Support NeoGAF

[cinnamonandgravy]

boring/iffy at first, but then it randomly clicks

scale and isolation are cool
loved building all the roads for some reason
fun clearing human camps by running everyone over and honking for my battle music
fighting the dirty boys is an interesting mix of stealth and action
strategic ladder action

music was a bit embarrassing

excited for ds2

 

[TrebleShot]

At the time it came out it was an all time classic and still is.

But I went back to try and finish it before the second and nah. I'll just watch a recap.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

These types of questions are always weird to me. It's like, you know when something is appealing to you. Fortunately, this game is old enough to find it on sale.

 

[calico]

The first region (an extended tutorial region) has a high percentage of annoying bullshit imo. The main region is much better. I didn't appreciate how much better until I returned to the first region much later and it was still annoying.

 

[Elog]

Brilliant game. One of the best games in recent years for me. It starts very slow and slightly confusing though. However, for me it pulled me in more and more until the very end after that. Fantastic game loop.

 

[PlayofSparta]

I like the plot and lore, but the gameplay is boring.

 

[mayham2199]

Something about working as a community to build roads and what not to make the journey easier was a good feeling

Yea I liked this to. It's part of the reason I'm no going to buy it day 1. I want to wait a bit and let people get ahead of me and build out some stuff. I'll probably wait at least a week but maybe 2. I can put it a lot of time into games so if I buy it day 1 I'll be way ahead of most people.

 

[nemiroff]

Enjoyed some of it, bored by some of it, annoyed by some of it.

Btw. The offline decay wasn't compatible with "my OCD", like at all...Went away for a few days in real life, and when I came back all the maxed-out road infrastructure had rotten away for some fucked up reason.

 

[Gamerguy84]

I liked for around 5 or 6 hours, by then the crafting kicks in and the farts that Kojima has the balls to call a story (despite the interesting setup, completely wasted) made me hate it.

Some cutscenes are there just to show the Hollywood celebrity #36.

The protagonist is mute in many of them because i bet every line cost a lot of money.

It's a potentially interesting game swallowed by Kojima's infinite and insufferable ego.

 

[Miles708]

Gamerguy84 if there's a reply there i can't see it

 

[Games Bookstore]

These types of questions are always weird to me. It's like, you know when something is appealing to you. Fortunately, this game is old enough to find it on sale.

I do agree with you to a point, and in all honesty I wouldn't have even bothered creating this thread if I wasn't for my excitement for DS2.

My time and resources are stretched at present so I choose carefully where I invest.

-

So here's the good news after reading these pages and through all the comments that you have contributed I've decided I will buy it. The consensus is overall positive, so I'm willing to take a chance on it.

Thank you for all your feedback.

 

[Yoboman]

I like the gameplay loop but the story is incomprehensible

I've started it a few times, gotten 10-15 hours in and taken a break and had no clue what was going on when I came back

That's been my biggest barrier to finishing it

 

[Beechos]

Didn't really care for it. Graphics and art direction are top notch. The gameplay loop wasn't for me. In addition to delivering stuff back and forth, you had to worry about weigh, cargo placement to balance weight distribution and on top of that worry about cargo damage. The game also felt very grindy.

 

[Bernardougf]

Played two to three hours and gave up... the story is too crazy and the gameplay too boring ... I already hated MGS5 .. so Mgs4 probably marked my farewell to Kojima

Suffice to say I really hate most open world games by default with very rare exceptions (witcher 3 being one of them)

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

I feel like I always have to toss in my pre-release feelings on the game. I'm not a "Kojima story" guy. I always played his games for the cool, innovative and playful gameplay. Dude has a really good sense of humor that's often missing in gaming imo, reminds me of a simpler time. Anyway, based on previews I was baffled, even as an avid MGSV lover. I figured he went full Movie Game and once previews hit I was fully on the train of bashing the game.

I took it so far I rented it from GameFly just to hate play it and make fun of it with my friends. I ended up staying up til 4AM that night and played six hours straight. I was hooked from the get-go unlike many people and I'm unsure why exactly. It just WORKS for me. The combination of the gorgeous landscapes, ultra-satisfying "everything is a mechanic", the game feel of just moving, the mystery.

