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Death Stranding Review Thread

Wink

Member
You know when is the time to get out of the thread when comparisons with BOTW starts.
Why? You dislike the game? I think it's totally fair to bring up BOTW as a point of comparison for a discussion about game design. Even if it's just to remark that it's interesting that Aonuma's team had similar thoughts about how to make the traveling in an open world game more engaging to the player and incorporate those mechanics into the gameplay loop. I guarantee you people from the Zelda team were paying attention to MGSV and the Death Stranding team was paying attention to Breath of the Wild.
 

GymWolf

Member
Trophs


There’s one for taking a piss out in the wild

You replenish your health by drinking Monster Energy. When it rains you hold your cantine out and the rainwater that’s falls into it is converted into Monster fucking Energy drink.

We’re through the looking glass here people

This silly shit has now pushed me to a Day 1 purchase. I need to see this for myself.

KOJIMAAAAAAAA
Do you know that you can grow mushrooms when you tale a piss??
 

Bodatan

Banned
Broadly, yes, Zelda started to go into that direction, DS just goes all the way into the details centering most of its convoluted gameplay mechanics around the open world traversal, including the social system which is itself an extension of the basic idea of the mechanic that Souls introduced. Add to that other elements like the high end engine and scope as well as widely known actors who never were more lifelike and the complete package, even if you'd deny any of the ideas being truly new on a basic conceptual level, is so wildly outside the box of what people expect and detailed in its execution that many would call it a new kind of experience.
Nothing in DS came close to BOTW wind physics and dynamic weather systems. Not only that the basic logic environmental interraction is nowhere near BOTW too.

BOTW is free roaming open world where you could skip straight to the final boss fight without going to the point a,b,c,d,and etc. DS is just a game with a linear structure in open world map.
 

GymWolf

Member
Botw? Really? The game when you can easily trivialize both level design and climbing mechanics with enough stamina potion on your inventory? Because you know...you can just chug stamina potion from a fucking menu and climb the everest without a single thought in that game...

At least from what i understand of death stranding you can't climb a mountain without ropes or ladder and if you have too much of that in your bag the chara start to stumble, having less balance, more risk to loose your delivery etc. So a risk\reward mechanic totally absent in botw because you find a shitload of stamina food without even the need of grind for that...

Now maybe zelda is more fluid, less realistic and cumbersome so more fun for many people, but no way he has a better system than ds, different, not better.
 
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Roni

Member
Why? You dislike the game? I think it's totally fair to bring up BOTW as a point of comparison for a discussion about game design. Even if it's just to remark that it's interesting that Aonuma's team had similar thoughts about how to make the traveling in an open world game more engaging to the player and incorporate those mechanics into the gameplay loop. I guarantee you people from the Zelda team were paying attention to MGSV and the Death Stranding team was paying attention to Breath of the Wild.

You're absolutely right. There are game designers who think the player should be engaging with some gameplay system at all times.

Gotta get somewhere? Here's a traversal gameplay system you need to engage with to do it well.
Need to fight something? Here's a combat system.
Need to bullshit your way through something? Here's a generic dialogue system.
Need to get somewhere undetected? Here's stealth mechanics.

Basically, if there's a decision to be made, the player should be interacting with some gameplay system of some kind.

It's absolutely unnecessary for traversal in games to be limited to just holding the analog stick forward.

You don't hold the attack button to win a fight, why should you just hold the analog up to walk be and done with it? The reason we don't walk long distances like that, or climb mountains like that is because it's actually really difficult and straining. So it makes sense Kojima would use his game design skills to gamify that.

Because game designers are just that: people who can look at the world and convey an experience through a system, defined by rules. When you interact with that system, you're then driven to think and feel as if you were doing the real thing, if the game is well designed.

Which then brings us gaming's ultimate gift: empathy. Games can unite us past words, stories and books because they can make us feel something rather than just learn about it.

It's one thing for you to hear of children starving in Africa, it would be another to play a well designed game that put you in those shoes...

Games can become the ultimate communication tool once we stop focusing on just making money out of it and start using it to its full potential!
 
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Wink

Member
Nothing in DS came close to BOTW wind physics and dynamic weather systems. Not only that the basic logic environmental interraction is nowhere near BOTW too.

