Death Stranding

One of the most interesting projects in general, I love this game with all my heart. A game that has many facets for interpreting the plot, from the most one-sided to biblical stories and references.

The plot tells us about the delivery man Sam Porter Bridges, who is the son of the president, divided into small knots and settlements, America. Sam will play a critical role in reconnecting communications across the continent, traveling thousands of miles delivering critical supplies to millions of people who live in the custody of special companies and services. The exits of death that terrorize the inhabitants of cities and towns, resulting from the death of one person, endanger many lives.

The plot itself is very interesting to study, to draw analogies, logical chains and proceedings in the family "ties" of Sam and all the main characters of the game, there is a lot to be done.

By the way, I recommend watching various videos on the topic of the plot, because there are a lot of hidden meanings and easy connections with the Bible, such as the same rainbow that appears as soon as creatures step on the ground during temporal rain

"I put My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring the clouds to the earth, a rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living being;" (Genesis 9:13-16)

Simply put, this is a masterpiece.

Death Stranding will have you question why you are roleplaying as a mailman in post-apocalyptic North America yet there is a aura, a unmistakable charm to it that certainly kept a smirk on my face as I talked to Sam through the screen, trekking across desolate wastelands that look like something out of a fever dream.

It's not an easy game to put into a box. It is decades of ideas and plotines from Kojima's catalog all thrown together into a wholly unique package that compares to absolutely nothing else, for better and worse. Seeing faces like Mads Mikkelsen and Norman Reddus on a Kojima title like this is something that will never cease to stun me in a state of shock and awe.

It is a very slow burn of a game, which will turn off a lot of people. The gameplay loop takes a while to get used to but once it clicks, it becomes quite enjoyable and addictive as you try to optimize your ways around the map a little faster, and take just a little bit more cargo with you. slowly start rebuilding the infrastructure of a forgotten, dead land.

The story is very self-indulgent at times but the writing and characters has that classic Kojima charm to it that you can't get anywhere else. It is very atypical and out there but you'll be left wanting more and more as the puzzle is slowly revealed to you over the course of the main storyline, with a very worthy ending for such a journey of a game.

Death Stranding is a divisive, controversial masterpiece that somehow manages to make over the final hurdle and deliver a product, a game....an immersive experience that nothing else can hold a candle to.

Before Death Stranding, my only Kojima experience is MGS 5. So I'm really not a connaisseur of the man and its work through time. So MGSV is my only comparison game, and they definitely can be compared, at least gameplay/mechanically wise, because they have a lot in common and DT is MGSV's follower.
And well, what a deception it is (just finished it). The story is not surprising, it's crazy and artificially over complicated, like Phantom Pain was. All the social aspect of DT (connections, the general reflection on social media ok I get it...) is interesting but the catastrophic repetiveness of the gameplay testifies of the pretention of Kojima who seems to feel like a genius. The only parts that I found quite "refreshing" are the war fields immersions and combats, so happy you are to break the routine when they happen. I have no problem with the fact that you are a fedex guy who delivers packages, but so much in the game proves the work behind is very limitated : almost all characters/preppers only appearing in holograms, the progress of your gear and weapons feels too superficial, and that's sad because in MGSV this was absolutely perfect! The weapons, accessories etc were really well balanced, adapted in time, and vast. An other weakness in DT is the truck mechanics. Godamn it driving the truck is horrible. The wanted realistic so you slide and lose you control if accelerating too much on sloppy terrains, but wait... you can JUMP with a truck?
Also moving boss in MGSV was a magic of physics, what a responsive control heaven! On DT moving Sam is not exactly fun, not at all, even if I sensed common mechanics with MGSV. A positive thing in the game was the menu, or more exactly the fact that i played a lot Phantom Pain helped me be familiar with DT's menus quite fast.
Now to finish, the secondary missions, well deliveries and the rewards/accessory elements like emails, memory chips etc... What's the point? Why every damn game, especially open worlds have to include collectibles or these artificial and easy to programm kind of stuff to the games? Stop that lazy game makers for god sake!
Oh and by the way there is no reward or I didn't feel really satisfied finishing the game in hard mode, so that's a problem too I think.
So to conclude, I don't care how complex or stupid the story may be in your next game mr Kojima, but please make it interesting and exciting to PLAY !

I fell victim to a lot of the negative press on this one. So glad I decided to go at it on my own. Really incredible blend of genres, goes from utter peace to heart-rate-elevating stress

Death Stranding has the best and worst characteristics that video games can have at the same time.

Storytelling based on cut scenes, not user's 'play'. childish lines, etc... The game has so many 'cinematic' features which I hate extremely in video games.

But at the same time, Death Stranding has what only video games could do. A movie in which a character only walks for two hours without any lines will not create any interest. However, Kojima succeeded in making 'walking' interesting in a completely video game's way. For me, this 'walking' was more immersive than most action games. It also perfectly expressed the theme of 'connection' through 'walking' and limited multi-play system.

In conclusion, death stranding is a good 'video game' for me.

Infrastructure Week: The Game