[Thoughts based on playthrough of Director's Cut]
With the advertisement campaign over and about two years to reflect since its release, Death Stranding is still a bizarre game to talk about.
In terms of gameplay it's one of the most unique as it takes the philosophy of "the journey versus the destination" to its extreme in a gaming context. How you deliver truly matters, as simply tripping on a rock can cost you if you're not careful. The game gradually introduces new modes of transportation, enemies, and equipment to further expand your mail delivery empire and ease your journey. That doesn't mean you won't run into issues, just that your fuck-ups become magnified as you can accidentally trap a whole truck of cargo down a river. It can feel feel exhausting and even discouraging when it happens but the online function of letting players help each other through donations, likes, and structures keeps the game from being pessimistic. This exploration of risk and reward is what has sold many to keep playing including myself.
In terms of story and how Kojima games work, I'm not going to delve too deeply into it. If you've played a Kojima game and are into his frustrating and complex character arcs and worldbuilding, Death Stranding proves to be the next jump. If you don't, and frankly even if you do, you have to deal with Kojima's bizarre fusion of game and movie philosophy that can be up its own ass. Either way, I personally did get invested in it and I find it more entertaining than frustrating.
While I would say I had loved this game from the get-go, it's interesting how many players and game critics who've initially hated this game would magically put in 80+ hours and multiple playthroughs. I suppose it's a game that's fun to be angry about, which is fine by me We'll see what another few years will do to this game.
With the advertisement campaign over and about two years to reflect since its release, Death Stranding is still a bizarre game to talk about.
In terms of gameplay it's one of the most unique as it takes the philosophy of "the journey versus the destination" to its extreme in a gaming context. How you deliver truly matters, as simply tripping on a rock can cost you if you're not careful. The game gradually introduces new modes of transportation, enemies, and equipment to further expand your mail delivery empire and ease your journey. That doesn't mean you won't run into issues, just that your fuck-ups become magnified as you can accidentally trap a whole truck of cargo down a river. It can feel feel exhausting and even discouraging when it happens but the online function of letting players help each other through donations, likes, and structures keeps the game from being pessimistic. This exploration of risk and reward is what has sold many to keep playing including myself.
In terms of story and how Kojima games work, I'm not going to delve too deeply into it. If you've played a Kojima game and are into his frustrating and complex character arcs and worldbuilding, Death Stranding proves to be the next jump. If you don't, and frankly even if you do, you have to deal with Kojima's bizarre fusion of game and movie philosophy that can be up its own ass. Either way, I personally did get invested in it and I find it more entertaining than frustrating.
While I would say I had loved this game from the get-go, it's interesting how many players and game critics who've initially hated this game would magically put in 80+ hours and multiple playthroughs. I suppose it's a game that's fun to be angry about, which is fine by me We'll see what another few years will do to this game.