Death Stranding

[ZBomber | 54]

Death Stranding comes out this Friday, anyone here planning on playing it?

My preorder just shipped but there's so much coming out this month and the game is so long that I might wait until Xmas to play. It currently has an 85 on Metacritic but seems a bit divisive.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

2 hours ago, ZBomber said:

Death Stranding comes out this Friday, anyone here planning on playing it?

My preorder just shipped but there's so much coming out this month and the game is so long that I might wait until Xmas to play. It currently has an 85 on Metacritic but seems a bit divisive.

This seems like it would quickly become "I just gotta finish this so I can move on" for me. So I'm gonna pass until I hear more from actual humans who play casually rather than reviewers.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

What type of game is it? 3rd person action? Survival horror?

[Nightowljrm | 72]

Death Stranding is an interesting one to me. IGN got absolutely roasted for giving the game a 6.8. Normally, I don't hold a lot of weight to IGN reviews, but considering the hype for this game (and all the crazy Kojima worship), I can't imagine they'd give it a 6.8 unless they stood by that score. They got a lot of flack with it.

But that's just the beginning of this review debacle. Here's some examples

Quote

PlayStation Lifestyle - 9.5/10

Death Stranding is not a “fun” game, but it’s an important and meaningful experience that earns its payoff through every bit of frustration and slog. Its a look at life and death, connection and solitude; a game about building up what matters most and supporting each other selflessly.

 

Wait, so... it's not a "fun" game, but it's a 9.5/10? Don't get me wrong, I understand what they're trying to say. (It's a great "experience" but not necessarily a "great game"), I think the narrative, atmosphere, etc. are all very important to a game, but for a video game, I think fun is a critical ingredient, and if there's plenty of "frustration and slog", I don't see that adding up to a 9.5.

Quote

LevelUp - 8.5/10

Despite having a well-designed and quite addictive gameplay loop, a great story with a powerful ending, Death Stranding falls shorts in key areas. With a long and lethargic pacing, players will turn away, and then, it’s lack of difficulty will surely seal the deal to leave this adventure for later.

That summary doesn't sound at all like an 8.5/10 to me.

There's more reviews like this on Metacritic (critic reviews, not fan reviews). I'm worried the scores don't accurately reflect the reviews because people are afraid to give Death Stranding anything less than high praise because it's a Kojima game and all the hype surrounding it.

Having said that... I'm debating on picking up the game Friday. I'm intrigued and even though I'm not confident it'll be a hit with me, I want to give it a shot before there's too many spoilers floating around. It's going to be one of those games you need to play blindly to fully enjoy, I bet. 

Edited November 5, 2019 by Nightowljrm
Formatting

[Gloves | 11,771]

I've seen it equated to a "walking simulator". I won't give much away but will add a spoiler just in case someone wants NO INFO AT ALL. I'll talk a bit about your characters role in the world. 

Spoiler

Your character is a "porter". A delivery man. You are tasked with taking literally boxes from one town to another, and there are obstacles and enemies along the way. 

Combat in best avoided, and stealth is key to survival. 

As you progress, the online aspect of the game will start to pull in data from other players games. You yourself will be putting up ladders and the like to make traversal easier, as will others. After you've synced up a new place, you will start slowly seeing the actions of other players within your own world; ladders will start appearing, paths will be created. 

Combat is really few and far between. It's not a guns blazing game. Keep in mind this is Kojima. I'm really looking forward to this myself as I love his work, but I can see how some might not enjoy Death Stranding. I've seen "it gets better after the first ten hours" and that's gonna lose a lot of people. 

 

[glazball | 168]

The review I read on Polygon seemed unflattering, but not dismissive.

Quote

The entire game is about lugging packages. That’s what you’ll be doing whenever you’re in control of Sam: bringing a box or boxes from one part of the map to another. Saying it out loud, it sounds like absolute misery.

Confession: I hated my time with Metal Gear Solid V and quit playing it after about 10 hours.  So, it's hard for me to give Kojima the benefit of the doubt now.  I like games that try something weird or unusual (like say, Catherine) but it still needs to be fun.  Death Stranding doesn't really sound fun.

I think it's also telling that in a recent Gamestop email ad, they have a "guarantee" for buying DS.  Something like "If you don't love it, return it within 48 hours for full store credit."  I read that as: "we know a bunch of people are going to hate this weird game, so go ahead and buy it at no risk for $60 please."

Edited November 5, 2019 by glazball
clarity

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Might pass. Not looking forward to a game that constantly screams in my face how “cinematic” it is, especially a walking simulator. 

