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Death Stranding Review Thread

IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
There is so much challenges Kojima could have made with the Mules and Terrorists. While fighting the Mules they just run at you, stop and look at you before they attack.??come on i expected more.

The BTs could have been more aggressive, unpredictable and challenging, all you need is a couple of grenades. They just float (stand) there.

Before i started the game, i bumped the difficulty to hard, hoping that i would have less resources, ammos, guns and materials to cross America. That wasn't the case, i could craft 100 of grenades whenever i wanted.

I like most of Kojima's games, was mad at MGS 5 because of the story, but i still play it today because of the gameplay.
 

IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
1. It is not a combat game. Kojima does not want you to go to battle because it goes against the message as well.
2 The bad physics and struggle with the motorbike or truck is by design. It motivates the player to build streets etc.
3. That is again by design. It is also by design that the path gets more easier when many people use the same path. It is really about connecting people and how helping others give you a good feeling and is also beneficial to you.

The Story is obvious a matter of taste but I also think people who just became father and have a child have a more emotional impact overall. But regarding the gameplay. NOTHING is accidential but by design. .

1. Never said it was a combat game. If you don't want combat, the don't include it. Combat in this game was clunky and i was avoiding it like the plague!

2. How can somebody design a game with bad mechanic on purpose??

3. I never said anything about being bothered by an easy path...
 

IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
I expected more from Kojima, I preordered the game. I enjoyed it but its no way near "great" its an "Ok" game nothing new here or exciting.

Here is a list of some of the games i own on my ps4 that i put way above Death Stranding. From gameplay to story.


God of War
PREY (one of my favorite)
RDR 2
Sekiro
Horizon
Resident Evil 2
Control ( love this game)
Resident Evil remake
Ac Origins
Days Gone
Dark souls 3
Bloodborne
Shadow of the colossus
The surge
MGS 5 ( love the gameplay)

I also have a switch, a PS2, PS3 and Xboxone. I own and play all kind of games. this is just my humble opinion from my 35 years of gaming. Just to let you know where i am coming from.

Kojima could have done a lot better with all the assets and money he had for Death Stranding.
 

IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
I mostly loved the missions where sam had to carry some materials to go fix some broken facilities. They were more meaningful, but instead we get to go deliver a pizza, a PSP or some furnitures and wines in a supposedly world that is ending... yeah right Kojima.

Even the fight with Higgs was terrible and corny. A street fighter health bar, just punching with square. I like most of Kojima games but lets be honest here, this game is just..."OK"

This is just my opinion so no need to fight over it :messenger_blowing_kiss:
 

Dunki

Member
1. Never said it was a combat game. If you don't want combat, the don't include it. Combat in this game was clunky and i was avoiding it like the plague!

2. How can somebody design a game with bad mechanic on purpose??

3. I never said anything about being bothered by an easy path...
I agree combat should not have been in there but sadly are a must given how especially American critics act. Given the reviews je was right.

Because IT should motivate you building roads helping others etc. All the small rocks that make the bike or truck an nightmare are there for exactly this reason. You should struggle alone and help others. This is the whole concept of the game. You should connect with others
 

IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
I agree combat should not have been in there but sadly are a must given how especially American critics act. Given the reviews je was right.

Because IT should motivate you building roads helping others etc. All the small rocks that make the bike or truck an nightmare are there for exactly this reason. You should struggle alone and help others. This is the whole concept of the game. You should connect with others

I understand what you are saying, im just mad because i saw a lot of waisted potential while i was playing. It was fun, i spent more than 160 hours, not denying that, but there are some things missing in this game.
If you play all of the metal gear, even mugs 5, you will notice that Kojima hasn't evolve his gameplay mechanic( especially combat). boss fight still clunky, always end with a " Bazouka" rocket launcher!!
 
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LokusAbriss

Member
Here is your answer:

I have put 160 hours at least into this game "hoping there will be more!!!"

That's why I was disappointed. There was nothing new, same BTs, same grenades!!

Hey, it is your time. No judgement from me. I already felt that there wont come much more 1/3 into the game. I then focused on pushing through the story. After around 35 h I was done with that. I hoped for more tools and vehicles. And I really wish that there would be amoon level. The end was a bit underwhelming for me. But the overall experience was atleast a 9/10 for me.
Yours and others opinions are valid. Mostly with healthy criticism that is good and I like to see that.
It is just nerve wrecking, when people fail to master easy traversal and gameplay. Some recent reviews hurt to watch. Someone failing at a racing game or shooter should not write a bad review, because of his lack of skill. And most people can agree on that. But with Death Stranding, the criticism is often about places they cant reach with a vehicle or they are too stupid to go around rocks.
 
