Death Stranding
PlayStation 4
Nostalgia Factor:
Death Stranding has been on my radar since it came out back in 2019. I didn't know much about the game coming into it. I knew that it was focused around delivering packages, crossing giant landscapes, and building bridges and structures and that sort of thing. I also knew that it was polarizing among fans.
Most people I knew who had played the game seemed to like it, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd give the game a chance. Here we are in 2023, and I'm finally ready to dive in. Would I fall on the side of loving the game or hating it? Turns out, it would be somewhere in the middle. Let's jump into my review, shall we?
Story:
If you thought Metal Gear and Kingdom Hearts featured weird and convoluted stories, just wait till you play this. Not much is explained right off the bat. The game hits you with a lot of lore. Terms like voidout, BT, chiral network, strands, mules, repatriate, timefall, and BB are thrown at you immediately, with no explanation as to what they are or what they mean. You kind of have to discover the meaning of these things on your own as you play.
The basic gist of the game is that it takes place in a post apocalyptic future, where an event known as the Death Stranding has left the world in ruins. Humanity has been pushed to the edge of extinction (no, not the Survivor season) by BTs, which are ghost-like invisible creatures. We don't really know what is going on in the rest of the world, but humanity's survivors in the former United States are attempting to rebuild society through something called the chiral network, which helps keep everyone connected through a holographic communication system that allows its users to 3D print important supplies.
You play as Sam Porter Bridges, who is essentially a glorified UPS or postal service worker. He has to walk around from settlement to settlement, delivering supplies and helping people get connected to the chiral network. Joining him on his quest is BB. BB is essentially a baby in a jar. These babies can detect BTs, and warn its carrier when they are in the area. While BBs are mainly viewed as disposable, Sam develops a close relationship with his, and later renames him Lou.
There is too much going on in this game to truly explain, but the main mission is getting the USA up and running through the chiral network. On his quest, Sam encounters a plot by evil forces to bring the Death Stranding back and wipe humanity from the planet once and for all. Other subplots include Sam unearthing clues that help discover why the Death Stranding happened, and Sam being haunted by mysterious visions of a man (played by Mads Mikkelsen) talking to a BB in a glass jar. Sam is later whisked to what seems like alternate reality earths during the World Wars, where this same mysterious man chases after him and tries to steal his BB.
I'm not going to dive too much into spoilers, but as weird as the story is, it is basically the only thing that kept me going as I played through the game. It ends up devolving at the end of the game into Kingdom Hearts/Metal Gear-like nonsense where I had no idea what was going on, but at least it was a fun journey. Can't really say the same for the gameplay.
Gameplay:
Video games should be fun. This is something I've been stressing since I started this blog back in 2015. I don't care how visually stunning a game looks, or how interesting its concept is. Just give me a good, fun game. That's all I want.
For the most part, Death Stranding fails in that regard. This isn't a fun game. There is no way around it. And in a way, that's kind of the point? This is basically a job simulator. You play as a guy who is working, delivering packages. Through rough terrain, through enemy infested areas. Cargo piled on your back, your knees buckling under the weight. The game is meant to be a struggle.
I knew coming into this that the game had something to do with delivering packages. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm certain that I thought it would be faster paced and less meticulous than this. 90% of this game is walking from point to point. Maybe even more than 90%. The terrain is your biggest enemy, especially if you take on multiple jobs and have cargo piled on your back. You can fall down and damage your cargo, either failing your mission or making you discard useless items.
You use the shoulder buttons to balance Sam out as he is walking. Since he is often carrying heavy loads on his back, you'll often find him swaying back and forth or tumbling like he is going to fall down. You have to use these shoulder buttons strategically to keep him afoot.
Sam uses a radar that scans the surrounding areas. You can check out the terrain and see if it is too steep to climb. Check and see if the water is shallow enough to cross it. Since a good deal of the game is walking from point to point, you're going to find yourself clicking this button quite often to help you plot your course across the game's vast landscape.
Where I found my biggest problem with the game was in its slow pace. I hate when games sacrifice fun for the sake of realism. Red Dead Redemption and its meticulous inventory system and its slow walks through the camp epitomize this. This problem is prevalent here, too. I certainly didn't think I'd be micromanaging all the items my character would be carrying on his back so he wouldn't fall over as I hiked across the terrain. I didn't think I'd have to drink Monster Energy Drink (love the product placement) to keep my character hydrated, or select "urinate" from a menu to have him pee when his bladder was full. I didn't think I'd have to keep a baby calm and soothed at all times. I didn't think I'd constantly have to use the shoulder buttons simply just to keep him on his feet. The terrain is hard to navigate at times, and you have to meticulously climb steep rock ledges and take slow routes through snowy peaks. Seriously, the game moves soooooooo slowly at times. I'll be playing for what seems like 20 minutes, check the map, and I've barely made any progress on it at all. It's so freaking slow.
To rub it in, the game includes several missions where you are basically going from one end of the map to the other, and back again. The one where you have to retrieve a body all the way at the edge of the map and bring it all the way back to the other side is just terrible. I just wanted to stop playing. It's so not fun. I get annoyed just thinking back on it. I will never play this game again because of how slow and boring it is.
