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

[fuckle85]

wat 

 

[Brick]

That was certainly a Kojima trailer.

[gamer.tv]

It's been interesting seeing the reviews come out for the game. I watched the IGN (US) review this morning and they slated nearly every aspect of the game, but similarly told me barely anything about the game as a whole, just everything they didn't write. The actual score (6.8), to me seemed like a way to drive up web traffic, than a fair impression. Especially looking at others impressions (which by in large are in the 8-9/10 range). 

 

I'm not picking it up just yet as it seems like a User Review kind of game, but I'm glad I haven't pre-ordered.

[Bacon]

After seeing some of the reviews, positive and negative, this looks like a never play and just watch the movie on YouTube. For me that is. Can't say that kind of gameplay is what I want. 

[Keyser_Soze]

Dan hates it, says it is 50 times worse than RDR2

So I guess the game officially sucks.

[Xbob42]

The Verge review headline is rather telling.

Quote

DEATH STRANDING IS A LONG, BIZARRE JOURNEY THAT’S BOTH BREATHTAKING AND BORING

 

[SaysWho?]

 

[Biggie]

Looks great but what the hell is it about? lol

[Pikachu]

https://opencritic.com/game/7816/death-stranding

 

86 average based on 72 reviews

[atom631]

2 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

The Verge review headline is rather telling.

from everything I watched, it definitely just looks boring. Big vast open world with not much going on in it. 

 

I think Im skipping this until I can catch it on  a sale. Too much other shit to play right now anyway. 

[atom631]

Quote

The first game from famed designer Hideo Kojima since his dramatic departure from publisher Konami and his long-running Metal Gear franchise is a boldly inventive slab of sci-fi, fastidiously crafted to host to some of the most breathtaking sights I’ve ever witnessed in any medium – video game or otherwise. It’s also a cross-country crawl that frequently finds itself mired in an exhausting amount of inventory management, backtracking, one-note mission design, and unprecedentedly arduous travel.

 

From IGN. (6.8/10)

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[AbsolutSurgen]

I've read 4 reviews now (in the order I read them):

Arstechnica:  Death Stranding is Kojima unleashed, and it’s as weird as you’d expect

Quote

Death Stranding is definitely a game that stands out from the crowd, but on balance, I’m not sure it stands out for good reason

Quote

Try it if you want all the Metal Gear ridiculousness and overwrought drama with none of the stealth-action thrills.

IGN:  Death Stranding Review -- 6.8

Quote

Certain landmark games in recent years, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2, have managed to successfully tread the line between the rigidity of realism and the exhilaration of pure escapism. But much like its stumbling protagonist, Death Stranding just can’t consistently get the balance right despite possessing equally lofty ambitions and countless inventive ideas. There is a fascinating, fleshed-out world of supernatural science fiction to enjoy across its sprawling and spectacular map, so it’s a real shame that it’s all been saddled on a gameplay backbone that struggles to adequately support its weight over the full course of the journey. It’s fitting that Kojima Productions’ latest is so preoccupied with social media inspired praise, because in some ways I did ‘Like’ Death Stranding. I just didn’t ever love it.

Eurogamer -- Death Stranding review: a baffling, haunting, grand folly

Quote

It is steady, hypnotic stuff. Some may find it boring. I enjoy hiking myself and found it startlingly true-to-life to pick my way through the rocky outcrops, footfall by footfall. The maps encourage this, being convincingly organic, meticulously designed and completely open. I liked the game best when I planned a circuitous route for a delivery and was rewarded with a long, lonely walk through silent, beautiful views; or when I figured out that I could shortcut a very long delivery by taking a risky, gruelling trek through a high mountain pass. The loop is one of careful preparation - selecting your equipment, optimising your load, planning your route - followed by the journey. It's fair to say that it can be pretty dry, and the micromanagement can be onerous. But at its rigorous best, Death Stranding reframes your relationship with an open-word landscape in much the same way that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did.

Quote

As the credits roll on Death Stranding, heavy with unearned pathos, the impression you're left with is of a self-congratulatory monument to the ego of a creator who is high on his own supply. Has Kojima always been this full of it? Maybe. But then you return to the game proper, select a humble delivery order, lace up your boots and plan another reckoning with those unforgettable, haunted moors. And you realise that this game has got under your skin in a way few do.

