Death Stranding - PlayStation 4

This game leaves me somewhat speechless, and not because I'm having a blast playing it, but because of what it asks players to confront, and the ways in which it forces them to do so. This is not a 'fun' game, and I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone who isn't into experimental art forms -- James Joyce and David Lynch come to mind, but with more humor. It's a melting pot of familiar gaming tropes upended. I found the first 10 hours incredibly depressing and isolating, but was genuinely lulled into doing what many of its talking signs left behind by others suggest I do: put one foot in front of the other, and keep on keeping on. After which I was left wondering to myself if I should be mad at this game for tricking me into mindlessly delivering material goods to others, and realized I both love it and hate it. I'm baffled this game exists, and that it got the huge budget it did, but I'm so glad Sony let this come to fruition. It feels like it was a business and marketing mistake, and only time will tell how it will be received, and the impact it might make on future games to come. It's certainly the most unique game I've played, and I'd expect the impact it makes in the long run to be positive and inspiring, if only to show other gamers and developers that the familiar fetch quest based games are tired and done. Whereas with other games, I can sit down for 20 minutes to an hour and complete part of the story or a side mission, in Death Stranding you can easily get sucked into playing (or watching) for hours. But instead of a feeling of having defeated some challenge, you've in the end only accomplished delivering a pizza to an isolated hologram. To get there you would have traveled through a desolate world completely devoid of other life except for some nasty floating bugs that give you energy and signs or items left by other players along the path. You might run into some tar people materializing from the world of the dead trying to suck you in and use you to destroy everything within your radius, or some cargo hungry thieves called MULEs that largely are just annoying distractions from what you really want to do, which is get something from point A to point B, with maybe a little exploration and community building sprinkled in. If you get thirsty along the way, all you can drink is Monster Energy drinks. Idiocracy, anyone? We're the fools for playing this, aren't we? And from all that hassle, what do you get? A ton of social media-esque likes that feel mostly empty. The stats system is largely unnecessary except for improving some of the other in-game systems and mechanics, and seem to exist mostly to emphasize the emptiness of gaming- and social-stats. But even then -- I sometimes log on just to see how my structures are faring with other players. It got me, I'm hooked. Maybe it's actually there to keep me motivated and playing. There have been many moments in this game where I laughed out loud at the ridiculous over the top nature of it, and the first delivery score and stats animations was one of them. Death Stranding is a game about gaming's unrealistic cargo management systems; it's a commentary on open world games made through expanding the size of the world to an almost incomprehensible magnitude and ignoring the familiar notion of day/night/weather cycles; it's about human connection and the hollowness of social media appreciation, and the isolation of operating socially in that space more so than out in the real world; it's political, and through ridiculously blatant metaphors emphasizes that humans are their own worst enemies, and left to their own devices as isolated ghosts, divisive and ignorant of each other, could very well spell the end of humanity, and the beauty within, as we know it. It's a game perfect for this era. It's a game that you can only appreciate through experiencing, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has the patience for difficult art. It's a game that makes me never want to play video games again. Update: Okay, I've updated this from a 4 to a 5. It's truly an exceptional game. It's certainly not without its flaws, but I have had some serious moments with this. An anecdote: last night I got myself in trouble and I was taught a lesson about greed. I'm on Chapter 5 now and have earned some things to help me make more and heavier deliveries. I felt unstoppable, like I had all the power in the world to get all the likes from all the holograms. Instead, the BTs came up from the dead and sucked me into their world and I was forced to defend myself against a boss that I had not prepared at all to fight. I had a large quantity of materials to build some roads, but they all turned to chiral waste, just like my time. Another, but a lesson about patience: one delivery required that I climb down a cliff and cross a very wide river twice. Despite the helpful (and kinda spoiler-y) signs left by other players directing me through the safest path, I nevertheless fell several times and was washed down the river with my cargo going wherever it well pleased. I had to really concentrate to complete that river crossing, and finally did after a few failed attempts. I was impatient, and in the long run it hurt me. You're literally punished for your greed and impatience in this game. It's beautiful. It makes you feel small.

