Support NeoGAF

[Clear]

I think the core ethos of the gameplay being less about doing stuff, than doing stuff as well as you can is going to be the deal breaker for most people. Its an approach that only really works if you are willing to invest in what the game has to offer.

I think that most people who actually buy the game will be able to get into that headspace, and it seems evident to me that it highlights the crucial difference between players and critics.

DS is the second game this year I've really enjoyed playing that's gotten tarred with the "outstays its welcome" brush. And as with Days Gone, I find it a completely redundant criticism.

I'm sorry but the mentality of burning through a game, just to say you've "beaten it" just baffles me. I can understand critics who likely get paid the same to write a review for a 5hr game as a 50hr one getting more antsy about slow builds and long playtimes, but that is a fault of the occupation, not the game.

Being a short, snappy experience is a characteristic, not a merit. If you like something as a pastime, more is just more, it adds value especially when we are talking about products that are sold at standardized price-points.

My point is, Death Stranding is not an experience that benefits from being rushed through. It by design suits a much more considered and patient approach than most "action" games. The more you rush, the more likely you are to get frustrated, and the less rewarding the experience will be.

 

[KiNeMz]

Can people stop spoiling late game items please.

 

[Mod of War: Remastered]

Reminder to use spoiler tags for any type of key story spoilers.

Not just put them in spoilers but write on those tags too please

For example:

Spoiler: Chapter 4

Like this!

Spoiler: Chapter 99999

Like this

Nobody wants to guess when it comes to spoilers..

Yep, please contextualize spoiler tags with an episode number so people know what stage of the game is being referred to.

As a friendly reminder. Please put any spoilers in this format. Items, just label it "Items or Rewards".

If someone wants to create a spoiler thread, that is highly encouraged, especially since quite a few completed the game and I am sure want to chew the tar with one another.

 

[Mista]

Sure, just cover with a spoiler of course!

Spoiler: Where to you find Conan

Go deliver couple of orders to the cosplayer

 

[Airbus Jr]

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I think the core ethos of the gameplay being less about doing stuff, than doing stuff as well as you can is going to be the deal breaker for most people. Its an approach that only really works if you are willing to invest in what the game has to offer.

I think that most people who actually buy the game will be able to get into that headspace, and it seems evident to me that it highlights the crucial difference between players and critics.

DS is the second game this year I've really enjoyed playing that's gotten tarred with the "outstays its welcome" brush. And as with Days Gone, I find it a completely redundant criticism.

I'm sorry but the mentality of burning through a game, just to say you've "beaten it" just baffles me. I can understand critics who likely get paid the same to write a review for a 5hr game as a 50hr one getting more antsy about slow builds and long playtimes, but that is a fault of the occupation, not the game.

Being a short, snappy experience is a characteristic, not a merit. If you like something as a pastime, more is just more, it adds value especially when we are talking about products that are sold at standardized price-points.

My point is, Death Stranding is not an experience that benefits from being rushed through. It by design suits a much more considered and patient approach than most "action" games. The more you rush, the more likely you are to get frustrated, and the less rewarding the experience will be.

Yeah, Days Gone got a raw deal if you ask me. That was a fantastic game and one of my favorites this year. I actually skipped it at launch due to the reception, but I'm glad I ended up buying it when I saw it on sale a few months later.

 

[Javthusiast]

 

[rofif]

takes out hematic grenades
C'mon ghosts

 

[#Phonepunk#]

I think the core ethos of the gameplay being less about doing stuff, than doing stuff as well as you can is going to be the deal breaker for most people.

honestly i dont see those as the core ethos of the gameplay. you can drop cargo along the way and they accept partial packages. you can let stuff get ruined by the weather and it's still good. i think as long as you keep doing stuff you get rewarded. make a delivery, however you do it, and you get new gear. they don't make you redo missions if you only have a partial order. they don't withhold new gear unless you S rank. seems pretty flexible. do stuff how you want to, as long as you are completing deliveries, you get rewards.

 

[Bryank75]

Holy shit, that is so badass!

 

[Game Flipper Channel]

On a random note :

What does "BT" stand for?

 

[EviLore]

On a random note :

What does "BT" stand for?

Beached Thing

 

[Game Flipper Channel]

 

[Bryank75]

I'm gonna knock out my postman tomorrow and do his round for him....

 

[Game Flipper Channel]

Ok just make sure he doesn't die. Necrosis.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Ok just make sure he doesn't die. Necrosis.