I'll be honest, I didn't really give a shit about the plot much but I do love the lore, the nostalgic naivety of just "doing good" and trying to connect people while smashing likes on others' work, some of the incredible environmental storytelling. It has some real flaws and all but overall I love this game and I love it for being just completely auteur-ish, the good and the bad parts that come with that.

 

[ByWatterson]

I mean it's Game of the Generation, so yes.

 

[Danjin44]

Hollywood celebrities as characters is huge turn off for me, these games are just not for me.

 

[semiconscious]

played, finished, & greatly enjoyed it (for the most part), but will never, ever replay it...

 

[SlimySnake]

Big Kojima fan, but I really disliked the game in the early goings.

You will have to watch out for:
- Constantly tripping
- Falling and crying baby
- Soothing the baby
- Constantly running into BTs which are really hard to avoid
- Dozens upon dozens of tutorials and new systems

All in the first few hours. It expects a lot from you and in typical kojima fashion, his explanations make it more confusing than it actually is.

Thankfully, the first area is basically a giant tutorial and the game opens up into a massive open world after that. All of a sudden, you are traveling by trucks, bikes, and building highways. You have amazing gear that lets you run, jump and carry loads of stuff. You get access to literally dozens of different weapons and gadgets. And the social aspect of the game completely hooks you into helping out others.

Just power through the intro. Get to the second area, and give it another few hours.

Here are some tips to get you through the most frustrating early game areas:
- HOLD (not press) L2 + R2 as soon as you start tripping.
- Ignore the crying baby. it will stop crying after a few minutes. no need to stop and sooth it.
- Always Carry two hematic grenades (5 in each package), aim at the BTs and throw for a one hit kill. no need to go around them.
- ONLY carry what you the game assigns you to carry for the story mission. no need to carry more than you have to in the early game.
- Do not take on side missions in the opening area.
- Press triangle to auto equip things in the menus.

The game is different. it IS a walking simulator but it gives you a lot of tools to make walking fun. Go in with a mindset of expecting something different and you will be fine. It's one of the most original game in years.

 

[Bernardougf]

Big Kojima fan, but I really disliked the game in the early goings.

You will have to watch out for:
- Constantly tripping
- Falling and crying baby
- Soothing the baby
- Constantly running into BTs which are really hard to avoid
- Dozens upon dozens of tutorials and new systems

All in the first few hours. It expects a lot from you and in typical kojima fashion, his explanations make it more confusing than it actually is.

Thankfully, the first area is basically a giant tutorial and the game opens up into a massive open world after that. All of a sudden, you are traveling by trucks, bikes, and building highways. You have amazing gear that lets you run, jump and carry loads of stuff. You get access to literally dozens of different weapons and gadgets. And the social aspect of the game completely hooks you into helping out others.

Just power through the intro. Get to the second area, and give it another few hours.

Here are some tips to get you through the most frustrating early game areas:
- HOLD (not press) L2 + R2 as soon as you start tripping.
- Ignore the crying baby. it will stop crying after a few minutes. no need to stop and sooth it.
- Always Carry two hematic grenades (5 in each package), aim at the BTs and throw for a one hit kill. no need to go around them.
- ONLY carry what you the game assigns you to carry for the story mission. no need to carry more than you have to in the early game.
- Do not take on side missions in the opening area.
- Press triangle to auto equip things in the menus.

The game is different. it IS a walking simulator but it gives you a lot of tools to make walking fun. Go in with a mindset of expecting something different and you will be fine. It's one of the most original game in years.

Thats actually nice tips.. wish I had those before I noped out of this game. Anyhow I just cant play a game ignoring its story.. and this one is too " own fart smelling" for my tastes.

