It's one of the most discussed games this year, and it also marks the return of a "visionary." Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima is back with "Death Stranding“Death Stranding is back on the video game scene and has set itself ambitious goals. It's not just meant to be another game or offer a few new ideas, but to define a completely new genre where players are more central than ever. Whether these ambitions can be fully justified without reservation is something you'll find out in our review.”
The central theme of “Death Stranding” is explained as 'connection,' which isn't just present in the gameplay but can be found in almost every corner of the story and game world. And this story is truly visionary—not the usual "good versus evil" trope that makes you die countless deaths before facing the ultimate boss and saving the world for the hundredth time. In “Death Stranding,” Kojima doesn't just address the future and the present, but also history stretching back to the dinosaurs, early humans, and even beyond death, all of whom are part of what this connection represents.
Once again, Earth faces another, potentially apocalyptic scenario, here called 'Death Stranding' – or, less elegantly, 'stranded death' in the German version – which has already sent its harbingers, transforming the United States and the rest of the world into a landscape of rock and desert – a rather bleak impression one gets of the game world. What remains are a few destroyed cities, sparse outposts, and the will to rebuild and reconnect everything.
If there's one thing Kojima excels at, it's telling a gripping story through elaborate video sequences. With "Death Stranding," you can grab a bucket of popcorn and enjoy roughly nine hours of pure video footage that tells this fantastic and visually stunning story at a very high level. The game boasts an impressive cast including familiar faces like Norman Reedus as protagonist Sam, Guillermo del Toro (Hardman), the antagonists Mads Mikkelsen (Cliff) and Troy Baker (Higgs), as well as several guest appearances such as Game Awards host Geoff Keighley and comedian Conan O'Brien, to name just a few. As is typical of Kojima, the story is truly magnificent, entertaining, and thrilling, making it a pleasure to follow, even if it does drag a bit, especially towards the end. However, die-hard Kojima fans are unlikely to mind. It's a bit of a shame that the story is told almost exclusively through cutscenes and less through the game world and what it contains. For an open-world game, and compared to other titles, this is rather weak, but more on that later.
Players, connect yourselves
But the story isn't everything, and so Kojima attempts to break with the gameplay to break the conventions of the open-world genre and simultaneously define a completely new one. Apparently, however, he's gone a bit astray, quite literally.
Put simply, protagonist Sam's task is to travel west across the former United States, connecting distribution centers and outposts and integrating them into a chiral network. A monumental undertaking, which thankfully doesn't have to be tackled entirely alone. This is where connected players come in—well, not exactly, since they are invisible to you. Instead, they can pioneer various items or construct structures that you can then use together. This could be a bridge over mountain gorges, a shelter against the damaging Timefall, a collaborative project for a road that winds its way through the entire game world, or anchor points for the cable car. You'll find that the longer you play, the more the game world fills up with bridges, roads, ladders, and ropes. Practical and frequently used, the main thing is to keep moving forward and make the journey easier. Of course, a lot of initiative is required, which can be rewarded by other players with "likes."
The idea behind “Death Stranding,” connecting all players, sounds quite exciting. The entire game is based on this idea – helping each other, even if you never meet in person. Of course, this requires all players to think strategically and choose sensible locations for their structures, etc. This sense of connection has been carefully integrated into every aspect of the game. For example, you can pick up other players' lost cargo and transport it to its destination. If you've overestimated your abilities, you can use shared crates to unload your cargo and ask other players to deliver it. You can also build useful resources, such as generators to charge vehicle batteries or additional mailboxes for temporary storage. Playing together greatly fosters this sense of connection, because going it alone is not only significantly harder, but it also pretty much defeats the purpose of “Death Stranding.”
Sturdy footwear and lots of motivation
Many suspected that "Death Stranding" was a walking simulator, and not entirely without reason, as simulation is a crucial part of Sam's journey. You not only have to carefully consider how much cargo to carry and how to best distribute it, but also which footwear to choose, which route will be the shortest or easiest, and so on. Stamina and blood levels also play a role. Later, you gain access to various aids such as exoskeletons, a weather report, and an oxygen mask, which are meant to make the arduous journey across the often difficult terrain a little easier or guide you past potential enemies. Otherwise, you might stumble awkwardly or get into confrontations and suffer significant damage, even bleeding feet, which drastically slows Sam's walking speed and makes the rest of the journey even more arduous. It's all about the motto: if it's going to be realistic, you should experience it painfully yourself.