Here is your answer:

I have put 160 hours at least into this game "hoping there will be more!!!"

That's why I was disappointed. There was nothing new, same BTs, same grenades!!

You need to play it at least 200 hours before you can begin to understand Kojima’s genius. Your thoughts are now invalid. Checkmate Xbot fanboi
 
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IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
Hey, it is your time. No judgement from me. I already felt that there wont come much more 1/3 into the game. I then focused on pushing through the story. After around 35 h I was done with that. I hoped for more tools and vehicles. And I really wish that there would be amoon level. The end was a bit underwhelming for me. But the overall experience was atleast a 9/10 for me.
Yours and others opinions are valid. Mostly with healthy criticism that is good and I like to see that.
It is just nerve wrecking, when people fail to master easy traversal and gameplay. Some recent reviews hurt to watch. Someone failing at a racing game or shooter should not write a bad review, because of his lack of skill. And most people can agree on that. But with Death Stranding, the criticism is often about places they cant reach with a vehicle or they are too stupid to go around rocks.

Same as you, the experience was good and i give credits to the gameplay and animations artists who worked on the game. I could walk in this game hours with no issue.
Now, when it comes to Kojima and his nonsense story, clunky and corny boss battle, thats where i am disappointed.
That's why i am giving the game a 7/10, not because of kojima, but because of the work of Yoji Shinkawa and the other members of the team. I give them 7 points. the 3 other points were supposed to go to kojima but since he hasn't done his part ( worst story he ever wrote) , clunky combat and mechanics during battle. I don't give him any point. Yoji and the other team members deserve the 7 points.

Kojima gets a zero "0" from me.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Still waiting to hear why Res Evil2 remake, gets a pass on its simplistic combat and samey boss-fights and Death Stranding doesn't.

And lets face it, beyond that what does RE2R have to offer gameplay-wise? Its "puzzles" are invariably fetch-quests and its post-game is basically speed-running and nothing else.

Not saying this to bash RE, but it does strike me as funny that to some people its a more worthy GOTY candidate than DS is.
 

imsosleepy

Member
Still waiting to hear why Res Evil2 remake, gets a pass on its simplistic combat and samey boss-fights and Death Stranding doesn't.

And lets face it, beyond that what does RE2R have to offer gameplay-wise? Its "puzzles" are invariably fetch-quests and its post-game is basically speed-running and nothing else.

Not saying this to bash RE, but it does strike me as funny that to some people its a more worthy GOTY candidate than DS is.

because people know what to expect from a resident evil game or RE2R
Death stranding is something new, and kojima wanted to make a game with not much focus on combat, yet alot of people judge it because they were expecting a heavy action type game
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
The thing about DS is that the package is different, but the core ingredients are pretty familiar. I find it interesting that the way people react to those things are apparently so conditional on the context.

The point of my citing RE2R is that in the context of "return to the survival horror roots" its limitations (and they are no question limitations, compared to many entries in that franchise) in terms of how you fight are somehow right and proper.

I wonder if Kojima had left in a proper "European Extreme" style very hard mode, if people would react to the game differently. I mean on one hand I can understand that the point of the challenge in DS is in getting cargo point-to-point safely as opposed to surviving the journey point-to-point, but I kinda think that idea might be something people really don't want to accept, even though the game overall reinforces it constantly.
 
I mostly loved the missions where sam had to carry some materials to go fix some broken facilities. They were more meaningful, but instead we get to go deliver a pizza, a PSP or some furnitures and wines in a supposedly world that is ending... yeah right Kojima.

Even the fight with Higgs was terrible and corny. A street fighter health bar, just punching with square. I like most of Kojima games but lets be honest here, this game is just..."OK"

This is just my opinion so no need to fight over it :messenger_blowing_kiss:

Agreed, it seemed like he wanted the fight to be akin to Snake V Ocelot MGIV style.

But you might have missed some cool bits with the lil deliveries like the pizzas
are actually orders made by higgs!
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
Here is your answer:

I have put 160 hours at least into this game "hoping there will be more!!!"

That's why I was disappointed. There was nothing new, same BTs, same grenades!!
I don't understand how you "put in 160 hours" and didn't get or see anything new. I put in less than half of that and saw plenty of new things. 🤔

The are more variations in grenades and weapons in general in DS than I have seen in other games. 🤷‍♂️

To each their own of course, but I felt the pacing was pretty damn solid. There were enough "new things" at your disposal in every episode. I never felt myself go, "this is it?" at any point in the game.
 

