I might give the plat a miss then!

The reason I didn't attempt it in the first game was that I knew I would end up hating the game afterwards because of how tediously long it would be.

I finished this the other night and I've been thinking about it ever since. Listening to the soundtrack at work. Still working on the platinum. Even considered going back and replaying the first one and then replaying this again. I've lost my mind and gone Death Stranding mad.

I don't know why considering I loved the first one, but I wasn't expecting this game to get me as good as it did. I kinda thought it was a known quantity and I'd like it but I wasn't expecting it to blow me away like it did. The last few hours of this are absolutely wild. Tonal whiplash you don't usually see this side of a Yakuza game. It drifts between being deeply sad and laughably absurd with reckless abandon and you kinda have to just sit back and admire the audacity of the whole thing.

There's at least three things that happen in this game that are so ridiculous that you can't believe they're even in the game. Surely, someone at Kojima Productions should have said something. "Kojima-san, are you sure we should be putting this in the game during this pivotal story moment?" Or maybe they did and they got overruled. Whatever happened I'm glad it happened.

A truly ridiculous, and surprisingly moving game. New characters rule, story is a winner, banger ending, gameplay is better than the first one, great soundtrack. Game of the year? Maybe.

@johncalmc That’s really high praise, man. Especially considering you were in a bit of a gaming funk right before this and trying to find something epic enough to fill the void. The GOTY debates are going to be really great this year with so many 10/10’s.

Patch notes: https://twistedvoxel.com/death-stranding-2-update-1-007-relea...

Nothing major to report.

Sooo I finally got the platinum last night (approx 116 hours) and I've got to say "connecting hearts and minds" trophy is 1000x worse then "best beloved". You'll grow to hate the following 3 people The adventuerer, the Tar therapist and the Observatory in the moutains, when I say it takes ages to max them out, I MEAN it, but oh it gets worse, for some bizarre reason standard orders are on a timer now, meaning you will have to wait for X amount of time before you can redeploy them. I feel these need patching because these three preppers took me 20 hours which is just terrible. Pro tip for anyone who want to know what standard orders are available use the search bar in the mission tab (wish I knew about that sooner) and use the coffin board as it's easily the fastest mode of transport minus the monorail. Overall the game is still in a 10/10 but just like FF7 Rebirth this trophy list has put me off doing a second play through anytime soon.

@Oram77 Congrats on the Platinum! You got it in no time at all. Meanwhile I'm still at episode 6 of Death Stranding 1!

(I'm so glad I stopped chasing platinums some time ago. Part of me is an extreme completionist, but I just don't have that kind of time if I want to be able to play multiple games each year.

I'm glad trophies are there, for those with time to spare, but I looked at a trophy list like Rebirth or Death Stranding and was like "it sounds more like a time sink than a challenge".)

@Herculean I actually only finished Death Stranding 1 a week before DS2 came out! how are you finding it so far, I assume you are playing the directors cut version?

Funny enough us talking about FF7 Rebirth and it's brutal trophy list, the devs actually acknowledged they were bad and also FF7R part 3 will have "easier" ones, if we can belive that.

Did the APAS enhancement not help to make them shorter?

116 hours has confirmed that I will not be going for this plat!

@Jackthelad93 I had that perk on the whole time, not sure how much of a difference it gives?? But I don't blame you for not going for it, just enjoy the game for what it is.

The subtitles included in the disc (physical release) are globally or locally? Will all subtitles be included regardless of the country you buy the disc?

Can someone that has bought the disc please check?

For example, if I buy the disc from the UK (or any other country) will it have Greek subtitles?

Thanks everyone in advance!

@Oram77 I turned in my impressions somewhere here on the forums. I played the Director's Cut, but I don't know what was or wasn't a part of that version specifically.

I'm glad I finally played it, and will definitely play the sequel at some point. But not immediately. I really enjoyed my time, but the game was also way longer than I anticipated. I think I played it for 65 hours. So first I'll play Bananza or Refantazio. Didn't decide yet...

I feel like the platinum in this one is actually worse than the original. It's years since I did that so maybe I'm remembering it wrong. But it's taking forever to five star everyone. I'm up to 120 hours. Admittedly, I have been messing about too, and I haven't exactly been well organised. Still. I love Death Stranding, but there's absolutely no need for this grind.

I'm still going through the story and I'm really not enjoying the slow trudge through the snowy mountains. Even using vehicles is a ball ache.

@Pacific The gameplay loop is addictive! But I remember not enjoying the snowy mountain section in the first game, but I think this one feels even more tedious than that!

Not to mention that yesterday there was an avalanche that I had no way of avoiding! 😠

I've nearly finished the story. Only got the last three episodes to complete.

That Charlie scene in episode 13 was... interesting.

@Th3solution is this a call to arms? Are we going to see if any other Push Squarians are ready to commit to the expected vibe ( @psmr ) that is Death Stranding 2?

