Death Stranding - PlayStation 4

Review update (06/18/2020)Finished the story!Of course there’s deliveries to be done and things to explore. THe main story, however, I got throughLike I stated below in my ongoing review, this is meant for those who are still eyeing this game and are still hesitant to buy. Like many reviewers have pointed out, this is a game that will not appeal to all. I, luckily thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is slow and there is quite a boat load of exposition. Said exposition may be hindered by the way the narrative is edited. I, however, do not mind it as I have come to expect this not only from Kohima games but form many Japanese games and anime. The way of expressing ideas and concept doesn’t always translate straight forward in English and that can be of concern for some. Having stated this, the story is really good (at least for me). YEs it can feel clunky, but I still. Consider it a byproduct of keeping true to the Japanese way of expression and dubbing it. So things are pointed out to you two or three times in a cutscene, making it feel repetitive. But if you let this distract you and let it annoy you, you miss out on a rather well-told story that gets you at the end. When I got to the ending of the game, i had a Sixth Sense (the Movie) moment. All of a sudden, I realized who Sam was, and the role of the other characters in the game. The scar Sam has. His ability to come back and essentially never die. The fact that Kohima even gave you sections of the game where it gave you an actual “game over” and asked you to load from your last check point was even a nice way of telling you “hey! You are not supposed to die here. Try again” was a nice touch, and one of many touches the game throws at you. If you are hell bent on focusing on how boring the traversal is in this game than you are missing out. You take things at your pace and explore the world as you see fit. You can also blaze through it and get as much of the story out of the way. Either way, if you do so with an open mind and an appreciation for something that is different, you’ll come out enjoying this. It’s not a perfect game by any means but it is a 5/5 for me. It is worth the $60. You, can, however, wait like i did and get it for cheaper. As of this writing this game was going for around $23 through PSN and $32 for the disc version here in Amazon. So, yeah, you can find it for cheap if you are still not convinced this game is worth full price of admission...This is not a spoiler but a warning. When you get to chapter 12... Take a break and make sure you have a full afternoon or evening. That’s when the story becomes unraveled thoroughly in a very Kohima fashion. Even though it is broken up in small pieces with small gameplay in between, you are still looking at long cutscenes that together will have you sitting for a good 2 plus hours.Hope you give it a shot like i did. I almost feel bad not buying it at full price but am glad bought it nonetheless.————————————————————Review update (06/03/2020)I’m no where near done with this game. I’m still playing it slow as I have to fit it into my schedule. If you are reading this and many other reviews, chances are you are still on the fence about buying this game however many months after its release. Maybe you are curious and want to take a gamble. No matter the situation, I say this in all honestly. Read the positive and negative reviews carefully; especially the negative ones. I say this because I often get the feeling that some (I literally mean some) reviews are from people that probably played up until chapter 2 and got bored. Maybe they moved a little further but didn’t take the time to explore the games mechanics.This game really opens up the more you do these so called “boring” deliveries. Even as early as chapter 2. It is a pain in the butt to walk, climb, (via ladder, rope or jumping over stuff) and run your way through long distances. Especially if they become longer affairs when BTs or MULES are involved. However, the game quickly rewards you if you do enough main and side missions. Soon, halfway through chapter 2 you get a bike and that accelerates things so much. Then you start getting weapons, upgraded gear to build better bridges, vehicles, traveling equipment and materials to upgrade already build stuff. The world opens ups and the indirect interactivity with other gamers opens up. By the beginning of chapter 3 and all the way to chapter 4 (which is where I’m currently at) things just click and you become interested in delivering stuff to get rewarded. You quickly learns that fighting MULES clears their area for a good while (on top of giving you a break from delivering). You learn that fighting BTs rewards you with crystals that can be used to upgrade equipment and structures. Then you get this feeling of team work when you find a well placed charming station to charge your bionic skeletal frame or your traversal vehicles. You then find a well placed shelter to wait it out for time fall to stop. You find hubs that let you rest and recharge. You are low on grandotes or sprays, request and another player may aid you with said request. Yes, there is a story and it is convoluted (at least so far). But there are game mechanics here that are genuinely fun and quirky.I’m honestly enjoying myself so far and will keep the 4/5 for now because I do want to see what happens to my interest as things progress. As of now, I feel confident saying that I am glad I bought this game!And then, there are the little details. I’ll share one in a pic... but yeah. From how the BB looks at you and interacts with you, to how you choose to fight MULES or BTs. To the funny look leg robots with a cam that do remote deliveries for you.I honestly consider Kojima the Miyazaki of games. For those that didn’t get that references. Miyazaki is behind many, if not all, of Studio Gibli’s animated film. They are not all great but they always show great care in the delivery of the content (in their case, animation and character design, along with some messages, albeit sometimes convoluted; like Kojima).