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Death Stranding OT - Special Delivery, update - PC release on July 14 (Steam/EGS)


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3 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Well, I have much more to go, so I'll see if the cutscenes strike me as they did you. :lol: 

Hey I hope you like it more than me, but scene after scene of nothing happening really, REALLY irks me. Even when something happens, nothing happens.

As an aside, I got an email about a strange light on a roof and how someone went to take a look but found nothing, but "I'd definitely have better luck," they even gave a pretty specific location. So I go there, and see no lights on any rooftops, but pull out some ladders anyway. I can get on like maybe 2 rooftops out of 20, and even when I put a ladder to make a bridge from rooftop to rooftop an invisible wall stops me. I LOVE secret/weird stuff like that in games, but it felt like I was led on a wild goose chase. Maybe there's something there or it only happens at night but I was so bummed out by not being able to explore the tops of the limited buildings you can stand next to. A world full of crazy (but minor) secrets is one of my favorite things about open worlds in games, I hope I can figure out what that email is about, because if the game has a lot more stuff like that I'll be way more excited to engage that; but the limitations on where I can explore using my toolkit really sucked.

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Just now, Xbob42 said:

Well, the really unfortunate part is the part I thought I'd like in this game I really do like... it's just that it's buried under an avalanche of bizarre garbage. Kojima had an idea for a tasty sandwich, got halfway through making it and then dipped it in week old dishwater. There's something cool in Death Stranding, I really want to play the game that's almost there.

 

But that's literally his whole deal because he would much rather be making movies than games. i think I read that Kojima productions will be developing scripted content, films and TV shows so he'll get to scratch that itch apparently. I'm intrigued by Death Stranding too if just for the aesthetics alone but I knew based on what I've seen and read that it's not a game that I could drop 60 bucks on and look myself in the mirror. If it's sub 45 bucks on Black Friday, maybe I'll grab it and try it for myself as I AM curious. But I have played enough Hideo Kojima games to know that THIS one wouldn't be the one to change my opinion of him. The things that sound bad sound REALLY bad to me

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4 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

 

But that's literally his whole deal because he would much rather be making movies than games. i think I read that Kojima productions will be developing scripted content, films and TV shows so he'll get to scratch that itch apparently. I'm intrigued by Death Stranding too if just for the aesthetics alone but I knew based on what I've seen and read that it's not a game that I could drop 60 bucks on and look myself in the mirror. If it's sub 45 bucks on Black Friday, maybe I'll grab it and try it for myself as I AM curious. But I have played enough Hideo Kojima games to know that THIS one wouldn't be the one to change my opinion of him. The things that sound bad sound REALLY bad to me

If this thing was a movie Mike and Jay from Red Letter Media would finish their Half in the Bag series by hanging themselves on a livestream.

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9 hours of cutscenes is a lot. 15 hour game or 75 hour game. what i like about cutscenes in games is they usually don't take up that much time and something important actually happens. I obviously haven't played death stranding but if there's any cutscene stuff that can be done while still letting the player play (or at least move around), they should probably do that. Like in Red dead Redemption when you are riding somewhere and get story info, that's great. It makes the ride over there better because im actually listening to whoever im riding with and having a conversation.

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5 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Just have the fuckin' argument with yourself if you're just going to flail around wildly and say completely contradicting things every other sentence.


Also, MGS4  is about 8 and a half hours of cutscenes, so...

Again, it’s not a straight 9 hours of cutscenes. They are throughout a 50 hour game. 🤷‍♀️

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2 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

 

He really didn't? He said length and frequency, and there's a difference between 9 hours in a 15 hour game (where half the playtime could be cutscenes) versus a game that some took 75 hours to beat, which makes the frequency far less.

Bob doesn’t understand because he’s so fucking stupid that he buys games he knows he won’t enjoy just to bitch and complain. 

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I'm a few more hours in. So far I feel the game is an 84, and weirdly that's the score for the game on both GameRankings and MetaCritic. I'd argue that's accurate. Really still enjoying it so far.

