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Death Stranding Review Thread

This kind of reminds me of why I didn't like RDR2. It's like the developers didn't actually play the game, because it was just so tedious. I get the appeal of movie cinematics in games, and it can work if done sparingly, but some games go way too far with it. The same with all the immersion stuff. But it often negates the fun we are meant to have whilst playing. To me, Death Stranding just looks bland, boring, and uninteresting. It is good to see some actual honest reviews though.
 

Vawn

Banned
If this was an unknown studio ....or your average one at that - do you really think it would get the same score? Come now.

Oh you're right. 84 is just some mystical score reserved only for conspiracies.

My bad. I should have noticed that.

Kojima can't keep getting away with this!
 

ethomaz

Banned
Well, the W3 world was packed with content, had many different encounters, awesome quests and storyline, actual enemies, almost zero fetch quests. The list goes on and on. Not really comparable to empty DS world.
I think you missed the point.
W3 is a 90+ game and DS a 85 game... both have flaws even so they got the overall scores that they deserved.
 
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Terenty

Member
I'm all for unique experiences and slow gameplay, but if its not executed properly than the criticism is fair

I read a Russian review and the things they criticize are the things i feared would be like that for a long time.

For example:

BTs always appear in the same spots on the map. There is no element of surprise whatsoever. They appear when its raining, but only in specific locations. No rain, no BTs.

The same goes for mules, only specific locations, nothing changes.

Void Outs have been cut it seems. No giant craters.

Bosses are easy as fuck no matter the difficulty. They telegraph their attacks, very slow etc. Forget about mgs quality bosses.

Apparently you can find some bunkers earlier than its allowed by the plot and nothing will happen.

There is no day and night cycle.

Side missions are boring and not worth time.

These things are legit flaws and are fairly criticized. And they are disappointing

The ideas are great, the execution is flawed unfortunately as its usually the case
 
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Life

Member
I see no evidence to suggest that it wouldn’t.

Well then, enjoy the walk friend.

Reviewers are talking about how you're "isolated" and hardly make contact with anyone...as if this is somehow a positive thing?? To put it bluntly, you're walking from A to B in a dead open-world. That to me says lack of gameplay content.

You don't make contact with other players but you see ladders/etc they've left in the world...and this again, is somehow special and revolutionary?

Enjoy the walk.
 

thuGG_pl

Member
Reviewers are talking about how you're "isolated" and hardly make contact with anyone...as if this is somehow a positive thing?? To put it bluntly, you're walking from A to B in a dead open-world. That to me says lack of gameplay content.

It's called art, you wouldn't understand it :)

In other games it's called shitty gameplay though...
 
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R600

Banned
1572665961581.png


This cant be real 😄

>As a game, it sucks
>9
 

ROMhack

Member
I still don't understand the point of having all the cargo on display. Not only does it make the character look stupidly bulky, it also makes movement cumbersome and a chore, which in this game is supposed to be a good thing.
Seeing all those swaying crates ridiculously stacked up on Sam while his arms are full with more...packages makes him look like a bumbling parody.

It just looks goofy and really contradicts the supposedly serious tone of the game.

Breakage... have you played a Kojima game before? That's pretty much his thing.
 
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BlackTron

Gold Member
It's painful looking at these reviews by people who obviously disliked the game who are loathe to score it less than an 8 or 9 for business reasons.

I mean sure this has always been a known thing, but when a game is so bad they can't even bring themselves to lie in the review, and have to assign a score seemingly independent of the review content.

And then one guy chose not to review the game at all when faced with the choice of making any sense or annoying Sony.

Crazy.
 

Vawn

Banned
It's painful looking at these reviews by people who obviously disliked the game who are loathe to score it less than an 8 or 9 for business reasons.

I mean sure this has always been a known thing, but when a game is so bad they can't even bring themselves to lie in the review, and have to assign a score seemingly independent of the review content.

And then one guy chose not to review the game at all when faced with the choice of making any sense or annoying Sony.

Crazy.

I find it hilarious you guys honestly think hundreds of reviewers all across the world are so scared of the big, evil Sony that they give out fake review scores for PlayStation games.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Just like The Witcher 3.
If you continue to look only at the weakness of the game you will never understand the scores.
I swear controlling Geralt was a nightmare. I almost gave up after running in the door frame x times. Even worse on a horse. But I sticked to it and love the game
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
I find it hilarious you guys honestly think hundreds of reviewers all across the world are so scared of the big, evil Sony that they give out fake review scores for PlayStation games.

Have you read the rest of the thread?

Can you offer a better explanation for why a game gets a 9 from the same review that says "dull gameplay"?
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I mean one of my fav games is The Darkness (2007) and it's a slow game, with clunky slow controls. But the style, story, characters and atmosphere are so enchanting it makes me go back to it yearly
 

DarkBatman

SBI’s Employee of the Year
Have you read the rest of the thread?

Can you offer a better explanation for why a game gets a 9 from the same review that says "dull gameplay"?