BOTW is free roaming open world where you could skip straight to the final boss fight without going to the point a,b,c,d,and etc. DS is just a game with a linear structure in open world map.
All hail to our lord and saviour then, love how it's past tense while Death Stranding is not even out yet. Also love that BOTW invented dynamic weather and physics. Also would never dare insinuate that anything could ever top the stamina system in Zelda in terms of complexity, it truly is and forever will be the pinnacle of traversal simulation. I am humbled though that DS is also allowed to incorporate stamina managament. Furthermore I am totally willing to admit that Decima's building and rendering extremely detailed and complex to navigate terrain is in no way a comparison to holding up on the stick while intensely managing green circle and for last I just must say that indeed every approach to open world design has been utterly and completely invalidated if it doesn't follow BOTW.
 

Bodatan

Banned
All hail to our lord and saviour then, love how it's past tense while Death Stranding is not even out yet. Also love that BOTW invented dynamic weather and physics. Also would never dare insinuate that anything could ever top the stamina system in Zelda in terms of complexity, it truly is and forever will be the pinnacle of traversal simulation. I am humbled though that DS is also allowed to incorporate stamina managament. Furthermore I am totally willing to admit that Decima's building and rendering extremely detailed and complex to navigate terrain is in no way a comparison to holding up on the stick while intensely managing green circle and for last I just must say that indeed every approach to open world design has been utterly and completely invalidated if it doesn't follow BOTW.
Are you mad with the facts? 97>85 at the end. New exp lmao 😂😂 shitty physics system, low level environmental interaction, no dynamic weather system, linear structure, and etc. Kek
 
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ethomaz

Banned
Nothing in DS came close to BOTW wind physics and dynamic weather systems. Not only that the basic logic environmental interraction is nowhere near BOTW too.

BOTW is free roaming open world where you could skip straight to the final boss fight without going to the point a,b,c,d,and etc. DS is just a game with a linear structure in open world map.
Well you already can play BOTW... you don't need Death Stranding for that.

While that I want to play Death Stranding... BOTW is a thing of the past for me... I don't play old games unless it is a remaster/remake that I did not play when it was launched.
 
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Wink

Member
Are you mad with the facts? 97>85 at the end. New exp lmao 😂😂
Do I seem mad? I just agreed with you on every point and I'm glad you reminded me that there already is a videogame that loves me and that I'm allowed to love unconditionally because 97 is indeed higher than 85. And I do want to congratulate you on that observation, cause I didn't expect that you're old enough for school yet :)
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Death Stranding feels like the game version of The Last Jedi when it comes to review journalism. Just because something is developed by Hideo Kojima doesn't mean that something deserves close to perfect reviews. The game is fine (I guess?) but feels like a 50 hours long fetch quest and walking simulator in my opinion.
 

Wink

Member
Death Stranding feels like the game version of The Last Jedi when it comes to review journalism. Just because something is developed by Hideo Kojima doesn't mean that something deserves close to perfect reviews. The game is fine (I guess?) but feels like a 50 hours long fetch quest and walking simulator in my opinion.
Hey, that's a comparison I hadn't heard yet and a good one, cause it serves both ways where people also can't grasp that someone might actually like a Star Wars movie where unexpected things happen more than one that is a complete rehash of a preestablished tropes. Well done.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Fuck Zelda.

Talk about a cult around Kojima, Nintendo ball-washing is infinitely worse. It never ends...

Nintendo makes fun games no doubt, but its all pretty tame, vapid stuff. They are just a more competent version of Disney, leave your brain at the door and wallow in that child-like sense of wonder...
 

molasar

Banned
What so new about DS experience in comparison to other open world games? Zelda BOTW free roaming world design already did that with a better execution than DS
You want me to make a conjecture as I did not play it, yet. It makes a terrain your adversary that you can't kill by 'pewing' at it, so you have to approach it tactically with available resources and gameplay mechanics. Here is a jump just from simple or stamina based walking to more sophisticated one. If you experienced it before in a game made close to it or better then please, share it with us. Let's not forget about other aspects of the game. The whole mixture delivers the experience.
BTW, I have not noticed anything like it in Zelda BOTW.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Hey, that's a comparison I hadn't heard yet and a good one, cause it serves both ways where people also can't grasp that someone might actually like a Star Wars movie where unexpected things happen more than one that is a complete rehash of a preestablished tropes. Well done.

THANK YOU!!! I'm one of the 40% that loved The Last Jedi, yet people sometimes got mad at me for liking it.
 

