single game. And the only thing I love more than Cliff Unger in this game is Mads Mikkelsen’s stellar performance as him. The cinematic cutscenes are directed very well too. But nothing else works for me. I don’t care for a single character in this game other than Cliff, and the actual plot fell so flat for me.
This game is so so frustrating. There is an unreal amount of talent attached to this, and I still think Kojima is very talented, and so I wish we got something else. I will be forever mad that this team and cast was once destined to make a Silent Hill game, especially after how good PT was, and instead we got a 40 hour isolated walking game.
PRO
- Ambientazione eccezionale, islandese/americana, desolata, in un mondo afflitto da una calamità sconosciuta, il Death Stranding, il mondo dei vivi si mischia e si connette con il mondo dei morti, un'America lacerata da eventi apocalittici che deve essere ricostruita e ricollegata, riunendo i pochi sopravvissuti in una nuova rete/nazione per sopravvivere e continuare a vivere e combattere per un futuro migliore.
- L'universo narrativo creato da Kojima è profondo, inquietante, originale, ed estremamente misterioso e riuscito.
- Personaggi estremamente caratterizzati ed interpretati magistralmente dai rispettivi attori da cui prendono le sembianze.
- Si affrontano diversi temi anche molto attuali e criticano la nostra società moderna, il cambiamenti climatici, la cura del pianeta, critica ai social network ad un mondo dove internet rende tutti più connessi ma allo stesso tempo più distanti e distaccati gli uni da gli alti, il rapporto tra padre e figlio e la forza dell'animo umano di combattere per la sopravvivenza fino alla fine.
- Storia molto interessante ed originale con alcuni colpi di scena.
- Grande attenzione al design, alla fotografia e alla regia delle sequenze video.
- Non mancano le famose Kojimate, Easter Eggs e piccole scelte geniali.
- Ogni cosa è giustificata dalla trama e dell'ambientazione quasi al limite del paraculaggio. - Grandi momenti scenici e di grande impatto.
- Gameplay molto vario e arcade che si basa sulle consegne che il protagonista deve effettuare, con alcuni aspetti simulativi come la gestione del peso del carico del vigore di Sam, dell'equilibrio, arrampicate e guida dei veicoli ma offre anche alcune fasi di shooting.
- Il gioco ti introduce piano piano ad ogni aspetto del gameplay proponendoti sempre nuovi accessori o possibilità di azione.
- Molto bello graficamente, panorami mozzafiato e desolati accompagnati da una colonna sonora eccezionale.
- Estremamente ottimizzato, robusto e fluido su PC, nessun glitch o bug rilevante.
- Colonna sonora eccezionale e selezionata con grande cura per immergere meglio il giocatore nell'ambientazione.
- Ottima longevità , forse anche troppa per poter completare il gioco al 100%.
- Possibilità di rigiocare o rivedere alcune parti della storia.
CONTRO
- La storia raccontata è in realtà più semplice di quello che possa sembrare dall'enigmatico inizio e sul finale diventa un po telefonata e prevedibile.
- Purtroppo il combat system è la parte più debole del gioco, molto abbozzato e semplice, da poca soddisfazione e pad alla mano anche non semplice da controllare, molto meccanico.
- IA dei nemici un pò troppo semplice, sopratutto relativa ai terroristi che seguono sempre lo stesso pattern e non rappresentano mai una vera minaccia nel momento in cui di ha un minimo di armi.
- Poca varietà dei nemici sia per le CA sia per i nemici umani.
- Molte Boss fight sono un pò insoddisfacenti e molto semplici da affrontare e anzi alcune completamente evitabili, a volte proprio per evitare le rogne frustranti nel combatterli conviene abbandonarle.
- La narrativa è molto dilatata sopratutto nella prima parte di gioco, si rischia di annoiare troppo i giocatori che non apprezzano o trovano troppo ripetitive le consegne.
