Absolutely a fantastic experience. The sound design and atmosphere are excellent, but the most suprising thing for me was the gameplay and narrative. The gameplay is seemingly composed of disparate elements on the surface. It's mostly non-violent walking simulator esque gameplay is juxtaposed by its mechanical language borrowed from action games, however the mere act of walking in death stranding is full of polish and ingenuity. There's concious thought to how you want to balance your cargo, and what you can add and subtract. The molded geometry assert attention and make sure you aren't playing half-aware. These elements all come together to create a game that's both relaxing and engaging, almost a form of zen meditation or flow-state in it of itself. I loved the gameplay of this game.
The narrative again, is also composed of seemingly disparate elements. Thematically it's about connection but Kojima's authorship is of course all over the place (For the record I don't like the notion that Kojima is an auteur. I don't like auteur theory in films and I especially don't like it in games, despite the fact that his games are all stylistically connected, more recognition of the other devs should be emphasized) Crazy twists and exposition dumps are spread throughout the story. It can get tiring at times trying to keep up with the lore of this game. It's surrealistic imagery at times I wish didn't warrant explanation, and the game is at it's best when it let's the player interpret these meanings and connections. In that same breath however, I don't think the game would not quite pack the pure emotional punch it had at points if it didn't have this exposition. The sci-fi world is fascinating here, and the focus on using it's mechanics to push it's emotional moment is refreshing for the genre. I'd almost liken the dialogue to lynch, where characters are more so encapsulations of emotions and collections of their pasr rather than giving them complete realistic reactions, and like Lynch I think it's earnest humanity it wears on it's sleeve is completely effective.
The narrative again, is also composed of seemingly disparate elements. Thematically it's about connection but Kojima's authorship is of course all over the place (For the record I don't like the notion that Kojima is an auteur. I don't like auteur theory in films and I especially don't like it in games, despite the fact that his games are all stylistically connected, more recognition of the other devs should be emphasized) Crazy twists and exposition dumps are spread throughout the story. It can get tiring at times trying to keep up with the lore of this game. It's surrealistic imagery at times I wish didn't warrant explanation, and the game is at it's best when it let's the player interpret these meanings and connections. In that same breath however, I don't think the game would not quite pack the pure emotional punch it had at points if it didn't have this exposition. The sci-fi world is fascinating here, and the focus on using it's mechanics to push it's emotional moment is refreshing for the genre. I'd almost liken the dialogue to lynch, where characters are more so encapsulations of emotions and collections of their pasr rather than giving them complete realistic reactions, and like Lynch I think it's earnest humanity it wears on it's sleeve is completely effective.