5/5 ★ – Vaxzan's review of Death Stranding.

First Kojima game. Gameplay Definitely will be the biggest point of contention and the biggest turn-off. The gameplay is mainly focused on walking around delivering packages between different locations. The walking is surprisingly engaging though as you need to keep your balance and pay attention to the environment around you when walking to make sure you don’t fall and that you can have packages in the best condition. There are also vehicles that can speed up walking, the vehicles are a bit difficult to control especially when maneuvering around rocks which there are a lot of. The “strand” elements of the game are definitely the most interesting, you are able to build structures to help you maneuver the environment such as zip lines, bridges or ladders. Those structures can be built by other people and will appear in your world, essentially there is a connection between you and other players through these structures that can help you along in the game, you can subsequently build other structures to help people as well, you receive likes for doing everything in the game and a whole category of likes is getting them from other online players for using your structures or liking them. The connected nature of the gameplay in this element fits in well with the themes of the story which will be discussed later. This is the first game I’ve played that has elements like this built into the game, Dark Souls has this slightly with signs but not on the level that exists here. There are also some minor third-person shooter elements though they are a small part of the game and are definitely the most generic, the shooting isn’t really that satisfying and was my least enjoyable part of the gameplay. Story The story is the best aspect of the game and I will keep it brief as to not spoil it. The story essentially is about going from location to location connecting places to a sort of internet network in order to rebuild America, a huge theme of the story is connection. The story unfolds through a lot of cut scenes and dialogue and overall is fantastically well written and told. There are high emotional moments throughout and fantastic characters that you spend a lot of time with and learn about in full. The story goes very in-depth in explaining this incredible world that has been crafted to give an understanding that is unmatched in many other games. While some of the dialogue isn’t very good it is a minimal amount and overall the story is incredible. The top talented actors and voice actors make the lengthy cutscenes an enjoyable experience that grips you into the story. The theme of connection is tied right into the gameplay with the strand elements that work better than many other games that try to tie elements to the story. This tied with the mystery will keep you wanting to continue the story. Graphics The graphics of the game are stunning as it creates landscapes from Iceland in a beautiful fashion. The character models also all look really great. The models of the BT’s which are the main enemy of the game are unique and creates a great atmosphere. Soundtrack The soundtrack features many really good songs that work very well with the game, the songs will make you yearn for more and can often evoke the adventure-like nature of the game. There is one song towards the conclusion of the game that is so beautiful and emotional that I still listen to it even after finishing the game. Conclusion Death Stranding is a very weird game, it has a fantastic story and soundtrack with good gameplay that I enjoyed. The gameplay will not work for everyone and as such the game is not for everyone. If you can find something in the gameplay and love great single-player stories then this will be one of the best you can choose from. I loved it and am excited for more from Kojima.