Bodatan

Banned
You want me to make a conjecture as I did not play it, yet. It makes a terrain your adversary that you can't kill by 'pewing' at it, so you have to approach it tactically with available resources and gameplay mechanics. Here is a jump just from simple or stamina based walking to more sophisticated one. If you experienced it before in a game made close to it or better then please, share it with us. Let's not forget about other aspects of the game. The whole mixture delivers the experience.
BTW, I have not noticed anything like it in Zelda BOTW.
Sounds like a made up Bs from kojima fanboys. In BOTW you can use wind as your weapon and physics
 

Renozokii

Member
Hey, that's a comparison I hadn't heard yet and a good one, cause it serves both ways where people also can't grasp that someone might actually like a Star Wars movie where unexpected things happen more than one that is a complete rehash of a preestablished tropes. Well done.
What the fuck lol. Pre established tropes in this case being things like having an open world that isn't a barren wasteland, variety in gameplay, and combat that isn't trash?
 

Wink

Member
THANK YOU!!! I'm one of the 40% that loved The Last Jedi, yet people sometimes got mad at me for liking it.
Like what you like, buddy. Don't let the haters spoil your fun.
What the fuck lol. Pre established tropes in this case being things like having an open world that isn't a barren wasteland, variety in gameplay, and combat that isn't trash?
For argument's sake, let's say yes. Just assume I enjoy everything you perceive as trash and try dealing with that idea.
 
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Bodatan

Banned
I am not a fanboy but I like Kojima. What is made up as I did not play the game, yet? So you suggest that DS could be called BOTW 1.5?
BOTW 0.2 because of inferior physics system, minimal environmental interaction, and no dynamic weather. The most important part is linear story structure.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
Death Stranding is a new IP... there is nothing to compare.
Let's see how the sequel is received.

You can still compare it to the quality of previous kojima games, just because its a new IP it does not make it immune from comparisons.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Sekiro is also a new IP but the creator isn't a fraud so the game received higher meta than DS.
skeptical.gif
 

molasar

Banned
BOTW 0.2 because of inferior physics system, minimal environmental interaction, and no dynamic weather. The most important part is linear story structure.
You have a right to your own opinion. If you feel that the game is not for you, just do not buy it.
Anyway in the near future I can share here my personal opinion about DS.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Sekiro is also a new IP but the creator isn't a fraud so the game received higher meta than DS.
Sekiro is a new IP in name only.
It is the same Demon's Souls engine.
Same for Bloodborne that is a Souls game except by name.

That is why all these games are called Soulsborne... From is recycling the same game design for over 19 years already.

Call me back when From releases something new (or even some old IP revival).
 
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ethomaz

Banned
How I did quote myself lol

Edit - I will use the space.

The numbers are clear man. Miyazaki redeemed. (srsly Sekiro for GOTY)
Imagine the rink From Software will take doing the next New IP Soulsborne game :D
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
Sekiro is also a new IP but the creator isn't a fraud so the game received higher meta than DS.
Another reason why I haven't touched it. I appreciate the look and art for the Souls games, but they're just not for me. FromSoftware has felt like a one trick pony for awhile now IMO. Much like Gearbox's only really success revolves around Borderlands, so they'll continue to push them out.

Someone "being a fraud" has nothing to do with it, Sekiro is essentially the same game with some incredibly minor tweaks and a new sheen on it. That's it.

Not hating on it at all, but it's why I haven't touched it. I've given every Souls game a chance, and I just can't do it. It's not for me.

People can love something so incredibly much, but on that same note, people can dislike it just as much.
 
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DonF

Member
1500+ comments in less than a week, this is the power of Kojima.

All the haters that posted here, creating connections, making the forum whole in this fragmented society, we are all playing Death Stranding in real life.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
Another reason why I haven't touched it. I appreciate the look and art for the Souls games, but they're just not for me. FromSoftware has felt like a one trick pony for awhile now IMO. Much like Gearbox's only really success revolves around Borderlands, so they'll continue to push them out.

Someone "being a fraud" has nothing to do with it, Sekiro is essentially the same game with some incredibly minor tweaks and a new sheen on it. That's it.

Not hating on it at all, but it's why I haven't touched it. I've given every Souls game a chance, and I just can't do it. It's not for me.

People can love something so incredibly much, but on that same note, people can dislike it just as much.
At least Gearbox tried something new even if unsuccessful...
From is milking the Demon's Souls engine since 2009.

Maybe Elden Ring will be a new game... who I'm trying to fool... it will be Soulsborne with George R. R. Martin story.
 
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Fuck Zelda.

Talk about a cult around Kojima, Nintendo ball-washing is infinitely worse. It never ends...

Nintendo makes fun games no doubt, but its all pretty tame, vapid stuff. They are just a more competent version of Disney, leave your brain at the door and wallow in that child-like sense of wonder...
lol my thoughts exactly. while everyone has grown up since the 90s to make games for adults nintendo continues to make the same shit they have been churning out for three decades now and everyone eats them up.
 

thelastword

Banned
Sekiro is also a new IP but the creator isn't a fraud so the game received higher meta than DS.
So a game with an 84 Meta is made by a fraud and a game with a 90 Meta is made by a gaming legend who can do no wrong? Sound Logic.....I wonder how you would classify the directors who made new IP's with a Meta below 84???
 