 

In many ways the game is no surprise at all given what MGS5: The Phantom Pain was in terms of open-world and gameplay systems. I 100% that game, so for me Death Stranding feels like the perfect extension of its system transferred to a much more non-violent gameplay system with delivery service, though stealth is very important in this game as well. In that way Death Stranding is no surprise at all. 

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51 minutes ago, Biggie said:

Bob doesn’t understand because he’s so fucking stupid that he buys games he knows he won’t enjoy just to bitch and complain. 

I like how this game is literally an extension of your personality and me not liking it physically hurts you. That sort of lack of self respect must be incredibly challenging to live with!

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1 minute ago, Xbob42 said:

I like how this game is literally an extension of your personality and me not liking it physically hurts you. That sort of lack of self respect must be incredibly challenging to live with!

I’m not the one @ people in other threads that have nothing to do with mentioned said game. :shrug:

 

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I really like the game, so much I'm willing to plop down full price after spending 10 hours with the RedBox rental, but I still can't fathom anyone taking any of Kojima's cutscene drivel seriously. I find it entertaining in a brain-damaged B-movie type of way and just kind of sit back and let it pass because the gameplay-to-cutscene ratio has been fine with me during my play time...but actively thinking this is somehow some revelation for "the medium" (a phrase I'm somehow insanely tired of reading in general), or even remotely decent storytelling, just no. 

 

I think the actual visual storytelling and atmosphere are as spot-on as they always have been in his MGS titles, more so here actually, and I really enjoy the overall experience so far despite all the weird flaws and issues but I'll never understand why some people think video games terribly aping vastly superior stories of films and/or books is the way forward. As far as I'm concerned, nothing breaks the much-aspired-to immersion than making me fucking idly sit and watch with a controller in my hand.

 

That being said, somehow I find the cutscenes in this way easier to stomach than many other current AAA games' constant lesser control-wresting bullshit like the utterly idiotic slow-walk-AI-dumps-exposition, I'm-hurt-and-walking-reaaaally-fucking-slowly and whatever else one can think of. So far, when cutscenes are over, it's back to 100% gameplay with even the initial tutorial kind of area being surprisingly hands-off for a modern game in my opinion. 

 

I don't know, I just think it's a really weird game outside of the hyped "WEIRD KOJIMA CUTSCENES" shit and very much worth a $3 rental just to check out for a few hours if you're (morbidly) curious. Maybe I don't play a wide enough variety of games anymore but I somehow find this really refreshing and fun to play so far.

 

Edit: I feel like I should mention how much I enjoyed all the shit people seemed to find tedious and bad about MGSV so maybe that plays part in it. I even liked its open world as a simple sandbox for mission approaches, and so far DS reminds me of that design big time. That's probably a major turn-off for most people expecting a more fully realized open world. 

 

I think both MGSV and DS are partially OCD Simulator games. I've always thought that shit was stupid in open world games but somehow MGSV and DS are a specific type of OCD Simulator I like.

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Whenever a dragged out cutscene pops up I end up pulling out my phone and get distracted, largely ruining the story of any game I'm playing.  I've had to record clips and rewatch Red Dead 2 cutscene so often.

 

A story has to really grab me to pay attention, and lately not many games are doing a great job with that.

 

This sounds like I'd miss just about everything if the cutscene are that long and common.

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Some tips that some gamers may have missed (I'm just about to start episode 3). 

 

1. Get that reverse trike at the first distribution center working. Get the generator (level 1) from the wind farm and bring it and activate it. It makes traversing for faster runs so easy. And always carry a PCC on you in case it runs out of batteries so you can make a remote generator to charge its battery if you ever run out. 

 

2. Make sure to increase your connection level to 4-5 stars for each base, center, etc. before moving on - it'll help a lot in terms of resources and what you can fabricate later. 