GIUDIZIO FINALE
Death Stranding trasporta i giocatori in un futuro oscuro e straniante, un immaginario tra i più ricchi, affascinanti e coerenti che si possono trovare, Peccato che una distribuzione narrativa tutt’altro che perfetta finisca col rendere evidenti i difetti di un gameplay sfaccettato ma focalizzato sostanzialmente sulle consegne, tanto da generare una ripetitività a tratti logorante ma completamente efficace nel trasmettere il messaggio alla base di Death Stranding. L’aspetto più straordinario dell’opera è proprio la sua capacità di scatenare una presa di coscienza inattesa e sorprendente, che emerge quando ci si rende conto dell’importanza dei legami stretti lungo il viaggio, di quanto sia stato importante condividere il cammino con i corrieri di tutto il mondo e riconnettere il tutto. Un’esperienza sicuramente divisiva, particolare, ma anche assolutamente preziosa, che merita un posto di diritto tra i titoli più significativi di questa generazione.
VOTO FINALE: 9.5/10
- Ambientazione eccezionale, islandese/americana, desolata, in un mondo afflitto da una calamità sconosciuta, il Death Stranding, il mondo dei vivi si mischia e si connette con il mondo dei morti, un'America lacerata da eventi apocalittici che deve essere ricostruita e ricollegata, riunendo i pochi sopravvissuti in una nuova rete/nazione per sopravvivere e continuare a vivere e combattere per un futuro migliore.
- L'universo narrativo creato da Kojima è profondo, inquietante, originale, ed estremamente misterioso e riuscito.
- Personaggi estremamente caratterizzati ed interpretati magistralmente dai rispettivi attori da cui prendono le sembianze.
- Si affrontano diversi temi anche molto attuali e criticano la nostra società moderna, il cambiamenti climatici, la cura del pianeta, critica ai social network ad un mondo dove internet rende tutti più connessi ma allo stesso tempo più distanti e distaccati gli uni da gli alti, il rapporto tra padre e figlio e la forza dell'animo umano di combattere per la sopravvivenza fino alla fine.
- Storia molto interessante ed originale con alcuni colpi di scena.
- Grande attenzione al design, alla fotografia e alla regia delle sequenze video.
- Non mancano le famose Kojimate, Easter Eggs e piccole scelte geniali.
- Ogni cosa è giustificata dalla trama e dell'ambientazione quasi al limite del paraculaggio. - Grandi momenti scenici e di grande impatto.
- Gameplay molto vario e arcade che si basa sulle consegne che il protagonista deve effettuare, con alcuni aspetti simulativi come la gestione del peso del carico del vigore di Sam, dell'equilibrio, arrampicate e guida dei veicoli ma offre anche alcune fasi di shooting.
- Il gioco ti introduce piano piano ad ogni aspetto del gameplay proponendoti sempre nuovi accessori o possibilità di azione.
- Molto bello graficamente, panorami mozzafiato e desolati accompagnati da una colonna sonora eccezionale.
- Estremamente ottimizzato, robusto e fluido su PC, nessun glitch o bug rilevante.
- Colonna sonora eccezionale e selezionata con grande cura per immergere meglio il giocatore nell'ambientazione.
- Ottima longevità , forse anche troppa per poter completare il gioco al 100%.
- Possibilità di rigiocare o rivedere alcune parti della storia.
CONTRO
- La storia raccontata è in realtà più semplice di quello che possa sembrare dall'enigmatico inizio e sul finale diventa un po telefonata e prevedibile.
- Purtroppo il combat system è la parte più debole del gioco, molto abbozzato e semplice, da poca soddisfazione e pad alla mano anche non semplice da controllare, molto meccanico.
- IA dei nemici un pò troppo semplice, sopratutto relativa ai terroristi che seguono sempre lo stesso pattern e non rappresentano mai una vera minaccia nel momento in cui di ha un minimo di armi.
- Poca varietà dei nemici sia per le CA sia per i nemici umani.