Some places in America that might be an improvement.

 

[plasmawave]

On a random note :

What does "BT" stand for?

Beach Things.

 

[Mista]

Here’s the picture if anyone wants to save it:

 

[Skyr]

That whole premise doesn’t make any sense at all and I love it.

 

[Barakov]

Okay. Chapter 5 is testing my patience.

 

[Mista]

Okay. Chapter 5 is testing my patience.

Whats bothering you in chapter 5?

 

[Wink]

Chapter 5 best chapter. My Sam was so exhausted by my decisions

Spoiler

he had to sleep sitting in the snow.

Felt really bad for him. Took so long to get to a place where I could finally let him rest, I only had one square of stamina left. Really appreciated that segment after having such an easy life beforehand with all the built up highways. Also really love the new mechanics you get in that chapter letting me make it a breeze to traverse after it took so much out of Sam. That whole system of progression is just so satisfying. The Dark Souls of Civil engineering.

 

[Mista]

Chapter 5 best chapter. My Sam was so exhausted by my decisions

Spoiler

he had to sleep sitting in the snow.

Felt really bad for him. Took so long to get to a place where I could finally let him rest, I only had one square of stamina left. Really appreciated that segment after having such an easy life beforehand with all the built up highways. Also really love the new mechanics you get in that chapter letting me make it a breeze to traverse after it took so much out of Sam. That whole system of progression is just so satisfying. The Dark Souls of Civil engineering.

You monster! It was a bit emotional for me if I'm being honest

Spoiler: Chapter 5

Just when Mama grew into me

 

[Mista]

This is why we play!

 

[Verdanth]

About 35 hours in and still on chapter 3.

I like the game, but I think I've been doing too much side content, and repeating the same mistake I did with Phantom Pain, which is starting to drain my patience with the game.

Need to rush a little through the story I guess. That or divide my time with another game, so I don't get bored in Death Stranding.

Welp.

 

[plasmawave]

Die-hard man's real name is

Spoiler

John Blake McClane

Amazing.

 

[Robhimself]

Beach Things.

BT = Beached Thing (The soul is tethered to the beach)
BB = Bridge Baby (ties afterlife and real world)

 

[Tesseract]

bb is big boss, don't lie

 

[Mista]

bb is big boss, don't lie

Reading this made me sad

 

[Robhimself]

bb is big boss, don't lie

I thought it stood for Big Boobs, but that'll do.....

 

[GymWolf]

Well there is a first time for everything...
This game manage to make me like more the walking section compared with the mediocre shooting section, it's kinda of a miracle for a combat lover like me...

I'm start to think that the action part on mgs5 was made by a konami guy and not by kojima...

 

[Tesseract]

Reading this made me sad

it should

 

[GymWolf]

Why this is not the official cover of the game???

 

[GymWolf]

On a random note :

What does "BT" stand for?

Bitch things

 

[Tesseract]

on a more serious note, there's some gnarly studies about caesarearn children that're worth discussing in the spoilers thread (down the line)

 

[ComputerBlue]

There's something I really hate about this game, and it's something I hated about Metal Gear Solid V as well. There's an mini cutscene for everything, recycling some materials? 2 mini cutscenes. Getting on a motorbike? cutscene. Taking a shower in the private room? 4 damn mini cutscenes you've got to skip through if you don't want to watch Reedus showering again and again. Shits ridiculous. The game does a lot of things well, but other things can get so tedious that they just start to on my nerves after a while.

 

[Clear]

honestly i dont see those as the core ethos of the gameplay. you can drop cargo along the way and they accept partial packages. you can let stuff get ruined by the weather and it's still good. i think as long as you keep doing stuff you get rewarded. make a delivery, however you do it, and you get new gear. they don't make you redo missions if you only have a partial order. they don't withhold new gear unless you S rank. seems pretty flexible. do stuff how you want to, as long as you are completing deliveries, you get rewards.

Yeah but the actual process of the making each delivery is measured qualitatively across a bunch of categories, and getting the highest ranking is a matter of planning, performance, and overall pride in doing the task as quickly and smoothly as possible.

What I mean is although you can be reductive and say "fetch quest", every step in every delivery is gamified in some way, hell even zipping down a road on a bike you have the central power-strip to stay on if you can. The "fun" is in the mentality that there is value in performance, and not just avoiding fail-state conditions.