Gamespot:  Death Stransing Review: Stand and Deliver -- 9

Quote

Once you reach your destination, though, you're showered with praise. The recipient will likely thank you to your face (albeit as a hologram), and then they'll give you a series of social media-style likes. You're inundated with a multi-page results screen itemizing all the likes you received for the delivery and in which categories, plus an overall rating for the delivery itself, no matter how small--it's positive reinforcement turned up to 11. These likes then funnel into each of the delivery categories like experience points, and as you level up, you can carry more weight or better maintain your balance, among other benefits. Deliveries also feed into a connection rating with each city, outpost, or person, and as that increases, you acquire better gear and sometimes gifts to reward your efforts further.

Quote

Death Stranding is a hard game to absorb. There are many intertwining threads to its plot, and silly names, corny moments, and heavy exposition belie an otherwise very simple message. That comes through much more clearly in the game's more mundane moments, when you find a desperately-needed ladder left behind by another player or receive a letter from an NPC thanking you for your efforts. It's positive without ignoring pain; in fact, it argues in both its story and its gameplay that adversity itself is what makes things worth doing and life worth living. It's a game that requires patience, compassion, and love, and it's also one we really need right now.

 

I am really struggling matching up the review text with the high opencritic/Metacritic scores.  Of the two reviews I read that liked the game, one liked it because he felt it was like hiking (which he really likes) and one seemed to really like being praised and paying forward equipment to other players.  The others talk about what a mess the story is, how arduous the inventory system is, and how grindy/slow the hiking is.

 

Has anyone read a review that lays out why this game is getting such high scores and is a good video game?

 

[Pikachu]

 

[Brian]

Konami was right

 

Spoiler

 

[atom631]

18 minutes ago, Pikachu said:

 

so long, tedious isolated world traversal

horrendous inventory management

basically one fetch quest after another

boring and easy boss fights 

 

sort of interesting story 

gets better late game with interesting reveals

great music

 

 

 

[Spork3245]

This game exemplifies why Konami would lock Kojima in rooms and make him finish his games. We all owe Konami a massive apology.

 

[crispy4000]

It sounds sort of like what RDR2 attempted with realism but traversal systems and animation better designed to support it.  I like the idea of every step being of consequence, and your load being able to tip you over if you aren't careful.  Getting from point A to B doesn't bother me if the journey is engaging.  Although the Easy Allies review says that combat (and those BT's) are a bit too boring in practice.

This is all likely part of a larger trend that BoTW started, where scaling up something is supposed to give you a sense of accomplishment.  I can dig that.  But still I have no idea if this game is for me.

I'm open to trying it, but will probably wait for the PC release.

[crispy4000]

 

[Firewithin]

what does his life partner Geoff Keighley say about it?

[eggydoo]

Quote

It's a fascinating slow burn ~50 hours experience through which the theme of connections shines before going out with a bang. I can't guarantee it'll be for everyone, but I was really compelled by it.

 

Pretty much a warning for people that did not enjoy RDR2 

[TwinIon]

It sounds like he constructed a game entirely out of my least favorite parts of various games. Tedious travel, terrible combat, inventory management, Metal Gear style melodrama.

 

 

 

I think I'll be skipping this one.

 

 

[Spork3245]

7 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

It sounds like he constructed a game entirely out of my least favorite parts of various games. Tedious travel, terrible combat, inventory management, Metal Gear style melodrama, and Norman Reedus’ naked butt.

 

 

 

I think I'll be skipping this one.

 

 

 

 

[nublood]

1 hour ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

Konami was right

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

1 hour ago, Spork3245 said:

This game exemplifies why Konami would lock Kojima in rooms and make him finish his games. We all owe Konami a massive apology.

 

 

Konami may have had a point. But until they revive Castlevania, they're dead to me.

[Bloodporne]

Don't ask me why but I'll still rent it from RedBox when it hits just to see for myself...

 

It's hard for me to imagine someone who made MGSV's gameplay to totally shit the bed in terms of gameplay systems but all signs point to just that it appears. What a fucking bummer. 

[Xbob42]

1 hour ago, crispy4000 said:

 

I just watched the entire thing and it kind of sounded like, despite him loving the hell out of it... the only good things he really said are that you can leave shit behind so other players will have an easier time and... the bosses are really cool but super easy? I feel like every glowing review of this game lacks any substance on what exactly makes the game worth playing. Maybe it's some intangible thing, or maybe it depends on how much you like the idea of being a UPS man, but generally I expect high praise to get a little more specific than "I found a ladder that someone else left behind and shat my pants with joy." Maybe the walking stuff is so tedious that any little bit of help feels like a windfall?