- Molte Boss fight sono un pò insoddisfacenti e molto semplici da affrontare e anzi alcune completamente evitabili, a volte proprio per evitare le rogne frustranti nel combatterli conviene abbandonarle.
- La narrativa è molto dilatata sopratutto nella prima parte di gioco, si rischia di annoiare troppo i giocatori che non apprezzano o trovano troppo ripetitive le consegne.
GIUDIZIO FINALE
Death Stranding trasporta i giocatori in un futuro oscuro e straniante, un immaginario tra i più ricchi, affascinanti e coerenti che si possono trovare, Peccato che una distribuzione narrativa tutt’altro che perfetta finisca col rendere evidenti i difetti di un gameplay sfaccettato ma focalizzato sostanzialmente sulle consegne, tanto da generare una ripetitività a tratti logorante ma completamente efficace nel trasmettere il messaggio alla base di Death Stranding. L’aspetto più straordinario dell’opera è proprio la sua capacità di scatenare una presa di coscienza inattesa e sorprendente, che emerge quando ci si rende conto dell’importanza dei legami stretti lungo il viaggio, di quanto sia stato importante condividere il cammino con i corrieri di tutto il mondo e riconnettere il tutto. Un’esperienza sicuramente divisiva, particolare, ma anche assolutamente preziosa, che merita un posto di diritto tra i titoli più significativi di questa generazione.
VOTO FINALE: 9.5/10
Uma experiência completamente diferente de tudo que eu já tinha jogado antes. Personagens interessantes e profundos, história riquíssima e uma gameplay absurdamente bem trabalhada. Andar por ai fazendo entregas é simplesmente viciante. Meu maior incômodo no jogo foi não poder escutar música durante as caminhadas (nativamente no jogo), a função existe no quarto privado, deveria existir fora dele também. Admito que o final da história me deixou confuso e vou precisar ver a tal "review/explicação de 7 horas" no YouTube. O que a Kojima Productions conseguiu fazer com a Decima (engine da Guerrilla) é ABISMAL, as cutscenes são espetaculares e extremamente detalhadas. Comecei e parei ele umas 2-3x antes de finalmente terminar, se não tiver muuuita paciência, recomendo só focar 100% na campanha principal.
One of the most intelligent, unique, and beautiful game ever made by none other than Kojima himself. The ability to make a game that’s “deep” that’s often held back because of the story and gameplay is very difficult but not for Kojima at all. I’ve been letting this game marinate in my mind as I’ve find it not difficult but just too much to describe in its entirety to talk about death stranding especially with how the finale was. The message is so simple that Kojima portrays but the way he does it in this format of video games is an art within itself. I feel like the people don’t understand this game, it’s just really difficult to see that because of how this game calls out humanity and a lot of current problems that we a whole need to do and that’s to connect with each other because together, we are stronger.
Being able to grow up and accept yourself, accepting your own emotions, reconnecting with people and not isolating yourself. No matter how scarred we are as a person, no matter how much trauma or what we are going through, there is always a light at the end of tunnel to keep on keeping on. Connections matter and we can do anything as we are stronger together. That final stretch of the game was one of the most unique experiences ever and I absolutely love Cliff, Sam and Lou. "When I found out I was going to be a father, I was so scared. I had to be there for you and your mother, no matter what. I couldn't just go off and get myself killed anymore. But I had it wrong. Being a father didn't make me scared, it made me brave.” This game is just generational for everything it does from story beats, to emotional feelings, to the gameplay, etc. I could go further into depth about this game but it’s way too special to even describe and even if I did, you really should experience it for yourself.
“Keep on keeping on.”
