Death Stranding Reviews
Death Stranding is the culmination of years worth of hype, misteries and expectation, in a genre-transcending game. An emotional and provocative interactive experience presented in a way that is only possible in a videogame.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
This is one of the rare times I wish Hideo Kojima had created a lengthy film or a series instead of a video game. At least then people might not approach it with trepidation or with derision. You know how it goes: "Oh, it's a video game. There's no way it can be that good."
Death Stranding is dizzying, unshakable in its belief it is doing something worthwhile, and it's one of the most important games of this decade.
Death Stranding screams Hideo Kojima in every single detail. If you are looking for a journey and an experience, something that you will hold dear for quite sometime, this is the game you have been waiting for. It may lack some variety in the quest design, but the asynchronous multiplayer and the depth of the storytelling are captivating.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Death Stranding is not entertaining. As such, it fails as a video game, it fails as a narrative and it fails overall.
Many expect things of Hideo Kojima, but it takes a degree of self-confidence to deliver something else instead. He left Konami because he wasn’t allowed to take the time and spend the money to make the game he wanted, so it is depressing to see Death Stranding make so many mistakes that appear on some level to be dictated by what people expect.
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.
If you do manage to hold out, you will be rewarded with flashes of brilliance, it’s just that those flashes are buried as deep as the core story is buried in the endless dialogue.
Death Stranding is first of all a game which, tries, experiments, and full of ideas. Playing the role of the lonely Sam Porter Bridges, the player is connected with everyone else thanks to a clever system of collaboration, which works really well thanks to a thoughtful game design. But to enjoy the long run through what seems to be the most beautiful Iceland landscape, you will have to go through a thick, complex and most of all tedious story, which seems to never know when to stop, or being simply limpid.
Review in French | Read full review
With gameplay that denies instant gratification, Hideo Kojima's unashamedly political game is this year's most interesting blockbuster game by far
Death Stranding delivers a fascinating world of supernatural sci-fi, but its gameplay struggles to support its weight.
In the end, all I can really say is this: handle Death Stranding with care.
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.
Death Stranding is an outstanding title that ended up blowing away the expectations I wasn’t even aware of. For an auteur like Hideo Kojima, that sounds like an unequivocal success.
Death Stranding is dense, complex, and powerful, steadfast in its belief in the power of love and hope when faced with overwhelming adversity.
Death Stranding is an ambitious game, filled with so many different mechanics and ideas that almost always work well together. The story and acting is fantastic, and its visuals are a thing of beauty, not to mention the powerful soundtrack.
Not everyone will love Death Stranding and I won’t blame you. The game is not for everyone. Some episodes take over two dozen hours to complete and the rinse and repeat delivering mechanics could be an issue for some. However, it always rewards you in some way or another. Be it with its gorgeous and detailed world that is a joy to explore or the fantastic story that unfolds as you discover everything this ambitious game has to offer. There is simply nothing else like it and to be able to dive into it all is a magnificent experience one which will define this generation of gaming.
A work of unbridled ambition and imagination but also a pretentious, contrived, and frequently quite dull gameplay experience – Death Stranding is peak Hideo Kojima.
Death Stranding is a weird game. It won’t be for everyone, but if you can find something to like in the relatively slow start, you’ll love it by the end. Typically Kojima for better and for worse, it’s a story about reconnecting people through the eyes of a bystander that becomes much more than that. Technically and visually outstanding, it’s going to be up there on my Game of the Year list for sure. A weird, but wonderful game.
Death Stranding's attention to the real may make it difficult to enjoy, but it is undeniably an experience that will both scourge and soothe the heart.