Death Stranding Reviews
As a “game” Death Stranding doesn’t do much. But as a work of art, Death Stranding is something mesmerising, intelligent, and powerful, and we never see genuine art within the big budget, blockbuster space. That alone makes it a rare treat to play, and I rather like this new-look, independent Kojima.
Is it a new genre of games? Perhaps, but it definitely succeeds in presenting polished and novel, even revolutionary, ideas even if the overall experience can drag on and feel monotonous at times due to uneven story and set-piece pacing.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Death Stranding is certainly one of the best titles I've had the pleasure of playing in this generation and the seed responsible for creating a whole new subgenre that will undoubtedly bear beautiful fruit in the future. Hideo Kojima has excelled himself by giving us not only an exceptional story, but a vast world that is constantly changing because of the actions of the players. It is certainly not a game that will please everyone, but I can guarantee that those who get carried away by its proposal, plot and mechanics will have an unforgettable experience. Tomorrow is in your hands!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Death Stranding is a beautiful game and one hell of an experience. That being said, this isn’t your average action-adventure game. It’s a game that boldly breaks the norm of video games by having tedious fetch quests that would be the death of any other game. And yet, Death Stranding somehow makes all of its mechanics work.
Whether you see Death Stranding as an enjoyable artistic masterpiece full of commentary about contemporary society or a frustrating mess complete with self-indulgent schlock, you're 100% correct.
While not for everyone, Death Stranding still is a breathtaking experience thanks to a beautiful world filled to the brim with amazing characters. The gameplay lacks some variety in some ways, yet with such an amazing story you just want to keep playing. The same thing applies for the stealth-sections which are some of the best Kojima has ever created.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Most big-budget games just don't take risks these days. With Death Stranding, Kojima has taken one million risks, and virtually all of them pay off. Like the box art says, it's "a Hideo Kojima game," and there's nothing else quite like it.
A playable essay on human connection and individuality cleverly disguised as a walking sim.
Death Stranding is an enjoyable, story-centric game, with realistic physics and unique in-game interactions. Although it was a little difficult to understand the story at first, the game's creator Hideo Kojima spaced out the small details enough to keep players engaged and progressing, eager to learn more.
Buying Death Stranding was a risk. I’m not one for massive open-world games, I didn’t know what the hell the game was about, and the early divisive reviews made me even more unsure. And yet, the further I got into the game, I realised I was playing something in a way that I’m not sure I’ll ever experience again. The online system is fantastic, the world is photo-realistic and absolutely beautiful (the game reaches its peak visually when you’re up in the snowy mountains), the BT encounters are consistently tense, and as weird as it sounds, the walking is the best part about it. There are cutscenes aplenty to wade through with varying degrees of success (the late game cutscenes, while interesting, are a chore to finish), but you should come to Death Stranding for a wholly satisfying gaming experience that needs to be played to be believed, filled to the brim with a colourful cast of characters (and cameos aplenty from the film world to look out for!) and scenery to die for. As shocking as it may be, Death Stranding is my first ever Hideo Kojima game. I think I know what I’ve been missing out on.
Death Stranding surely is a fresh shock to the open world game design choice. Some of the obvious but fresh visual concepts blend into the story very well. The actors are also the highlight of the game’s entire vibe and atmosphere. The player will be very attached with the journey experience of the main character, who has to endure and truly be rewarded with the best expected outcome like as if you’re really completing a job. You’ll get the fullest single player experience and never get bored with some of the light multiplayer elements of other players playing the same game but act as a pseudo NPC of your universe. Some of the side missions are basically delivering items from point A to B but the main story is so great that they’re all forgiven. While the trend of open world games somewhat felt over saturated but this was a new portal for better opportunities to come with it’s core design. Once you play this game, it will last in your heart for a long time.
Review in Korean | Read full review
In general, the arrival of Death Stranding on the PC is very fortuitous, especially since it was released in a high quality version. The game is a masterpiece that offers a unique experience on top of good game design choices and whose bizarre doses in the script create an immersive and thought-provoking world.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The first imagery we ever saw from our initial glimpse at Death Stranding, was a naked Daryl Dixon cradling a baby. No explanation, no story detail. But it was from Hideo Kojima, so naturally, hype arose. However, for me, I never really pushed to find out what the game was about or watch any more trailers over the years. It was for PS4, and as an Xbox player, I was never going to play it, so why bother?
Death Stranding is a unique once-in-a-generation experience which has to be experienced by everyone, even if just to see if you enjoy it. With relaxing gameplay, a beautiful story, unique multiplayer component and great music, it is an experiment that was worth taking by Kojima Productions. Why did you need to include an Alan Walker song, though, Kojima?
An interesting story, and solid gameplay, but not in a way that combines into a singular experience that players deserve for a 60 dollar title. Still it's worth checking out once the price drops.
Death Stranding is a great first look into Sony’s willingness to be more platform-agnostic. It also proves that Kojima Productions doesn’t have to regulate themselves to specific needs or restrictions of a console. While the developer didn’t entirely loosen its grips on its vision of Death Stranding, with the lack of standard PC settings, adapting to an open platform still couldn’t have been easy.
Kojima Productions game now arrives on PC inviting us to continue creating bridges between human relationships, and this time it does so with performance and visuals that improve on its PlayStation 4 counterpart.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I enjoyed discovering the world in Death Stranding and although the gameplay didn’t seem ‘special’ at first, it ended up being much more complex than I initially thought. Sadly, the story does take a while to pick up, however, as soon as my confusion got untangled it became more enjoyable for me. My favourite thing about this game is the stunning environmental and character graphics which made it a joy for me to traverse through the areas, even if I was mostly simply delivering cargo. That being said, Death Stranding is an entertaining game, with an interesting premise, which I recommend to anyone who is looking for something more unique to experience.
Gameplay and storyline complement each other perfectly to form a coherent whole - a feat that Kojima has long striven for, but never quite achieved before. Not least because of this, Death Stranding is a rare masterpiece that will no doubt gain cult status over the years. The quality of the title is beyond any doubt, and although critics will always find flaws, Death Stranding is like a glimmer of hope in the face of an entertainment industry that is so painfully choking from a lack of innovation.
Review in German | Read full review
Death Stranding is the most complete miss we have ever seen. Everything works exactly as it was intended to work, always reliably but with a few practical disagreements in places.
Review in Greek | Read full review