At its core, Death Stranding follows a lonely, anxious man delivering parcels across a post-apocalyptic United States. Along the way, he encounters a range of quirky and sometimes bizarre situations, including:

-Strangely awkward sexual tension with nearly every male character, while the few female characters treat him like a brother.

-Forced pep talks about rebuilding a country that nobody else within the game cares about, delivered by some guy in a mask.

-Frequent abductions to a military LARP session by an obsessive Hannibal Lecter and his skeleton "rattle-me-bones" army.

-Corny jokes and suspicious speeches from a lady in a red dress, who the game tries to portray as innocent but is hella sus.

-Encounters with another masked character (this one is actually evil mkay) who has a creepy obsession with Sam and commands a goon army.

-Facing off against specters of those who failed to die properly, now haunting the landscape with a thirst for your blood.

Despite these eccentricities, Death Stranding is a polished experience right out of the box. Its intricate story and diverse cast explore profound themes of life, grief, love, parenthood, and the courage to confront the unknown in a world shattered by catastrophe. While Hideo Kojima's signature "quirks" sometimes veer into cheesy territory, I found myself captivated by the supporting characters and their personal struggles, each shedding light on different facets of the post-apocalyptic landscape. Graphical and technological finesse lace the game's fantastic cutscenes. Characters have weight to them, possessing a real living presence in each scene they're in. Paired with fantastic mo-cap and acting, the cutscenes are a delight to any fan of the game's story however prolonged they may be. There are moments where you might find yourself setting down the controller.

Death Stranding offers a tailor-made experience that grants players significant freedom in tackling challenges while still maintaining a tight grip on the narrative. Although it's primarily a single-player journey, you can engage in limited interactions with other players—helping each other locate lost cargo, utilizing shared infrastructure, and collaborating to create efficient transport networks. This blend allows for a personal experience while still fostering a sense of community, as you collectively reclaim the world from demons, ghosts, terrorists, and thieves. You can contribute resources to build roads across the world that makes it easier to navigate dangerous terrain. Different resources and tools are available to you and present a challenge in terms of where you are going forcing you to plan ahead. For example, the cold wind-swept mountains require specialized gear. It is possible to traverse that area without it, but you will be at a significant disadvantage. The support and cargo space offered by vehicles further entices you to contribute to the road network while a broad set of weapons and ammo types are great for planning assaults on MULE/Terrorist bases and BT-infested spots. However one criticism is that even on Very Hard, it is relatively easy to find strategies to overcome MULEs thus giving you virtually unlimited access to ceramics and metals which you can then ferry via trucks to the regions that need them (for road building.) It becomes a matter of time rather than survival because MULE base resources respawn quickly.

However, Death Stranding does have notable flaws in its story and execution. The compelling narrative, which generated a lot of interest and attention when we saw the trailers for the first time becomes mired in typical "Kojima-isms." The dialogue can be cryptic, unending and occasionally cringe-worthy, raising more questions than it answers leaving lore-hungry players such as myself unsatisfied. Many aspects of the game's backstory—the origins of the Death Stranding and the world's downfall—remain unexplained or unclear. It often feels like the dialogue was deliberately crafted to reference obscure themes and media that Kojima enjoys, rather than advancing the narrative. Sometimes it doesn't feel like you're in a real world but rather inside a simulation created by an insanely optimistic man with a flair for nordic architectural themes and Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton.

Snippets of lore are scattered throughout the game, often found in tedious in-game emails penned by the same writers which the game constantly nudges you to read. They tend to bombard players with compliments and an overly optimistic message about cooperation and networking while waffling on about mostly nothing. Ultimately, it feels like much potential was left unexplored, resulting in a fascinating yet somewhat half-baked story teeming with references and allusions to other works of media such as Sapiens, Hamilton, Die Hard, and other influences that Kojima clearly holds dear.

Other elements do feel needlessly complicated. For instance there are about 6 different materials in-game that you can withdraw from the distro centers or find lying around in the world. Out of all these, only two are important (Ceramics and Metal.) The rest are useless and are only used to upgrade buildings.

In summary, Death Stranding is a unique experience with both stunning visuals and thought-provoking themes, yet it struggles with pacing and clarity in its storytelling. It’s a journey worth taking, albeit one that may leave you yearning for more coherence and depth.

FINAL COMMENTS:
I know Death Stranding became the butt of many jokes for its gameplay, but in an era where long-shelf life MMOs, battle arenas and franchises have become the norm I think it's important to remind ourselves that games can be (and are) an art form. Kojima has always experimented with ways to push the game-gamer relationship throughout his career and I am so thankful he sacrificed his career at Konami to produce Death Stranding. I look greatly to Death Stranding 2 and hope many of the critiques above will be corrected.

