Concerned about my ability to play Death Stranding 2.

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PectacularOz

Member
Loved the first. I recognize the gameplay is a bit lacking (sometimes), but the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Its biggest drawback was reviewers who only played the first 5 hours.

Fast forward several years and now I have a 1.5 year old son. Little guy begs daddy to bring him to the den in the mornings to watch me play Astrobot for abt 30mins (some of the little gameplay time I get these days)

Anyway - you saw the title - this is NOT about my lack of gameplay time. This is about that little boy who'll undoubtedly lead to strong themes of "loss" (remember Sam lost his first son), the challenges of fatherhood, and fighting to protect a future in a desperate world for your progeny.

Im hoping my boy will still enjoy watching a less cartoony game, sure - but I'm positively aware that I'm likely going to be bawling my eyes out everytime that child is in danger, or Sam struggles with fatherhood in a challenging world.

I expect this game to challenge me emotionally, and I expect it will become one of the best gaming experiences in my lifetime due to the added emotional connections.

I see you Kojima...
-New Dadman.
 
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I could understand if you had a previous trauma then some media could potentially resonate more, but being worried pre trauma and pre experience seems a bit too much in my eyes, sorry I don't want to appear rude but as the saying goes "man up it's a tough world", and it cames from someone that's quite emotional usually... Nothing personal, just my opinion
 
PectacularOz said:
Its not about him - its about me, not losing my emotional sanity as the games heavy emotional themes resonate with me more than any previous gaming experience.
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It isn't even out yet. You have no idea if it will resonate with you in any way 😂

I'm out. I can't handle the douchechill overdose.
 
Oh man I get what you're saying, as I got older the strong "save the princess" emotions have changed to "protect the child" emotions and after games like The Last of Us part 1 those heart strings get pulled pretty easily...and I don't even have kids!

I can't imagine how it feels actually having a little one to envision as the in game character
 
PectacularOz said:
Im hoping my boy will still enjoy watching a less cartoony game, sure - but I'm positively aware that I'm likely going to be bawling my eyes out everytime that child is in danger, or Sam struggles with fatherhood in a challenging world.

I expect this game to challenge me emotionally, and I expect it will become one of the best gaming experiences in my lifetime due to the added emotional connections.
Click to expand...

Honestly, that sounds like it has the potential to be one of the most memorable gaming experiences you'll ever have -- resonating with the characters and themes on a deeply emotional level can be hugely impactful.
 
struggler_guts said:
Oh man I get what you're saying, as I got older the strong "save the princess" emotions have changed to "protect the child" emotions and after games like The Last of Us part 1 those heart strings get pulled pretty easily...and I don't even have kids!

I can't imagine how it feels actually having a little one to envision as the in game character
Click to expand...

I never expected it, but it does indeed hit different.
 
PectacularOz said:
Its not about him - its about me, not losing my emotional sanity as the games heavy emotional themes resonate with me more than any previous gaming experience.
Click to expand...
Don't play it if it's such a burden to you, or wait till your kid grows up and then play it and by that time, even your kid will tell you it just a game and you shouldn't have overreacted 🤷‍♂️
 
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T-0800 said:
As a father of 3 grown children let me just say you don't have to share every experience with your children.
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This. A 1.5 year old should not be watching anything, period. If you want / need him to watch something it needs to be something with very simple colours and slow animation. Making him watch fucking Astrobot is frying his brain ffs.
 
I grew up watching Robocop.

twitching-smile.gif
 
I am always surprised how dead I may be if things affects people this deeply. Maybe because I am not a father.

I think you owe it to yourself as a challenge to play this if you think it will be too much for you, especially if you think it might make you misty eyed. Pressing two thumbsticks in the forward direction shouldn't be a life altering experience nor should be cutscene.
 
I have a four month old at home and this is the instructions we got from the doctors.
We'll let her watch TV after 2 years and only for a few minutes.
 
PectacularOz said:
Thats when "I" sleep.
Again - this isnt about the lack of playtime - its about the emotional connection to the themes.
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I just fail to see how your emotional involvement with the game has anything to do with your child. You don't have to share everything, I imagine he'll also not be in there with you watching when you're having sex with his mother. It's ok to keep some adult things to yourself.
 
Cyberpunkd said:
This. A 1.5 year old should not be watching anything, period. If you want / need him to watch something it needs to be something with very simple colours and slow animation. Making him watch fucking Astrobot is frying his brain ff
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They used to recommend 0 screen time before 2 - but American Pediactric Society recanted all of that because if wasnt actually based on anything. No studies, just something they said in lieu of scientific evidence.
 