Being able to grow up and accept yourself, accepting your own emotions, reconnecting with people and not isolating yourself. No matter how scarred we are as a person, no matter how much trauma or what we are going through, there is always a light at the end of tunnel to keep on keeping on. Connections matter and we can do anything as we are stronger together. That final stretch of the game was one of the most unique experiences ever and I absolutely love Cliff, Sam and Lou. "When I found out I was going to be a father, I was so scared. I had to be there for you and your mother, no matter what. I couldn't just go off and get myself killed anymore. But I had it wrong. Being a father didn't make me scared, it made me brave.” This game is just generational for everything it does from story beats, to emotional feelings, to the gameplay, etc. I could go further into depth about this game but it’s way too special to even describe and even if I did, you really should experience it for yourself.
“Keep on keeping on.”
DEATH STRANDING is a game which I understand emotionally, but I barely understand logically....and I'm fine with it. Its themes are very normal birthday cake, decorated in icing made from LSD chocolate and anti-technocratic graham cracker crumble. Humans only flourished on this planet through community and cooperation, and whenever we put distance between ourselves, we fumble the bag. And this is why you must work for Amazon Prime to fight terrorists who are addicted to stealing packages off of porches, because it gives them the thrill of once again working a full time job. Yes.
The game's loop is simple and customizable enough that I didn't mind most of my journey through the United States of Iceland. Equip yourself, set a marker, go to the destination, don't fuck up your cargo. Making traversal the puzzle and giving you tools to find the answers is fine by me. What sucked is that the game is only open to cheesing the traversal in some unsatisfying ways, while simultaneously not having enough polish in its physics or movement systems to let you do anything that will surprise you. The satisfaction you'll get is in a delivery run result screen, not any particular moment of discovery along the way. Unlike ELDEN RING or BREATH OF THE WILD, the destination really is the journey, not the journey itself.
Furthermore the game's own internal logic clashes with its "combat" mechanics. You live in a world where, if a soul returns to its recently deceased body, a nuclear-level explosion will occur. Everyone seems to know this, and your in-game employers have policies to prevent this. Yet the escalating scale of open-world combat and the evolution of in-universe weaponry keep dropping lethal threats AND defenses in your lap. The game WANTS you to get creative in confronting the mightier threats so that you don't leave any exposed corpses, even though you're being peppered with live rounds; but you know what works just as well? Avoiding large areas of the map and not engaging with it at all. That's not fun game design IMO. There has to have been a better way to handle stealth AND combat at the same time, but when the best option in front of me is just "Ignore parts of the map" I'm like "Why is this even here?" You can call me lazy for not pushing myself to work around these encounters with the non-lethal guns, but I'll tell you I'm just following BRIDGES guidelines on Voidouts, and then run away from you.
Where the "Delivery man saves America" concept really shines though is the game's use of a persistent online connection to make you FEEL like your actions are contributing towards a larger moral good. Fellow "porters" would leave me useful equipment, and I could assist them in kind. Contributing resources toward structures like bridges and roads, and then finding them useable once I had restored a region to connectivity, made me feel like I was making an impact. Finding an abandoned vehicle in the wild and realizing it would help me close the gap on my quest. This is a single player experience that makes you believe that others have your back, that you're working together for the benefit of all. What a feeling!
The mission structure's real reward is getting you to the story moments, and outside of a few mishandled blunders (The love story between the Chiral Artist and the Junk Dealer, the over-expository end credit sequence), this game just hits. As goofy as all of its concepts are out-of-context, when you sit down and actually play this out, it all clicks. The outlandish sci-fi ideas and creepy body horror play into a narrative that considers: Maybe a constant pursuit of technological advancement that isn't fully understood isn't good for people? It's a tired moral to wrap a story in, but when its handled with THIS much fresh imagery and unflinching commitment to delivery, I couldn't help but admire it. Watching a guy give himself heart attacks 72 times a day in order to explore the afterlife for his missing family is just "Obsessing over the past will ruin your future", only it's delivered with more ingenuity than I've seen ever in all of fiction. And that's just ONE thematic concept Kojima explores through his rich cast of characters.