Phase

Member
I don't understand how you "put in 160 hours" and didn't get or see anything new. I put in less than half of that and saw plenty of new things. 🤔

The are more variations in grenades and weapons in general in DS than I have seen in other games. 🤷‍♂️

To each their own of course, but I felt the pacing was pretty damn solid. There were enough "new things" at your disposal in every episode. I never felt myself go, "this is it?" at any point in the game.
I'm on order 52 (forgot what Chapter that is). I've found you can pace the game how you want and I like how often new upgrades unlock. After a few main missions I usually want to chill out some, so I run a few standard orders and/or set up things like zip lines or add to the road system along the way.
 

Roni

Member
The thing about DS is that the package is different, but the core ingredients are pretty familiar. I find it interesting that the way people react to those things are apparently so conditional on the context.

The point of my citing RE2R is that in the context of "return to the survival horror roots" its limitations (and they are no question limitations, compared to many entries in that franchise) in terms of how you fight are somehow right and proper.

I wonder if Kojima had left in a proper "European Extreme" style very hard mode, if people would react to the game differently. I mean on one hand I can understand that the point of the challenge in DS is in getting cargo point-to-point safely as opposed to surviving the journey point-to-point, but I kinda think that idea might be something people really don't want to accept, even though the game overall reinforces it constantly.

I think Kojima said there will be DLC, I don't see why they couldn't tinker with the game's parameter and release a few more difficulty modes. AI aggression, health and damage are most likely parameterized. So it wouldn't be that hard to get a new difficulty out with some testing.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I'm on order 52 (forgot what Chapter that is). I've found you can pace the game how you want and I like how often new upgrades unlock. After a few main missions I usually want to chill out some, so I run a few standard orders and/or set up things like zip lines or add to the road system along the way.

I got to the point last night where I spent almost 2 hours picking up Metals and other resources just to build more roads. I'm in Chapter 3 and never thought I'd have this much fun doing what's basically a boring side quest. But there's some weird sense of accomplishment when I realize me and 100s of other people banded together to build Death Stranding's version of America.

2 nights ago I had to walk 3,000 meters (about 30+ minutes) to accomplish a task. I was the first to start building a road there. One night later 30% of the play area had roads built and the same 3,000 meter walk took about 15 minutes. 2 hours and 1,000s of metals and crystals later the same 3,000 meter trek took (after
I got a truck to drive on the roads
only took 4 minutes! We basically built a highway in 2 days.

I literally have NO idea how the game is growing while I'm at work, but the online community makes this game 100% better. I look forward to playing Death Stranding daily.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
I got to the point last night where I spent almost 2 hours picking up Metals and other resources just to build more roads. I'm in Chapter 3 and never thought I'd have this much fun doing what's basically a boring side quest. But there's some weird sense of accomplishment when I realize me and 100s of other people banded together to build Death Stranding's version of America.

2 nights ago I had to walk 3,000 meters (about 30+ minutes) to accomplish a task. I was the first to start building a road there. One night later 30% of the play area had roads built and the same 3,000 meter walk took about 15 minutes. 2 hours and 1,000s of metals and crystals later the same 3,000 meter trek took (after
I got a truck to drive on the roads
only took 4 minutes! We basically built a highway in 2 days.

I literally have NO idea how the game is growing while I'm at work, but the online community makes this game 100% better. I look forward to playing Death Stranding daily.

In a funny way the story aspect actually hurts the core gameplay, because narrative thrives on constraint and pacing, but the actual moment-to-moment core activities work best when as free-form and relaxed as possible.

Without spoiling anything the later parts of the story, as you'd expect, become more about getting to the next narrative beat, and I think that's to the overall detriment of the experience. I mean this in the sense that the impetus becomes less about the journey than the destination, and thats at odds with what makes the game so special.

I'm coming to the conclusion that so much of the enjoyment the game has to offer is dependant on how you play it, and that's not I think particularly obvious. By which I mean how much time you choose to spend in each chapter has a major impact on overall perception.

I didn't rush through (story concluded at 53 hours). but even so I'm starting to somewhat regret not taking more time to do it. And this is not because I find the post-game unenjoyable, in fact quite the reverse, I'm having a great time, the thing is I sort of wished I'd switched to my current mindset sooner.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
In a funny way the story aspect actually hurts the core gameplay, because narrative thrives on constraint and pacing, but the actual moment-to-moment core activities work best when as free-form and relaxed as possible.

