PS5 why dead stranding is so good

I spent 132 hours in Death Stranding.

It's not just walking. Although that's what I personally enjoyed.
There's driving, shooting, stealth, wrestling, boxing, construction, circuit racing and off road time trials.
The opening episode is just a closed off tutorial.
The game doesn't get crazy until you reach South Knot City.
Even saying that much feels like I'm spoiling the experience, but I get the frustration many can feel during the first 3rd of the game.
That is 90% walking & stealth. Unless you steal a Mule truck 🤫

I enjoyed it for the freedom it gave me, you can go anywhere and do things in any order you want, I had very conflicted feelings over Episode 9-13 as it gets extraordinarily narratively heavy, the freedom I adored was gone.
But Episode 14, the "post game" content made it all click into place.

I know it's cliché but it's a Kojima game, it's an experience that can't easily be summarised.
DS1.jpg

It also helps if you remember that Kojima can't speak English, so all of the... Questionable names he gave characters is just him playing around with a foreign language, Die-Hardman lmao.
Cringe, but to a none-English speaker? It probably sounds really cool.
 
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Kojima games are some of my favourite ever, so I was biased to enjoy Death Stranding, and I did.

But, it has flaws.

The problems are:
- The story is front and back loaded. If you choose to do side activities, you will spend great lengths of time between any big story beats. Alot of the narrative is buried in text logs and many of the questions the game opens with are not answered until the last 10% of the game.

- Too much product placement. The game damages immersion by referencing shows the actors have starred in, and many of the celebrity cameos just felt unnecessary.

- The names of characters lack imagination.

The game has plenty more strengths though:

- Moving around the world feels fun, in a way that doesn't translate well through gameplay videos. Managing your weight and considering your terrain feels engaging, and it helps you feel the connection with your character.

- The game looks beautiful. The world map is well designed and varied.

- The tools you unlock to achieve your goals are all fun to use and can be used in many situations.

- The gun play, stealth, driving and melee mechanics are all well realised and feel excellent.

- The story, while convoluted, is engaging and has some great highlights.

- Some of the best facial capture in gaming to date

I loved it and would recommend it to many people, though it definitely is not a game for everyone.
 
its a solid meh/10
its a 7 imo.
The problem for me its how boring it is getting to A -> B. I think i fell asleep on some zipline segments and walking in straight lines.
 

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