Death Stranding (first title from Kojima Productions)

I am going to wait for reviews on this one. I am still not sure what it is beyond a lot of walking.
 
upload_2019-10-28_10-48-1.png
 
I’m not sure why some people are acting shocked that it’s coming to PC. It’s been pretty much known since reveal that it was going to be.

Review embargo lifts this Friday apparently, a full week ahead of release. Typically when an embargo lifts this early then the developers and publishers are confident it’ll review well.
 
Already have it pre-ordered on PS4, so I'll stick with that. Looks like a game that would work fine with a controller.
 
MavericK said:
Already have it pre-ordered on PS4, so I'll stick with that. Looks like a game that would work fine with a controller.
Click to expand...
Same. I also don’t want to be dodging spoilers for the next 6+ months.
 
I'm a big fan of Metal Gear and "Kojima weirdness" and I'm glad to see the title confirmed for PC. I do think the long time before release however is disappointing and I have to worry that some publisher will whine about "underwhelming performance, vs the PS4 release so PC isn't worth it", forgetting that it is 6+ months later. Things will be even worse if it maintains day 1 full price and/or does not contain all the DLC and content released by that time; if they're going to wait so long, they need to slash the price accordingly, do a quality port, and include the DLC. There is a long precedent of "older, console released" Japanese titles (ie Sega's Yakuza games, Valkyria Chronicles, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance etc) coming to PC and doing wonderfully with reasonable prices, good quality ports, and all DLC included. Of course, all of this is still less desirable than an actual parity (or even near parity - say a 1 or 2 month delay at most) release.

Also I hope a "PC" release means at least the option of Steam; it sickens me that we're in a time where there are so many incompatible launchers and its bad enough when a 1st party release is relegated to a particular one, but thanks to the vile Epic Store now we have to wonder if every 3rd party "PC" title will be an "exclusive" by contract, which was never a concern in the past
 
exlink said:
I’m not sure why some people are acting shocked that it’s coming to PC. It’s been pretty much known since reveal that it was going to be.

Review embargo lifts this Friday apparently, a full week ahead of release. Typically when an embargo lifts this early then the developers and publishers are confident it’ll review well.
Click to expand...

Precisely, it was initially publicized as being multiplatform on PC, so this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Still looks like a glorified walking simulator to me, but we will see what the reviews say.
 
Coming to PC, awesome! Game looks interesting but I wasn't going to buy a PS4 to play it.
 
I'd wait for it on PC, but if it gets snagged on EGS before it hits Steam then that'll just make the wait longer. I have a PS4 Pro, so it should be bearable on that. I liked MGSV enough, if this is half as bizarre it'll be worth it, so I'm going to pre-order on PS4.
 
Kojima personally likes PC as a platform, no reason to expect any of his titles to be non-PC from here on out.
 
Waiting on reviews like a lot of people. If game is solid I will be getting it for PS4 after I finish up the current games I am going through.
 
From the gameplay footage, it seems like it will benefit you to play it during the "active" period when others are playing it, since it seems like people can leave things around the world for you to find?

Not totally sure how that will integrate into the gameplay, or if it's all that big of a deal in the first place, but it's something to think about.
 
MavericK said:
From the gameplay footage, it seems like it will benefit you to play it during the "active" period when others are playing it, since it seems like people can leave things around the world for you to find?

Not totally sure how that will integrate into the gameplay, or if it's all that big of a deal in the first place, but it's something to think about.
Click to expand...
So it’ll definitely impact gameplay as you’re able to use items left by other players and follow footsteps to find paths to certain spots. But other than that the game is apparently entirely solo. It basically sounds like a more in-depth Dark Souls message system that includes loot opposed to just messages.
 
MavericK said:
Horizon: Zero Dawn
The Last Of Us Remaster / The Last Of Us 2
Spider-man
God of War
RDR 2 (until recently)

Totally no other reasons to buy a PS4. ;)
Click to expand...
I'm gonna wait a bunch of years until the PS4 is considered ancient, then grab one and all the exclusives super cheap. Should keep me busy for a long time.
Unfortunately if next-gen console games are backwards compatible, the old consoles will retain value longer.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
I'm gonna wait a bunch of years until the PS4 is considered ancient, then grab one and all the exclusives super cheap. Should keep me busy for a long time.
Unfortunately if next-gen console games are backwards compatible, the old consoles will retain value longer.
Click to expand...

I said the same thing about the PS3. Before I realized it, the PS5 was announced and I still didn't have a PS3. :cry:
 
So the reviews are out and it sounds like every mission in the game including side quests is to deliver good from point A to point B. I am going to pass on this one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DF-1
like this
Pringle said:
I said the same thing about the PS3. Before I realized it, the PS5 was announced and I still didn't have a PS3. :cry:
Click to expand...
If it's any consolation, I still get use out of my PlayStation 2 while I haven't touched my PlayStation 3 in about four years.
 
Not directly related to Death Stranding, but DYKG did a video on Kojima:
 
Even if you read the high scoring reviews for this game, the content of the review often doesn't match the final score. Words like "Boring, tedious, annoying, frustrating, pointless" litter the reviews. Seems like Kojima's name gives it +2 to the final review score.