Do you like Shadow of the Colossus? The Last Guardian? Did you get enthralled by Journey? Do you play Silent Hill games for the atmosphere and feeling evoked by the game? If yes, I think you will be able to see the value in Kojima's latest offering. The game is wonder-filled, beautiful, and haunting. It's not MGS6, although there is more action here than has been described in many reviews or seen on YT. For example, you've probably read the "first 10 hours are a slog and filled with backtracking." Well, I didn't have to backtrack til hour 6 and when I did, it was on a motorcycle and took like 2 minutes. Before that point, I was pulled into an amazing world and gameplay loop that alternated between top tier storytelling cinematics and tight, compelling gameplay. Each loop added a bit more to each. Within 3 hours, I had seen and done more crazy things than most games dream of, had heart pounding moments, strategized about my moves, ran for my life, explored in wonder, and got pulled into the mystery of terms, characters, and visuals Death Stranding offers. Give the game a rental or if you have the disposable income, go with your gut. This isn't No Man's Sky launch part 2. This is a masterpiece in its own right and playing it will be immensely satisfying and emotionally engaging. History will look fondly on Death Stranding after the initial polarization stabilizes. UPDATE: So why this would not be a good game for you: -It’s a timesink. It took me 30 hrs to clear episode 3 of 14. Granted the game is basically a sprint to the end after episode 8, but still. -You’re not into story-heavy games told through Hollywood-esque cutsenes. -You don’t like the core gameplay premise. While this is anything but a “hurr derr walking sim”, delivering stuff by journeying (via walking, hiking, vehicles, and other means) is a primary facet of the game. -You’ve never liked Kojima games. While this one is fresh and something new, there is a classic Kojima feel to the game. -You want a straightforward point A to point B experience. Death Stranding is mostly pure freedom. At any given time you could do one of a dozen or more things. So why this would be a good game for you: -Kind of the opposite of the above: you want a lot of content, you like story heavy games, the core premise of journeying looks interesting to you, you’re a fan of Kojima, and you want a truly free gameplay experience. -You’re fascinated by the genre mashups of worldbuilding (a la Minecraft), third person stealth/shooter (a la MGS), horror (a la Silent Hills), adventuring/hiking, management and planning, and strong narrative in a fresh beautiful world….all overlaid with the social strand system where you give and get likes, help other players and are helped, and see what the community is doing in the game’s world.

This game is very underrated. The game starts slow, but if you stick with it, the game will start to reveal its true brilliance and depth. It is not simply a walking simulator or whatever people who haven’t even played the game want to call it. This game is truly something unique and definitely worth experiencing, especially in the days where it’s hard to find something fresh and original. Death Stranding is truly something special. Every aspect of the game was well thought out and designed with a true vision and passion to make something great. This is some of Hideo Kojima’s best work that he has done yet. The message of connection shines through every aspect of the game. From gameplay to soundtrack and story, everything is designed with this message in mind. The plot is very original and abstract in the best way possible. The story is definitely a huge part of what makes this game so great, so I’m not going to spoil it. All I’m going to say is that it will make you feel emotional and moved in ways you may have never felt before. The story has some really cool and spectacular moments. The boss fights are memorable and awe-inducing with just the visual spectacle they put on. The characters are well developed and each are unique in their own ways. You will feel connected to these characters, but you feel even more connected to real people that you don’t even know. This is the most innovative and unique aspect of the game. The asynchronous online multiplayer component. Also known as the social strand system. Along your journey playing Death Stranding, you will encounter structures that other people have built to help yourself and others. You will also be able to build structures for others to use as well. You can leave messages and read other messages that other players have left themselves. Through all of this, you make little connections with many people throughout your play-through and you can appreciate what they have done for you. These moments are truly special and make a positive impact. The gameplay loop itself is also very fun and addicting. There is really a lot of interactivity in the way you traverse the environments in this game. It requires attention to something you never pay attention to in any other game. You can plot routes before making deliveries, decide what gear you need to bring on your journey, and then actually make the journey to deliver the packages. Every time you take on a delivery, you need to take all of these things into consideration and weigh the pros and cons of each. You might have to bring some weapons if you are passing through a Mule camp or a BT infested area. You may need some ladders, climbing anchors, or pcc’s to aid you in traversing harsh terrain. However, bringing too much will weigh you down and make it harder to traverse, so you have to balance these decisions. The gameplay in this game is something special. The vehicles are fun to drive and help tremendously in traveling efficiently. The shooting and melee is surprisingly fun, while not being the biggest focus of the game. The process of building structures to make a more efficient journey and create new paths is incredibly rewarding and satisfying. The graphics are also phenomenal in this game. The environments and character models are filled with detail and look breathtaking. Some of the sights that you will see in this game are mind-blowing. The acting also definitely brings these very realistic characters to life with talent like Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux, Lindsey Wagner, Troy Baker, Tommy Earl Jenkins, and much more. The acting performances are top-notch. Overall, this game is a masterpiece in my opinion. I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for something new and innovative in games. I can’t wait to see what Hideo Kojima does next.

