My Brain is Stranded in Confusion--Death Stranding Review

Death Stranding was offered up as Epic Games triple-A Christmas day giveaway.  Even though I'd seen and vaguely heard a few things about it, it really didn't seem like a game that I would play.  Most of the descriptions I read were confusing--some jokingly called it a "walking simulator" and it just looked plain weird.  After 90+ hours of playtime (and yes, there are definite elements of weirdness) I've finished the story part of the game.

What is it?

Well, it was free, but unless you snatched it up on Christmas day, then it's a bit of a pickle to figure out exactly how to describe it.  It's part horror-ish, part "walking simulator," part science fiction, part co-op-ish; there's some third-person shooting action at certain points--it's a strange brew of a lot of different parts.  Basically, you play as Sam "Porter" Bridges, a guy who delivers items.  The world in which Sam is delivering these packages makes his job anything but simple--the world has been shattered by an almost-apocalyptic event known as the "death stranding."  Society has been completely broken apart, the world has become infested by invisible monsters and a type of rain that ages anything it falls on.  It's so dangerous that most people don't dare venture out of their shelters and rely on porters like Sam to deliver the goods they need to survive.  Things get much more complicated as Sam finds himself unwittingly pulled into a plan to re-connect the shattered strands of what used to be the United States.  And...it only gets more confusing from there.

How long is a playthrough?

I would estimate that this number can vary greatly--if you just do the story deliveries and tasks...maybe 40-50 hours?  If you want to be a weirdo-completionist like me, you could be looking at upward of 90 hours.

Pros:

+ Looks great!  I was pleasantly surprised by how phenomenal the character models look--you get to see a lot of Norman Reedus, but every character looks very realistic.  The animations are phenomenal and the character expressions are never awkward or weird.

+ Runs (mostly) well.  I only experienced 2 crashes in 90 hours of play--that's pretty good.  With the beauty of the graphics I totally expected my GPU to be chugging along (ala Assassin's Creed) and it stayed nice and quiet (and surprisingly cool).  I'm not running a 30 or 40-series card either, so if you don't have the latest and greatest, you can definitely still enjoy it.

+ Gameplay is surprisingly entertaining.  People might jokingly call it a "walking simulator" because much of the gameplay hinges on delivering packages across terrain of varying ruggedness.  Somehow they managed to make this into a game--part of the challenge comes from making sure that Sam's cargo is arranged in a way that keeps it balanced (an unbalanced load results in tipping and makes it much easier for Sam to take a tumble and damage his cargo).  Each delivery is ranked according to a scale that takes into account factors like the size of the cargo, damage, and the route taken (a shorter, more direct route will award bonus "likes").  Some deliveries are timed and require speed.  Actually delivering goods is rarely straightforward--obstacles like rugged mountains that require utilizing various fabricated tools and dangerous encounters with the invisible monsters (called BT's)--can make what seems like a simple delivery into a heart-pounding adventure.  Deliveries are ranked with the "S" rank being the highest and each location also has a "connection" rank that can be levelled up to provide additional bonuses.  You can also earn "likes" for being more efficient in your deliveries which helps to increase your connection level.

+ The story is bonkers...in a mostly good, but massively confusing way.  I don't even know where to start--the world has experienced an apocalyptic event that has basically destroyed the veil between the world of the living and the dead.  BT's (the invisible monsters) are entities from the world of the dead who invade the world of the living--generally at the location of timefall (a type of rain that causes everything it touches to age).  Regular people cannot sense the presence of BT's, but certain individuals who suffer from (a totally unexplained) a condition known as DOOM's can sense them, but not really see them.  However, there is a way to detect BT's...through the use of "BB's" or "bridge babies," the unborn babies of brain dead mothers who are housed in an artificial womb.  Porters and other individuals who need to detect BT's can hook a BB up to their gear to help them navigate the world.  One of the side effects of hooking up a BB is that the user will occasionally get flashes of the BB's memories--these memories play a role in the story.

Much of the story revolves around Sam trying to reconnect the shattered "knots" of the former United States.  Each connection might require multiple steps or other connections before it is complete.  The story is full of plenty of twists and turns and it's refreshing to play something that is very unique.

Sam and BB pose for a pic.

+ Plenty of celebrity cameos and stars.  Norman Reedus (of The Walking Dead fame) voices and is the character model for Sam; Guillermo del Toro (horror movie director) is Deadman; Lindsay Wagner (a film and television star from the 1970's) is President Bridget Strand; and probably the best cameo is Conan O'Brien as the MC--a character you randomly stumble across as you make deliveries to new locations.