Without spoiling anything the later parts of the story, as you'd expect, become more about getting to the next narrative beat, and I think that's to the overall detriment of the experience. I mean this in the sense that the impetus becomes less about the journey than the destination, and thats at odds with what makes the game so special.

I'm coming to the conclusion that so much of the enjoyment the game has to offer is dependant on how you play it, and that's not I think particularly obvious. By which I mean how much time you choose to spend in each chapter has a major impact on overall perception.

I didn't rush through (story concluded at 53 hours). but even so I'm starting to somewhat regret not taking more time to do it. And this is not because I find the post-game unenjoyable, in fact quite the reverse, I'm having a great time, the thing is I sort of wished I'd switched to my current mindset sooner.

For what it's worth, I'm 30 hours in and I'm in Chapter 3. Does it seem like I'm going to fast?
 

ethomaz

Banned
For what it's worth, I'm 30 hours in and I'm in Chapter 3. Does it seem like I'm going to fast?
Well I couldn't progress in story either because every time I boot the game I have fun doing something else.

I'm at begining of Episode 3 with over 40 hours.

I really need to put in my head that I will do stories missions only today :p
 
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That's generally a better option to assuming everything you don't like is garbage. Which is what most kids here love to do...
Wrong.

It’s NOT generally a better option to be uncritical than critical. TF are you smoking?

Kojima fanbois are really something else. 🧐
 
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ethomaz

Banned
Wrong.

It’s NOT generally a better option to be uncritical than critical. TF are you smoking?

Kojima Good games fanbois are really something else. 🧐
Fixed for you.

Yeap we are unique in the industry... we do like good games... Death Stranding is one of the best things that happened in the game industry in years if not decades.
 
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Terenty

Member
I think Kojima said there will be DLC, I don't see why they couldn't tinker with the game's parameter and release a few more difficulty modes. AI aggression, health and damage are most likely parameterized. So it wouldn't be that hard to get a new difficulty out with some testing.

Dunno if Kojipro gonna make a survival difficulty, but when the game drops on pc im sure there will be lots of mods just like for mgs 5

I think the game will be received better by the pc crowd. Its like an indie game from Steam only with huge budget and Kojima at the helm
 
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IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
Fixed for you.

Yeap we are unique in the industry... we do like good games... Death Stranding is one of the best things that happened in the game industry in years if not decades.

It's a fun game but come on, best thing that happened in the game industry?? I don't think so.

I put GOD OF WAR first, and Horizon zero dawn second...third still have to think about but it's definitely not DS.
 

Terenty

Member
It's a fun game but come on, best thing that happened in the game industry?? I don't think so.

I put GOD OF WAR first, and Horizon zero dawn second...third still have to think about but it's definitely not DS.

What was so great about God of War of all things?

Imho the game felt outdated in its mechanics with poor level design, poor enemy variety, pathetic boss fights(qte fest) and shamelessly recycled trolls. There was severe lack of interactivity with the environments, invisible walls everywhere. I mean you coudn't even fall from mountains or in any trap.

Climbing was braindead ala Uncharted and you had to open doors or lift rocks every 5 meters to mask loading

Basically there wasn't a yota of originality in there. My opinion anyway
 
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IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
What was so great about God of War of all things?

Imho the game felt outdated in its mechanics with poor level design, poor enemy variety, pathetic boss fights(qte fest) and shamelessly recycled trolls. There was severe lack of interactivity with the environments, invisible walls everywhere. I mean you coudn't even fall from mountains or in any trap.

Climbing was braindead ala Uncharted and you had to open doors or lift rocks every 5 meters to mask loading

Basically there wasn't a yota of originality in there. My opinion anyway

God of war outdated gameplay, level design and mechanics? Wow!! What a way to diss Cory Barlog and the entire Santa Monica Studio...just wow

giphy-5.gif
 
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ethomaz

Banned
It's a fun game but come on, best thing that happened in the game industry?? I don't think so.

I put GOD OF WAR first, and Horizon zero dawn second...third still have to think about but it's definitely not DS.
It is the very best Kojima game and one of the best games of the last decade.
So yes.

It is way better than the last GoW or Horizon Zero Dawn.
I can only see two games this generation in the same tier: Destiny and Bloodborne... even so I will give Death Stranding the GOTG award due being move innovative/unique.
 