My feelings about the game are complex, and this, perhaps, is what has made it worth experiencing. The first night after playing it, I had no choice but rant to a friend for the better part of an hour in trying to understand just how I had actually received it. I'll start with the positives. While the game isn't for everybody, it's not necessarily only for those of any profound "artistic sensitivity", to semi-quote a rather tasteless comment Kojima made in denigration to Americans and our supposed lack thereof. It is rather, I believe, more geared towards those who might enjoy a game like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, or maybe Truck Simulator. Along those lines. While much of the gameplay is rather mundane, I have actually taken great satisfaction in just navigating the landscape and managing my supplies. The whole "strand" thing has been neat too; it's fun to see others building things around and with you, and it's neat to know others are there, even if only in a kind of ethereal way. The game is generally beautiful, and a lot of the aesthetic is pretty cool, though some does come across as pointless and "artsy" to the point of maybe trying a bit too hard, a la Fragile's umbrella. In any case, there is a lot to appreciate here, but once again, the actual game part of the game seems more niche than would probably be ideal for a blockbuster game. It shouldn't be blamed for that, however. I'm genuinely happy to see something so bold executed at such a high level of production. Even if the game were to be a total failure, it would still be a cultural touchstone, more or less. Now for the bad. The script. My God, the script is overwrought, self-indulgent, forced, and has made me cringe to the point I've thought of just hanging up my controller. Don't get me wrong, I generally love weird, obtuse things in general, often strangeness for its own sake, but much of this just feels contrived. The metaphors are almost not even metaphors for want of subtlety, and much of what might be profound in the game is obscured by what I can only describe as "off". It feels like a case of something trying to appear profound by means of obfuscation rather than any real meaning, and this coming from a huge fan of John Ashbery's poetry. I can digest weirdness well enough, but when it is clobbered up with things that are, to me, tastelessly stupid, I have a hard time. Take, for example, the name of one of the NPCs, "Die-Hardman". I can't get over how awkward and try-hard this feels to me. This kind of off-kilter, B-movie stuff might work in Metal Gear games, but this game takes itself far too seriously to pull it off, and it often comes across as just plain bad. This is all subjective, of course, but I am not into it. At all. Throw in some mind-bendingly out of place product placement, and now I'm just confused. It doesn't seem like the vision of an auteur as much as it feels like somebody trying to impress all his arthouse friends with a kind of manufactured esotericism. If it were only a movie, I'd just feel sick for having watched it. Most fortunately, the cutscenes can be skipped. I should say though, that the premise isn't entirely terrible. There are some really neat things that have been done in the game, and some of the concepts are generally pretty interesting. I personally think the intertwining of the worlds of the dead and the living and some of how that ties into the technology is actually pretty awesome. My problem is with the implementation, plain and simple. Altogether, I like the game. It has made me think, and the actual gameplay scratches a particular itch I have as a gamer. However, the game isn't for everybody, and the story framing it is for far, far fewer. Certainly for Kojima himself. It is beautiful, it is strange, it is provocative, but it is not well-written, it is not subtle, and its themes don't go any deeper than any like-minded platitude. There are beautiful moments in the game, moments that might actually border on the profound, if only it didn't get in its own way.

I pre-ordered Death Stranding and started to play it the week it came out. It had a really unique beginning to it, in that it's a very slow progression and half the time you don't even fully know what is going on or what the purpose is. I was completing the main story but also spent a lot of my time building infrastructure to make my deliveries more efficient. One night after making runs of metal and ceramics all day I was in a truck in a rainstorm driving out to some remote auto paver and the truck ran out of batteries and I had forgotten to bring a PCC to build structures, so I had to figure out some way to get a PCC to build a generator without going so far away from the truck that I'd lose the cargo. It's that sort of thing that makes you realize the problem-solving nature of this game, and I felt really immersed in this pursuit and the sort of invisible connection to other players and the appreciation for work you've done is really cool. The load out and items that you either always have on you or need to think to bring on certain missions makes the planing aspect really important. I've spent hours hiking in the mountains to setup a zip line network for ease of travel, and then it feels great to fly through them on a network you built. The cut scenes and storyline are also incredibly well written and acted, The ending is amazingly involved, detailed, and at one point my wife sat down to watch about the last hour of it, I think all in all it was 3.5 hours of content at the end of the game. If you are into Hideo's games and can be patient and let the game slowly unfold then I think this is a great game for you. A masterpiece really. The game has an incredible soundtrack which is used sparingly but when the music does play it's usually in a novel part of the environment and really adds to the entire experience.