Because they seem to like it. Apparently enough to underline, that the general gameplay doesn't even is that important.
Sure, you could argue, that gameplay is a crucial part of a game. But seems like "Death Stranding" is different and has other strong points to help ignore this flaw.
What's wrong with that? I would like to hear YOUR explanation how sooo many positive reviews gave the game a 9? Your solution can't be a simple "Cus it's Kojima, jow".
 

ethomaz

Banned
Have you read the rest of the thread?

Can you offer a better explanation for why a game gets a 9 from the same review that says "dull gameplay"?
Like I said The Witcher 3 received 10s with dull gameplay combat... there is a lot of others examples.

Maybe maybe the reviewer found the others parts of the game good enough to deserve a 9 even with dull gameplay.
 
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Vawn

Banned
Have you read the rest of the thread?

Can you offer a better explanation for why a game gets a 9 from the same review that says "dull gameplay"?

There are plenty of examples of games where exciting, action-oriented gameplay isn't the experience. Videogames come in all different flavors.
 

Inviusx

Member
I'm all for unique experiences and slow gameplay, but if its not executed properly than the criticism is fair

I read a Russian review and the things they criticize are the things i feared would be like that for a long time.

For example:

BTs always appear in the same spots on the map. There is no element of surprise whatsoever. They appear when its raining, but only in specific locations. No rain, no BTs.

The same goes for mules, only specific locations, nothing changes.

Void Outs have been cut it seems. No giant craters.

Bosses are easy as fuck no matter the difficulty. They telegraph their attacks, very slow etc. Forget about mgs quality bosses.

Apparently you can find some bunkers earlier than its allowed by the plot and nothing will happen.

There is no day and night cycle.

Side missions are boring and not worth time.

These things are legit flaws and are fairly criticized. And they are disappointing

The ideas are great, the execution is flawed unfortunately as its usually the case

This is the type of information that I've been looking for that has been impossible to find anywhere else.

All those fucking journos flexing their thesaurus without giving readers a clear breakdown of the mechanics and how the systems work, or what features the game does NOT have.

Thanks for posting that.

It isn't sounding that promising for me, knowing that the world is so static and lifeless. Coming off RDR2 my expectations on open worlds games has drastically increased.
 
I find it hilarious you guys honestly think hundreds of reviewers all across the world are so scared of the big, evil Sony that they give out fake review scores for PlayStation games.
great example of a straw man.
no one think this.


this game was from the beginning overhyped from the media plus Sony fanboys [fun fact: it's not a Sony exclusive] :
"it's Kojima it must be Masterpiec"

The reality is brutal hard: this man can't make good games.....
read the 5/5 or 10/10 reviews the consensus is that it's boring..... to give 10/10 only for the art and for the name Kojima is joke.... no chance to defend this..
 
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BlackTron

Gold Member
Because they seem to like it. Apparently enough to underline, that the general gameplay doesn't even is that important.
Sure, you could argue, that gameplay is a crucial part of a game. But seems like "Death Stranding" is different and has other strong points to help ignore this flaw.
What's wrong with that? I would like to hear YOUR explanation how sooo many positive reviews gave the game a 9? Your solution can't be a simple "Cus it's Kojima, jow".

I don't think it's because it's a Kojima game. I think it's because it's an "AAA" title with a lot of publicity.

I thought it was generally known or expected that game reviews by major outlets are severely biased to maintain their relationships with the publishers.

"Everything about this game was good but the game part" doesn't make any sense to me. Ok, rate it a 7 to be generous. More accurately a 5 or 6.

Oh wait, I forgot game ratings work on a 6.5-10 scale, where 8 is an average midrange game. So most of the reviews are spot on, then lol.
 

DarkBatman

SBI’s Employee of the Year
great example of a straw man.
no one think this.


this game was from the beginning overhyped from the media plus Sony fanboys [fun fact: it's not a Sony exclusive] :
"it's Kojima it must be Masterpieces"

The reality is brutal hard: this man can't make good games.....
read the 5/5 or 10/10 reviews the consensus is that it's boring..... to give 10/10 only for the art and for the name Kojima is joke.... no chance to defend this..

Why would anyone need to defend this?
It got a lot of 10/10, many reviews are calling it a masterpiece.

Yeah, it was overhyped, that's true. So are many other games, movies, and other stuff all other the world, that still get several bad reviews at the end. What's the point of you jumping around here and pointing out that not EVERYONE is loving it?

MGS also got a few negative reviews, still it's considered a masterpiece. I don't get your point.
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
There are plenty of examples of games where exciting, action-oriented gameplay isn't the experience. Videogames come in all different flavors.

I never said that any game without action-packed gameplay is bad.

Only that for a reviewer to actively call the gameplay dull is bad.

I play turn based strategy games, there is literally no action or excitement. That doesn't mean it's dull.
 

DarkBatman

SBI’s Employee of the Year
I don't think it's because it's a Kojima game. I think it's because it's an "AAA" title with a lot of publicity.

I thought it was generally known or expected that game reviews by major outlets are severely biased to maintain their relationships with the publishers.

"Everything about this game was good but the game part" doesn't make any sense to me. Ok, rate it a 7 to be generous. More accurately a 5 or 6.