[Nightowljrm | 72]

14 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Might pass. Not looking forward to a game that constantly screams in my face how “cinematic” it is, especially a walking simulator. 

But think of all the celebrities in it! /s (That has been a pet peeve of mine regarding the marketing of this game).

[acromite53 | 337]

15 minutes ago, Nightowljrm said:

 

 

Wait, so... it's not a "fun" game, but it's a 9.5/10? Don't get me wrong, I understand what they're trying to say. (It's a great "experience" but not necessarily a "great game"), I think the narrative, atmosphere, etc. are all very important to a game, but for a video game, I think fun is a critical ingredient, and if there's plenty of "frustration and slog", I don't see that adding up to a 9.5.

I kind of see it like this. There are some films that are considered classics that you aren't necessarily intended to enjoy while in the process of watching them. They may be a chore to get through with segments that seem pointless or inconsequential. You ask yourself, where is this going? But then after you finish watching it, it all comes together and you begin to appreciate every part as a whole. In hindsight, you'll begin to perceive that you did enjoy it and may recommend it. The slow, building, maybe even tedious, journey the story takes to reach the end is a big reason why an impact was made. You look back fondly at these parts with a new set of eyes in your post viewing retrospection. Even though you may not want to revisit it or you didn't necessarily "enjoy" every aspect of watching it. 

[ZBomber | 54]

1 hour ago, Nightowljrm said:

There's more reviews like this on Metacritic (critic reviews, not fan reviews). I'm worried the scores don't accurately reflect the reviews because people are afraid to give Death Stranding anything less than high praise because it's a Kojima game and all the hype surrounding it.

Having said that... I'm debating on picking up the game Friday. I'm intrigued and even though I'm not confident it'll be a hit with me, I want to give it a shot before there's too many spoilers floating around. It's going to be one of those games you need to play blindly to fully enjoy, I bet. 

This is pretty much how I feel too.

I've also never played any Kojima games so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

[MiamiSlice | 3,089]

25 minutes ago, acromite53 said:

I kind of see it like this. There are some films that are considered classics that you aren't necessarily intended to enjoy while in the process of watching them. They may be a chore to get through with segments that seem pointless or inconsequential. You ask yourself, where is this going? But then after you finish watching it, it all comes together and you begin to appreciate every part as a whole. In hindsight, you'll begin to perceive that you did enjoy it and may recommend it. The slow, building, maybe even tedious, journey the story takes to reach the end is a big reason why an impact was made. You look back fondly at these parts with a new set of eyes in your post viewing retrospection. Even though you may not want to revisit it or you didn't necessarily "enjoy" every aspect of watching it. 

I totally get this analogy. But you are comparing a 2 or 3 hour movie to a game that probably takes at least 20 hours to complete. 

If a movie has a long scene of a guy eating breakfast, I can probably appreciate that in the context of whatever weird narrative it has. I can slog through some slow scenes in movies, if done right. If the same movie has 10 hours of the guy eating breakfast over and over, literally the same unfun experience repeated ad nausea... let's just say I can only take so much. 

[acromite53 | 337]

18 minutes ago, MiamiSlice said:

I totally get this analogy. But you are comparing a 2 or 3 hour movie to a game that probably takes at least 20 hours to complete. 

If a movie has a long scene of a guy eating breakfast, I can probably appreciate that in the context of whatever weird narrative it has. I can slog through some slow scenes in movies, if done right. If the same movie has 10 hours of the guy eating breakfast over and over, literally the same unfun experience repeated ad nausea... let's just say I can only take so much. 

That's true. And since games are more interactive than movies, more emphasis should be put on the entertainment/gameplay aspect of it to hold your attention for longer sessions.

[Galdius | 1,511]

After The Phantom Pain I wasn't interested in the next Kojima game.
And then Death Strading appeared and my opinion didn't change.

It took a lot of time for Kojima to explain what the game is and I didn't get hyped for it.
The gameplay doesn't seem to be very interesting and I don't feel in the mood for this kind of game.

I will past it for now but I think it'll be heavily discounted in the near future and then maybe I'll buy it.

[DarkTone | 984]

You piss on fields and mushrooms grow. Who WOULDN'T play this?!

[AstralSoul | 502]

I have absolutely no idea what this game is about and thus won't be buying it at launch. But I have to admit the lack of knowledge surrounding this game does make me more curious to see what it is. Maybe somewhere down the line I'll get it on sale.

[CMR | 519]

I'll probably watch a speed run of it in a few months.

