"I was living a lie... I was broken. But somewhere along the way, I started changing.

For years, I wrote off Death Stranding as a hack job from Kojima. How could a game about walking around delivering boxes across a wasteland be compelling? Have you seen that ridiculous Monster Energy product placement? Ride with Norman Reedus on AMC? Come on, dude... Ridiculous.

But one of my friends played it and really loved it, and then a second friend played it and really loved it, and then the Director's Cut was released (and removed the aforementioned Monster Energy), and then it hit a pretty decent sale, and then I finally decided to give it a shot - and oh, boy, am I glad I finally gave Death Stranding a chance.

Gameplay

I didn't think there was any way that schlepping boxes across the country would be engaging, but Death Stranding introduces new mechanics and wrinkles at such a consistent pace that it never gets stale. Whenever i reached the point where I had a comfortable and safe route between two locations, I'd have a new mission going to a new place, or with a set of restrictions that made me take an alternate route.

It's also immensely satisfying to watch the world expand and grow as you progress. Starting out in a zone, it's just you and a dusty trail, but as you open things up, the world is populated with structures placed by other players. The online functionality is fun, and there were many occasions where I was super thankful to see someone else's shelter on the horizon, or leftover vehicle on the side of the road. The equipment curve is also great. Starting out, you're extremely limited and will be reliant on ladders and climbing ropes, tripping over every rock and sliding down every hill. Later on, however, you'll gain access to powered legs that let you carry heavier loads and remain more stable - backpack pouches that let you carry equipment more efficiently and compactly - gloves that let you climb more effectively - and all kinds of other cool stuff. Every step forward in this progression felt useful and powerful, without completely trivializing mechanics.

Not everything is reliant on the online functionality, you're more than able to craft your own structures to aid your deliveries. One of the later areas is in a mountain range, and setting up a comprehensive zip-line network between the various outposts and cities was extremely gratifying, and made it a breeze to ferry things to and fro quickly. The things you build are also sent out to other players, and it's nice to see your structures rack up "likes", knowing that someone else made use of them. (I think I had around a quarter-million likes on the road network by the end of the game, you're welcome everyone!)

The environments could stand to be a bit more varied, as most of them are green and rocky, but I found each section to have a distinct feeling. I would have liked to see a desert, or a bigger marshland section, just to see what types of hazards they would contain, and what traversal difficulties would arise.

To me, the combat is probably the weakest part of the game. It isn't bad, but I found myself more engaged when I was walking around taking in the environment. There are a LOT of options in combat, including stealth and a whole arsenal of weapons, so it can be exciting to change up your approach. Boss fights throw an unlimited (as far as I can tell) amount of ammo, health packs, and weapons at you, so you're never at risk of being in an unwinnable situation.

Story & Characters

With Hideo Kojima at the helm, I was expecting a thematically strong story with a whole lot of sci-fi weirdness, and some memorable characters. I'm pleased to say, my expectations were met, and I went through quite the emotional journey (including more than my fair share of ugly-crying) by the time all was said and done.

Thematically, the story is very consistent and powerful, and ties in extremely well with the gameplay. Gallons of ink have been spilled talking about "ludo-narrative dissonance" - where the story themes and gameplay actions are antithetical (see: [Far Cry 3] and [Tomb Raider] where the character is horrified by violence in cutscenes, and gleefully murdering scores of people in gameplay), but Death Stranding is an example of ludo-narrative harmony. The game feels extremely cohesive as a result. The gameplay has you bringing places together, and becoming stronger and more efficient as a result. The story is about the importance of working together, family, and the pursuit of a higher goal that would be impossible alone.

Death Stranding leans on the sci-fi trappings to explain how a lot of things work in this post-apocalyptic version of the USA, but it mostly feels believable within the context of the world, and as long as you're willing to go along for the ride I think you will find it compelling. The game throws a lot of terms at you early (The Chiral Network, BTs, BBs, DOOMS, Timefall, Ka and Ha, Voidouts, the list goes on) but manages to explain everything pretty well as you go, and nothing feels out of place or overly contrived.

The character work in Death Stranding is extremely strong. I'm not always a huge fan of celebrity voices/likenesses in games, but Kojima treats the script and cinematography like a movie already, so it worked quite well. At the start of the game, Sam (Norman Reedus) feels like a bit of a "blank slate" protagonist, but he really comes into his own over the course of the game. I found him to be extremely compelling, and very empathetic. Fragile (Léa Seydoux) is a fantastic deuteragonist, and she gets a lot of great scenes and development over the course of the story. I think the main antagonist of Death Stranding is the environment, but Higgs (Troy Baker) is probably the weakest character. I didn't think his motivations made much sense, and I wasn't a huge fan of his mustache-twirling villainy, though he's definitely important and sets many important things in motion. The supporting cast is small but they each get their chance to shine, and their own roles to play. I'll be remembering Deadman (Guillermo del Toro ), Mama & Lockne (Margaret Qualley), Cliff (Mads Mikkelsen) and Lou for a long time.

Visuals & Audio

Death Stranding is gorgeous, and runs really well on my old-ish graphics card (GTX 1060). I'm not sure what kind of wizardry is going on under the hood in the Decima engine, but I hope more games are able to make use of it in the future.

The environments in Death Stranding are a gorgeous mix of serene natural beauty and forlorn emptiness. I was drawn into a sense of loneliness whenever I got to a new landmark, which was overcame as I (and my anonymous online compatriots) filled out the landscape with structures, half-delivered items, and encouraging and informational signage. The mountain range is probably my favorite area to look at in the game. Blizzards are horrifying, but the views can be spectacular from the higher vantage points.

The sound design in the game adds greatly to the atmosphere, from the oppressive clattering of rain, to the sounds of Sam huffing and grunting, to the eerie noises of the BTs and the friendly "Keep on Keepin' On" when returning from a mission. Death Stranding also has one of the most well-used licensed soundtracks of maybe any video game. The songs aren't used only for story set-pieces, some are used when entering a new section of the map, or just while exploring.

Conclusion

I went into Death Stranding with low expectations, and I left thoroughly blown away. The game has a great mix of chill vibes and more tense sections, and a surprisingly thoughtful and heartfelt story that is emotionally and thematically powerful and well-executed. It's also one of the very few games to make me emotional outside of scripted setpieces or story scenes. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing how [DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH] expands the universe, and whatever else Kojima cooks up next.

child labor

just One last delivery, BB.
you'll be there for me, right?