"Death Stranding" transforms the most annoying game clichés into a gripping experience
13.11.2019
Translation: machine translated
What happens when the creator of the "Metal Gear" series is given complete creative freedom? A game in which a glorified postman shoots blood grenades made of urine and fights whales made of tar.
Minds are divided on "Death Stranding". Some consider it a masterpiece, others dismiss it as a pretentious postman's game by a megalomaniac game designer. This designer is none other than Hideo Kojima. Best known for the "Metal Gear" series. After his nasty split from publisher Konami, he was welcomed with open arms by Sony. There, he is said to have received a blank cheque to realise his next creative vision. The result is "Death Stranding". A game in which you carry around a baby in a glass container, drink monster energy drinks from rivers and collect likes as a post-delivering pack mule.
The post connects
But let's start from the beginning. "Death Stranding" is set in the near future. The world has once again collapsed due to a catastrophe. You are Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus). Your job: to reunite the surviving and fragmented civilisations by connecting them to the Chiral Network communications network. You do this by hauling deliveries across the USA. As Sam, you can initially hump a paltry 120 kilograms. You receive the order from his sister Amelie. She is to become the new president, but is currently being held by a terrorist group. However, she can still communicate with you via holophone. At the same time, the mega-corporation Bridges is also involved. The postal company is the real ruler of the country, and the head of Bridges is called Die Hardman. Because he's a man who's hard to kill. Subtle.
The delivery missions make up the bulk of the game and feel like lugging overstuffed paper shopping bags home on foot - you pack yourself up with as many loads as you can carry and set off. The more you carry, the harder it is to steer Sam. And as you are mostly travelling through a mountainous landscape that is very reminiscent of Iceland, you have to be careful not to trip. You can pack your load differently for better balance.
Together alone
Your journeys are made even more difficult by bandits, rain called timefall that damages your delivery, rough terrain that you can bypass with extendable ladders and BTs. BTs are monsters that are actually invisible. But because Sam is carrying a baby in a glass container, he can see the monsters. If you are too loud or too close to the BTs, tar washes under your feet and black hands try to pull you under the water. If you can't shake them off, you'll end up in the world called Seam. Flying whales attack each other there. However, you can swim back to your body and then the game continues. If you die, there is a huge explosion that leaves behind an unbridgeable crater.
Yes, it plays just as strange as it sounds.
One special feature of the game is the online aspect. Although "Death Stranding" is a single-player game, other players can influence your world and vice versa. You can build ladders, bridges, watchtowers or vehicles, which then appear in other people's games. You can even work together on projects and upgrade buildings. I've often found myself desperately searching for my way through the wasteland when a rope unexpectedly led up a steep rock face. I can hand out Likes for this. Likes are given for deliveries from NPCs and from other players for things you place in the world. Likes help you to level up Sam.
I'm still far from finished with "Death Stranding". With a game length of 40 to 60 hours, it will probably take a while. And I haven't listed all the elements of the game. But the central gameplay doesn't change much. So you will realise very early on whether "Death Stranding" is for you or not. I might not actually like it. I normally hate the things that are at the centre of "Death Stranding". Fetch quests, i.e. quests where you just run somewhere to pick something up, inventory management and back tracking, i.e. running back to the same places. And yet the sparse but fantastically beautiful world, together with the harmonious soundtrack, ensures that I keep coming back to "Death Stranding". The story, which, like everything else about this game, is wonderfully weird and bonkers, is also a key article in this.
"Death Stranding" is a game you should experience, but it's also a game that's not easy to recommend. Maybe our Let's Play will help you find out which side you're on.
"Death Stranding" is available for PS4 and will be released for PC in 2020.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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