While I'm glad there's developers out there trying something different, there needs to be people surrounding the lead director that are not "yes-men" that can say 'this is a poor system we have in place, we need to fix it.' Reminds me of the star wars prequels, where Lucas was surrounded by 'yes-men' who were afraid to speak up.
 
Drexion said:
Even if you read the high scoring reviews for this game, the content of the review often doesn't match the final score. Words like "Boring, tedious, annoying, frustrating, pointless" litter the reviews. Seems like Kojima's name gives it +2 to the final review score.

While I'm glad there's developers out there trying something different, there needs to be people surrounding the lead director that are not "yes-men" that can say 'this is a poor system we have in place, we need to fix it.' Reminds me of the star wars prequels, where Lucas was surrounded by 'yes-men' who were afraid to speak up.
Click to expand...

Much could be said about grinding in RPGs, MMOs, etc. Some people enjoy those kind of experience. The terms can be applied while the person still likes the game. Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite games of all time and most of those terms could be applied to that game since there is nothing between the Colossi fights, yet those moments of "nothing" or "boring, tedious, etc" traveling are one of the things that make the game what it is and make it stand out so well. Death Stranding is one of those games that fits into the same category as art house movies or other things of that nature. It doesn't have to be "fun" or "enjoyable" to be good. To the right audience it will be a masterpiece, for everyone else its better to skip it and walk away.
 
I disagree with the whole "walking sim" from all I've read so far - its a 3rd person adventure. I'll have to wait until I play to make a final decision, but it really seems like the "auteur" in Kojima made sure that every element of the game was infused with the themes he wants to convey. I think this is why some people think its a masterpiece and others think its any of the negative things listed here. I can appreciate the attempt.

Those who exclusively prefer "fast food gaming", where every minute is just jam packed with whatever homogenized "flavor" is intended , may not like it. Sadly, we've seen a lot more "fast food" gaming with the rise of the microtransaction/lootbox/mobile-monetization schemes (almost all of them repugnant) but that doesn't mean that a different kind of "meal" is outmoded. Palette cleansing elements such as having to wait, lulls in the action aren't all bad - as Derangel mentioned above. Another example is in past MMOs like EverQuest - there are areas of the game that it takes a long (boring) time to get there as they're out of the way and the scale of the land is huge, but it is in service of making the game world feel expansive and making the danger and remoteness of the area important. There's a difference between certain kinds of "boring" content for real gameplay reasons vs strict monetization/psychological tricks - the former CAN be good design (though it can also be overdone too heavily, etc), the latter is meaningless grind in terms of game design.

From how reviews have discussed the game and the dev's comments, it seems like the core themes of connection, the difficulty to reconnect people and a society etc... are woven into the fabric of the gameplay. The main character journeys across a dangerous expanse, holding literal (and psychological) baggage on his trip. Crossing dangerous terrain, discovering how to navigate around hazards (both enemy and environmental) is a ponderous task laden down with your cargo and gear, where he must try to literally regain his balance if he makes a misstep somehow lest losing something important. The whole "working together to reconnect" theme is heavily based in the mechanics as well - lose cargo and it can be picked up by other players who deliver it, getting XP as well as bonus points with you. When you build something as small as a ladder or as big as a vehicle charging station or temporary shelter, you can decide if you're going to deconstruct it for more resources once you're done, or if you'll "leave" it there for other players. By doing the latter and if other players do the same, then you'll find a ford in a river with guide-ropes or a ladder over a steep gorge, or even a place to rest and recharge your bike just available without you having to do anything. They have even stated that players footprints / tire treads across a given path will eventually start to form a "road" just like real life paths would be eventually trampled down through continuous travel.

So the whole thing is about community, working together and the benefit thereof. The game world has to initially feel desolate, imposing, and difficult to traverse - so that players can compare how they used to have to do things the hard way etc... to follow a similar path later to find that the collective effort has made it better for everyone! There are other themes and "kojima weirdness" clearly, and from what I read there are additional game systems that are added over time (ie The multiple forms of combat are revealed until later ; especially with one particular type of enemy this means that early encounters are horror-evasion style "hold your breath against the invisible things and hope you can get around them" to later game potentials to, at least to a degree, fight back. ). Ultimately it seems to have kept to certain themes and worldbuilding and everything, including the mechanics, are in service of this.

I wouldn't be too worried about the metacritic scores - overall they seem to be quite high, with the low ones REALLY low that bring down the average. For what is essentially an "art film", that isn't bad - it doesn';t have to be for everyone, but it is frustrating when you have some reviewers who don't simply say that and continue to score the game higher for what it is, rather than just being the type who were looking for a fast food hamburger and thus rate a traditional omakase meal as garbage because of its difference from a McD's hamburger. I don't particularly care for sports games, but if I was to review one for my job, I'd at least try to review it for what it is and against others of its kind, rather than just claim that core game mechanics FIFA players really love for instance are stupid because they're not more like another genre that I prefer instead.
 
Last edited:
Seems generally positive but kind of mixed with some flaws. Clunky controls, lots of empty space and too drawn out (map/length) seem to be recurring complaints. The trailers look interesting and I have a feeling this will be similar to Spec Ops The Line - interesting story themes but not so great gameplay. Probably not as bad as Spec Ops gameplay wise, but you won't know until you play it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top