Without going into the game and revealing plot, I will try to find ways to warrant the five star rating I gave this. First off, my tastes for games come from being around since Pitfall and Spy Hunter. And Rampage. Pac-Man? Anyways, I appreciate when a game either makes a whole new, imaginative and comparable environment within itself, or when a game nails what it is going after. Being that most of my enjoyment that I get from gaming comes from execution and completionism, I don't go after most of what is on the market. VR immersion, axis motion controllers, that kindof stuff is fun, but not really easy to take seriously. When most of the market is targeted to profit, or sales, or when I see one of the games that I enjoyed being remade or re-released just for show, it gets on my nerves. The idea of being able to take the name of a product, change it's formulation, and then sell it as part of the same is a disgusting behavior. I can understand how game studios want to move on and are working for a living- expected to make deadlines and promise to fan base and community. So that is where I'll go into this. I'm not going to compare this game to the previous works of its creators and directors. I won't throw in the facts of budget and production timeframe. I will try to just come down to in-game value. Hit the highs and lows. First, the game is beautiful. I always complain about how unrealistic/unimaginative/simplistic it is to make games centered around human appearances. The idea that I'm playing as my favorite athlete/actor/actress is near the bottom of my list of intriguing things about games. The effort and time it takes to live capture faces and actions just gives it more embarrassment when you find yourself bored with how normal a game is. Playing and finding how clunky and overdeveloped certain actions are within these titles gives the sense that it is just a game. It is easier to run into that when the game developer put so much emphasis on making their product have real world drama or scenarios play out. This title has those exceptions. They did it right. At the start of playing this, it is very engaging. And to summarize the rest, you make your own pace. It can seem monotonous, and one could expect more. But I appreciate having my views changed. Thumbs up.

There is so much to say about this game. Quick overview: This game is not a walking simulator. Anybody who makes that claim clearly didn't even play far enough to get the first vehicle. This is a logistics, adventure, and terrain-traversal game. You will travel a post-apocalyptic world to deliver cargo and reconnect the scattered remnants of American society. The gameplay offers no instant gratification, and if you are mainly a fan of twitch-shooters, fast-paced action, or arcade-style games, then you will absolutely not make it through the first few hours. The game has no easy comparison to any others, but if you enjoy the feeling you get when adventuring in Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus, or enjoy a convoluted, Kojima-style story with lots of world-building and movie-esque cutscenes, then you should definitely give this a try. Gameplay: The game starts with you delivering packages on foot and will appear to be overly simple. This is everything you've seen in the trailers, and why everybody reduces it to a walking sim/UPS sim. If you are doing all of the side missions, this section will stretch out for too long and the game may seem tedious. You will encounter numerous obstacles in your path: rough terrain, steep slopes, strong headwinds, rushing rivers, rain that accelerates time and deteriorates your cargo, rogue porters trying to steal your packages, and ghostly tar demons that must be snuck past. In this initial section, you will find yourself lacking the tools to effectively deal with these things. If you focus on the main story missions, you will quickly progress to the next area and the game will really open up. You will get vehicles to speed up your deliveries, floating cargo sleds that you can load up and pull behind you, weapons to deal with hostile threats, and much more that I don't want to spoil. Each will have their own advantages and disadvantages. At this point, every mission becomes a matter of logistics. The game will tell you what threats you are likely to encounter along the way, so you can try and bring the specific tools you need to deal with them and maximize your deliverables capacity. Every journey brings something unexpected, and things will rarely go to plan. This is where I became addicted, and haven't been able to put the game down since. Online Component: One of the main overarching goals in this game is to expand the Chiral Network, which is pretty much just a version of the internet. On your first visit to an area, you are on your own and must make the trip yourself. After completing your first delivery there, you will connect it to the Chiral Network. Now you will be able to deploy bridges, generators, watch towers, bunkers, safe storage boxes, shelters from rain, and more. The beauty of this is that other players will be able to see what you've put down and they be able to "like" the structure if it was useful. Similar to a Facebook like. You will be able to put down signs warning others of danger ahead, cheering them on, or pointing to secrets nearby. And you'll be able to see everything they've added to the world as well. Walking across the terrain, you and other players will ever so slightly flatten the ground as you go. Routes that people tend to take will become paths that will eventually be suitable for vehicles to take as well. The only game that does anything similar to this would be Dark Souls, but it's a whole different beast here. You will really feel