 

3. For those who may not know - there is a manual save option, just go to "system" and "save". You can go to "load" and see all the numerous different save states you probably have made. Manually save often - especially during hikes - and you'll never feel like you have to restart by much when you reload if you fail through a MULE or BT section (or a tough climb/hike where you lose packages). Note I am playing on "hard" difficulty, which can be hard.

 

4. Make sure to read all the "tips" under "Database" in the menu as well as reading all "interviews" under "Database" as well. These help a lot to explain and use the various (and sometimes complex) systems the game has in place, and to understand the backstory, mythology, and world-building going on that goes unexplained in the main text of the story (at least until this point). Note "interviews" can only be unlocked as you complete both specific orders for Sam as well as standard deliveries. The key is, again, increasing connection levels to a specific station to unlock more "interviews". You could theoretically go through the game and miss a lot of side info.

 

5. The game's sense of earnestness in making you, a gamer, someone Kojima is presuming is one of those "disconnected" in the real world, to reconnect with people. I mean, the main character suffers from a phobia of being touched by others due to the Death Stranding event (those who are exposed to it and BT's, etc. for prolonged periods develop phobias) and every character you meet is always gently praising you or kindly encouraging you to help out and do unto others, etc. It's always words of encouragement and kindness. The combat is primarily non-lethal and you can't kill anyone since if someone dies one suffers a voidout which is catastrophic. Kojima is clearly making a game about reconnecting in a country where the Trump voters have lost themselves. 

 

6. I say all this because the online component is clearly a major aspect of the game. Once in solo mode you bring a new station online to the "chiral network" (a sort of ectoplasmic internet), the previous "area" becomes unlocked showing other peoples' bridges that have been made, etc. (often through team efforts by multiple players over time) and so backtracking has become super easy on a bike just driving over these bridges. I also add likes to peoples stuff and add to help build bridges, etc. as I pass by, and everyone paying it forward helps to make the game easier post each mission that requires activating a new station, bringing it to the grid. So in a very real way bringing the stations online brings you together to more people in real life, all "helping" to build things in game to make the game somewhat easier for backtracking. You can press the big square button in the middle of the controller to yell stuff and if other peoples' signs are around they will yell things back to make you feel less alone and more a part of something. 

 

7. Basically, this movie is the inverse of the film Joker. I'm almost amazed Kojima is being so naked about this theme but it's a very kind and nice sentiment in this era. 

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4 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

Some tips that some gamers may have missed (I'm just about to start episode 3). 

 

1. Get that reverse trike at the first distribution center working. Get the generator (level 1) from the wind farm and bring it and activate it. It makes traversing for faster runs so easy. And always carry a PCC on you in case it runs out of batteries so you can make a remote generator to charge its battery if you ever run out. 

 

2. Make sure to increase your connection level to 4-5 stars for each base, center, etc. before moving on - it'll help a lot in terms of resources and what you can fabricate later. 

 

3. For those who may not know - there is a manual save option, just go to "system" and "save". You can go to "load" and see all the numerous different save states you probably have made. Manually save often - especially during hikes - and you'll never feel like you have to restart by much when you reload if you fail through a MULE or BT section (or a tough climb/hike where you lose packages). Note I am playing on "hard" difficulty, which can be hard.

 

4. Make sure to read all the "tips" under "Database" in the menu as well as reading all "interviews" under "Database" as well. These help a lot to explain and use the various (and sometimes complex) systems the game has in place, and to understand the backstory, mythology, and world-building going on that goes unexplained in the main text of the story (at least until this point). Note "interviews" can only be unlocked as you complete both specific orders for Sam as well as standard deliveries. The key is, again, increasing connection levels to a specific station to unlock more "interviews". You could theoretically go through the game and miss a lot of side info.

