Table of Contents 64q43
Death Stranding is the first game developed by the new Kojima Productions. The studio that, now independent, brings a totally different work from the hit series “Metal Gear”, created by renowned producer Hideo Kojima. In 2015, he and the studio Konami had a series of disagreements, which resulted in the cancellation of the long-awaited “Silent Hills”, a horror game starring Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) and developed in partnership with Guillermo del Toro (Movie's director “The Shape of Water”). 2g2416
Even though Kojima had decreed the end of the franchise in “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain”, fans didn't even have time to grieve. In the same year, practically along with his departure announcement, Kojima revealed a partnership with Sony and that your new title (Death Stranding) would be released exclusively on console PlayStation 4. The partnership with Reedus and del Toro was also taken advantage of and now, five years later, we can check the result.
A messy and genius marketing campaign 5j1i4n
Who is waiting for the release of Death Stranding since his announcement, he knows that it was not easy to understand what was going on in Kojima's head. That's because, in 2016, when the first trailer was released on E3, didn't show anything that made sense. In the video, just over three minutes long, Norman Reedus' character – so far unnamed – wakes up on a beach full of animals stranded next to a baby. The child disappears from Norman's lap, as he faces the immensity of the sea and the title of the game is revealed.
The fans were excited and at the same time very confused. Understanding what the game was about was a difficult task, few were able to get the theories right. Even as the years ed, the situation only got worse. The more it was shown, the less people understood the concept of the game. What many may not have realized is that: that was exactly the intention.
After going through the whole experience of Death Stranding, I can say that this was one of the wisest decisions of the studio. The game itself encourages the player to seek answers about what happened to humanity. What we think of this whole story revealed at the pace of a dropper can be seen in the review below.
Warning: this review does not contain story spoilers, everything mentioned is only about what has been revealed in the trailers so far
A devastated world and humanity divided 2i1p58
Mysterious explosions devastated the planet leaving humanity on the brink of collapse. Survivors took refuge in fortified cities and shelters with little with the outside world. Only transporters face the mission of moving supplies between safe locations. This is because the division between the world of the dead and the living is basically non-existent.
Over time, it was discovered that the explosions occurred because of human with Beached Things (stranded entities, in free translation), beings from beyond that roam throughout the territory without being able to return to the world of the dead. At EPs (acronym in Portuguese) are composed of antimatter, chemical elements with electrical charges opposite to the matter of living beings, when there is between both the result can be a devastating explosion called obliteration.
This event became known as Death Stranding (death paralysis, in free translation), creating other paranormal phenomena. One of these phenomena was the emergence of people with high paranormal sensitivity, called dooms. Depending on the level of this skill, the individual can see the EPs, feel them and in some cases control them. It is in this chaotic scenario that we meet the protagonist Sam “Porter” Bridges (Norman Reedus).
Sat is a delivery man who suffers from aphephobia, which is the fear of being touched. He is recruited by the Bridges company, created by Bridget (Lindsay Wagner) – the last president of the United States – whose mission is to reconnect America. Bridget and your daughter Amelie (played by the same actress) built the chiral network, a system capable of transmitting vast amounts of data in seconds, and needing to connect all major cities, from coast to coast, to exchange valuable information and keep humanity together.
The problem is that Amelie was kidnapped after three years of expedition, and it is up to Sat use your DOOMS to complete this difficult task. You can see that the entire main plot talks about connections and people's need to connect with each other. This is the core of Death Stranding, which uses several metaphors to reinforce this importance. A clear example of this is right on the game's home screen where the text by the Japanese playwright Kobo Abe appears called “Rope” (cord), in which the author talks about the first creations of humanity: a stick and a rope.
The stick is used to pull apart, while the rope is used to unite. Using this metaphor, Kojima developed a plot that uses several concepts to make this reference. The Quiral Network itself, the babies' umbilical cord and the protagonist's aphephobia are some examples that the producer uses in the game.
