Death Stranding Reviews
Hideo Kojma's first post-Metal Gear game is a messy, indulgent vanity project - but also a true original.
Death Stranding delivers a fascinating world of supernatural sci-fi, but its gameplay struggles to support its weight.
Slow, weird, and indulgent, but a true original, and a journey that will linger in your mind long after it's over.
A work of unbridled ambition and imagination but also a pretentious, contrived, and frequently quite dull gameplay experience – Death Stranding is peak Hideo Kojima.
Kojima's mysterious would be epic has its moments but can't carry the weight of expectation.
The coronavirus has made its themes more relevant than ever and while there are many odd decisions, in terms of plot and game design, the overall experience remains strangely engrossing.
The pillars of gameplay, combat, and story all bear the mark of creator Hideo Kojima, but none of them stand out or carry the experience
Having been smitten by the core world-building gameplay of Death Stranding, I am stunned to realize that many of the game’s strongest, most appealing gameplay ideas (specifically the world-building and cooperation) are tossed aside in the final acts, in favor of a much more linear, scripted, cutscene-ridden experience. The freedom and sense of ownership I enjoyed while creating this world are dashed in favor of explaining and wrapping up a story that never had much going for it to begin with.
Death Stranding is dense, complex, and powerful, steadfast in its belief in the power of love and hope when faced with overwhelming adversity.
It’s hard not to like Sam Bridges, who faces all of Death Stranding’s bizarreness with a welcome everyman’s weariness, encapsulated in in Norman Reedus’ characteristic growl.
Kojima's first post-Konami project is a bizarre, self-indulgent mess that never quite manages to tie its myriad pieces together.
Death Stranding might be Kojima's boldest game to date. It may also be his most tedious. Either way, its originality outweighs its sometimes exhausting structure and poor pacing... but only just. Maybe not a game I would recommend to everyone, but certainly one of the most interesting games of 2019.
Death Stranding is not the overly-strange inaccessible walled garden the marketing has made it out to be. It's weird, don't get me wrong! But anyone with a surface-level understanding of surrealism in art should be able to acclimate to what is essentially a playable Hollywood production.
Death Stranding is one of the best games I’ve ever played. It’s smart, it’s well-produced, and it just feels good to play.
Death Stranding is Kojima´s most personal game. A complex and emotional work of art, which is not adequate for everyone because of the slow pace and the unusual gameplay. But once you get it, it´s something you will never forget.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Death Stranding is one the best games to be found in PS4. Kojima-san delivers an open world in which we have to represent a bridge between the narrative of the game and other players in order to keep moving forward as part of a world that needs us. The game introduces characters that keep on evolving until we reach an ending for the ages through a story told like very few would be able to. Death Stranding knows how to toy with our emotions, and it manages to arise anguish, tension, solitude, sorrow, joy and provides a conclusion that completely stuns us. The end is only the beginning.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Death Stranding is like nothing I have ever played; beautiful, heart racing, heart breaking, frustrating, epic, stunning, and utterly nuts. I laughed, I cried, I cursed, and I went to the toilet an awful lot. Death Stranding isn't just my Game of the Year, it's a contender for Game of the Generation too.
Death Stranding takes on a whole new meaning in 2020, and it's a story well worth revisiting or experiencing for the first time on PC. The pacing of the game can certainly drag to a screeching halt through the middle, but with boosted frame rate and crisper visuals, you'll likely be too mesmerised by the hauntingly gorgeous world of Hideo Kojima's latest masterpiece to even care about the uneven story beats.
Death Stranding is one of those special games that comes out from time to time. Hideo Kojima shows that he's a great storyteller, but he also knows how to create a solid and attractive gameplay. It may not appeal to everyone, but it's certainly one of those games that have to play once in your life.
Review in Spanish | Read full review