Sam's early steps, in particular, are a real test of patience, as you constantly have to balance your character using the triggers. The game's overall rather slow pace won't immediately appeal to every player, but you should always keep in mind the importance of optimizing your journey together with other players. There are plenty of ways to do this, such as building roads, using vehicles effectively, or employing the cable car, provided it's sensibly placed in the game world. This at least avoids a lot of frustration, even though you'll still be doing a lot of walking. If you understand Kojma's vision, however, it's precisely this often slow and cumbersome gameplay that he wants you to experience. And it works, but it definitely won't be to everyone's taste.
Run Sam, run
This is where "Death Stranding's" biggest weakness becomes apparent: its monotonous mission design. Essentially, it consists of carrying things back and forth, running from distribution center to distribution center, delivering something, connecting it to the network, and then moving on to the next one. Sometimes you're even "tortured" for what feels like an eternity, running from point A to point B—or, if you're lucky, driving—only to be told to go back to point A because something was forgotten. In the worst-case scenario, you end up running the same route three times, taking the same arduous path, and are quite frustrated after hours of running back and forth. Even main and side missions barely differ in this respect, often only in the type of cargo you're transporting.
There were actually moments along the way where I wanted to voluntarily throw myself off the nearest cliff, hoping the game would save me. Here, you really wish for a bit more variety; otherwise, you have to force yourself, almost compel yourself, to engage with other things to keep the fun going. Anyone who only blindly follows the story missions will be disappointed by…Death Stranding"You almost certainly won't have any fun, even though Kojima occasionally shows some humor and has pizza or cosplay outfits delivered to you. In short, the main task, including the side missions, remains simply walking back and forth."
This becomes problematic because, and other open-world games are years ahead in this respect, almost nothing happens along the way. You trudge through a desolate wasteland or snowy landscape, you don't encounter any other characters outside of stations, and the game world otherwise offers little opportunity for exploration. You actually start looking forward to encountering BTs or stumbling upon a MULE camp – separatists who are after your cargo – just to be able to test out your equipment.
I almost suspected malicious intent behind it, since at the end of the game you have to go back the entire way across the whole map again, without shoes, through this dreary wasteland and, above all, without any explanation of WHY? Well, if only we had finished building the road – that would have saved a lot of gameplay hours and demotivation.
Listening to Kojima talk about his game, one can certainly understand the idea and his vision – the feeling of loneliness, the arduous journey, the sometimes oppressive atmosphere. And there will be players who are looking for exactly that and will enjoy it, but there will also be players who might be quite disappointed by it.
A technical masterpiece
What Kojima conjures up on screen with "Death Stranding" can rightly be called a technical masterpiece, already evoking next-gen vibes. The visual quality likely eclipses almost everything that has been seen so far in terms of photorealistic effects in a game. I know of nothing that even comes close. Bombastic and realistic landscapes, awe-inspiring mountain ranges, and frighteningly rendered storm scenarios sweeping overhead. A true feast for the eyes, surpassed only by the first-class animations and the lifelike character portrayals, from which even Quantic Dream could learn a thing or two. Truly impressive! The battles against the BTs, which initially hover above the ground like ghostly beings before the entire environment transforms into a tar pit and you face off against oil-slicked whales or bulls, also provide genuine WOW moments. A welcome change from the otherwise rather patient gameplay. Kojima also repeatedly demonstrates a great eye for small details, such as the cargo slowly rusting in the timefall or the small pendant on BB's vessel.
Fatherly feelings included
So what's the deal with BB? After all, the baby in its container is often prominently featured. BB, short for Bridge's Babies, can warn you about the BTs as soon as they're nearby. Ideally, this allows you to avoid them completely, but BB's stress level can also rise due to falls, even leading to autotoxicosis, which renders it ineffective. In such cases, briefly holding the container and cradling it in your arms can help calm the little one down. It evokes genuine fatherly feelings. There are plenty of such quirky features in "Death Stranding," including the shared experience of urinating on mushrooms. Everything else about BB is strictly story-related and won't be revealed here.