Even with a complex story, the fact that the game is 100% in Brazilian Portuguese helps a lot in understanding the plot. The Brazilian dubbing is of high quality, with well-known voices from the movies and series. Norman himself, for example, is voiced by actor Silvio Giraldi, the same one who voices the character of Reedus em The Walking Dead.
Simple and intuitive gameplay 115ug
To carry out the mission, the player must bring supplies to all Bridges branches and earn the trust of other survivors. In this way, they will accept to be part of the network to expand it throughout the territory. However, anyone who thinks that everyone will accept it right away is wrong. Many characters are suspicious and don't believe in Bridges' ideals, forcing the player to undertake extra missions to build trust.
The character will have to deliver materials of all kinds, from food to personal items, with each item having a different weight. This feature influences the game mechanics, as Sam has a weight limit he can carry. In this part, the physics of the game is really impressive, since a sudden movement or a fall can cause the load to fall and be damaged. It is up to the player to know how to distribute and manage how much weight he carries.
At the beginning we have basic tools for locomotion in the mountainous regions of the game. The arsenal includes ropes for steep descents, a ladder for crossing deep rivers and the CQP – a portable printer capable of creating useful devices such as mailboxes, bridges and watchtowers. The type of terrain also influences Sam's movement, such as wet terrain that increases the character's chances of slipping.
The weight organization is done automatically by pressing the triangle button in the menu, which makes the player's life much easier. This is not the only detail that was introduced in Death Stranding, a number of factors can influence gambling and make life difficult for couriers. One of them is the Timefall (temporal rain, in Portuguese), which accelerates the life cycle of any living being or object, that is, everything in the game deteriorates and becomes unusable quickly.
When I say everything, I mean everything! Cargo packaging, the cargo itself, your boots, equipment and any devices that were left behind. Nothing is permanent, which encouraged me to be aware at all times during my journey. The caprice of the Kojima Productions in making an apparently “simple” task become something really challenging.
It seems complex to pay attention to everything, but the game itself competently assists each of these actions. A hint session is available to the player in the main menu if they forget something, as well as constant reminders from the secondary characters themselves.
combat system 2j4t1x
It's not just the dead that will give the player a headache. There are also living enemies, called MULES, which are former couriers who have gone mad and become addicted to stealing cargo. Upon entering the area monitored by them, a radar is activated, attracting the MULES to their position. It's up to the player to decide whether to run or face the threat.
In the moments when I was cornered, the solution was to go hand in hand with the enemies. It is important to that it is not advisable to kill them, as they can become EPs and make it even more difficult to gameplay. When striking enemies they drop charges of their own, with which Sam can use them as weapons to quickly knock them out. New weapon options, both lethal and non-lethal, will become available as we progress through the game. gameplay, facilitating confrontations. We can also use a rope to stealthily knock them down if they are in large numbers.
In the case of EPs, weapons deserve extra attention from the player. That's because they use Sam's fluids which include feces, urine, bath water and blood. All materials can be collected in the bathroom of the private room. This reaction is due to the DOOMS that Sam has and the fact that he is a repatriate, that is, if the character dies, his soul can return to the body on its own.
The special abilities of Sat they only allow him to feel the presence of the EPs. In order to see them, it is necessary to carry a baby, which is literally called BB (Baby Bridges) in a container that simulates a uterus. When connecting, both exchange memories and emotions, making the protagonist feel the child's fears and anxieties.
constant evolution 1n2h
An evil that ends up happening with almost all open world games is repetition. And Kojima's team has gone to great lengths to ensure that this doesn't happen so abruptly, introducing a system of constant evolution. Basically, the player is constantly conquering something to improve his performance and speed in deliveries. Whether it's a special boot, improved ladder or special vehicles.
Another feature inserted were complements in the story. When making deliveries, the NPC's reveal more about that universe and how they have survived the Death Stranding. Not all information is really relevant, but it serves to enrich the universe and keep the player motivated.
By completing missions, we level up as a delivery man, in addition to gaining skills such as more balance, stamina and speed. The idea is that, with more experience, deliveries become easier. In fact, the improved gear we get from NPCs makes up most of this advantage, which doesn't change the fact that it's more of a player-incentive content.