Oh wait, I forgot game ratings work on a 6.5-10 scale, where 8 is an average midrange game. So most of the reviews are spot on, then lol.

But that's such a narrow way of seeing it, because you're automatically giving all the power to negative reviews while doubting all the positive ones.

Wouldn't the reviewers who want to please Sony just totally ignore the negative or avoid such demolishing words like "dull"?
And even without that: I already saw several VERY positive reviews, that clearly said the gameplay can be seen as dull and boring, but for the reviewer it was an entertaining and innovative blast.
 

Breakage

Member
Breakage... have you played a Kojima game before? That's pretty much his thing.
Yeah, I've played all the MGS games up to MGSV. People keep saying it's his thing, no doubt referring to MGS. But isn't this supposed to be a break away from the world of MGS? It's tonally supposed to be more mature, more adult, more thought-provoking, less jokey - at least that's the impression I get from all the trailers, use of real actors and the film-like marketing material. But then you've this guy running around with a tower of crates awkwardly swaying about with packages literally strapped to his limbs. It looks like something you'd see in an mmo game with a cartoon aesthetic.
 
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ROMhack

Member
Yeah, I've played all the MGS games up to MGSV. People keep saying it's his thing, ie no doubt referring to MGS, but isn't this supposed to be a break away from the world of MGS? It's tonally supposed to be more mature, more adult, more thought-provoking, less jokey - at least that's the impression I get from all the trailers, use of real actors and the film-like marketing material. But then you've this guy running around with a tower of crates awkwardly swaying about with packages literally strapped to his limbs. It looks like a something you'd see in an mmo game with a cartoon aesthetic.

That's fair and I accept your opinion. I'm personally a big fan of creatives who balance silliness with thought-provoking material. It comes back to the literary style of irony which is used as a device to contrast the weirdness of life with genuine observation. We as humans don't tend to take things seriously all the time and I don't always think fiction should either.

I've no doubt Kojima is trying to make us question why the fuck he's carrying so much weight on his back because it looks absolutely bananas.
 
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molasar

Banned
Yeah, I've played all the MGS games up to MGSV. People keep saying it's his thing, ie no doubt referring to MGS, but isn't this supposed to be a break away from the world of MGS? It's tonally supposed to be more mature, more adult, more thought-provoking, less jokey - at least that's the impression I get from all the trailers, use of real actors and the film-like marketing material. But then you've this guy running around with a tower of crates awkwardly swaying about with packages literally strapped to his limbs. It looks like a something you'd see in an mmo game with a cartoon aesthetic.
After cataclysm roads do not exist anymore, so terrain is your adversary too. Then it is up to you how many parcels you will take at once but it also depends on power of your exoskeleton if you use one (I do not know if there is an option to travel without it). I do not see anything wrong with tactically planning your journey. It is rather compelling in comparison to what other games have to offer.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Death Stranding Metcritic = 84
Gears 5 Metacritic = 84

So which one sucks and which one is the good one?

Confirmation biases need to know!!!
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Anybody with a positive opinion of this game is automatically labeled as a fanboy. Stupid. People like and dislike different things. Get over it.

It’s unreal how this has to be explained. Not everyone has some weird hidden ulterior motive. Especially not when it’s related to a fucking video game.

Dudes in here acting like they’re uncovering a grand conspiracy. Sad.
:pie_roffles::messenger_ok:
 

Iced Arcade

Member
Death Strolling

jokes aside I'm still going to get it on a sale even though most reviews flag it as a game I should skip.
 

Breakage

Member
That's fair and I accept your opinion. I'm personally a big fan of creatives who balance entertainment with thought-provoking material. It comes back to the literary style of irony which can be used as a device to contrast the weirdness of life with genuine observation. We as humans don't tend to take things seriously all the time and I don't tend to think fiction should either.

I mean, when you think about it, not a lot about life makes sense. Most of what we do is irrational and weird in a lot of ways.
I can see where you're coming from. But in this case, I think the aesthetic/design decision to overload a character to the point where he becomes a hard-to-control literal walking bundle of packages undermines both the serious and futuristic themes of the game. I mean you've got this futuristic world with holograms and high-powered exoskeletons, where terrain can be magically assembled via lasers, and despite all this tech, we're supposed to believe there's no elegant way to carry a lot of parcels.
 
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lingpanda

Member
I think this game may just be for me. Many hated Everybody's gone to the rapture, but I liked it. I can spend an hour plus just managing my inventory in The Division 2. Doing nothing but looking at attributes and how they may affect my character. I think one of the biggest elements of this game we are unable to really judge is the musical score. It appears from what I read goes hand in hand with the empty world.
 

Eiknarf

Banned
Genuinely curious- and not taking sides because I have only some experience with MGSV PHANTOM PAIN (what I played was good).

if the “gameplays is bad” /“gameplay is dull”, can a game still be great? Can all the other elements (graphics, story, sound) help said game receive a good grade?

But what if a car had a great sound system, awesome dashboard, sweet tires, a fancy interior, and a nice paint job, but, it had poor handling and drove dull? Would it still be a great car?
 
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