Death Stranding - PlayStation 4

This game leaves me somewhat speechless, and not because I'm having a blast playing it, but because of what it asks players to confront, and the ways in which it forces them to do so.This is not a 'fun' game, and I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone who isn't into experimental art forms -- James Joyce and David Lynch come to mind, but with more humor. It's a melting pot of familiar gaming tropes upended. I found the first 10 hours incredibly depressing and isolating, but was genuinely lulled into doing what many of its talking signs left behind by others suggest I do: put one foot in front of the other, and keep on keeping on. After which I was left wondering to myself if I should be mad at this game for tricking me into mindlessly delivering material goods to others, and realized I both love it and hate it.I'm baffled this game exists, and that it got the huge budget it did, but I'm so glad Sony let this come to fruition. It feels like it was a business and marketing mistake, and only time will tell how it will be received, and the impact it might make on future games to come. It's certainly the most unique game I've played, and I'd expect the impact it makes in the long run to be positive and inspiring, if only to show other gamers and developers that the familiar fetch quest based games are tired and done.Whereas with other games, I can sit down for 20 minutes to an hour and complete part of the story or a side mission, in Death Stranding you can easily get sucked into playing (or watching) for hours. But instead of a feeling of having defeated some challenge, you've in the end only accomplished delivering a pizza to an isolated hologram. To get there you would have traveled through a desolate world completely devoid of other life except for some nasty floating bugs that give you energy and signs or items left by other players along the path. You might run into some tar people materializing from the world of the dead trying to suck you in and use you to destroy everything within your radius, or some cargo hungry thieves called MULEs that largely are just annoying distractions from what you really want to do, which is get something from point A to point B, with maybe a little exploration and community building sprinkled in. If you get thirsty along the way, all you can drink is Monster Energy drinks. Idiocracy, anyone? We're the fools for playing this, aren't we?And from all that hassle, what do you get? A ton of social media-esque likes that feel mostly empty. The stats system is largely unnecessary except for improving some of the other in-game systems and mechanics, and seem to exist mostly to emphasize the emptiness of gaming- and social-stats. But even then -- I sometimes log on just to see how my structures are faring with other players. It got me, I'm hooked. Maybe it's actually there to keep me motivated and playing. There have been many moments in this game where I laughed out loud at the ridiculous over the top nature of it, and the first delivery score and stats animations was one of them.Death Stranding is a game about gaming's unrealistic cargo management systems; it's a commentary on open world games made through expanding the size of the world to an almost incomprehensible magnitude and ignoring the familiar notion of day/night/weather cycles; it's about human connection and the hollowness of social media appreciation, and the isolation of operating socially in that space more so than out in the real world; it's political, and through ridiculously blatant metaphors emphasizes that humans are their own worst enemies, and left to their own devices as isolated ghosts, divisive and ignorant of each other, could very well spell the end of humanity, and the beauty within, as we know it. It's a game perfect for this era.It's a game that you can only appreciate through experiencing, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has the patience for difficult art. It's a game that makes me never want to play video games again.Update:Okay, I've updated this from a 4 to a 5. It's truly an exceptional game. It's certainly not without its flaws, but I have had some serious moments with this.An anecdote: last night I got myself in trouble and I was taught a lesson about greed. I'm on Chapter 5 now and have earned some things to help me make more and heavier deliveries. I felt unstoppable, like I had all the power in the world to get all the likes from all the holograms. Instead, the BTs came up from the dead and sucked me into their world and I was forced to defend myself against a boss that I had not prepared at all to fight. I had a large quantity of materials to build some roads, but they all turned to chiral waste, just like my time.Another, but a lesson about patience: one delivery required that I climb down a cliff and cross a very wide river twice. Despite the helpful (and kinda spoiler-y) signs left by other players directing me through the safest path, I nevertheless fell several times and was washed down the river with my cargo going wherever it well pleased. I had to really concentrate to complete that river crossing, and finally did after a few failed attempts. I was impatient, and in the long run it hurt me.You're literally punished for your greed and impatience in this game. It's beautiful. It makes you feel small.

Do you like Shadow of the Colossus? The Last Guardian? Did you get enthralled by Journey? Do you play Silent Hill games for the atmosphere and feeling evoked by the game?If yes, I think you will be able to see the value in Kojima's latest offering. The game is wonder-filled, beautiful, and haunting. It's not MGS6, although there is more action here than has been described in many reviews or seen on YT.For example, you've probably read the "first 10 hours are a slog and filled with backtracking." Well, I didn't have to backtrack til hour 6 and when I did, it was on a motorcycle and took like 2 minutes. Before that point, I was pulled into an amazing world and gameplay loop that alternated between top tier storytelling cinematics and tight, compelling gameplay. Each loop added a bit more to each. Within 3 hours, I had seen and done more crazy things than most games dream of, had heart pounding moments, strategized about my moves, ran for my life, explored in wonder, and got pulled into the mystery of terms, characters, and visuals Death Stranding offers.Give the game a rental or if you have the disposable income, go with your gut. This isn't No Man's Sky launch part 2. This is a masterpiece in its own right and playing it will be immensely satisfying and emotionally engaging. History will look fondly on Death Stranding after the initial polarization stabilizes.UPDATE:So why this would not be a good game for you:-It’s a timesink. It took me 30 hrs to clear episode 3 of 14. Granted the game is basically a sprint to the end after episode 8, but still.-You’re not into story-heavy games told through Hollywood-esque cutsenes.-You don’t like the core gameplay premise. While this is anything but a “hurr derr walking sim”, delivering stuff by journeying (via walking, hiking, vehicles, and other means) is a primary facet of the game.-You’ve never liked Kojima games. While this one is fresh and something new, there is a classic Kojima feel to the game.-You want a straightforward point A to point B experience. Death Stranding is mostly pure freedom. At any given time you could do one of a dozen or more things.So why this would be a good game for you:-Kind of the opposite of the above: you want a lot of content, you like story heavy games, the core premise of journeying looks interesting to you, you’re a fan of Kojima, and you want a truly free gameplay experience.-You’re fascinated by the genre mashups of worldbuilding (a la Minecraft), third person stealth/shooter (a la MGS), horror (a la Silent Hills), adventuring/hiking, management and planning, and strong narrative in a fresh beautiful world….all overlaid with the social strand system where you give and get likes, help other players and are helped, and see what the community is doing in the game’s world.