Death Stranding Review (Repost)

 

Hideo Kojima, creator of the beloved Metal Gear franchise, is once more delving into the gaming sphere with his entirely new game and concept, Death Stranding. With a star-studded cast and an elusive yet endearing reveal trailer showcasing the capabilities of the Decima engine, audiences, new and old, await with bated breath what Kojima Productions has to offer.  In this review, I will expand upon the narrative qualities of Death Stranding, its character development and overall presentation while also elaborating on crucial gameplay mechanics and elements. In doing so, I hope to be as informative as possible for new and old audiences. 

You are Sam Bridges, a Porter who crosses the scope of the United States to deliver essential goods. However, the difficulty in doing so is the post-apocalyptic setting you reside in. Known as the event of the Death Stranding, the long-dead become intertwined with the living through the path known as the ‘Beach’. Ghostly apparitions known as BT's haunt the world, and with the presidential position in turmoil, it is your job to connect the fragmented remnants of the land and its people, unveiling the secrets of the Death Stranding.   (Doesn't sound too complicated, right?)

(Note - photos were taken with ps4, not Pro)

Atmosphere + Sound

There’s something positively exquisite in the atmosphere and overall tone of Death Stranding. Sound effects convey dread and horror, with upbeat synthesizers during combat to retain a formidable identity.  Traipsing through the black sludge, with the hushed groans of the dead echoing around you, it does much to unnerve and unsettle the player, as the long-passed strive to pull you into the murky depths.  The atmosphere is a huge component of what evokes the reality of this horrific setting. 

 

Additionally, Sam carries BB, a baby in a pod that works to alert Sam of the BTs in the area, allowing the capability to actually see them. 

Though appearing to be gimmicky and annoying initially, BB holds an essential part of the overall story. Before long, I felt the entire concept and inclusion of BB to be an ever-intriguing one, with a gradual bond forming amid the story.

Combat

Combat, for the most part, can feel like a relatively easy experience, yet still satisfying nonetheless. With smooth and slick slow-motion effects that trigger when you defeat your enemy, combat feels stylish enough.  Your enemies are not only contained to the Death Stranding, however. Humans known as Mules and Terrorists will hunt you down for your cargo, delivering a tremendous baton shock among other weapons. You are first introduced to Death Stranding with nothing but a strand for a weapon (think of something along the lines of a zip-tie), encouraging the player to utilise the stealth aspects of the game. Skulk through blades of grass and approach the enemy from behind to render them useless.

 

Sneaking is a must for navigating through BT areas. Crouching and holding your breath to remain undetected feels suspenseful enough, though it can feel repetitive when the same areas are triggered time and time again. Though the stealth aspects feel refined and enjoyable, they are soon forgotten about entirely after Chapter 3. With a wide array of weapons available, enemy bases can be wiped out with ease.   From utilising smoke grenades to blind and daze your enemies, to shock bombs and specialised weapons that have different effects. With such strategic choice at your fingertips, combat felt versatile.  With the additional choice of lethal and non-lethal weapons,  there is a consequence if you aim to kill. One should remember to dispose of the bodies in a nearby incinerator or watch as your surroundings alter into a BT area, meaning more enemies.

Boss Battles

Throughout my playthrough, I noticed a significant lack of narrative boss battles until the latter portion of the game. Despite some scripted battles sprinkled throughout with Cliff, a sinister enemy with unknown intentions, the combat during these moments felt repetitive and simplistic due to its evident AI pattern amongst different backdrops. Enemy designs look spectacular despite some boss fights feeling boxed in, making it harder to control Sam. However, there were notable moments that worked in ramping up the narrative. Kojima has the uncanny ability to seam together different components to create a masterful moment. An example of this would be a particular boss fight, amongst a stunning backdrop, the steady exposition of sound and dialogue resulted in an almighty crescendo of sight, sound and emotion.  