Universe built in collective 3cx4f
like the core of Death Stranding are connections, Kojima introduced a system of interactions with other players that made me reflect on empathy as a whole. In the game it is possible to find lost cargoes from other players online and you can pick them up to complete missions by earning link points with other players. In addition, it is possible to use bridges and equipment built by other players who have already ed through that stretch.
Mailboxes are found throughout the game, in which we can forward loads that we are unable to carry. If you have a lot of items and want to donate them, just put it in a shared locker. Believe me, at some point you will be grateful that someone left an essential item in those boxes. At various times I found myself building things thinking about how it would make life easier for those who would by.
Just because that thought had arisen in me, Kojima completed his goal. Making a community that receives a lot of criticism for its toxicity to help people who have never had . This only proves the genius of a producer who loves what he does, creating concepts that intertwine with the history and gameplay. The same practice can be applied in everyday life, such as donating food to needy people.
Even though many players have buildings in the game, that doesn't mean there's no individual effort as well. Death Stranding it doesn't work like an MMO, in which everyone is enjoying that universe at the same time. The server itself selects a certain amount of things that we can use and the rest is up to the player to finish. It is worth ing that nothing in the game is permanent, the temporal rain will deteriorate everything over time.
Soundtrack and visuals 6qo53
Most of the soundtrack Death Stranding is melancholic, with most tracks being composed by the band low roar. During the game, as we walk through the mountains and plains, a track from the band always starts playing to pack our journey through the devastated world. It was a choice that married well with the solitary game style that Kojima proposes. An album with 8 original songs will be released along with the game, titled "Timefall" includes work by artists such as Major Lazer, Chvrches and The Neighborhood.
The visual work done by Kojima Productions leaves nothing to be desired. Showing pores, wrinkles and realistic facial expressions that bring the cutscenes (cut scenes, in free translation) to movie clips in computer graphics animation. Part of this success is also due to the performances of actors who have big names like Mads Mikkelsen (Polar). It is also worth mentioning the performance of Troy Baker, Margaret Qualley and Tommie Earl Jenkins – the latter stars in one of the most expressive scenes I've ever seen in a video game.
like the personality of Sat is very similar to the character Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus in the series The Walking Dead, the actor ends up staying in the same, without delivering something different or impressive. This is not to say that the actor's work is bad, on the contrary, he did his job as competently as always, however, without standing out.
The landscapes are full of textures that do not escape desert scenarios, whether rocks, wet earth, grass or snow. There is little nature in the universe of Death Stranding, being justified in the story itself with the temporal rain. Some stretches contain small forests, with very uneven terrain full of enemies. The game ran smoothly on my PS4 traditional, no bugs or frame drops.
Death Stranding teaches us to reconnect 4n2dg
Death Stranding is by far one of the biggest hits of this generation, which strays from the traditional and brings several new mechanics to open world games. Its plot is complex and very rich, which is worth additional attention from the player to understand the story in its entirety. Filled with philosophical references, Kojima gives us a lesson in empathy, conveying the important message of helping and caring for others.
If you're already familiar with the producer's games, you should expect cutscenes very long, in which the player just ively watches for long periods of time. This aspect is still present in Death Stranding with a difference: the time of gameplay is also long as opposed to Metal Gear Solid 4, for example. In the first playthrough, I beat the game in 54 hours and still left a lot of content behind. If you like a title that can't be zeroed overnight, this is an excellent option.
Anyone who knows a little about Kojima's history knows that he has a very strong connection with cinema, and this ends up influencing his way of telling stories in video games. At times, especially towards the end, I was annoyed by the lengthening of the denouement with no justification to dump all the final revelations in the player's lap. This does not take away all the merits mentioned above, because, as I said before, I already knew the director's work. However, it is a fact that this style does not please everyone.
With a beautiful message, Death Stranding is a strong contender for game of the year and one of the best games of this generation. Its official launch is scheduled for November 8, exclusively for the PlayStation 4. In 2020, the game will get a PC version.
This analysis was done on the PlayStation 4 console, with a copy provided by Sony.
