Death Stranding Director's Cut - Kojima's post-apocalyptic deliveryman simulator

[Jason Liang]

Why do you have to give points for originality? You know I make original fecal matter every day.

It reminds me of weird ass computer games of the late 80's/ early 90's like Balance of Power or Glider. Also SimCity and some of the weirder Sim games.

 

[Silva]

Yeah, I'm very curious about the game but seeing "Kojima" in it makes me hesitate. Every "plot" I've seen from this guy is cringe level fanfic, from Policenauts being a Terminator rip-off to Metal Gear terrible Hollywood cinematics. I mean, I like his gameplays - I enjoyed MGS 3 and 5 - but seeing as this one "gameplay" seem simplistic af, I will wait when it goes free on some sale or PS plus service or something.

 

[Jason Liang]

Yeah, I'm very curious about the game but seeing "Kojima" in it makes me hesitate. Every "plot" I've seen from this guy is cringe level fanfic, from Policenauts being a Terminator rip-off to Metal Gear nonsensic plots. I mean, I like his gameplays - I enjoyed MGS 3 and 5 - but seeing as this one "gameplay" seem pretty simplistic, I think I will wait when this gets free on some sale or PS plus service or something.

The setting and action is what makes the game work. If nothing else, this is probably the best sci fi video game since... Star Control 2 or SMAC.

Free on PS Plus Extra.

 

[Trojan_generic]

Why do you have to give points for originality? You know I make original fecal matter every day.

Because when you have played computer games for almost 40 years you don't see new concepts every day; concepts that entertain me longer than your shit.

 

[Dadd]

Why do you have to give points for originality? You know I make original fecal matter every day.

Because when you have played computer games for almost 40 years you don't see new concepts every day; concepts that entertain me longer than your shit.

So you're giving points for entertainment, not originality?

 

[Silva]

But is it Art?

 

[orcinator]

But is it Art?

Yes, visual art, (certainly not any other form of art as the story and gameplay are shit) meaning you can watch this on youtube and not feel like you've missed out on anything. You can even hold a controller in your hands, push the left stick forward and you'll be hard pressed to figure out who's really playing.

 

[Terenty]

As someone who loved the game and spent like 130 hours playing it, I gotta agree it was a bit on the easy side and some mechanics were quite pointless.

Like timefall can only damage the container, but never the cargo,rendering using a repair spray practically meaningless.

Non lethal weapons are always preferable to lethal. They have the same damage and you don't need to deal with bodies. As a result I didn't have to burn a single body during my whole playthrough, which is a shame cuz I would like to have engaged with this mechanic.

Batteries they give you in the mountains were useless as well as stamina is not an issue by this point in the game and you don't need to rest.

Gas hazard was only used in one place which I thought was strange, because they give you a mask for that(though it has other uses as well)

Wind and rocks could've been placed in more places.

With all that mentioned, I gotta say the game becomes quite engaging when you want to 5 star every prepper. It's no longer a walking sim, but rather an infrastructure building/delivery sim with different tools really coming into play.

Like BTs and the fact you can just get dragged on purpose and leave the area to clear it. Yes it's pretty stupid, but it still takes time to do and when you 5 star preps you don't wanna waste your time doing it every time. So you just put Timefall Shelters in the right places and skip time untill BTs disappear and you can go.

Building roads was pretty cool and usefull. Placing zip lines became kind of a puzzle when running out of bandwidth. Floating carriers came in handy in the rocky environments. Sticky guns helped take additional cargo along the way to max those stars out. Different exosceletons for different purposes etc.

Yes, the game is far from being perfect, but it still managed to create an engaging gameplay loop with pretty unique mechanics that you don't see every day.

 

[Silva]

Descriptions makes it sound like SimCity.

 

[Dexter]

I mean, even the "walking" part of the game is challenging at the start before you get used to it. Having to balance weight, distribution and terrain while keeping your balance and not falling over or whatever was interesting gameplay. Some of the most hilarious moments were when you lost your balance or grip and fell down and packages flew down some cliffs or were taken with the water stream or whatever. Of course, by the point you reach endgame and you have the highest level exoskeletons for balance and speed and you have zip-line, ladder and road networks to everywhere it becomes somewhat trivial, but you have to get there, unlock all those areas and build them out to get to that point. The game has a bunch of "exploration" moments that also give you a real sense of it that I can still remember years later like the end of the first map when you reach Port Knot city having passed the narrow BT area and Timefall and feeling a bit of relief when you finally make it while the music starts playing, or the first time you pass the mountain between East and West without any infrastructure:

Spoiler

 

[illuknisaa]

It's a shame that you rarely hear the soundtrack. It only plays in very specific points in the game and you can't manually listen the music songs you unlock from Sam's wrist watch thing.

In euro truck simulator you can listen to real world radio stations and it adds a lot to the immersion.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Finished this after 60 hours. This is so bad!

 

[NecroLord]

Finished this after 60 hours. This is so bad!

60 hours? What the hell.
I know great RPGs that can be finished in half that time.

 

[Venser]

Finished this after 60 hours. This is so bad!

60 hours? What the hell.
I know great RPGs that can be finished in half that time.

Those are rookie numbers. I put 140 hours in it and that was before the Director's Cut content came out. I have to go back to it to do the additional missions.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Finished this after 60 hours. This is so bad!