I feel like skimming the comments in the DS1 thread that there is a bunch of us here that have played and enjoyed 1 but not yet 2? I know I've personally had the collector's edition so long that I've since re-boxed it 😅 But I will now ceremonially unbox it again at some point in celebration of at least starting a playthrough (yes, Sol. I realise I didn't exactly show signs that i'm commited to finishing it in that sentence, but I powered through the first, and loved it, so I know I probably can make it 😬) I may not have the energy if we have another segment like fighting 'wartime Cliff' on the hellscape that was his 'beach' again, though.

The game is good to go on the console, anyway, and I may start it tonight or tomorrow 😬

Who is with us? ... (Tumbleweed... set to eerie indie soundtracks as we slowly walk on, alone. Connected?)

@Ravix Who is with us? ... (Tumbleweed... set to eerie indie soundtracks as we slowly walk on, alone. Connected?)

• I did consider it when you first mentioned it, I pondered testing it with one of ROG's new gaming monitors, their OLED models work with PS5. I just got a friend one for her setup. I mainly use OLED TVs but got curious about that monitor range. I'm still trying to figure out what game to test it on, Death Stranding is a little depressing though and I'm trying to elevate my mood at the moment, happy games etc or else I think I'd be onboard. I'm also curious about starting Divinity Original Sin 2, what spurred you on to finally play the game? I only played a couple of hours on launch day, we talked about it before. I like your book-club type idea though, it's just a very heavy narrative, I'm still not there yet. At least I don't think so, then there's all those packages. I wish I was feeling it because it would be fun to be on the same page. Though I reckon you knew what I was going to say and that's why you didn't tag me on that original post.

@GirlVersusGame yeah, I can't imagine it will be a joyful journey overall 😬 I mean, look at Henry suffering already in my avatar. But it is an open invite from me and Sol to anyone, and I only tagged PSMR because I read the comment about it being a vibe game so he might be one that is already thinking of it. I do agree in thinking it will not suit your current desire to have only fun or gameplay based games at the moment, though. Did you ever play the Ratchet and Clank games? They would look really nice on a monitor like that, and they are pretty silly OTT fun. Or the maybe Astrobots? I played Divinity because I already love BG3. It is basically the same game, but different 😅 it felt very familiar. I still didn't finish it, not even close, maybe one quarter of the way into it.

Omg though, I'm already incredibly aware of a potential jump scare that i'd personally put in the game if I was Kojima too, so i'm already on edge even before anything has happened 😅 (the animation to cradle Lou is an incredibly zoomed in shot and it starts with him off-screen before appearing close to your own face. That is 100% going to be used to our detriment in future, I just know it 😭)

Welp!

@Ravix yeah I hate to **** with your thunder/tumbleweed (thunder-weed?) but I’m saving Death Stranding 2 for a special occasion. I already know it’s gonna be an all-timer for me, so I want to play it… when I need it. You enjoy though.

PS. I’m getting my ‘vibe’ from my spanking new (reconditioned) PS2 atm… I haven’t even switched the sucker on yet, I just like lookin’ at it 😅

@Ravix Did you ever play the Ratchet and Clank games?

• That's weird timing I was just looking at one on the PSN. It's because Tjuz shared screenshots of one and the cat had me curious. I can't play Astrobot because (unpopular opinion) he murdered Sackboy then took his literal position on the Sony mascot/character roster. I know people love him (Astrobot) I still see him as a murderer, if he didn't pop up we might have a new LittleBigPlanet (might)

I forgot that Death Stranding 2 might have jumpscares. I'm sure it will be fun though and I do want to stay on topic so I can't linger too long. I'm watching the current Grand Theft Auto Hacker's bitcoin analytics, in real-time to see when they'll cash out and split before the Feds react. It looks like the pump is off, it's interesting to watch because I've never seen a Hacker group use this particular method for gaming before. I won't bore you with the specifics, I'm watching the chart in 120fps, it's moving fast. And honestly this part of Grand Theft Auto 6 is more interesting to me than the game itself. People knew something was coming, I thought they'd ransom Rockstar and send in a broker, donations weren't in the cards for me at all. Or a pump and dump Crypto coin, it's really clever. Every piece of footage I saw tonight on Telegram and elsewhere linked back to their Crypto coin, it's free advertising but it's still the same charge even if they didn't demand payment. So it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

yeah, I can't imagine it will be a joyful journey overall 😬 I mean, look at Henry suffering already in my avatar. But it is an open invite from me and Sol to anyone, and I only tagged PSMR because I read the comment about it being a vibe game so he might be one that is already thinking of it.

• I wondered why he suddenly looked like Alice Cooper, he looks like he was hit with bear-mace. I'll leave Death Stranding 2 on the table and have a sleep on it, I can always catch up if I change my mind. That's if I don't start Divinity Original Sin 2 first, I'm looking for something slow and casual. I see also a small handful of screenshots, I'm sure you'll be exercising photo-mode.