 

[TGO]

Remind of MGSV a bit with more focus on traversal, I enjoyed it but it's no MGS1,2,3 or 4
I kinda miss those games

 

[LavitzSlambert]

On the whole, I really enjoyed it. However there were several segments and gameplay elements that were poorly done. The boss fights and combat in general really, really sucked. The stealth was not implemented well either. The exploration and movement systems were incredible, and the story and soundtrack were both top tier Kojima. It's an arthouse game that I would recommend everyone try, just to see their reactions, but don't expect most would finish.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I remember liking the boss battles at the end but the whole experience made me feel like, well that was a thing.

I waited to get the game Day 1 at GameStop as it closed the night before. I think I'll get this one on sale some day.

 

[Neff]

Yeah, it was great. Looking forward to the sequel.

 

[taizuke]

Enjoyed some of it, bored by some of it, annoyed by some of it.

Btw. The offline decay wasn't compatible with "my OCD", like at all...Went away for a few days in real life, and when I came back all the maxed-out road infrastructure had rotten away for some fucked up reason.

On PS4 i never once had to repair the roads and i platinumed it. However, when i played the Director's Cut on PS5 i had to. Til this day i still don't know if that was a glitch or something they changed.

Anyway, like i said, played both versions of DS1 and loved it. While the story is cool and whatnot it might as well be Kingdom Hearts. It's fun to watch because of how crazy it is, but nothing really sticks. At least for me it didn't. That said, it was everything surrounding the gameplay that hooked me. Can't wait for DS2.

I will say, if you stick to the story only in DS1, it might be a better experience. I never had a problem with the repetitive nature of delivering things, but if you start doing all the missions every base has, i fully understand how it could become boring quick.

 

[Danny22]

I cannot believe it almost won GOTY over the greatest meelee combat in gaming.

Came off as pretentious from what I played (first 2 chapters). One of those games that most people think is boring af but a niche praises to high heavens. I still admire it for being weird while also being high budget.

I hope Kojima makes something more FUN after he's done with death stranding 2. My totally baseless assumption is that DS2 is going to get an 88-89 metacritic as it seems more crowd pleasing.

 

[peronmls]

I dislike the UI and how it functions. Dont know what use any of the shit is or what is going on. Jumped back into it after awhile. Do not know where to buy boots. Can never seem to get piss grenades or anything to work on the ghost things. The game is so out there and unconvincing to what is going on. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground no pun intended.

 

[DelireMan7]

I was ultra hyped by the first trailers. But after the gameplay reveal and hot takes of Kojima I was much less.

Few years after release I pick it up.
Story is very intriguing but I can't stand all the rest. I dropped it after 15/20h.
It's literally a delivery simulator. Fill with annoying real life details : watch your step and balance to not fall, change your shoes when their damaged, shower, go to toilets, read tons of emails...
There is some "infiltration" phase but the mechanics are very limited (and after MGSV it feels really bad).

Some people like the "planification" of your travel. I realize you can just run straight forward and it works no problem. You can build stuff to help but it takes so much time to build that it's quicker to just run (at least at the beginning).

I play games for escapism and Death Stranding is just filled with annoying real life details.
Sometimes I think I'll go back to it but each time I think of the gameplay, I am "Nope".

Edit : a friend of mine who liked it put it that way "DS feels rewarding when done. Not like a Souls like where you struggle to beat a boss, but like a annoying job you have to do. You're happy when it's done."
I kind of agree, to me it felt like worst to play it than to do real life chores.

 

[calico]

I played offline and only built one road segment (they're expensive af solo). I loved setting up ziplines all over the mountain region though (the best area in the game imo), it made me feel like one of these guys and then made me want a game where I could be one of these guys, setting up roads and aqueducts etc.

 

[Miles708]

I played offline and only built one road segment (they're expensive af solo). I loved setting up ziplines all over the mountain region though (the best area in the game imo), it made me feel like one of these guys and then made me want a game where I could be one of these guys, setting up roads and aqueducts etc.

Too bad the game has this brilliant feature where everything you build gets progressively destroyed so you have to craft the same things over and over which is the opposite of an intelligent use of one's time.

I've played it offline too so maybe that's the problem.

