Topic: Death Stranding OT

@KratosMD Oh no, there are other, more celebrity-riddled games out there. But I do love seeing just how many things Conan O'Brien can randomly insert himself into (...ahem).

I know folks found him annoying in LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, but I thought he was funny.

The comments section of the review has predictably become a battleground, so I’ll post my extended thoughts here amongst a more civil and logical crowd. It always fascinates me how people can hold such a strong opinion about something they have never played.

Looking at Death Stranding reviews, it certainly seems varied. It goes back to the discussion we’ve been having on the MGSV forum and we came to the realization that MGSV is a marmite game, sort of a love-it-or-hate-it, personal opinion type of game that requires maybe a little getting used to before you appreciate it. People can describe to me why they love marmite or why they hate it, but in the end I’ll have to try it to really see how I feel. And even then, if it’s an acquired taste then I have to eat it a few times and try it in different scenarios before I pass judgment (unless it makes me sick from the get-go).

I feel like there are people who won’t have the interest or patience to appreciate Death Stranding — and that’s okay; some people just want their FIFA roster update or their yearly familiar COD outing so they can drop into something familiar and in their comfort zone. But some of us like to see creativity. Death Stranding seems to resonate with a gamer who likes to experience different and innovative concepts and is willing to put some time and effort into a larger experience.

@KratosMD compared it to Trails of Cold Steel (thanks for the YouTube link by the way. I’ll have to watch it later after work when I have time to absorb it) which is an apt comparison probably; and for me I’m thinking it will be akin to my time with Red Dead Redemption 2 — a game which many people couldn’t tolerate because of the long slog of slow paced gameplay and meandering story, but those of us that made it to the end were treated with a fantastic story, surprisingly deep gameplay, and an overall extremely satisfying experience. It’s a game that you have to play with the appropriate expectations and patience. Liam’s Death Standing review makes me think of that. And just like RDR2, I’ll probably grumble in the middle about how it drags too much, and “why did the developers do this or that”, but when I finish and sit in awed silence at the end, then I’ll be thankful that I stayed with it and look back fondly on it as one of my favorite gaming experiences of the generation.

.... or maybe I’ll hate it. We’ll see. That reminds me — I’ve still gotta get me some marmite to try.

@Arugula Yeah, I can see that, and actually I was coming on here to comment after having read IGN’s now infamous 6.8/10 review. I actually quite enjoyed reading it as well as Liam’s, despite the large discrepancy of the scores. The IGN review is well written and pretty humorous in its criticism, with a hint of hyperbole to make fun of the experience, and it has more by way of spoilery information. But after reading IGN’s review I would echo that same sentiment about incongruence of score and written word. Their review reads like at least a 7/10 or 8/10. The 6.8 seems like an overt attempt to get attention and clicks by low-balling the game a little bit (and viola! — looks like it worked in my case). The writer had some glowing praise amongst his criticisms of the game mechanics and ideas. Descriptions like “spectacular”, “tantalizing”, and “fascinating” abound and he seems to admit that he has a bias against games that require inventory management. Yet he seems to have high praise for some sections of the game that are transcendent. 6.8 to me seems to say, “I like this game and recommend it, but if I give it a 7 then this review won’t get noticed.” Kind of like when something goes on sale for $19.99 instead of just being $20. Psychologically the lower whole number negates the fact that it’s only marginally different from a 7/10, which would seem a reasonable consensus amongst all the reviews. We probably have a similar thing with the Push Square review getting the 10 even if it reads like an 8 or 9.
Also, Liams main complaint was the slow middle of the game, yet he states the ending is one of the greatest gaming experiences ever. To me a solid ending overshadows weakness of a games middle. In addition it the RDR2 example, for me I also think of NieR Automata — a game that drags in the middle due to a little repetition, but had such a mind blowing, creative, and philosophical conclusion that I can’t help but have it among my favorite games this generation.

@KratosMD The embargo was very strict on not being able to mention any gameplay/story moments past the end of chapter 3. The game consists of 14 main story chapters, and there are some very, very special moments contained within the latter half of them. There's a lot I'm not allowed to talk about that influenced the rating of 10/10.

@Th3solution You're a genius.