At its core, Death Stranding follows a lonely, anxious man delivering parcels across a post-apocalyptic United States. Along the way, he encounters a range of quirky and sometimes bizarre situations, including: -Strangely awkward sexual tension with nearly every male character, while the few female characters treat him like a brother. -Forced pep talks about rebuilding a country that nobody else within the game cares about, delivered by some guy in a mask. -Frequent abductions to a military LARP session by an obsessive Hannibal Lecter and his skeleton "rattle-me-bones" army. -Corny jokes and suspicious speeches from a lady in a red dress, who the game tries to portray as innocent but is hella sus. -Encounters with another masked character (this one is actually evil mkay) who has a creepy obsession with Sam and commands a goon army. -Facing off against specters of those who failed to die properly, now haunting the landscape with a thirst for your blood. Despite these eccentricities, Death Stranding is a polished experience right out of the box. Its intricate story and diverse cast explore profound themes of life, grief, love, parenthood, and the courage to confront the unknown in a world shattered by catastrophe. While Hideo Kojima's signature "quirks" sometimes veer into cheesy territory, I found myself captivated by the supporting characters and their personal struggles, each shedding light on different facets of the post-apocalyptic landscape. Graphical and technological finesse lace the game's fantastic cutscenes. Characters have weight to them, possessing a real living presence in each scene they're in. Paired with fantastic mo-cap and acting, the cutscenes are a delight to any fan of the game's story however prolonged they may be. There are moments where you might find yourself setting down the controller. Death Stranding offers a tailor-made experience that grants players significant freedom in tackling challenges while still maintaining a tight grip on the narrative. Although it's primarily a single-player journey, you can engage in limited interactions with other players—helping each other locate lost cargo, utilizing shared infrastructure, and collaborating to create efficient transport networks. This blend allows for a personal experience while still fostering a sense of community, as you collectively reclaim the world from demons, ghosts, terrorists, and thieves. You can contribute resources to build roads across the world that makes it easier to navigate dangerous terrain. Different resources and tools are available to you and present a challenge in terms of where you are going forcing you to plan ahead. For example, the cold wind-swept mountains require specialized gear. It is possible to traverse that area without it, but you will be at a significant disadvantage. The support and cargo space offered by vehicles further entices you to contribute to the road network while a broad set of weapons and ammo types are great for planning assaults on MULE/Terrorist bases and BT-infested spots. However one criticism is that even on Very Hard, it is relatively easy to find strategies to overcome MULEs thus giving you virtually unlimited access to ceramics and metals which you can then ferry via trucks to the regions that need them (for road building.) It becomes a matter of time rather than survival because MULE base resources respawn quickly. However, Death Stranding does have notable flaws in its story and execution. The compelling narrative, which generated a lot of interest and attention when we saw the trailers for the first time becomes mired in typical "Kojima-isms." The dialogue can be cryptic, unending and occasionally cringe-worthy, raising more questions than it answers leaving lore-hungry players such as myself unsatisfied. Many aspects of the game's backstory—the origins of the Death Stranding and the world's downfall—remain unexplained or unclear. It often feels like the dialogue was deliberately crafted to reference obscure themes and media that Kojima enjoys, rather than advancing the narrative. Sometimes it doesn't feel like you're in a real world but rather inside a simulation created by an insanely optimistic man with a flair for nordic architectural themes and Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton. Snippets of lore are scattered throughout the game, often found in tedious in-game emails penned by the same writers which the game constantly nudges you to read. They tend to bombard players with compliments and an overly optimistic message about cooperation and networking while waffling on about mostly nothing. Ultimately, it feels like much potential was left unexplored, resulting in a fascinating yet somewhat half-baked story teeming with references and allusions to other works of media such as Sapiens, Hamilton, Die Hard, and other influences that Kojima clearly holds dear. Other elements do feel needlessly complicated. For instance there are about 6 different materials in-game that you can withdraw from the distro centers or find lying around in the world. Out of all these, only two are important (Ceramics and Metal.) The rest are useless and are only used to upgrade buildings. In summary, Death Stranding is a unique experience with both stunning visuals and thought-provoking themes, yet it struggles with pacing and clarity in its storytelling. It’s a journey worth taking, albeit one that may leave you yearning for more coherence and depth. FINAL COMMENTS: I know Death Stranding became the butt of many jokes for its gameplay, but in an era where long-shelf life MMOs, battle arenas and franchises have become the norm I think it's important to remind ourselves that games can be (and are) an art form. Kojima has always experimented with ways to push the game-gamer relationship throughout his career and I am so thankful he sacrificed his career at Konami to produce Death Stranding. I look greatly to Death Stranding 2 and hope many of the critiques above will be corrected.