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IamOnline4Real

owns Galaxy Brain. Still shrink wrapped.
It is the very best Kojima game and one of the best games of the last decade.
So yes.

It is way better than the last GoW or Horizon Zero Dawn.
I can only see two games this generation in the same tier: Destiny and Bloodborne... even so I will give Death Stranding the GOTG award due being move innovative/unique.

Blasphemy!

MGS 3 Snake eater. Best of Kojima.

UntriedUnluckyBurro-size_restricted.gif


I wonder how many kojima's games have you played?

Destiny?? hahaha
 

imsosleepy

Member
wow.. just encountered my first big mountain with snow on top. I was driving it up first for a long time and was suprised how big it actually was and then climbed all the way to the top. Geezus, the map they build in this game with all the terain is amazing. That really deserves some more praise. And the mechanics to climb the mountains are really good
 

Rien

Jelly Belly
wow.. just encountered my first big mountain with snow on top. I was driving it up first for a long time and was suprised how big it actually was and then climbed all the way to the top. Geezus, the map they build in this game with all the terain is amazing. That really deserves some more praise. And the mechanics to climb the mountains are really good

This was me. Just enjoying the climb to the top. No ziplines. Just fucking climb.

Love this game so much.
 

ethomaz

Banned
What did I just read?
DS > MGS1 > MGS4 > MGS3 > MGS2

I did not play MGS5 enough to have a definitive opinion btw... I have the game but I just did the Prologue that was amazing.
About the previous games MG1 and MG2 I don't remember to rank them... now Revengeance is not a Kojima work sorry it has the worst gameplay I ever played in a game with Metal Gear in the name.
Zone of Elders I did buy the HD Collection for PS3 but PS4 come and I just turned off my PS3 forever.
Casltevania: LoS is bad.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
It's a fun game but come on, best thing that happened in the game industry?? I don't think so.

I put GOD OF WAR first, and Horizon zero dawn second...third still have to think about but it's definitely not DS.
Horizon zero dawn? I had a hard time finishing it. it got pretty boring and tedious after few hours. I liked the graphics and animations but the game was annoying to play later.
It's hard to pinpoint what was wrong with Horizon. I've finished it once and then year later watched my friend finish it.. and he rolled off about the same time. Not sure if it's tedious combat later, boring quests or enemies everywhere.
God of War is god tier though. Nothing wrong there.
btw - I am in "Death Stranding is one of best games ever" camp right now. If they will patch out some of tedious "click X six times" and BT bb animation, then it might even be replayable. Funnily enough - that friend who disliked Horizon too... he also loved Death Stranding.
We kinda have this feeling of emptiness just like in 2011 after finishing Dark Souls
 
In a funny way the story aspect actually hurts the core gameplay, because narrative thrives on constraint and pacing, but the actual moment-to-moment core activities work best when as free-form and relaxed as possible.

Without spoiling anything the later parts of the story, as you'd expect, become more about getting to the next narrative beat, and I think that's to the overall detriment of the experience. I mean this in the sense that the impetus becomes less about the journey than the destination, and thats at odds with what makes the game so special.

I'm coming to the conclusion that so much of the enjoyment the game has to offer is dependant on how you play it, and that's not I think particularly obvious. By which I mean how much time you choose to spend in each chapter has a major impact on overall perception.

I didn't rush through (story concluded at 53 hours). but even so I'm starting to somewhat regret not taking more time to do it. And this is not because I find the post-game unenjoyable, in fact quite the reverse, I'm having a great time, the thing is I sort of wished I'd switched to my current mindset sooner.

I found the game actually progresses perfectly in terms of story and gameplay, I followed story and only took orders that were along the way until I reached the last UCA connection. I was starting to get burnt out, but strangely wasn't ready for the game to end.

I realized I just wanted to run around building stuff and helping people and snowboarding with the carrier! And what do you know, after that last one the game says
go all the way back to the start! So basically I got my wish, free reign to roam and do as I please!
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
I found the game actually progresses perfectly in terms of story and gameplay, I followed story and only took orders that were along the way until I reached the last UCA connection. I was starting to get burnt out, but strangely wasn't ready for the game to end.

I realized I just wanted to run around building stuff and helping people and snowboarding with the carrier! And what do you know, after that last one the game says
go all the way back to the start! So basically I got my wish, free reign to roam and do as I please!


Play the post-game for a bit and see if your opinion stays the same. In an open-ended context the experience is just different, and way more fun because your focus is on the world, not your goal in the plot.
 
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