What do Western publications think of Death Stranding? (Topic)

Death Standing came out on the 8th, and from November 1 there were the first reviews of the mystical game from Hideo Kojima, which he teased us with for the last couple of years. If you are thinking about whether or not to take the game or you do not have a PS4, but in the future you are thinking of taking it on a PC, perhaps our squeeze of thoughts from Western publications that have already reviewed and rated Death Stranding will help you decide.

All the weirder and weirder

Opinions of publications differ, someone says that the game is really brilliant and brought a new genre to the industry, someone complains that it is not able to delay players and is made for the diligent, someone just says that it is normal. However, everyone agrees on one thing: this is the first game from Hideo Kojima, where nothing holds him back. As Eurogamer notes, this primarily affects the plot. As it turned out, all the mysticism that Kojima caught up did not disappear after starting the game.

“It turns out that the PR was not deliberately mysterious - it's just weird. This is truly a game about delivering parcels in a post-apocalyptic future where the veil between death and life has been torn. After the disastrous event known as Death Stranding, America has become a wasteland inhabited by bandits and frightening phenomena known as BT [...]. It is a strange universe filled with symbolism: bridges, ropes, hands, children, umbilical cords and signs of death are everywhere [...] "- Eurogamer.

The publication itself calls the game pretentious, a little reckless, but very addictive.

Bridges are muddied, the plot is spinning

If we talk about the story itself in more detail [within the framework of what the media can talk about], the journalist from Polygon chewed it well:

“Much of America disappeared because ghosts appeared and killed people. When these people died, their bodies exploded. People who were near these explosions also exploded. This event was called "Death Stranding" and it wiped out most of the American population. All that remains of the country are small, walled city-states, completely cut off from each other.

Now there is a need for "couriers" - people tasked with delivering supplies to different cities, risking their lives in the middle of the new American wasteland. Our hero Sam Bridges has acquired a reputation as a first-class courier, and he is recruited by the president, who is also his mother (!), To travel the wasteland and unite isolated cities, connecting them to a chiral network. “If we don't get back together, humanity will not survive,” she tells Sam.

In parallel with this task, Sam is trying to save his sister Amelie from the separatists. She is also played by Lindsay Wagner. Polygon will highlight the actors as the main disadvantage of the game. The publication called the game the most expensive and thoughtful walking simulator in history, where the first 10 hours of gameplay is diluted with long and drawn-out videos that chew on the plot and lore of the universe. And all is well, if not:

“[...] some actors can handle the role, others like Lea Seydoux find it difficult to act out emotions. There is also a strange feeling that Kojima tried to shove many of his famous friends into cameo roles and the result was mixed. Director Guillermo del Toro wisely lent only his appearance to one of the main characters, Dedman, leaving the voice acting to Jesse Corti, who does a solid job. But then Conan O'Brien appears on a side mission, and suddenly the atmosphere of the whole world collapses. "- Polygon.

And at least one publication calls these first 10 hours the weakest in the game, where we will long and tediously carry containers just because we have to, Kotaku assure us that all this ultimately leads to a final, so spectacular and absurd, coming out beyond pampering, turning into a great story.

But if we talk about the gameplay - yes, we will often go, deliver things, complete local mini-quests that are praised by all publications. Kotaku, for example, believes that gameplay is a skillful borrowing from other games, making the project diverse.

“Death Stranding is based on many sources. This includes the multiplayer aspects of Dark Souls, traveling in the spirit of Proteus and No Man's Sky, awkward body movements like in QWOP, the skeleton of Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain and even more amazingly Metal Gear Survive.

These pieces are assembled into a unique assembly: you start here, now please go there. Choose a mission, grab your gear, figure out how to get there, climb over any mountain that stands in your way without losing all your load. You fall, get up, keep walking. You wash the wounds and repeat what didn't work out. Plus elements of intrigue and action are added as the story progresses "- Kotaku.

In general, the publication remained in admiration for the game and sees the following moral in it:

“Create connections, use them to literally make life easier. Even though the story unfolds in a dire, tangled chaos that would make even Metal Gear Solid 4 blush, the fundamentals of Death Stranding are not hard to grasp. Yes, this is hell. Yes, everything is bad with us. Yes, this could be the end. But all people are worthy of redemption. ”

But Game informer is mostly skeptical about the game and gameplay:

“Your goals are simple and don't require new ingenuity. As the saying goes, it's all about travel, but when travel seems boring it's not a good thing.

Combat is also an important part of Sam's journey, but I can't call it fun. BTs rise from the ground and attack from the air, but they are more pissed off than challenging - like random encounters in RPGs that make you swear more than rejoice at the next opportunity to fight.

Like Sam himself, I was often unsure why I kept going forward and playing Death Stranding. Perhaps there was a little pride playing in me for yet another completed task off the list. Unfortunately, it didn’t bring me much reward in the end. ”- Game Informer.

Human Stories

Another edition that has remained in admiration for the game is GameSpot. It especially praises the characters, even though their names are silly at times:

“In keeping with the theme of human connection, each of the main characters you meet or work with has a story to tell. They all have a unique perspective on death that gives them a unique perspective on life at the same time. When they open up to Sam, Sam opens up to them, transforming into a special character, different from the restrained, unfeeling person he was in the beginning. I loved Sam, Fregil and Hartem especially. Even the characters I didn't like rose in my eyes in the face of adversity.

But I had a special love for BB. You are told that you should treat the baby in the flask as equipment and not as real children, but it is simply impossible to think so. BB is full of personality, giggles when happy and cries when tired; it even cheers you up from time to time. There aren't many kids left in the isolated, chilling world of Death Stranding, but BB is a reminder that the future is counting on you, no matter how you feel about America itself. The love that grows between Sam and BB is warming. ”- GameSpot

Also, the publication notes a good combat system in their opinion, the mechanics of a chiral network, which helps you create real 3D objects in real time. And he says Death Stranding is a difficult game to understand. Its plot is full of intertwining plot points, stupid names, platitudes - all this and the heavy exposition make it difficult to convey the essence. However, Death Stranding argues in its story and gameplay that trouble itself is what makes things worth living and life being life. This is a game that requires patience, compassion and love, and we also need it right now.

It seems to me, based on the evaluation of Death Stranding from the outside, that the game, as expected, is quite a proprietary product that will be cult for lovers of kojiv, and an incomprehensible, boring walking simulator for ordinary gamers. The current Metacritic score for this game is 84.

The Topic of Article: What do Western publications think of Death Stranding?.
Author: Jake Pinkman