The age of clowning on this game for being too weird needs to be confined to the past and shamed for ever existing. We complain about uninspired Triple A schlock, yet when a game this unique comes out, we laugh at it for being ridiculous. Gaming was born from being bug nuts. Plumbers fighting dinosaur kings. Secret Agents confronting their clone brother inside a giant robot. A knight that uses a shovel to rescue his girlfriend. DEATH STRANDING is weird and wonderful, and it has gameplay that's slightly frustrating. I'll remember it long after I've forgotten most other games from this era, especially for the mission where Edgar Wright made me beer.
The game's loop is simple and customizable enough that I didn't mind most of my journey through the United States of Iceland. Equip yourself, set a marker, go to the destination, don't fuck up your cargo. Making traversal the puzzle and giving you tools to find the answers is fine by me. What sucked is that the game is only open to cheesing the traversal in some unsatisfying ways, while simultaneously not having enough polish in its physics or movement systems to let you do anything that will surprise you. The satisfaction you'll get is in a delivery run result screen, not any particular moment of discovery along the way. Unlike ELDEN RING or BREATH OF THE WILD, the destination really is the journey, not the journey itself.
Furthermore the game's own internal logic clashes with its "combat" mechanics. You live in a world where, if a soul returns to its recently deceased body, a nuclear-level explosion will occur. Everyone seems to know this, and your in-game employers have policies to prevent this. Yet the escalating scale of open-world combat and the evolution of in-universe weaponry keep dropping lethal threats AND defenses in your lap. The game WANTS you to get creative in confronting the mightier threats so that you don't leave any exposed corpses, even though you're being peppered with live rounds; but you know what works just as well? Avoiding large areas of the map and not engaging with it at all. That's not fun game design IMO. There has to have been a better way to handle stealth AND combat at the same time, but when the best option in front of me is just "Ignore parts of the map" I'm like "Why is this even here?" You can call me lazy for not pushing myself to work around these encounters with the non-lethal guns, but I'll tell you I'm just following BRIDGES guidelines on Voidouts, and then run away from you.
Where the "Delivery man saves America" concept really shines though is the game's use of a persistent online connection to make you FEEL like your actions are contributing towards a larger moral good. Fellow "porters" would leave me useful equipment, and I could assist them in kind. Contributing resources toward structures like bridges and roads, and then finding them useable once I had restored a region to connectivity, made me feel like I was making an impact. Finding an abandoned vehicle in the wild and realizing it would help me close the gap on my quest. This is a single player experience that makes you believe that others have your back, that you're working together for the benefit of all. What a feeling!
The mission structure's real reward is getting you to the story moments, and outside of a few mishandled blunders (The love story between the Chiral Artist and the Junk Dealer, the over-expository end credit sequence), this game just hits. As goofy as all of its concepts are out-of-context, when you sit down and actually play this out, it all clicks. The outlandish sci-fi ideas and creepy body horror play into a narrative that considers: Maybe a constant pursuit of technological advancement that isn't fully understood isn't good for people? It's a tired moral to wrap a story in, but when its handled with THIS much fresh imagery and unflinching commitment to delivery, I couldn't help but admire it. Watching a guy give himself heart attacks 72 times a day in order to explore the afterlife for his missing family is just "Obsessing over the past will ruin your future", only it's delivered with more ingenuity than I've seen ever in all of fiction. And that's just ONE thematic concept Kojima explores through his rich cast of characters.
