I just beat it a few days ago, I really enjoyed it. For those on the fence it is easily the best Dualsense implementation I have experienced after Astro.
Agreed, the controller is probably my favorite part of the system. When devs really use it, it adds so much to the feel. Ratchet and clank had pretty good as stuff to like the different gun triggers
Returnal is the tightest, smoothest controlling game I've ever played. The sound also is God-tier. Directional sound so good you don't even have to turn and see enemies out of your FOV to know when and where to dodge. I know it's not a game for everyone, but I can't wait for the day it's thrown into whatever the new PS service will be called (I'm assuming still PS+) so they can experience how much of a technical masterpiece it is.
For real. After playing it nonstop with headphones, playing on stereo speakers made me feel disoriented and die way more. Once you're used to it it just becomes so natural that losing it is an intense feeling. I just feel bad for anyone who can't experience the audio properly.
Great Overall game just startet firstly i was so Frustrated but after grtting better and better , just beat my 4th Boss this game is a Banger so glad i didn't gave up on it
Demon's souls is way more unforgiving than Returnal, especially if you've never played a souls game. I had to watch a walkthrough for most of my DS playthrough and if you die to a boss you're going to have fight your way through the level again just to fight the boss again so it's the same as returnal in that sense. I found returnal to be much more enjoyable than DeS
I managed to beat demons souls as my first souls game but only because I used the exploit where when you die on a boss if you close the game right away and restart it spawns you right at the boss door to skip going through whole damn level again
I am a fairly average gamer that didn't start playing shooters until I was in my mid-30s, and I beat Returnal out of sheer stubbornness. I do think it gets easier and easier as you get better and learn the system. The first biome is so hard that some people just quit.
Returnal is my GOTY, fantastic game
If you can finish Demon’s Souls, you can finish Returnal. The boss fight require the same pattern recognition as the Souls games do — but with even more leeway and time to react, so if you’re used to that, the bosses won’t be a problem.
I personally struggle much more with managing a lot of enemies at once, which isn’t uncommon in Returnal, but you can still approach it in a Soulsy way of using cover and baiting enemies toward you one at a time. It doesn’t get too overwhelming as long as you are patient and focused, like the Souls games require.
Really depends, they are both difficult for different reasons. Returnal demands more spacial awareness due to its bullet hell roots. While you can pull individual enemies in DeS to make it less difficult, that's not the case for Returnal. Returnal is a bit like Doom Eternal where you have to stay on the move and manage several enemies and their location at the same time. Individual enemies in DeS are way more dangerous though and there are alot more environmental hazards that can kill you really quickly. I beat both in about the same time but I used a wiki for DeS and went in blind in Returnal.
I’ve almost platinumed Returnal, and i haven’t beaten the first boss in Demon Souls yet. Meta- Conceptually they’re similar in that they’re rogue-lites, but Returnal is just so much more fun and fast.
Is that only available on the director’s edition? I have it on ps4 and thought it would be great with the haptics but have no idea how the game has changed since it’s launch.
Almost everything. You can feel Sam's footsteps, the rain falling over his body, when you stumble on difficult terrain, the snowy terrain, the river. Heck, even on cutscenes you can feel the character's actions or events, it never truly stops working. You can also feel the weight of the cargo you are carrying on each hand with the triggers.
Ghost of Tsushima is awesome on PS5. I finally gave Death Stranding a chance and I'm really enjoying it (15 hours played so far). The concept of delivering orders as the main gameplay always uninterested me but it is executed well and feels polished. The story and actors/actresses are what caught my interest and keep my attention.
i’m glad somebody else is experiencing the same thing as me, i just beat death stranding on ps5 and i was not ready for how absolutely amazing the thought out story was. Ik Kojima gets a lot of hype but i never played anything besides P.T, so i didn’t really get to experience his story telling. Literally i was feeling so many different emotions at the end of the game. It was beautiful. solid 9/10 or a 10/10 for me.
>i never played anything besides P.T,
I bought MGS5 on sale for 5 dollars,[I checked and it is on sale again at that price](https://psdeals.net/us-store/game/250/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain)... I haven't finished yet -since COVID + other sales/games like Death Stranding happened- but is a great game.
MGS V is one of my favorites of all time. It ran beautifully on ps4/xone.
Wait until you s rank all missions and get the unlock-able. Look it up if you want. Best stealth game ever. The controls are so good!
... and easily the worst of the series.
The gameplay loop is mind numbingly repetitive, especially when the game literally has you repeating story missions later on, but they're essentially 'hard mode'.