MiguelItUp

Member
At least Gearbox tried something new even if unsuccessful...
From is milking the Demon's Souls engine since 2009.

Maybe Elden Ring will be a new game... who I'm trying to fool... it will be Soulsborne with George R. R. Martin story.
That's true! God and I HATE that engine. When Demon Souls dropped I was at my first games QA gig, had actually been there for about a year at that point. The bugs in the game drove me INSANE! Especially the issues revolving around clipping whether it was enemy projectiles or melee weapons. It felt absurd to have moments where a player's weapon would come in contact with the environment therefore hindering their ability to swing. However an enemy's weapon would just go through the environment just fine. There were a few other janky things that drove me crazy, but that behavior existed across all the games.

When I talked to hardcore fans about it only some acknowledged it, others said they liked it as it made the game harder. I was like wtf? So you're applauding messy bugs? Oooookay.

Don't mean to derail too hard.

Right now I'm trying to figure out if I'm getting my copy of Death Stranding on Friday. Best Buy swore I would, even when I called today, but it hasn't shipped yet... I'm getting concerned. :(
 
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Eiknarf

Banned
Fuck all this noise. I'll find out Friday if it's good.
I’ll be sitting right here at NeoGAF watching thread after thread pop up boasting both extremes

what I don’t want is people saying they bought it and that the game is bad when they don’t actually have it.

If you have it and you genuinely played a lot of it and you don’t like it, there’s nothing I’d rather read more. Same for those who played a lot of it and love it. I’d love to know why you love it or dislike it AFTER you’ve experienced it for ten hours or so
 
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Virex

Banned
So is there anyone here that has managed to get a copy early and play it. It'd really like to know a true opinion and not that of mainstream reviewers. And someone not so far us Kojima's ass.
 

Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
I’ll be sitting right here at NeoGAF watching thread after thread pop up boasting both extremes

what I don’t want is people saying they bought it and that the game is bad when they don’t actually have it.

If you have it and you genuinely played a lot of it and you don’t like it, there’s nothing I’d rather read more. Same for those who played a lot of it and love it. I’d love to know why you love it or dislike it AFTER you’ve experienced it for ten hours or so
Well i'm off work Friday and back in Saturday, so the best i'm hoping is the postman delivers it.
 

Bryank75

Banned
We should always support creators and developers.... they sacrifice a lot to make games, it's a difficult process and Kojima had to get a huge loan to set up his new studio.
I feel it would have been more on point to have such vitriol against EA or Blizzard or Bethesda, you know... one of the publishers that are run by money-grubbing scum that allow no creative freedom and just sit there coming up with stuff like lootboxes, subscription services and battlepasses all day.

But no, you have a load of petty haters out here trying to dunk on a game because it's not on their system instead of celebrating that a developer had full creative freedom at a AAA level. The whole thing is really annoying and kinda confirms that many people would rather burn the whole industry than see a company they see as a rival succeed.
 

Mozza

Member
lol my thoughts exactly. while everyone has grown up since the 90s to make games for adults nintendo continues to make the same shit they have been churning out for three decades now and everyone eats them up.

If you mean Nintendo make games fun then you are correct, Death Stranding seems to look and feel awesome on a technical level, but it seems some reviewers have had issues with it becoming tedious, overall the game seems fine but these issues still remain, at the end of the day however it will depend on how you personally like the game, if you end up loving it who cares about the reviews.
 

Mozza

Member
We should always support creators and developers.... they sacrifice a lot to make games, it's a difficult process and Kojima had to get a huge loan to set up his new studio.
I feel it would have been more on point to have such vitriol against EA or Blizzard or Bethesda, you know... one of the publishers that are run by money-grubbing scum that allow no creative freedom and just sit there coming up with stuff like lootboxes, subscription services and battlepasses all day.

But no, you have a load of petty haters out here trying to dunk on a game because it's not on their system instead of celebrating that a developer had full creative freedom at a AAA level. The whole thing is really annoying and kinda confirms that many people would rather burn the whole industry than see a company they see as a rival succeed.

Of course there will always be an element of this, but you can't say everybody that has issues with this game is totally wrong and is a fanboy, and by the same token we can't just give the game a pass because it's Kojima and his new studio, the game is ambitious in it's scope this should be applauded, but you still have to point out the games shortcomings too.
 
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