Embearded said:
I have a four month old at home and this is the instructions we got from the doctors.
We'll let her watch TV after 2 years and only for a few minutes.
Click to expand...
Fair. 24 months is the recommendation, but thay was recanted as not based on anything emperical, just caution in lieu of science.
 
PectacularOz said:
They used to recommend 0 screen time before 2 - but American Pediactric Society recanted all of that because if wasnt actually based on anything. No studies, just something they said in lieu of scientific evidence.
Click to expand...
Go watch Trotro, then go watch Astrobot. Do you see the difference? The image changes, the effects, etc. are very different, simply because a small child does not have the processing power of an adult. That is also why my small one running and me running is very different even though we both "run".

Stop arguing because you want to play DS2, ok we get that. Ask your wife to babysit.
 
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PectacularOz said:
Loved the first. I recognize the gameplay is a bit lacking (sometimes), but the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Its biggest drawback was reviewers who only played the first 5 hours.

Fast forward several years and now I have a 1.5 year old son. Little guy begs daddy to bring him to the den in the mornings to watch me play Astrobot for abt 30mins (some of the little gameplay time I get these days)

Anyway - you saw the title - this is NOT about my lack of gameplay time. This is about that little boy who'll undoubtedly lead to strong themes of "loss" (remember Sam lost his first son), the challenges of fatherhood, and fighting to protect a future in a desperate world for your progeny.

Im hoping my boy will still enjoy watching a less cartoony game, sure - but I'm positively aware that I'm likely going to be bawling my eyes out everytime that child is in danger, or Sam struggles with fatherhood in a challenging world.

I expect this game to challenge me emotionally, and I expect it will become one of the best gaming experiences in my lifetime due to the added emotional connections.

I see you Kojima...
-New Dadman.
Click to expand...
As a father myself: Man up. For your boys sake.
 
Are you a eurogamer journo OP ?
If not you should have a sufficient level of emotional maturity to take the story as it is, a story.
Remember your kid needs a dad, as a model for him to grow up into, not a video game journalist.
 
You should do other stuff with your kid rather than let him watch you llay games. Take him outside. Read him a book. Build something with hin. Play with him (no phone allowed for you).

I pretty much only game when my kids are sleeping or not home.

Or maybe I misread OP post and he's only worried about crying during the game because of the story? If so then LOL.
 
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I get it. When my kids were really young, maybe it was the sleeplessness but little things that I wouldn't expect to get to me definitely would.

Even something as stupid as the "Crack baby basketball" episode of South Park would get to me.

Having said that, enjoy the game you know it's gonna be good.
 
Oh good grief.

"I'm such a great dad, that I can't handle even fiction where someone has sad things happen to or with their children. Everyone should know."
 
at 1.5 he does not understand concepts. That being said, I believe that game probably isn't the best game to play in front of a 1.5 year old as it is nightmare fuel.
 
OP, the kid will be bored shitless by your Kojima-san walking sim. You need to get him on GTA V, pronto.

Also, read The Road for his bedtime story to toughen yourself up.
 
WTF is this!? Are you serious or being funny? OP, if you are concerned, don't buy the game. Simple as that.
What the hell are you talking about. Most rational parents would not play media with questionable content in front of children.

Would you play Leisure Suit Larry, COD, Mortal Kombat or GTA in front of a child? Probably not. Why is this even a question?

Anyway,

It's Kojima, so really, it is just an interactive movie anyway. The man hasn't made a real game in decades. Just interactive movies!

When was his last real game? Zone of Enders?
 
DirtyBast8rd said:
As a father myself: Man up. For your boys sake.
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You must have missed the part where he bench presses 225! Why, by golly that makes him the strongest dad in the world!

Just fuckin with ya OP. I get the feeling you're a young dad, and I was too. The Last of Us came out when my daughter was 2, but I didn't get to play it till she was 3, and man did it resonate with me, BIG BIG RESONATE! Totally didn't do the subtle cry thing in front of my wife and try to hide it, definitely not me....

That being said, I don't find a single aspect of Death Stranding sad or emotional. I think it's due to how melodramatic it's played, feels like watching a soap opera. The Last of Us I understood due to how real it was played I think, it felt like I could empathize with the emotions there and directly interface with them, whereas Death Stranding is like a pretentious film school student's project to me, stuck so far up its own ass it doesn't realize how comical and overdramatic it is, and that lack of self awareness makes it really tough for me to empathize with the characters.
 
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