 

[DelireMan7]

Too bad the game has this brilliant feature where everything you build gets progressively destroyed so you have to craft the same things over and over which is the opposite of an intelligent use of one's time.

This !

Already building take time and find it pretty annoying, in plus it will get destroyed over time... The game made everything to discourage me to use the building mechanics.

It's nice to find some construction online but nothing was groundbreaking for me. Some told me I had to wait a bit more to truly unlock the potential of the game but if after 15/20h a game is boring to you, it's not for you. I was in Chapter 3 I think (apparently one of the longest, and I couldn't stand it anymore.)

 

[Hudo]

Too bad the game has this brilliant feature where everything you build gets progressively destroyed

Alpha Centauri had that shit as well but it was at least tied to the game's "plot twist"

Spoiler: Alpha Centauri spoiler

That the planet is actually alive and starts to defend itself at a certain point. I found that to be quite the cool twist as a young lad. But also annoying as fuck because it destroys a lot of your shit.

 

[GymWolf]

Completed after 40 hours, i thought it was an overrated, boring ball of cringe with a lof of undercooked systems.

The game knows that the moment to moment gameplay sucks asses so it gave you all the tools to completely avoid to engage with it.

I heard more people having fun with building stuff that actually walking around constantly pressing r2 and l2 to not fall down like a sack of potato every 15 sec.

At a certain point i started thinking that the story was the carrot since the gameplay was meh at best, then you finish the game and realize that story and gameplay are both sticks and there was never any carrot to begin with.
Gaf has a strange boner for this game but then again, halo infinite won goty in here, so...

 

[Team Andromeda]

Game started off amazing but then turned in to absolute boring crap with a story line that makes no sense

Reminds me of Shenmue a game that set new standards for character models and graphics, but dull and boring to play and a walking sim

 

[Shmunter]

A magical sound shower

 

[CliffBronger]

I went kinda. Played around 19 hours then dropped it.

Still plan on finishing it at some point.

 

[RCX]

Couldn't get past its slow start. I know theres a game in there that I could really enjoy so I'm going to give it another shot before the year is over. But it felt very laborious at the beginning.

To be fair I felt the same about Prey (2016) when I first played it. It just didnt hook me but I came back over a year later and now its one of the my all-time top 10s

 

[Games Bookstore]

Thanks again to everyone that took the time to respond. I bought it as a reward for passing my exams for the semester. I'm about an hour in and so far I'm liking it.

As some of you have raved about the soundtrack, I gave it a listen and I agree it is outstanding! So much so that it has taken me out of my regular music play lists to listen on repeat.

 

[Sintoid]

Never seen such a wide range of different opinions about a game, and this makes it relevant.

I played it and had fun in both the walkthrough I had in standard and definitive edition. Can't say I completely understood the gameplay,a lot of things need too much time to be completely managed

Someday Ill play DS2 for sure

 

[calico]

Thanks again to everyone that took the time to respond. I bought it as a reward for passing my exams for the semester. I'm about an hour in and so far I'm liking it.

As some of you have raved about the soundtrack, I gave it a listen and I agree it is outstanding! So much so that it has taken me out of my regular music play lists to listen on repeat.

Enjoy and congratulations on your exams

 

[Sorc3r3r]

Let me preface this post by stating I'm yet to play the original Death Stranding however the trailers and game play videos of DS2 really have me excited for playing the game, yet I don't wish to do so without playing DS1 first.

Whilst games are such a subjective medium, I hear a lot of mixed reviews as to whether DS1 is worth playing or more the point make me question would I even enjoy it. I am a bit cash strapped at the moment which makes the decision more difficult for me.

My question is to those of you that have played it did you enjoy it and if so why? Likewise if you hated it and never wanted to pick it up ever again, what did you hate about it and why?

To give you some background of my gaming taste when it comes to Kojima's games, I am a fan of the MGS series in general but never really got into ZoE.

If you made it this far, thanks and I look forward to reading your opinions.

Edit - mods I just noticed a typo in the title, if you could please fix.