The non-scripted BT boss fights provide the opportunity to truly revel in the game's combat.    If the BT'S do manage to pull you into the depths of the black sludge, ultimately defeating you,  a majestic monster will appear molten black. The environment around you will drastically change to accommodate the boss fight, with buildings rising from the depths for you to climb.  These fights are always an exhilarating experience, despite some clunky and awkward movements when aiming to climb or escape. Trying to grab onto specific structures can sometimes fail with Sam's grip not registering. BT's will attempt to pull you down, scattering your cargo. This sometimes felt more annoying than fun, yet using your surroundings to your advantage certainly helps to avoid such a situation.  


The interface for Death Stranding can seem overwhelming at first. Yet, over time I developed a hefty liking to the menu screens.  The menu has multiple ways to pick and deposit your items and organise what you carry and dispose of to make the most of your journey.  With such a focus on deliveries, it is important the menu screens are seamless to navigate.

Narrative + Characters

Narrative pacing and character development are strange notions in Death Stranding. Without a seamless transition from early to mid-game, cut scenes and introductions to characters ensued, yet lacked semblance of character development until much later. With long spouts of gameplay in-between, the structure felt incomplete and jarring and required a bit of a push from the player to unravel the story and its characters. Once these chapters ensued, did it truly bloom into something more and essentially culminate into a spectacular climax. There were moments that rendered me speechless and in awe and others that failed to explain the complex story in an engaging manner. Dialogue contributes to this issue, with whimsical one-liners during intense moments and mere mutterings from Sam for much of the early game. Cut scenes remain well-directed; however, the end game can feel repetitive regarding dialogue. Explanations, as a result, become jarring and awkward. This is less than ideal for a game that is complex enough. Due to an incredible cast and surprising twists I did not anticipate, Death Stranding still managed to evoke a fulfilling experience. I merely wish with such fantastic character designs and acting, a more significant focus could have been placed on how they are utilised.


The narrative is expanded upon via emails and interviews. I can always appreciate a game that provides optional background information, and with such a complex storyline, it was a welcome addition to developing exposition.  However, there is a certain disconnect from this narrative technique.  Many early-game conversations commence through intercoms, routing you to one spot. This only enhances the feeling of disconnect between you and the characters. However, one can deduce this is an intentional staple to the game itself. The feeling of disconnect slowly subsides the further you progress in your journey, finally meeting the characters for themselves for the latter half of the game, and as a result, it becomes a much more immersive experience

A slight annoyance is how repetitive specific actions and cut scenes are. 
Sams's private quarters are an example of this. I was constantly pausing and skipping the same cutscene that plays when showering, sleeping and so on between missions.   It felt completely unnecessary and once more slows the game's pace. Despite the choice to skip these same scenes, it still ultimately felt far too slow for such simple tasks throughout your playthrough. 

Graphics

Death Stranding certainly possesses graphical prowess. Yet despite this, from my first impressions of footage and gameplay, the environments appeared rather drab and dismal. Having finally experienced all it has to offer, I can say with much jubilation the environments are absolutely stunning. From the picturesque mountain tops sprinkled with sheets of snow to the flowing rivers and waterfalls upon the vast green clifftops.  Such attention to beauty was a surprise considering the mere three years of development time. With the help of the Decima engine, it truly grasps gorgeous scope and magnificent environments. Despite a slower, more methodical gameplay premise, the backdrop is presented with an articulate beauty. I was equally surprised to find no texture pop-in issues from my playthrough or other graphical bugs. There were instances of lag, especially in areas of buildings and structures close together during turbulent weather. Additionally, zip-lining into certain areas caused my screen to pause momentarily.  Nonetheless, Death Stranding felt extremely polished overall.

   Despite an array of environments, in terms of the ecosystem, there isn’t much variation. There are no living animals in the world of Death Stranding, understandably. Weather can be somewhat dynamic and intricate, with the inclusion of the weather system. The map system identifies how long the rainfall will be (and more rainfall = enemies). This allows you the agency to rest at certain shelters in order to move time along. It’s a fun system, though not necessary, and can be ignored without real issues. 