connected to other players, even though you never see them. Often you'll find a structure placed by another player when you need it the most. You're given a period of time to spam their structure with as many likes as you can, and in these situations your really mash the button all out. An overarching theme of the story in this game is making connections, and that is something that you really feel with with "strand" style online component. Story: If you've never played a Metal Gear game before then experiencing Hideo Kojima's style of storytelling can be quite strange. Because it is quite strange. The beginning of the game has about an hour of cutscenes before the gameplay really picks up. The story telling will be really vague and nebulous is some aspects, while shoving other themes down your throat repetitively (like the focus on reconnecting with people). Cutscenes are movie quality and the acting is superb and all motion captured, but things will seem kind of strange or like there is some surreal quality to everything. Like these people aren't really true to life. Everything will have a kind of anime feel to it. If you like that, then you will love the story. Fans of Kojima's past work need not be worried about the story. It's fantastic and he goes full Kojima. Others new to his work: be prepared for things to be a little weird and suspend your disbelief. All in all this game is something special. It is super easy to become addicted once you are finally given a full arsenal of tools to choose from. And just when you think you have the game mastered, it will switch things up on you. The encounters will the tar ghosts (or BT's as they're called), are some of the most butthole-clenching moments in the game. The true enjoyment here is not in the moment-to-moment gameplay. It's in the feeling you get when you overcome these obstacles, when one of your planned routes really comes together, when you're out of options and another player's structure saves you, or when you and the other players get enough resources together to create paved roads that span the whole region. This game is very successful at making you feel certain emotions that every open world game tries to manifest. This is the crystallization of what open world games are always trying to achieve, with very little of that extra fluff. This game is great, don't believe the hate from all of the zero-attention-span Chads that try to talk it down.

Back in 2006, a normie friend of mine went out of town for an extended trip and decided to buy a PlayStation 2 to pass the time. I recommended to him Metal Gear Solid 3, given that it's a pretty decent entry point into the series and the title generally appeals to a western audience. He did not like the game and was pretty confused by the stealth action gameplay. I don't mean to sound like I have a gatekeeping mentality, but I have a feeling most people - even hardcore game fans - are befuddled by Death Stranding as it doesn't fit within the four corners of established gaming genres, not even walking simulators, which applied pejoratively to this game. I can't imagine what my friend, who didn't like MGS3, would think of this game. And myself, a Kojima fanboy since the original MGS, didn't get it at first either. I had stayed away from all but the launch trailer and associated media, and had no idea what I was going into when I got the game back in November 2019. I started playing it and, around the chapter 2 mark, was confused as to when any other elements of the gameplay were to open up. I put it down and didn't pick it back up until this week where I marathon'ed my way through the game. Death Stranding is one of those games where when you get it, you get it. It's an enigmatic, pensive, and utterly original non-violent action game that deals with the themes of isolation, renewed connections, and resilience. The walking simulation aspect of it is executed in a way where the technical aspect of walking is a core gameplay element that feeds into the other systems of the game, namely reconstructing the U.S. with others from the internet aiding in that effort in a manner akin to a Dark Souls and NieR: Automata single-player adjacent internet experience. Your rebuilding efforts bleed into another player's game world and vice versa. The gameplay currency are "likes" just like Instagram. All of this feeds into the bigger picture theme of renewed connections. Graphics and art style are amazing and trail blazing, which is no surprise from Kojima. And, the mechanical designs and art, by Shinkawa, are always on point and similar to those of MGS. The licensed music punctuates the pensive moments of quiet time in the game and set the mood, along with the remainder of the atmospheric original score. What seems to be getting Kojima a lot of flak is the casting of his Hollywood friends and other things like the product placement. There is self-indulgence in the casting, but I also think that Kojima was very aware that he was producing a big budget weirdo art game and some recognizable faces could help with sales. That's just me though, but it seems pragmatic. Product placement? Well, that's been a thing since MGS3 had branded ramen noodles and Calorie Mates...they just don't sell Calorie Mates in the U.S., so it was more of a novelty item in the game. But, you had the iPod in MGS4, so this is now a 15 or 16 year tradition at this point when you look at the big picture. All in all, great game. I'm glad I picked it up again as it's one of his best. Quirky, weirdo art game, yes, but so were the MGS games too, if you take a step back and look at the themes and concepts explored in those titles. They just had more mass market appeal due to action figure people playing out big spy action stories. Recommended.