 

5. The game's sense of earnestness in making you, a gamer, someone Kojima is presuming is one of those "disconnected" in the real world, to reconnect with people. I mean, the main character suffers from a phobia of being touched by others due to the Death Stranding event (those who are exposed to it and BT's, etc. for prolonged periods develop phobias) and every character you meet is always gently praising you or kindly encouraging you to help out and do unto others, etc. It's always words of encouragement and kindness. The combat is primarily non-lethal and you can't kill anyone since if someone dies one suffers a voidout which is catastrophic. Kojima is clearly making a game about reconnecting in a country where the Trump voters have lost themselves. 

 

6. I say all this because the online component is clearly a major aspect of the game. Once in solo mode you bring a new station online to the "chiral network" (a sort of ectoplasmic internet), the previous "area" becomes unlocked showing other peoples' bridges that have been made, etc. (often through team efforts by multiple players over time) and so backtracking has become super easy on a bike just driving over these bridges. I also add likes to peoples stuff and add to help build bridges, etc. as I pass by, and everyone paying it forward helps to make the game easier post each mission that requires activating a new station, bringing it to the grid. So in a very real way bringing the stations online brings you together to more people in real life, all "helping" to build things in game to make the game somewhat easier for backtracking. You can press the big square button in the middle of the controller to yell stuff and if other peoples' signs are around they will yell things back to make you feel less alone and more a part of something. 

 

7. Basically, this movie is the inverse of the film Joker. I'm almost amazed Kojima is being so naked about this theme but it's a very kind and nice sentiment in this era. 

It's hard being broke as hell having to wait until the game is on sale in the future because of descriptions like yours. 

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I find the gameplay loop satisfying. It's greater than the sum of its parts, in that the stealth is... fine, the traversal is pretty good, and making structures for other people to use is rewarding.

 

But if someone sat down with this and hated it, I'd get that, too.

 

Also I highly recommend anyone playing to get to Episode / Chapter 3 directly. I don't think people need to sprint there, per se, but some stuff that becomes available not too far into it makes things more manageable.

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You should absolutely get to Chapter 3 as soon as you can, because it brings in a lot of useful features. You can always fast travel back to old areas and build up your connections if you want to, so you're not really missing much by doing that. Just making some of the more tedious stuff less tedious.

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I really enjoy the gameplay loop. Something satisfying about making sure you have all the right equipment you’ll need before setting out on a long trip to complete orders. Sneaking through areas where there are Mules is fun. Sneaking up on them and ganking ‘em for their packages is good stuff. The BT areas are a little tedious as the sneaking and holding your breath really slows down you getting through those areas. But even those encounters are p’cool. My Porter Grade is 50/Expert Handler. I haven’t even hit chapter 3 so I can only imagine I will even enjoy the game more when I do. I’ve been completing side orders like crazy. I’ll get back to the main story/orders tonight. 

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So far my biggest complaint is the fact every time you enter a BT area that fucking mini-cutscene of your sensor thingie engaging plays. I honestly don't have much to bitch about at 12 hours or so but that gets grating incredibly fast and unnecessarily separates the BT segments from the main loop like some sort of mini-game, don't like that at all. It's not huge while playing but it still annoys me more each time. 

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2 hours ago, eggydoo said:

:lol:

Is it this or do we now live in a culture where people do shit they know they won't like just to purposely bitch to get more views, likes and subscribes?

 

I don't know... you guys are the ones who follow these reviewers and from what I gather some reviewers that people typically like and trust didn't enjoy the game all that much so because they didn't bow down and worship Kojima's student film masquerading as a game, their opinions are now invalid? But it's interesting to me that Kojima could make this claim... that Americans are basically too dumb to "get" his game when a lot of the same reviewers who panned  Death Stranding lauded Disco Elysium. Americans seem to get that game just fine and it's not even an action game much less a shooter. Like I said, despite some aspects of Death Stranding being intriguing to me, I could tell that this is a game I don't need to be putting time into right now. I don't have 8 hours to invest in the hopes of it "getting good". I'll try it a year or two from now when it's cheap... MAYBE.  But I'm not gonna buy a game and force myself to play it just so I can shit on it.

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