The age of clowning on this game for being too weird needs to be confined to the past and shamed for ever existing. We complain about uninspired Triple A schlock, yet when a game this unique comes out, we laugh at it for being ridiculous. Gaming was born from being bug nuts. Plumbers fighting dinosaur kings. Secret Agents confronting their clone brother inside a giant robot. A knight that uses a shovel to rescue his girlfriend. DEATH STRANDING is weird and wonderful, and it has gameplay that's slightly frustrating. I'll remember it long after I've forgotten most other games from this era, especially for the mission where Edgar Wright made me beer.
weird in the ways that matters and just when you get tired of what it's got to show you it mixes everything up in a really satisfying way. i love you bb
This is a game that somehow makes me absolutely love it but also hate it for good reasons, the story was good but also it was so badly paced that I wanted to just stop playing numerous times. The game improved for me massively a bit into chapter 3 when roads were able to be utilised and ranges of vehicles but I also despise how these vehicles drive when they are on any ground that is even remotely challenging. The ending was great but the ending of chapter 13 was so long-winded that I was basically zoned out most of the time hoping it would end. The games graphics, voice acting and sound design are however perfect and I basically had no problems with these at all. However when you take in the pacing of the story its hard to even remember many of the vast and complicated story points that are presented to you, though partly this seems intentional from Kojima to be able to pull of the many story turns that occur within the last few chapters. The game also did not feel like it was built for combat many times, though while I did play it on hard difficulty the chapter 9 boss fight and the whale fight near the end of the game felt clunky and with the whale fight was extremely frustrating trying to do anything, it did seem that the way the combat was designed to me didn't feel like it could accommodate what should of been very grand boss fights. However the game does give you basically infinite options to complete many things, going to do any order is basically doable on foot and in any vehicle if you try hard enough and look for appropriate routes and made going to places more enjoyable (other than when any vehicle meets its greatest enemy the smallest rock in existence). Many characters paid off in the end but it did definitely feel like there should of been more especially with how many hours you can and will put into the game even when basically doing nothing. It is extremely difficult to actually rate this game just due to the amount of times I'm really enjoying myself and the amount of times I am hating it or just wanting stuff to move forward significantly faster then what they are, the ending of chapter 13 encapsulates the games story telling formula perfectly but to me happens to be one of the most gruelling moments. I found myself enjoying chapter 4, 7 and 11 a lot because they were so short and it was one of the few areas where the combat system seemed to work fine. Chapters 3, 5 and 6 were also relatively good with the gameplay change in 6 making it more challenging as a whole. Driving around these chapters in a truck across roads that myself and other players had built also helped the progression go more smoothly but the whole journey was never this smooth. In retrospect Death Stranding is not similar to any game I have played before and it is definitely an experience your most likely not going to see anywhere else be that experience in times really enjoyable and times really disappointing. I would probably not recommend this game to most people, definitely not to people who are newer to games or especially people beginning in single player story based games, but there is definitely something here that is really good that if can be endured in its less than good moments is definitely an experience I would recommend to people to at least try.
my major complaint are the vehicles, mainly how no matter what vehicle type you're using it'll get caught on every rock of any shape and size. the truck should be a beast and overpower most the terrain, instead they feel the exact same as the bikes where any rock will throw you off course or just make the vehicle come to a complete stop instantly. it almost feels as though they game is encouraging you to walk/run the entire time by making the vehicles react annoyingly to the terrain.
i cant finish the book
the directing and the cutscene quality of death stranding are perfect i had my jaw dropped when i discovered the facility and had to hear beautiful music. but its a tedious fetch quest walking simulator and i couldn't continue playing it i was slogging my way through it and then i got elden ring and forgot this game existed. i may come back later
This review contains spoilers
Clearly one of my favorite games, done 100% twice (once on PC and once on PS5).
Don't watch any trailers, any videos, live the experience by immersing yourself in this world with its story, its music and its gameplay.
You may not like it but if you fall in, you will come out with an exceptional experience
Don't watch any trailers, any videos, live the experience by immersing yourself in this world with its story, its music and its gameplay.
You may not like it but if you fall in, you will come out with an exceptional experience
84/100
perd un peu de son intérêt, efface le fond et ruine la forme... jouez au jeu de base 👍
valorant devs hate kojima because they have no artistic vision
esse game me surpreendeu pois eu era da grande parcela que falava mal dele, falava que era simulador de caminhada e que dava sono(porem falava e nem tinha jogado) e depois que eu joguei, mudei completamente de ideia. O jogo promete te envolver nessa trama e universo maluco do hideo kojima. A trama de conectar a américa após uma catastrofe no mundo. Uma frase pequena marcante no game que me impactou foi: "Sam, voce une as pessoas!". Kojima é um genio por tras do seu mundo louco.