 

I'm at least hesitantly excited to give this a rent now, maybe I'll be one of the ones raving about it. Well, I'm sure I'll be raving one way or another, but maybe a positive one!

[Brick]

The more I see of this game the less it appeals to me. Maybe I'll just wait for it to go on PS+ free. 

[Bloodporne]

3 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

I just watched the entire thing and it kind of sounded like, despite him loving the hell out of it... the only good things he really said are that you can leave shit behind so other players will have an easier time and... the bosses are really cool but super easy? I feel like every glowing review of this game lacks any substance on what exactly makes the game worth playing. Maybe it's some intangible thing, or maybe it depends on how much you like the idea of being a UPS man, but generally I expect high praise to get a little more specific than "I found a ladder that someone else left behind and shat my pants with joy." Maybe the walking stuff is so tedious that any little bit of help feels like a windfall?

 

I'm at least hesitantly excited to give this a rent now, maybe I'll be one of the ones raving about it. Well, I'm sure I'll be raving one way or another, but maybe a positive one!

The positives I got from it are that many things that on paper sound tedious and simple are actually very interesting to do in-game. However, I'm more inclined to think it's a case of what you're saying here as well in that yeah it's fun...compared to the utter tedium of seemingly not really doing anything exciting. 

 

I'm still curious because I admit that I found even the supposed micromanagment in MGSV addictive and it sucks balls on paper but definitely don't have a good feeling at all. Like you, I'll rent it when it comes to a RedBox near me and at least give it a shot because I do love challenging traversal in games but yeah...we'll see.

[crispy4000]

5 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

The positives I got from it are that many things that on paper sound tedious and simple are actually very interesting to do in-game. However, I'm more inclined to think it's a case of what you're saying here as well in that yeah it's fun...compared to the utter tedium of seemingly not really doing anything exciting. 

 

I'm still curious because I admit that I found even the supposed micromanagment in MGSV addictive and it sucks balls on paper but definitely don't have a good feeling at all. Like you, I'll rent it when it comes to a RedBox near me and at least give it a shot because I do love challenging traversal in games but yeah...we'll see.

 

There's a lot of games and genres that could fit that description actually.



Farming chore simulator.

It just depends if the core mechanics and feeling of progression is fun.  I have no idea if Death Stranding is actually fun.  But post-reviews, there's still enough intrigue for my interest in the game to hold, for now.

[Xbob42]

I mean, to be fair, every time I see footage of the game I want to immediately play it because they seem to have crafted a very nice looking world that seems very pleasant to explore, but then the reviewer is immediately like "YO HOLD UP GETTING AROUND IS A CHORE BUT IT'S COOL BECAUSE [unintelligible gibberish mostly equating to abstract concepts/things unrelated to playing a video game]" which gives the impression of this sort of brain draining effect the game seems to have on reviewers.

 

Although SkillUp sounds really confident saying shit like "in Death Stranding, every step is hard fought, every cliff scaled is its own mountain, every enemy evaded is its own existential threat, all of this is amplified is amplified by the kinesthetic link between player and character, as the sophisticated movement animations coupled with the advanced terrain system, combined with the cargo weight you're carrying, offset by all the equipment you're using to make things easier, it all results in a sensation where the journey was a struggle so real I just forgot I was holding a controller at times." Which, to me at least, is the most flowery and apologetic way possible to say "It's a chore but because it was a chore I enjoyed it more," I guess?

[Keyser_Soze]

48 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

It sounds like he constructed a game entirely out of my least favorite parts of various games. Tedious travel, terrible combat, inventory management, Metal Gear style melodrama.

 

 

 

I think I'll be skipping this one.

 

 

I know @Xbob42 is down with encumbrance!

[RedSoxFan9]

GOAT

[Xbob42]

I'm totally fine with encumbrance as long as it serves a purpose. I feel like in most open world games the only purpose seems to be "so you can't hold all the items," but not much beyond that. This at least seems to add some (literal) weight to the concept.

[gamer.tv]

The more I think about, the more this seems like the perfect game to play if you're forced to lie in bed for several weeks and you play it whilst watching a series on Netflix. 

[XxEvil AshxX]

Most of those reviews read like the people didn't really enjoy the game, but are afraid to rate it low because then they'll have to hand over their Kojima fan club membership.