That to me is why the game is pretty flexible and forgiving, its to give this performance <-> accomplishment vibe space to breathe. Less stick, more rope in short.

 

[plasmawave]

Well there is a first time for everything...
This game manage to make me like more the walking section compared with the mediocre shooting section, it's kinda of a miracle for a combat lover like me...

I'm start to think that the action part on mgs5 was made by a konami guy and not by kojima...

It's intentional. The combat is not the focus of the game. Sam is not a legendary soldier like Snake anyways.
The game still gives you a lot of fun tools to mess with the Mules tho.

 

[Psykodad]

You know what sucks?

I'm getting the feeling that it'd be wise to shift my focus on the story and try to finish it up relatively quickly, because I doubt it'll take long for spoilers to pop up left and right on the internet. :/

 

[Mista]

You know what sucks?

I'm getting the feeling that it'd be wise to shift my focus on the story and try to finish it up relatively quickly, because I doubt it'll take long for spoilers to pop up left and right on the internet. :/

They're already out mate but I know very well how to avoid me. No Death Stranding subreddit for me and no Youtube because their recommendations are fucking garbage

But to be honest I was thinking of doing the same until I reaches Episode 8 and said " Nope, fuck that" I am enjoying it so why the rush

 

[Robhimself]

I can't wait to get home and start raiding Mule camps again and steal their shit, just so I can start building roads and bridges......

 

[SLB1904]

Don't get all the hype for this.. will get once it hits ps hits for 15 just to try it out, maybe.

its a very good game. try later when its cheap..
for some reason remind of demon souls
never had interest but for reason, neogaf was telling me is a great game
downloaded demon souls and was like this is wack, but neogaf was like its good, then i was like let me play a little bit more and beat the first boss and i wouldn't let go.
and yeah that's how souls game came to be.

 

[GymWolf]

It's intentional. The combat is not the focus of the game. Sam is not a legendary soldier like Snake anyways.
The game still gives you a lot of fun tools to mess with the Mules tho.

i'm not talking about mule combat, i can't say more without spoiler.

 

[Terce]

i'm not talking about mule combat, i can't say more without spoiler.

Spoiler

If

Spoiler

Only

Spoiler

Such

Spoiler

A

Spoiler

Thing

Spoiler

Existed

Spoiler

 

[LaughingStock]

I have a few critiscisms.
The camera is terrible in tight spaces as expected. Sure you can hold L1 and use first person view. But you can't interact or use weapons. Had this tense moment exploring some BT filled ruins become an annoyance because of the camera.

Vehicle handling and physics sucks. Vehicles have no momentum. And when you get stuck on an obstacle and keep accelerating once you get unstuck the vehicle blasts off. Oddly the same happens with Sam.

 

[plasmawave]

i'm not talking about mule combat, i can't say more without spoiler.

If you're talking about the

Spoiler

Cliff boss fight

then I disagree.

 

[Robhimself]

I have a few critiscisms.
The camera is terrible in tight spaces as expected. Sure you can hold L1 and use first person view. But you can't interact or use weapons. Had this tense moment exploring some BT filled ruins become an annoyance because of the camera.

Vehicle handling and physics sucks. Vehicles have no momentum. And when you get stuck on an obstacle and keep accelerating once you get unstuck the vehicle blasts off. Oddly the same happens with Sam.

Camera up close is shitty at best. I can't count the times that I was seeking shelter under a rocky overhang and all I wanted was for the camera to position itself correctly. Ended up turning Sam, colliding with the wall and then franticly running after my cargo which was sliding downhill. FFS.

 

[DeepEnigma]

That whole premise doesn’t make any sense at all and I love it.

They mentioned the oxytocin and dopamine high they get. I think it's the excitement of risking your life with BT's and other carriers to steal cargo in a time where it's either suicide through fear, or live in such a hellish world and make due. Thrill seeker pirates basically.

 

[Karppuuna]

I think that vehicle handling is good if you consider the terrain you are driving, it's really hard to make perfect physics in that kind of terrain.

I'm now 20 hours in and episode 6 and the game just keeps getting better and better.
I'm really happy that this game isn't about shooting and combat, there are already tons of that kind of game in the market.
This game gives me a little similar vibes than The Long Dark, that game is also about the journey.

 

[treemk]

I think I'm going to change to hard difficutly, any downsides of doing this mid-game?