+ Gaming related easter eggs.  Throughout the game you receive messages and jobs related to Half-Life/Portal and Cyberpunk 2077.  Completing these jobs will reward you with special themed items (like a special lambda symbol truck or a Trauma Team hologram).  You can also unlock Horizon: Zero Dawn holograms of Aloy and various robotic minions.  It's fun to find these little gems sprinkled throughout.

+ Lots of gear and options for personalization.  One of the perks of upping your connection levels throughout the game is that you are rewarded with new and improved items or cosmetics.  Some of the gear options provide improved versions of items that are more durable, which is a great thing considering the fact that anything touched by timefall will decay.  You can choose how Sam looks and what items best suit his needs--it might be a special skeleton that attaches to his suit that helps him carry larger loads or armor plates to protect him from enemy fire.  There are also various vehicles to unlock and use throughout the game.

+ While I would hesitate to call it "co-op," there are aspects of working together with other players in the game.  As you make connections and add places to the Chiral network you unlock the ability to see and interact with structures built by other players.  There's also the option to donate items to a "shared" locker that is accessible to anyone--this is nice for when you forgot to grab a ladder or climbing anchor and need one to navigate an area.  There are also road pavers which offer up the ability to create paved roads in certain areas of the game--these pavers require a large amount of regular items but are well worth unlocking as they make travel with vehicles much, much easier.  Interestingly, players can also leave items in the areas of boss fights--a very handy feature!  I really liked this aspect of the game and there's an entire "likes" system built around other people using structures you build.

+ The "likes" system is a silly, but fun way to reward actions.  Sam can earn "likes" from completing deliveries, for picking up "lost" cargo (cargo that has been dropped by another player), or from other players utilizing structures and vehicles that he built.  I earned a lot of likes because I had a weird obsession with re-building roads.  And, you get likes from everyone who uses your re-built road.

+ There is a photo mode and plenty of fun poses, filters, and add-ons for snapping up candids of Sam in action.

+ Even though there are aspects of "horror" type of themes, it's mostly just creepy and not jump-scare-y.  BT's are creepy and you basically have two options in dealing with them--you can try to sneak by them (by crouching, walking slowly, and having Sam hold his breath--it's actually not too difficult) or eventually unlock weapons that can "kill" them.  I mostly opted to sneak, but will admit that I lost patience a few times and chose violence.  The worst thing about BT's is that if they do detect Sam they will send out splashes of an otherworldly, tar-like substance that will grab ahold of Sam.  Human-shaped beings will emerge from the tar and try to pull Sam under...into the world of the dead.  Fortunately, you can try to run and shake off these beings--if you fail, Sam will find himself pulled into an encounter with a much larger, much scarier BT (that takes several forms) and has to escape from that being.  It's not terrifying, but it is slightly panic inducing.  If you're not a fan of horror games (like me), I can reassure you that it's not really that scary.

+ There are boss fights of varying bizzare-ities.  They're mostly enjoyable and throw in some variety.

Cons:

- Each item Sam hauls receives a rating...and holy, bejeezus does this get repetitive.  Yes, there is a built-in option to skip, but wow are there so many things in this game that give you the option to skip.  You will frequently find yourself mashing the skip button...especially the longer you play.  There are just too many little cutscenes!  It's also worth noting that the two crashes I had occurred when I was doing a lot of skipping...so maybe try not to skip or turn on the auto-skip option.

- Long...and very long cutscenes.  Yes, they're also skippable, but you will miss so much of the already bonkers story that I wouldn't advise skipping.  It is particularly bad toward the end of the game--let's just say that you have to sit through the entire credits not once, but twice and, unskippable!).  I am generally pretty patient, but I found myself getting annoyed.

- "Fake" endings.  I hate them!  Toward the end of the game the credits started rolling...but I could still play.  Did that mean the game was over?  Not if I could still play!  So yeah, just keep playing and sit through the weird credits roll--the story keeps going.  I don't understand the choice to make players sit through the credits twice.

- While the story is unique, it's veers into the incomprehensible zone.  No spoilers here, but wow, it's weird and difficult to wrap your mind around certain parts of it.  Don't be surprised if you're Googling something like "Death Stranding story explained."

Recommendation:

Death Stranding is not a game that I would normally buy, but I actually mostly enjoyed it.  I don't think everyone will like it though--you're literally delivering items (it's like the ultimate "fetch" game) for most of the game--and would find it kind of boring.  The story is strange, but the world is actually pretty interesting.  I liked the sort of singleplayer co-op in the game and the fact that you can help out others while not needing to directly interact with them.  Overall it's an interesting game that I think will jive with certain gamers.