I ignored all of the negative reviews when buying this game and I'm glad that I did. Definitely not for the gamer who wants instant gratification and expects to be given everything for doing little to nothing. The game rewards you incrementally for completing key missions. The story is quite intriguing and the themes of connection, disconnection, technology, conspiracy and family pulls you in and motivates you to progress through the main missions and this might be all that you wish to do, while for completionists you may wish to explore the world in finer detail along the way. There are no missable achievements in Death Stranding and don't be alarmed if you feel as though you haven't fully explored an area, as there will be the opportunity to come back to these areas later in the game.

The soundtrack is great and songs play at key moments during gameplay, however it's a shame that you cannot play these at your discretion at other times, apart from limited settings. The music complements the setting and also the events which transpire, immersing you in the environment. While you're lugging away cargo from one destination to another, you're challenged with certain environments and you need to make use of the tools available to you to get to your destination. You have the ability to create paths and use tools which can help you on your travels, in addition to assisting other players who need to traverse the same landscape. You can also help rebuild the transport network and you're rewarded for "likes" whenever someone uses a road you have helped to rebuild, or people can "like" your contributions manually. While it feels like there's a multiplayer aspect through the social component of this "like" system, you don't actually meet other players, an interesting dichotomy which incentivises you to participate in the world, as a crucial object you place may be rewarded by another player's approval and likes, especially if it has helped them to overcome a certain obstacle or hurdle.

My game of the year nomination!