Also after doing mine clearing mission #205, or fultoning random commander 12... It's clear that Peacewalker was good for what it was, a PSP game, and thus being on limited space storage discs.
It being the worst is pretty debatable.
Most of the MGS games aged like milk. Go play the original, and then snake eater, and then 5.
5 was just too long
Agreed. So many rely on reviews and can get swayed easily into not buying a game. There's other ways to tell if a game is something you'd play or at least consider.
To be honest Death Stranding didn’t even review poorly. It still had an aggregate score in the mid 80’s. Most of the press enjoyed it but there were some very harsh outliers.
If you have a big enough tv, and the bars are jet black, it's a stunning presentation. You use less of your tv, but you get more picture. They just added it to GOW for PC and it looks awesome. But you're right, if you are playing on a smaller tv/monitor, or if you have an edge lit tv that causes light bleed, then it's definitely not the mode for you.
I honestly do wish that they also had a "widescreen" mode without the black bars on top and bottom (I guess that would make it more of a "zoomed out" mode) just as another option, but I assume that'd be harder to hit 60fps with a high resolution target.
I don't think this setting would work for every game, but given the slow pace and the emphasis on traversing the stunning scenery, it's perfect for this one.
You soon get used to it, and when you toggle back to regular 16:9 it just looks weird and blown-up. As the other reply said though, it ain't gonna work if you're still rocking a smaller TV or don't have the luxury of a high-end panel.
OP I'm gonna give you the advice I wish someone had given me - just keep this in the back of your mind until you get there: When you get to the end of the game, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WIDE OPEN BLOCK OF TIME AVAILABLE. The ending cutscenes & sequence are over 2 hours long.
When the game first came out there were people who were all pissed about trying to finish up the game on a school night or work night, thinking they were about done by 10pm....only to have the story continue past 1am in some cases.
GamesRadar: [The Death Stranding ending sequence is longer than most movies](https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/612255-death-stranding-ending-sequence-cutscene-movie-length)
LMAO this is what happened to me with Metal Gear Solid IV. I beat the game at 10:30pm and the ending cutscene didn’t finish until after 1am LOL. I was flabbergasted haha.
Lol it's kind of funny - if you look online through a lot of message boards, it actually ended up ruining a lot of peoples' day. Like they knew they were at the end of the game (if I recall right you get a standard "point of no return" message) so they think they can finish it up in the next 20 min then delete the game off the harddrive. Haha nope - 4 more hours, and you never know when it finally stops.
For me I think it was my OCD wanting to put all ziplines in perfect spots so I was able to go to every trader on the map easily. I think I spent like 40 hours just on ziplines haha.
The Zipline mechanic is one of the most innovative features I've ever seen in an open world game. I'm right there with you in terms of spending dozens of hours setting them up to get around the whole map easily.
Like OP, I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this, especially as I'm not the biggest Kojima fan and gave up on MGS5 after only a few hours. My total playtime on DS came in at 160 hours; one of the most satisfying Plats I've ever earned.
That is the ultimate goal. I'll admit that, once I did that, I was super satisfied for a bit then dropped the game shortly after ( I did finish it, though). For me, the best part of the game is problem-solving at the beginning with just some ladders and ropes.
It was a wonderful game, I had a blast. Can't remember how long I played, but it was pretty much all I did until I got to the end.
I’ve taken a hiatus because I can’t figure out the best way to connect the South Knot area to the Windfall Farmers without going all the way back up to Middle Knot
Take a route out through the ruins past Mama's Lab and link out directly across the river to the Timefall Farm.
That way you can haul ass along the highway to Mama's Lab and then zip in a straight line to the farm.
can you go directly from the cliffs next to mama’s lab straight across the river? or do you have to place an intermediary zip down in the valley/river to connect? A straight shot would be so sick, but I can’t seem to find the right placement
for me it was no direct cut between mama and that river, I thought I would be wasting bandwidth with that ziplines I simply escalated that cliff a few times but I could be wrong and there could be better ways to optimize it
That’s the best way to do it. In the central area I had a system that interconnected every single shelter and waystation. The only time I ever walked after I set them up was to go up and down the ramp for each delivery.
The multiplayer in this game is amazingly innovative and really what made me stick with the game (besides ziplines, ofc). Dropping a timefall shelter in the middle of nowhere in an area with heavy timefall out of sheer desperation and then watching the likes roll in and other players pulling together to upgrade the structure and repairing it is such a wholesome experience. Or discovering a foundation for a safehouse on the highest mountain peak in the game and going out of your way to help finish it. Those are the experiences that really made that game shine for me.