60 hours? What the hell.
I know great RPGs that can be finished in half that time.

Those are rookie numbers. I put 140 hours in it and that was before the Director's Cut content came out. I have to go back to it to do the additional mission.

crazy person

 

[Perkel]

Expansion "walk harder"

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Expansion "walk harder"

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Finished this after 60 hours. This is so bad!

60 hours? What the hell.
I know great RPGs that can be finished in half that time.

Those are rookie numbers. I put 140 hours in it and that was before the Director's Cut content came out. I have to go back to it to do the additional mission.

crazy person

Bought it on ps for a buddy, he proceeded to 5 star everything.

Spoiler

Yes, he's german.

 

[Konjad]

Literally a walking simulator of a drunken man, who trips over everything or even on a straight and clear path, but with dog damn long and fairly boring cutscenes.

Actually, you are better off skipping all of the cutscenes and play it as a drunk simulator - like when you need to come back home but are so drunk you don't remember what is going on but have flashbacks of falling down here and there and continue on your journey.

 

[Rocket-Propelled Game]

I went into this game expecting to love the story and hate the gameplay. Instead I came out of it actually enjoying the novel gameplay and with a newfound loathing for Kojima's writing that I never got from Metal Gear Solid even at its worst. Go figure.

Also the battlefield-Beaches were pretty fucking metal. Relatedly Mads Mikkelsen's character was the best character in the game and I will fite anyone who disagrees.

 

[Darkozric]

I finished this yesterday, fun shit and I'm not even a Kojimafag at all so I'm not biased. There are plenty of values to appreciate here but it could've been even better with a few more additions.
A mule ranking system ala stalker would've been nice. Mule bounties could enhance the experience. Also a reputation system, for each mule camp infiltration, you risk to trigger hunting teams coming for your ass.

More variety in missions and more "puzzle" elements like the one that you needed to think how to cross over the sea to the other side (it was easy since an email hints you but you get what I mean).

I did almost everything in the first area, after that, I focused mostly to the main missions and have build only 1 fucking road since the asking materials to build shit was autistically demanding.
I guess building autism would be easier and fun if there are more faggots to participate.

Fun fact: I'm currently watching Entrapped, a TV show with a fat cop in Iceland and the environment was very familiar. Game's end credits confirmed that the shooting location was indeed Iceland.

Anyway, I came, I touched chiralium, I won.

 

[Silva]

Finishing Act 2 and I'm impressed. Gameplay is so smooth it's almost therapeutic, the story is exciting and the setting well thought out. Even the cutscenes are not so cringe this time.

Something I'm really liking about the setting is that it ditched a lot of post-apocalyptic tropes and went with original (and poignant) ideas instead. For eg, I was annoyed at first that the surviving humans looked super clean and civilized and not the Mad Max-esque ragtag hobos we usually see in the genre. Then I've read some database entries and got it - the cataclysm hit when humanity tech level was through the roof. These communities have 3D printing and the likes. Food and comfort is not a problem for them. The problem is they're buried down their own asses with all that comforting tech (and Iphones and Twitter etc) and not caring to understand and counter what's out there threatening them with extinction. It's at the same time great world building, and a meaningful critique to our current society and the technology that's been pushing us apart. Brilliant.

Maybe this is the game that makes me see some genius in Kojima and not just a pretentious movie maker wannabe. Let's see..

Lithium Flower , have you played this?

 

[hayst]

Finishing Act 2 and I'm impressed. Gameplay is so smooth it's almost therapeutic, the story is exciting and the setting well thought out. Even the cutscenes are not so cringe this time.

Something I'm really liking about the setting is that it ditched a lot of post-apocalyptic tropes and went with original (and poignant) ideas instead. For eg, I was annoyed at first that the surviving humans looked super clean and civilized and not the Mad Max-esque ragtag hobos we usually see in the genre. Then I've read some database entries and got it - the cataclysm hit when humanity tech level was through the roof. These communities have 3D printing and the likes. Food and comfort is not a problem for them. The problem is they're buried down their own asses with all that comforting tech (and Iphones and Twitter etc) and not caring to understand and counter what's out there threatening them with extinction. It's at the same time great world building, and a meaningful critique to our current society and the technology that's been pushing us apart. Brilliant.

Maybe this is the game that makes me see some genius in Kojima and not just a pretentious movie maker wannabe. Let's see..

Lithium Flower , have you played this?

The way so much exposition is delivered through log entries gives the world an impersonal separate feeling which fits nicely with it's themes. This is sort of conflicting for me, it works well for the theme but regardless I still wish for more rich world building delivered in other forms.

 

[Harthwain]

The way so much exposition is delivered through log entries gives the world an impersonal separate feeling which fits nicely with it's themes. This is sort of conflicting for me, it works well for the theme but regardless I still wish for more rich world building delivered in other forms.

It is obvious that while the log entries serve as a form of exposition it is also done that way, because it is an easy way of introducing more generic delivery quests in a cheap way. That's why you get so many log entries. The game simply has no other means of conveying information outside of cinematics and logs. That said, it works for those who are curious and if someone doesn't care, he can ignore it altogether and still be fine gameplay-wise.

 

[Venser]

Gotta go back and finish the director's cut content.