DEATH STRANDING Reviews

  • VinnyMLpsVinnyMLps36,425
    29 Jun 2020 29 Jun 2020
    7 9 5
    Disclaimer: This is a review for people who are not necessarily Hideo Kojima fans.

    Death Stranding is, unequivocally, the worst video game I've ever played.

    The first thing you need to know is that this is a $60 AAA game released in 2019 in which you spend most of your time managing weight and trying not to fall down.

    I would have considered that a rip-off twenty years ago. I don't have the vocabulary to describe what I consider it now. The mechanics are utterly arbitrary. Some people have referred to Death Stranding as a 100-hour walking sim. But 100-hour falling sim would be more accurate. The infuriating part is that the weight/balance mechanics add nothing to what might have been a great story in a beautiful, disturbing and completely unique game world. Indeed, those and any other positive elements of Death Stranding are rendered moot by the utter tedium of playing it.

    I know that more efficient means of transport are eventually available through progression. But making the latter parts of a game tolerable by making its early parts insufferable is a valid business model for a free-to-play game on iOS, not a AAA game on an 8th-gen console.

    And it actually gets worse. Much. Worse.

    Imagine a frustratingly tedious part from any game that you've played in the past. Maybe it's the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time or The Library in Halo. Now imagine playing through those with a baby crying at the top of its lungs. Because that's a mechanic in Death Stranding. Yup. A group of ostensibly qualified and intelligent men and women sat together in a room and thought, "Hey, you know what's missing from this game that's already super-annoying to play? Babies screaming!" It's absolutely baffling how this became a thing. It's an April Fool's prank that someone forgot to remove before release day.

    I did not finish this game. Not even close. On release day, I wrote this review in my head. I've given Death Stranding another chance, multiple times. And each and every time I do this, I come to the same conclusion: Death Stranding is a chore to play. The story is great. The world is surreal and breathtaking. But actually playing the game is just not fun.

    I want games to be challenging. I want to get stuck on a puzzle or wipe multiple times on a difficult boss. Elements like this add immeasurable value to beating a game. But triumphing over falling down? Spending 90% of a modern game walking around? Being quick enough with the mute button that you don't have to hear a wailing infant? Where is the value in those achievements and why would anyone be proud of achieving them?

    I know this review is going to get a lot of hate and of course there are people who love Death Stranding. These are good things. The industry needs diversity, lest GameStop's shelves be filled with CoD or Fortnite clones. But for me, Death Stranding is "different" to a fault. Its mechanics are arbitrary and frustrating and could be removed almost entirely without hurting the narrative. If you love Hideo Kojima's other games, you might be able to get through the tedium of this one. But if you're not a fan, this is probably not a game you're going to love (or finish).
    .5
    Showing all 5 comments.
    DoktorAvalancheXI disagree with you 100% but I think I just played the game way differently than you. Aside from walking early on in the first section I've been using the vehicles to get around and/or ziplines. Walking is kind forced on you again in episode 6 but I quickly resolved that with the ziplines again. This is definitely NOT a walking sim, at least to me it isn't, too many gameplay elements to be one. I'm also engaging any enemies I come across just to have a bit of action in the mix. Needless to say your opinion is perfectly valid I can totally see why this wouldn't be fun for many. This is an incredibly unusual game that is impossible to recommend to anyone. It's up there the likes of Catherine as one of the most unique games I've ever played. Thanks for the read. +1
    Posted by DoktorAvalancheX on 07 Jul 20 at 18:15
    CoreyST66I gave it about 4-5 hours -- I think I made it halfway through the second episode -- to the part where its explained why the baby shuts down. The gameplay is simply dreadful. There is nothing fun about losing your balance because you're walking down a 5% incline -- you can hold L2/R2 the entire time to mitigate it ... but what's the point? The graphics, acting, storyline all seem to be on-point but my, oh my, it is an awful gaming experience.
    Posted by CoreyST66 on 10 Jul 20 at 20:42
    PierSolarDanielProbably one of the best games I have played in many years. I salute Kojima for doing an open world game where fighting is only a minor aspect. He created excellent gameplay yet again, but this time making the travelling itself the primary game mechanic. If the game is about falling to you, that is because you are just bad at it. That's like saying Call of Duty is a getting-shot-simulator. If you fall a lot you don't play it right.

    Just like with stealth where he showed that avoiding the action is an actual exciting gameplay idea he this time went and made the way from A to B the thrilling gameplay. The result is an addictive game showing its qualities where no others do.

    The only actual flaw I can find with it is a cumbersome menu system. But the gameplay loop, the core game mechanics be it the hiking, building or tending of the baby and the story are top notch.

    And this is not just a game for Kojima fans. A good friend of mine is not into modern games at all, or Kojima games for that matter... But Death Stranding fascinates her. Finally a game featuring a gameplay and story that is fun to her. She has spent some 500 hours on it by now and can not get enough... I myself am around the 250 hour mark (although admittedly I am indeed a Kojima fan). It is an incredibly addictive and well designed game and will be more fondly remembered as the years go on. This is the Shadow of the Colossus of its generation.
    Posted by PierSolarDaniel on 20 Jul 20 at 07:47
    WinterVisionThe game gives back what you put into it. If you treat it like a walking sim, it will play like a walking sim.
    Posted by WinterVision on 09 Oct 23 at 00:04
    GreatKoalaGamingSorry but the moment I saw Kojima's name and that he wasn't being kept on a leash I knew it would be crap.

    No one is going to like this but I don't care but this fact gets proved more and more each time:

    Was Metal Gear Solid great because of Hideo Kojima? No. It was good DESPITE Hideo Kojima
    Posted by GreatKoalaGaming on 08 Dec 23 at 15:03
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