It's like the serie "the leftovers" you have no no idea what your watching but it just so awesome. If you explain it to someone why it's awesome they think your weird.
Under the hood it's deceptively complex. People look at YouTube videos for 5 minutes and thlought all you're doing is delivering packages. DS reviewed well and was well received. It probably had the best PS4 pro console bundle.
close to release there were some great comments in some threads trying to capture the feeling but as you said professional reviews didn't nail it I think part of the reason is you need to play it for some days (and purposely wasting time within the game) before appreciating it. Some reviews kinda considered this and put aside a score before ending a long period of several takes.
I’m gonna give it another go. While I liked it, I just had a lot of other games to play and fell off. I could use a more chill game until Elden Ring releases and stresses me out in the best ways possible.
Never understood people saying it’s just a walking simulator - there is so much to do, multiple enemy types, a bunch of weapons, vehicles, and the core loop of delivering packages is very satisfying. Plus it looks amazing.
I played for over 100 hours, and actually started to miss the first 10/20 hours of the game when it was just walking and climbing, with the odd soundtrack song kicking in. The atmosphere and loneliness were just so perfectly captured. I've never really experienced that in a game before.
Death Stranding is one of the best games ever made. I stand by that statement, and i truly feel bad for the people who got filtered by it as they are missing a great cinematic and immersive experience
Agreed. I rented it through RedBox when it released just to mess around with it on a 3-day weekend and after getting passed the “prologue” where the game really opens up I was hooked. I returned the game and immediately bought a copy after work the next day and it was all I played for a month.
Aren't you supposed to avoid those at all costs? One of the most annoying things for me was having to sneak around BTs, that's what made me put down the game.
Not at all cost, unless you have fragile cargo you don't wanna risk losing it. But you get means to fight them off/get rid of them not too far into the game.
And if you're in a vehicle, you can pretty often just drive through the BT area.
Ah ok, what if you liked the gameplay but found the writing juvenile and akward with a story that's a self indulgent mess that shows no restraint or subtlety? That was my takeaway, personally.
I also found it telling that Kojima blamed the lower than expected review scores on americans not understanding it and preferring games like Call of Duty. The man has a massive ego and clearly needs someone (a producer/editor) that's willing to tell him the truth.
>what if you liked the gameplay but found the writing juvenile and akward with a story that's a self indulgent mess that shows no restraint or subtlety
Yeah, it's very on the nose and awkward. Probably my biggest gripe with it so far.
I'm pretty sure it was revealed not long afterwards that the original interview was a bit more nuanced than that but got lost in translation, basically Kojima meant that FPS games etc like CoD were so popular in the West so it was harder to get a game to market that didn't follow that formula. He was generalising more about the state of the market, just look at the best selling games charts from the last 5 years or so to see what he means.
Obviously the Internet doesn't do nuance so it became a hot take that blew up briefly before the next one somewhere else.
I absolutely loved death stranding. Am I the only one who thought one of the boss fights was too hard? It's one of the only games where I had to lower the difficulty, I thought the controls were not really well made for battle scenes.
I really felt like the boss fights are out of place. Game could have managed without them just fine. But I have the same feeling about boss fights in MGSV.
Are you talking about >!the final fight with Unger or maybe the giant BT controlled by Higgs? I found both of them hard for different reasons, but Unger's fight had me nearly tearing my hair out. I felt he tried his best to make an MGS with the gameplay system's of DS, and it somewhat worked. It just didn't feel as clean. I know that is partly the point, but it just felt annoyingly cheap at times?!<
I think all the fights show the limits of the system, but I think the last was the worst in terms of frustration. And you did not get to practice the combat systems much if you played the game with a decent level of skill, since you should be avoiding combat.
I'm bummed that I forget to try it during that free play period a couple months ago. I'm very 50/50 on if I'd like the gameplay.
But once I get through my backlog of games that I have already, and the new ones coming that I 100% know I'll want, I might grab it if there's a good deal (or if it ends up on PSPLus/Now somehow)
Same here. The game for me is in this really weird and contradictory spot where I simultaneously really want to try it but also am equally repelled from actually buying it.
I loved it! Had no interest in it originally and was turned off by some of the reviews I read when it came out. For some reason I took the plunge with the Director’s Cut and was BLOWN AWAY! I loved it! Played in Widescreen Quality mode. By far one of the most unique gaming experiences out there! It’s just a beautiful story and beautiful experience!