To top things off, the game throws "timefall" at you quite often. This is when it starts raining and the BTs come out to play. The rain damages your cargo and makes it age rapidly to the point where it decays right off of your back. Also hidden in the rain are the invisible BTs. Your BB will point out their locations. You have to crouch, hold your breath, and slowly make your way through BT territory before you can start running towards your destination again. These sections make an already slow game even slower.
You also encounter mule camps, which are like the game's version of the Sand People from Star Wars. Vicious raiders who attack and steal for themselves. Often your missions will take you through mule territory. They immediately swarm you for your cargo. You have to subdue the mules without killing them, because if you kill them you could create a voidout which would destroy the map and instantly cause a game over. Don't ask me to explain. Luckily this never happened to me. You can run from the mules too, but they seem to be able to keep up no matter how fast you go. Gotta be careful to watch your cargo, because they could damage it and make you fail a mission.
I always tried to avoid mules by staying off the edge of their territory. But then again, the detouring makes the game even slower than it already is. Slow slow slow is the word of the day.
There's so much to explain here. There is an online facet of the game's world creation. I am not quite sure how it works, but when players build structures or leave items like ladders across streams, they can show up in your world as you are playing the game. If you are trying to cross a fast rushing stream with a giant load of cargo on your back, these little blessings from other players can come in great handy. The game is also built around a "like" system, like you'd see on Facebook. You can like other character's structures and creations. All the likes go towards points, or something. I don't know. I always gave everything I'd see a ton of likes. Hopefully other people returned the favor with me.
Combat is not the game's focus. You rarely fight in this game, but there are a few action oriented chapters. It isn't until I started battling that I noticed the gameplay similarities to Metal Gear. The weapon system, the map, the enemy AI. Combat is definitely Metal Gear inspired, especially some of the boss fights towards the end. All this being said, combat is very sparse in this game, and I'd say you spend less than 5% of the game fighting anything.
I feel like there's still a ton of stuff I need to explain, but if I got into the nitty gritty of every single thing there is to do in this game, I'd be typing forever. I'll just leave off by saying this is a very complex game with its own distinct set of in-game rules. I can't say I've ever seen anything like it before.
Graphics:
Here is where the game shines. The graphics. The landscapes in this game are absolutely gorgeous. Everything is so beautiful and scenic in the apocalypse, with nature taking back over. I love the water effects. I love the grass, and the moss on the rocks. All the small details that bring the world of the game to life.
Characters look great too. It is scary how lifelike Norman Reedus is. All the characters in the game look good, really. The cutscenes are incredibly cinematic and reminiscent of Metal Gear's. There are so many similarities in the story and presentation. There is a codec, some of the enemy armor looks like something you'd see in a Metal Gear game. The acting and general tone and feel of the cutscenes is very, VERY Metal Gear-like.
Sound:
You can't knock the game's presentation. It may not be fun, but it sure looks and sounds good. It all starts with the voice acting. Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo Del Tormo, everyone sounds fantastic. This may be one of the best voice acted games I have ever played.
The game mostly relies on ambience as you walk over the hills and across the mountains. Every once in a while a musical number will start playing. Some indie band. But it really fits the tone and feel of the game perfectly. Nothing makes you feel like you're filled with wonder than walking up to the edge of the cliff, seeing the lush, green landscape open up below you, and then a calm, soothing song comes on as you make your way down.
Overall:
I'm really conflicted over here. I've made it quite clear by now that I didn't think the game was any fun. And it wasn't. But you know what? I kept playing. For the couple weeks it took me to beat this game, I funneled almost all of my free time towards it. My precious, precious free time. That certainly says something. I wasn't having fun, but I was still playing it daily and putting a lot of time into it. Why?
There's something here. This is the best not-fun game I've ever played in my life. It's really making me rethink some things. The graphics and the presentation are great. The atmosphere is fantastic. The story is weird, but interesting. I constantly wanted to keep playing to see where things would go next. The setting is incredible. All of the weird lore really started to grow on me. BBs, timefall, voidouts, repatriates, all that good stuff.
I think the experience of Death Stranding was better than the game itself. When I look back on this game in ten years, I'm going to think positively of it rather than negatively. But looking back on it right now, I shudder at the though of all the mundane tasks I had to complete, and I tell myself I am never playing this game again. Even if there is a sequel, which there certainly will be, do I really want to put myself through this again?
The story, though. The characters. The lore. I really became invested in this game. Which is why it is so hard for me when it comes to giving it a letter grade. I almost feel as if I can't give it something in the B range, since the gameplay was so not fun. But giving it a C almost feels like an insult, especially considering how much time I pumped into the game, and how often I kept coming back to it. I even thought about it when I wasn't playing it, which almost never happens with anything I play anymore.
I'm going to have to suck it up and stick to my guns. Games are supposed to be fun. This game wasn't. It certainly has some things going for it, sure. And I was oddly addicted to it, considering I wasn't enjoying my time with it. It's hard to explain. A deciding factor is when I think about replaying this game in the future, my mind immediately says "hell no." I will never play this again. And that means something too.
THE GRADE:
C+
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