[koifish | 555]

I don't think I'd like it as a game, but I find it really intriguing, and I am tempted to play it. Alas, I don't have a PS4 and don't plan on owning one for a long time. I'll probably just watch some friends play it while slowly getting more drunk and chucking peanut gallery comments here and there. I'm a fan of experimental games, and the message I've seen portrayed as being a central core of the plot is actually one that I believe in myself, but I have a suspicion that I wouldn't care to play more than a few hours at most of the game.

[fox | 1,665]

Looks weird af.  I'm in.

[SoleGoose | 95]

Not going to lie, I kept seeing #DeathStranding pop up on the trending sidebar on twitter and just thought it was some political thing (and therefore ignored it). I certainly wasn't expecting it to be a game.

[Nightowljrm | 72]

19 hours ago, acromite53 said:

That's true. And since games are more interactive than movies, more emphasis should be put on the entertainment/gameplay aspect of it to hold your attention for longer sessions.

Exactly, and this is where my hesitation lies. I just don't know if it'll hold up the same way as a movie with a similar direction. 

I'm buying it, so I guess ultimately they're gonna make their money. I like new concepts so even if it isn't something I enjoy, at least I'm supporting someone doing something different. (Even though I don't think it's as ground breaking as some people are trying to make it out to be, but that remains to be seen). 

[zeppelin03 | 314]

I heard it's mostly walking and balancing packages on your back. The cinematics and technology behind this are inpressive.  I can't help but feel like he should have just made a CGI movie. 

When it drops to about $30 I may try it out.  Weird carries me through a 2 hour indie, not a 25 hour AAA title.

Edited November 6, 2019 by zeppelin03

[Nightowljrm | 72]

Some more news about Death Stranding dropped this morning. The trophy list has been revealed on PSN profiles (59 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold, 1 plat). According to PowerPyx (warning, their guide may contain spoilers), the game itself takes ~40 hours, but if you want to get the platinum, it'll take ~125 - 170 hours. One of the writers at PowerPyx said that the game is essentially the same throughout, minus some story bits and some occasional combat.

Definitely going to be a polarizing game. If anyone cares, I wouldn't mind sharing my thoughts as I play it some this weekend (I am going to a "Thanksgaming" event a friend is throwing at their house Saturday so I won't be able to devote a ton of time to it). 

If the game can hit that "MMO farming grind" sweet spot, it could be fun. I like grinding when it's done right. 

[ZBomber | 54]

3 hours ago, Nightowljrm said:

Some more news about Death Stranding dropped this morning. The trophy list has been revealed on PSN profiles (59 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold, 1 plat). According to PowerPyx (warning, their guide may contain spoilers), the game itself takes ~40 hours, but if you want to get the platinum, it'll take ~125 - 170 hours. One of the writers at PowerPyx said that the game is essentially the same throughout, minus some story bits and some occasional combat.

Definitely going to be a polarizing game. If anyone cares, I wouldn't mind sharing my thoughts as I play it some this weekend (I am going to a "Thanksgaming" event a friend is throwing at their house Saturday so I won't be able to devote a ton of time to it). 

If the game can hit that "MMO farming grind" sweet spot, it could be fun. I like grinding when it's done right. 

I'd be interested in reading your take. I wasn't planning on playing it until Xmas and my preorder arrives tomorrow but I'm still on the fence if I want to keep it or return it.

[Gloves | 11,771]

3 hours ago, Nightowljrm said:

Some more news about Death Stranding dropped this morning. The trophy list has been revealed on PSN profiles (59 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold, 1 plat). According to PowerPyx (warning, their guide may contain spoilers), the game itself takes ~40 hours, but if you want to get the platinum, it'll take ~125 - 170 hours. One of the writers at PowerPyx said that the game is essentially the same throughout, minus some story bits and some occasional combat.

Definitely going to be a polarizing game. If anyone cares, I wouldn't mind sharing my thoughts as I play it some this weekend (I am going to a "Thanksgaming" event a friend is throwing at their house Saturday so I won't be able to devote a ton of time to it). 

If the game can hit that "MMO farming grind" sweet spot, it could be fun. I like grinding when it's done right. 

Ah, PowerPyx. That takes me back. I knew that guy once.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

On 11/6/2019 at 10:28 AM, zeppelin03 said:

I heard it's mostly walking and balancing packages on your back. The cinematics and technology behind this are inpressive.  I can't help but feel like he should have just made a CGI movie. 

When it drops to about $30 I may try it out.  Weird carries me through a 2 hour indie, not a 25 hour AAA title.

$20 is the price point for me to "experience" the first ten hours then never play again.