——————————————-Review in progress (05/03/2020).This game came out a while now but I did manage to get it for $30 from here (Amazon).I knew what I was getting myself into because I read reviews and watched reviews on YouTube.I know it’s essentially a walking sim with cargo management. So, yes, it is slow, tedious and time consuming.It is enjoyable so far, nonetheless.I am a few hours in. However. Finished my first major boss fight and have decided to do side deliveries before hopping to the next story segment. I’m compelled, for some reason, to retry certain deliveries and rank up to increase my carrying capacity and rank up.This is a game that I find myself playing 1 or 2 deliveries at a time. Why? Because in just one mission/delivery i find myself carrying the cargo to its destination, but on the way I grab stuff (lost cargo, crystals, and other stuff), I hav my character take breaks, i avoid BTS, I have my character take breaks again, i restore my cargo with a spray, I smooth my BB, I hydrate... Before I know it, a mission that could, in theory, take 3 minutes ends up being half an hour.So, I take it slow to not burn out on it. I play 30 minutes to an hr and no mor (unless there’s a cutscene; in which case I’ll finish watching it and call it a day because they are long).I also play this game either early in the morning or late at night when my kids and wife are still asleep. Hence why I play it in short bursts and not get tired of it.like the quirkiness of the game and the inter connectivity. I like the characters and the vast environment so far.It is not for everyone, that is for sure. From what I’ve played so far and at the pase that I’m playing it, it is a game that I will enjoy for the next few months...I willl update this when I’m 70% to 95% done with the campaign.

Back in 2006, a normie friend of mine went out of town for an extended trip and decided to buy a PlayStation 2 to pass the time. I recommended to him Metal Gear Solid 3, given that it's a pretty decent entry point into the series and the title generally appeals to a western audience.He did not like the game and was pretty confused by the stealth action gameplay.I don't mean to sound like I have a gatekeeping mentality, but I have a feeling most people - even hardcore game fans - are befuddled by Death Stranding as it doesn't fit within the four corners of established gaming genres, not even walking simulators, which applied pejoratively to this game. I can't imagine what my friend, who didn't like MGS3, would think of this game.And myself, a Kojima fanboy since the original MGS, didn't get it at first either. I had stayed away from all but the launch trailer and associated media, and had no idea what I was going into when I got the game back in November 2019. I started playing it and, around the chapter 2 mark, was confused as to when any other elements of the gameplay were to open up. I put it down and didn't pick it back up until this week where I marathon'ed my way through the game.Death Stranding is one of those games where when you get it, you get it. It's an enigmatic, pensive, and utterly original non-violent action game that deals with the themes of isolation, renewed connections, and resilience. The walking simulation aspect of it is executed in a way where the technical aspect of walking is a core gameplay element that feeds into the other systems of the game, namely reconstructing the U.S. with others from the internet aiding in that effort in a manner akin to a Dark Souls and NieR: Automata single-player adjacent internet experience. Your rebuilding efforts bleed into another player's game world and vice versa. The gameplay currency are "likes" just like Instagram. All of this feeds into the bigger picture theme of renewed connections.Graphics and art style are amazing and trail blazing, which is no surprise from Kojima. And, the mechanical designs and art, by Shinkawa, are always on point and similar to those of MGS. The licensed music punctuates the pensive moments of quiet time in the game and set the mood, along with the remainder of the atmospheric original score.What seems to be getting Kojima a lot of flak is the casting of his Hollywood friends and other things like the product placement. There is self-indulgence in the casting, but I also think that Kojima was very aware that he was producing a big budget weirdo art game and some recognizable faces could help with sales. That's just me though, but it seems pragmatic. Product placement? Well, that's been a thing since MGS3 had branded ramen noodles and Calorie Mates...they just don't sell Calorie Mates in the U.S., so it was more of a novelty item in the game. But, you had the iPod in MGS4, so this is now a 15 or 16 year tradition at this point when you look at the big picture.All in all, great game. I'm glad I picked it up again as it's one of his best. Quirky, weirdo art game, yes, but so were the MGS games too, if you take a step back and look at the themes and concepts explored in those titles. They just had more mass market appeal due to action figure people playing out big spy action stories.Recommended.