🎵Postman Pat Sam, Postman Sam
Postman Sam and the apocalyptic wasteland
Early in the morning, Just as day is dawning
He picks up all the post bags in his futuristic motorcycle 🎵

I can't get the Postman Pat theme song out my head now thanks to my silly offhand comment in the review comments... Admittedly I'm not the best song writer either 😂

Silliness aside I still have no clue what I make of this really after reading so many reviews during my lunch break.

I look forward to the user impressions that'll no doubt fill this topic soon enough though to hear more details

@KratosMD Yeah there's a lot of good stuff that hasn't been shown or talked about, it's all good!

@Th3solution This is my thinking exactly. If you'd asked me halfway through Red Dead II for a score out of ten, I might have said eight or nine. But then that conclusion and epilogue elevated it for me.

I think a game can still be a ten even if the middle does sag a bit, so long as it sufficiently wins you over with its conclusion, which from the review it sounds like it does, and then some. There will be a lot that @LiamCroft cannot tell us, and I expect Death Stranding to get pretty insane in its closing stages. In fact, I'll be disappointed if it doesn't.

I've been dismissive of the game for the most part but I preordered it today at Gamestop. Thankfully with the buy back promo thing I will lost nothing if it doesn't click with me. Going to take Friday off and really dive into it to form a personal opinion.

@LiamCroft The Death Stranding review was fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to write such an amazing review.

I was worried when I first stumbled across your work. Your a great writer, but I questioned your taste.

Not any more. Fully redeemed and I will never ever question the Metal Gear Survive 8/10 again. (apart from now Obvs).

Over the last few days and more so than for any other game I can remember, I've poured over many reviews both good and bad and watched a few videos including Digital Foundrys but also rewatched that Kojima gameplay video now with the English subtitles. Overall I've got to say I'm now pretty excited to play it, I think I now understand the "strand" gameplay and truly believe it could transform games in the future, we've seen elements of it already in other games but not to this level. I'm also curious as to how the world will evolve as people build upon it or indeed just how pathways form and clearly there are some surprises being hidden from us.

Bring on Friday

I can’t wait to see this thread after Friday. When the rank-and-file start to share their experiences, that’s when the game’s legacy will start to crystallize, methinks.

Well I'm committed now as I have it downloading at the moment, I've not been this excited about a game for some time

It's almost here, and at this point, I am at a loss for words to describe my excitement. I've been following this game since the announcement in 2016, I am also going in blind (as in I haven't read any reviews or watched any new footage other than the ones Kojima Productions published on their YouTube channel) and still don't know what to expect, which is very exciting.
I'll see you all trekking across American on Friday people.
If you wanted to add me I'm Homo-Ludens97 (Olaf4501 is the old Username)
Good luck, y'all.
Sam,

I'm interested to read players feedbacks as well. Personally, I'm not interested in the gameplay since the majority of it is you delivering stuff. I'm not a huge fan of simulator type games. I am however interested in the story and the characters which is why I might get it later down line when it's cheaper.

So I've played a little this morning before coming to work, probably about an hour and a half and a lot of that was cutscenes, I will say that I've not been glued to my TV screen like that in quite some time.

In terms of the actual gameplay almost immediately I was looking at the world differently to any other open world game I've ever played, normally when travelling in these it's a case of where am I going and then heading off in pretty much a straight line, switching your brain off and maybe admiring the scenery. Here I was viewing like I would the real world and thinking about where I am walking, where I'm placing my feet and planning which way to go, for example after picking some extra cargo on the first mission and continuing to my destination I find I'm on the wrong side of what is now a very wide river, so head back upstream for a narrower spot to cross. I'm just at the end of the second delivery quest and its introduced the concept of tools being left behind as I found some useful rope and ladders dotted about and I've really enjoyed these journeys much more than in any other game as just the concept of moving around is much more engaging.

I don't know if I've got my point across but I am loving every second of this game so far

@carlos82 Sounds good! Just got my copy in the mail. But I won't be able to play it until tonight. But I have the TV for myself, so I'm going to play it all night!

I woke up early and spent a couple hours playing before getting the kids up. Not enough to really comment on game play but my goodness this game looks amazing! Better than both Horizon and GOW quite a feat!

Hey, at least this game defaults to subtitles on, that's at least worth a 4/10.

@Octane I'm sure I turned them off but they were still there on the next cutscene so it's a 3 from me 😉