It's an almost perfect blend between gameplay, world in which the gameplay happens, so the story and the setting, and music.
The game has a distinct pace, a rhythm, it's a melody that can or cannot resonate tough.

It's more than the sums of its parts, rare are the videogames that achieve that status, even less the videogames that achieve that on the level that DS touched.

 

[poodaddy]

I didn't care for it honestly, but my wife sure liked it a lot, so I'll probably end up grabbing the sequel at some point, but only on a pretty big discount.

 

[Shubh_C63]

I knew I will love this game as soon as player control was given to me and I walked mere five steps. Everything after that was just golden.

Being my first Kojima game, I was immensely disappointed with the story pacing. People might think Kojima makes movie games but the 'game mechanics' part were better than the movie part, downright excellent.

 

[Esca]

I didn't get far. I found it rather boring and slow. My close friend enjoyed it though and I think beat but he also played high as balls when he played so take that for what it's worth

 

[Bernardougf]

Completed after 40 hours, i thought it was an overrated, boring ball of cringe with a lof of undercooked systems.

The game knows that the moment to moment gameplay sucks asses so it gave you all the tools to completely avoid to engage with it.

I heard more people having fun with building stuff that actually walking around constantly pressing r2 and l2 to not fall down like a sack of potato every 15 sec.

At a certain point i started thinking that the story was the carrot since the gameplay was meh at best, then you finish the game and realize that story and gameplay are both sticks and there was never any carrot to begin with.
Gaf has a strange boner for this game but then again, halo infinite won goty in here, so...

Basically what I thought also.. but I couldn't pass the 2 hour mark... I couldn't for the life of me accept the stupidity of having to walk with a facking baby on my chest while as you said pressing r2-l2 to keep straight, from the same guy who gave me the best espionage series ever (until the turd mgsV) ? .. fuck no.

Good for the ones who like this "game" ... but just like badminton and the twilight series.. is a love I'll never understand.

 

[Bernardougf]

Remind of MGSV a bit with more focus on traversal, I enjoyed it but it's no MGS1,2,3 or 4
I kinda miss those games

Yeah Konami should give someone a chance to continue the franchise, if it bombs it bombs... and I would like in mgs 1-4 model .. more contained.

Anyone expecting Kojima to do a new "normal" espionage game will be disappointed... I think he's too much high on hinself to do normal games anymore.

 

[Thabass]

Not at all, having to juggle the horrendous physics in the game and the deal with trying to manage the deliveries made it super combersome to me. Which is the desired effect, but that doesn't mean I had to like. And, I didn't.

So, the effectiveness of what they were going for is a gold star, and it's execution is a gold star. But I didn't like it. Probably won't bother getting the next one until a deep sale. I am personally waiting for Kojima's horror game and his next infiltration game.

 

[Danny22]

Basically what I thought also.. but I couldn't pass the 2 hour mark... I couldn't for the life of me accept the stupidity of having to walk with a facking baby on my chest while as you said pressing r2-l2 to keep straight, from the same guy who gave me the best espionage series ever (until the turd mgsV) ? .. fuck no.

Good for the ones who like this "game" ... but just like badminton and the twilight series.. is a love I'll never understand.

I must ask as someone who didn'y play MGS V, why did you not like it? It came off as a 'normal' game to me.

 

[Bernardougf]

I must ask as someone who didn'y play MGS V, why did you not like it? It came off as a 'normal' game to me.

Im not a fan of open world games, and was not something I enjoy or wanted it for MGS, the story was very meh, the change of protagonist (voice), the mechanics introduced in this game, basically it had several things I wasn't looking for in a MGS game.

It felt like another game with the MGS brand and characters on it.

Of course thats only my perception and personal opinion.

 

[Danny22]

Im not a fan of open world games, and was not something I enjoy or wanted it for MGS, the story was very meh, the change of protagonist (voice), the mechanics introduced in this game, basically it had several things I wasn't looking for in a MGS game.

It felt like another game with the MGS brand and characters on it.

Of course thats only my perception and personal opinion.

But it wasn't death stranding levels of weird?