This was my first instance of playing a Hideo Kojima title. And man, it was a beautiful experience. I have the PS4 version but the PS5 upgrade just had a lot of pros so I decided to bite. It was a £5 upgrade as well. Anyways, everything about this game just had this charm. The music was there, the environment was there, characters were underrated and the story (while it took a bit long to understand, I got through). Also, the gameplay loop definitely took long to grasp. But it paid off - especially the final battle with Higgs. Wow, just wow. I will be playing DS2 day one I don't care.
Masterpiece, but only because of 'one of its kind in the market' gameplay & mechanics, insane fun.
Story is easily ignorable, glossed through the entire thing to unlock late game shit.
Story is easily ignorable, glossed through the entire thing to unlock late game shit.
A Kojima game, you either get it or you don’t. And not to call people who like this game “high intelligence gamer who understands Kojima artistic vision” or anyone who doesn’t a “low IQ idiot who has a brain smaller than BBs”, but more so that the gameplay and story are so unique that it is easy and understandable to see why someone would bounce off Death Stranding. A “walking simulator” it sure is, but the gameplay is so deep with how you plan your routes, store your packages, and tackle your terrain makes the gameplay loop of “plan, deliver and reward” so addicting. As well as with how it all fits back into the narrative, connecting a broken country back together to save the world. Plus walking around work Kojimas personal playlist (and some YouTube videos), make the experience very enjoyable.
The narrative is the other big bouncing off point, and I do understand why. Complicated lore, an “interesting” plot, silly character names, themes so thick it oozes out of my disc slot and subtly so thin that it can be paper thin. But it all works. Carried by its cast? Possibly, but with Mads Mikkelsen, Lea Seydoux, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Margaret Qually. all providing great performances. Norman Reedus may seem like the weak link from time to time, and I would agree, but his monotone, cold line reads come off as intentional. As a man so disconnected from humanity as to even be afraid of human touch. It’s interesting, and well done.
This is mainly a review of the PS4 version, and I am on the 2nd chapter of the PS5 version. But as for performance, the ps4 version was never a game I experienced many performance issues on even with a slim. But now, both performance and graphics setting provide you with spectacular ways to experience Death Stranding. I doubt any gameplay or story additions will change my score, but if it does I’ll come back to this.
All in all, you either get Death Stranding or you don’t. It’s a game so dedicated to connecting people, that it’s story AND gameplay center so heavily around it. It’s a unique game, and maybe not “fun” in the way you usually want from a game, but an amazing game nonetheless.
The narrative is the other big bouncing off point, and I do understand why. Complicated lore, an “interesting” plot, silly character names, themes so thick it oozes out of my disc slot and subtly so thin that it can be paper thin. But it all works. Carried by its cast? Possibly, but with Mads Mikkelsen, Lea Seydoux, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Margaret Qually. all providing great performances. Norman Reedus may seem like the weak link from time to time, and I would agree, but his monotone, cold line reads come off as intentional. As a man so disconnected from humanity as to even be afraid of human touch. It’s interesting, and well done.
This is mainly a review of the PS4 version, and I am on the 2nd chapter of the PS5 version. But as for performance, the ps4 version was never a game I experienced many performance issues on even with a slim. But now, both performance and graphics setting provide you with spectacular ways to experience Death Stranding. I doubt any gameplay or story additions will change my score, but if it does I’ll come back to this.
All in all, you either get Death Stranding or you don’t. It’s a game so dedicated to connecting people, that it’s story AND gameplay center so heavily around it. It’s a unique game, and maybe not “fun” in the way you usually want from a game, but an amazing game nonetheless.