The review embargo for Hideo Kojima's long-awaited video game Death Stranding lifted earlier this morning, pulling back the curtain on what has certainly been one of the most enigmatic and talked-about titles in all of gaming. Although the majority of Death Stranding's early reviews have been positive, many publications are citing similar reasons as to why the game just isn't as enjoyable to play as they were hoping.
Death Stranding has been one of the PlayStation 4's most hotly-anticipated titles for multiple years now, ever since former Metal Gear Solid developer Hideo Kojima left Konami and opened his own game studio, Kojima Productions. Each new Death Stranding trailer has only added to the confusion surrounding the title, but one thing players have been most interested in is how the story and gameplay of a Kojima-created title would play out without anyone of authority around to reign in his more auteur-driven ideas. Judging from the reviews below this newfound freedom was both a help and a hindrance to Death Stranding.
Currently averaging an 84 on Metacritic, Death Stranding seems to have delivered on every promise the game made to players, from the size of the game's scope to it's occasional feelings of pretentiousness. The vast, beautifully-crafted landscapes and intricate systems on display appear to often fall by the wayside when compared to the tedious way many reviewers have reported the player character feels to control. Like the most important art Death Stranding itself strives to be, some people like it, some people hate it, and some people just can't be bothered with trying to understand. Here's what some critics have said about Death Stranding:
EGM - 5/5 - Mollie L. Patterson
In the end, Death Stranding’s biggest mystery isn’t any of the elements we’ve had teased in three-plus years of trailers—it’s what people are going to think of it. Even from a man known for making love-them-or-hate-them projects, this may end up being one of the most divisive games ever created. For me, it was an experience that I can truly say was unlike any other I remember. And, if nothing else, Death Stranding makes me respect Hideo Kojima for convincing Sony to invest millions into a game that’s about a man delivering packages to holograms.
Game Informer - 7/10 - Matthew Kato
Try as it might, Death Stranding’s story doesn’t shore up its faults. It’s the normal Kojima mix of twists-and-turns, tropes, and overbearing themes, but at least I like that it explores real-world topics like the theory of multiple dimensions and key events in the history of the planet’s biodiversity. Like Sam himself, I often wasn’t sure why I kept going in Death Stranding. Maybe there was a little bit of pride in another task checked off the list, another job done. Unfortunately, this added up to little reward in the end.
IGN - 6.8/10 - Tristan Ogilvie
There is a fascinating, fleshed-out world of supernatural science fiction to enjoy across its sprawling and spectacular map, so it’s a real shame that it’s all been saddled on a gameplay backbone that struggles to adequately support its weight over the full course of the journey.
VG247 - 3/5 - Kirk McKeand
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. And as profound as it wants to be, this is still a game in which you can equip and unequip your penis so you can piss out Red Bull.
GameSpot - 9/10 - Kallie Plagge
Death Stranding is a hard game to absorb. There are many intertwining threads to its plot, and silly names, corny moments, and heavy exposition belie an otherwise very simple message. That comes through much more clearly in the game's more mundane moments, when you find a desperately-needed ladder left behind by another player or receive a letter from an NPC thanking you for your efforts. It's positive without ignoring pain; in fact, it argues in both its story and its gameplay that adversity itself is what makes things worth doing and life worth living. It's a game that requires patience, compassion, and love, and it's also one we really need right now.
Death Stranding is clearly both a content-packed and a divisive game, but one which certainly has cemented its place in the gaming culture subconscious. Players have been talking about Death Stranding for over three years now, and if these reviews are any indication the conversation surrounding the game and its merits is only going to get more intense once the game releases to the public. While players have come to expect obtuseness and incoherent structure from Kojima's titles, Death Stranding seems to be on a whole other level.
It will be interesting to see how gamers respond to Kojima's slow-burning adventure when it releases on November 8th, especially considering many players have been anticipating Death Stranding so bad they are praising the game's leaked title screen. Like many critics, will they look past the game's reportedly tedious and slow-burning gameplay to get to the really fun stuff in the later game, or will they simply give up and move on to something else? With so much hype surrounding Death Stranding, one thing is certain: people are ready to get confused.
Death Stranding releases Sunday, November 8, 2019 on the PlayStation 4.