izigame.me

"The rope and the stick are two of humankind’s oldest tools. The stick to keep evil at bay, and the rope to bring that which is good closer. Both were the first friends conceived by humankind.
The rope and stick were wherever humankind was to be found.”


Introduction

Death Stranding is a third-person action-adventure game focusing heavily on coming to terms with the possible extinction of humanity and finding the will to press on regardless of how cumbersome life might get. After several attempts of trying to start it, I finally decided it was time to give it a proper shot, so I strapped on my boots and set off on a damn immersive experience. But did it have what it takes to survive the journey, or did timefall leave it in ruins?


🟩 Positives
🟥 Negatives


🟩 Some of the most densely packed and innovative gameplay mechanics I have ever experienced in a game.
🟩 One of the best online communities.
🟩 A stunning visual experience that captivates you from start to finish with mind blowing aesthetics and cinematics.
🟩 A soundtrack that fits perfectly to the entire game experience, that knows when it's necessary and when it's not and how to engage you regardless of the situation.
🟥 While I enjoyed the underlying plot quite a lot, the storytelling and sheer volume of information thrown at you all at once caused confusion for most of the experience.



Story

Sam Porter Bridges is a REPATRIATE courier in a world going through a supernatural mass extinction known as the DEATH STRANDING that has somehow torn a rift between the worlds of the dead and the living. With the future of the UCA on the line, he must travel across what was once America while avoiding the BTs with his DOOMS ability that allows him to sense their presence and pressing on through TIMEFALL to bring satellite sites known as KNOTS onto the CHIRAL NETWORK using the Q-PID to unite the world once more, all the while avoiding VOIDOUTS that can cause catastrophic harm to your surroundings.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231526628
If the above was too much information to take on board and left you somewhat confused, Welcome to Death Stranding.
The general plot is intriguing and well-written, but overburdened by buzzwords and new information that is entirely irrelevant, as well as a consistent reiteration of story points, you are bombarded with information from all angles. I deciphered most of the story from just reading the interviews provided as additional data in the game, as the main storyline did not help me understand what was happening.

Gameplay Analysis

Tomorrow is in your hands.
The world of Death Stranding is enormous, so travel and exploration will play a massive role in your experience. Finding new paths and searching for items is imperative to your progression as you want to find the best way to get from A to B with as few problems as possible to attain the best delivery ratings, and materials are needed to build tools around the world to help you and other players traverse it easier.
Movement is a crucial part of Death Stranding because you will constantly be on the move with heavy items on your back or driving some vehicle across difficult-to-traverse landscapes. Thankfully, the movement has been designed to provide as much control as possible while providing difficulty and immersion.
You have plenty of tools at your disposal to help you traverse the world, from deployable ladders and bridges to cargo catapults and ziplines and a whole range of vehicles with different carrying capacities and travel ranges.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231529025
All deliveries fall into one of four categories. These are cargo condition, delivery volume, delivery time and miscellaneous. Most of these are self-explanatory, but miscellaneous deliveries are where the item has to be retrieved from a dangerous area and delivered to its final destination.
The stick instead of the carrot.
On your long and arduous journey across the once-great America, you will undoubtedly come across people and entities not interested in helping you connect the knots and make America whole again. The first you'll encounter are the BTs, supernatural entities from the world of the dead that now wander areas with heavy timefall. They are avoidable, but you will come across means of putting them to rest early on, so just be patient. Speaking of timefall, it is a considerable threat to your items, it appears as heavy rain or snow and it slowly ages anything it touches, destroying it over time. Avoiding it will be one of the hardest challenges you will face in the game and a constant threat to your ratings.
The second is a far more persistent and arguably less reasonable threat, which is humans in the guise of MULE's and Terrorists. Both are dangerous, and both will block crucial paths to steal your goods or kill you. Thankfully, you have plenty of means to protect yourself, most of which are non-lethal, as enemies follow the same premise as you do, and if they die in combat, they need to be disposed of before they create a voidout and destroy large portions of the surrounding area.
A community for all time.
This game has one of the best online services and communities I have ever had the chance to play with before. As Death Stranding posts the tools you build online allow other players to use them and vice versa, which creates a genuine group of players seeking to experiment with paths and help each other traverse the world easier all for a simple "Like" mechanic where you upvote items left by other players that you have found and used.

Audio and Visual

Let me paint you a picture of vistas of verdant rolling hills framed by imposing mountains, chaotic bodies of water, and brooding clouds that choke the sky and tell tales of dreary melancholy. This is the world of Death Stranding, and being lost in its impeccably well-designed landscapes delivers a truly immersive experience.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231525614
And if the visuals are not enough to entice you, the audio will. As a seemingly flawless coupling to the setting are songs that speak plethoric volumes of emotion and substance to the already densely rich experience. The general audio is also an amazing feat that delivers substantial immersion as you trudge through mud, water and snow to reach your goals.

PC Performance and Specifications

With the game set to Ultra and 2560 x 1440 resolution, I never saw this game drop below 60 FPS the entire time I played it. There were also no graphical bugs to note.
RAM: 32GB (Under Load Usage: 31%)
CPU: i9 10900KA 3.70GHz (Under Load Usage: 31.9%)
GPU: MSI Ventus RTX 3080 (Under Load Usage: 58%)

Final Thoughts - Very Good

Review chart here.
Death Stranding is a weird experience to gauge, as I really did enjoy it this time around but have unfortunately dropped it numerous times in the past due to its confusing and poorly-paced story. With that said, the gameplay is amongst the best I've experienced in a game to date and felt like I was a part of the world and invested in its outcome, which is a rare feat. I would recommend this game at any price, but on the caveat that you have to be in the mood for something of this kind, or you probably will not enjoy it.
The Death Stranding has taken so much from Humanity, but thankfully founts of knowledge such as Hell, Purgatory and Paradise remain to keep our past alive.