Death Stranding - Review @ Techraptor

Techraptor checked out the genre-mix Death Stranding:

A Heartfelt Message You Must Hear

Death Stranding was built with the intention of defying what we understand video games to be. Most action games are built on the premise of using a "stick" to beat people away. Creator Hideo Kojima has set aside the stick and handed players a rope in the hopes that they choose to tie together, rather than to break apart. His dedication to this theme is the foundation of every piece of Death Stranding, from the gameplay to the story to the social features. Players will learn the power of the rope over the stick. This game is about building connections with real people, fighting to help each other, and suffering to reduce the suffering of others. And yes, there will be a lot of walking.

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

Many players coming into Death Stranding may think it's a literal walking simulator; this is absolutely not the case. I would loosely describe it as a third-person action-adventure game with stealth and horror elements. Kojima takes many of the mechanics and conceits we subconsciously consider to just be a "video game thing" and either tosses them aside or totally inverts them. The broad gameplay loop includes receiving an order from a terminal, deciding how to attach your packages to maintain balance, and setting out across the hell-stricken landscape to deliver. Your orders range from food and water to medicine and electronics, all of it necessary to sustain life. This sequence becomes addictive and traversing the rough terrain becomes fun in its own right.

The most basic obstacle in Death Stranding is indeed the walking. Players must carefully choose their routes to weave around small rocks and hills that are, at the beginning, a death sentence.  Balancing Sam's body while he crosses this difficult terrain is an ever-present challenge. Wraith-infested areas and camps of MULEs (raiders) dot the landscape, adding to the already daunting number of things to keep in mind while delivering a package. You can stealth around the MULEs, but as I'm not fond of stealth games I chose to use non-lethal weapons to attack and round them up. The Bola Gun is a rope cannon, and firing it at MULEs ties them up in a satisfying knot and allows you to explore the region freely. Alternatively, you can attack and kill them with a wide variety of assault weapons and explosives. In the world of Death Stranding, bodies left out in the world cause a "voidout" and a game over unless they are brought to an incinerator. Besides it being a hassle, I found the idea of killing anyone to be directly in conflict with its central theme. You can also fistfight MULEs and knock them unconscious if you don't have any weapons handy.

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Score: 10/10