Gameplay + Online

One of Death Stranding's ultimate strengths is how addictive the gameplay loop of delivering packages can be. Sounds boring to you? Rest assured it certainly isn’t. One must plan and fabricate the right equipment that will suffice on your journey – be it a ladder, rope or extra boots. After venturing far and wide there is a satisfying notion in delivering your goods. The cycle repeats, yet it is a repetition that feels fresh and dynamic every step of the way.

Death Stranding has an overwhelming amount of structures to build and utilise in order to help ease your journey. With so much to unravel, the game does well in steadily familiarising the player with the mechanics of the Chiral Network. (This being, the online server).  The issue is that many players seemed to drop interest before Chapter 3. This seems a real shame, as it is after this moment the game becomes easier to manoeuvre, with unlockable cargo space and faster movement and mobility thanks to the 'Exo-Skeleton' you can equip as Sam to help traversal.  
 

Integrating the Chiral Network with the very core of Death Stranding's narrative and gameplay is nothing short of amazing and is one of the best parts of Death Stranding.  Before connecting to the Chiral Network – the server that basically shows all the online capabilities – the world is empty, beautiful and vast. I relished making my way to the next point with my rope and ladder in tow. It’s a stripped-back experience, climbing mountains, passing rivers and so on, but an essential one in conveying the vast loneliness Sam endures. 

Once you connect to the network, the game opens the gamer up to all-new avenues of access, such as bridges, generators and so on. The more you progress, the more facilities you can unlock and utilise to share with others to ease the burdens of your journey. This also makes backtracking much more of a pleasant experience; by building roads and zip-lines with others, traversal becomes speedy and efficient.  I found myself traversing far and wide with my materials in tow in order to help others in constructing updated structures, or my own. It is an experience that pays off. It feels good to feel like a part of a team as others navigate through the same moments as you. Despite the vast array of choices in building your structures, there is a limit to how much you can build. It’s difficult enough to reach this limit, however, and overall helps the map feel less cluttered.

 The one negative aspect of online is how it will endure down the line. Due to the time fall mechanic (rain that quickly erodes anything it touches), structures over time will break down and become indisposed. This raises the question of whether once the player count settles on the server, will there be a lack of newly maintained structures? Being such a fundamental part of the game, it raises concerns over how it will play later.

 With other players' creations littered throughout the map, or signs that indicate helpful, fun pointers, the Chiral Network never felt cluttered or burdensome due to the server limit on how much you can build. I also found it highly commendable how effortless it is to place your creations on the map, with little in the way of clipping issues and glitches. You have no idea how good it feels to find a generator with power to fuel your batteries in their dying moments or a rope hanging over a cliff left by another player. When struggling with a tough boss battle, other players' porters will appear to lend a hand, often throwing essential weapons and bombs your way. By doing this, it can mean all the difference between a win and defeat. 

 With a satisfying gameplay loop that hooks the player in, hours simply fly by.  That being said, I cannot exclaim enough just how much Death Stranding tests the gamer's patience. Some moments required a break and recharge due to silly annoyances, such as stamina depletion, stumbling and dropping your cargo, etc. I believe these are small annoyances in the grander scheme of the game itself and an aspect that is in some ways intentional,  yet it felt unnecessary all the same. I identify this as a mere part of the difficulty in Death Stranding, another obstacle that is up to you as the gamer to utilise accordingly. These burdens can easily be alleviated with a little extra effort if you choose to do so. The more you engage with deliveries with certain porters, the more options for equipment you can use. 

Conclusion

Death Stranding’s intriguing concept and complex ideas sometimes fail to present themselves in an engaging manner. With exceptional character designs and even more exhilarating world-building, I was left hungry to see more of the fantastic cast than what was presented in terms of story and development, with the best parts of the narrative left until the very last chapters. With so much exposition, it was a shame that more time could not be spent with these characters and their sublime acting skills and developing their individual story. Despite this, I spent over 130 hours playing, as I felt myself begin to understand and enjoy the gameplay loop the more the world and items were expanded upon. Though a somewhat fragmentary narrative structure in places, there was still enough of a sense of intrigue at what the world has to offer due to the fantastic atmosphere and phenomenal acting. Death Stranding may be a polarising game, but I am all the more thankful to have experienced it.