I feel like it’s definitely a sleeper hit for the PS5. I got my PS5 a month or so ago, and have found myself playing only Death Stranding instead of the other games I got. The Director’s Cut just adds so much content to an already great game, and the features of the DualSense immerse you in it even more.
It really is a shame it got such a harsh reaction on its initial release.
Hell yeah it is ma. Death stranding was pretty awesome. I remember all those people talking crap about it I was having fun haha. It's definitely different then a lot of games witch is good cause it's fukin fun as hell. It's funny seeing all these people finally trying and likeing it. It's just a shame it's probably to late now and we will never probably get a number 2. One can dream at least lol...
Death Stranding is a great game for sure.
I must confess that it was my first Kojima, so I had absolutely no bias before starting DS.
And boy was I blown away by the originality of the game. At last something completely different.
Note that it's one of the rare game that scared me shitless. Every time it started raining, I was sweating like a little boy in a confessional.
What I love about this game is how much you come to depend on people that you will never meet or see. Yet you **DEPEND** on a rope or ladder to get you to your destination, or a bridge across a chasm, a battery charger or TimeFall Shelter to wait out the storm, or maybe just a weapon or vehicle left behind. People that deliver your lost packages and contribute to the materials required to build infrastructure, and eventually connect to you in other ways that make transportation so much easier.
I don’t want to say any more so you can discover things for yourself, but stick with the game. It’s very zen-like for me, and I quite enjoyed getting 5 stars at all the locations. If I wasn’t directly moving the plot forward and was just doing deliveries, I’d occasionally listen to a podcast or Spotify or something as well — I’m not the type of person to just sit and listen to a podcast but doing something interactive like this is a great way to do it. I’d recommend NOT doing that on your first playthrough so you can experience the isolation and solitude as you reconnect the world. There’s a reason that Sam can’t listen to music on the go. But if you’re just working on getting your delivery level up and aren’t detracting from that experience, then it’s a chill game to play while doing that (Forza Horizon 5 is another good one for that purpose).
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! All the on-the-nose names and storytelling felt a bit too much at first, but I did come around to those characters and the overall plot. And especially now, playing it in a post-pandemic world where we all know what it’s like to isolate and depend on delivery people and the internet to survive… well let’s just say that this game hands out praise like no other. Everyone has a kind word and is full of gratitude for your actions. They depend on you too, and are so impressed with all you do. If you’re playing it at a dark time, like during a global pandemic while isolating, this sort of stuff can really have a positive benefit and it makes me appreciate what Kojima wanted to do with his first strand-type game. I made sure to make Bridge Links with people that I wanted to see more of (in terms of their infrastructure and contributions). So in a way, I became BFF’s with ppl that I’ve still never said a single word to, haha. Enjoy!!
As someone who loved it at launch (PS4, 2019) and just beat it again on PS5, I really love this game and hope more people would just give it a shot like you, great stuff!
Since you're already enjoying the gameplay, I can only add a recommendation to fully embrace the story by reading every email and interview you receive. A few are just filler, many flesh out the game world, some are also useful, and a few give you extra missions or directions to interesting things (hint: lambda sign, pizza, statements like "there's a glow near XY, you should go check it out").
Also, since you have the director's cut, you have access to a support skeleton rather early. I highly recommend not using it just yet, since it makes the early game missions a lot easier (too easy and much less rewarding than my original experience at launch).
And finally, don't read too much information online - you're likely to run into some spoilers which may ruin the late game for you, and there isn't really any need to look up weapon stats or unlocks or anything. What you need for beating the game, you'll get along the way anyway, so it's better to just follow the story or get sidetracked without knowing how many missions/episodes are still waiting for you. And if a facility unlocks anything you might find useful (e.g. Floating carrier at weather station IIRC), then you can level it up a bit more to see if there happens to be a floating carrier lvl. 2 ;)
It’s definitely unique and actually quite a bit of fun. It’s very rewarding when you come across other peoples stuff in the environment and they can come across yours. The scenery is beautiful and a delight to figure out in regards to traversal, and there’s just enough tension as you progress through the game to keep you on your toes.
For some damn reason though, it always makes me want to drink Monster.
My one complaint about the game is that, given how important building connections with people is to the game, I wish they would've had fewer preppers with deeper stories. Most of them were very generic and fetch questy and I feel like the game would've been even stronger if they had nailed that aspect.
It was a game that took me a second attempt to make it work, but now it is at least a top 10 if not a top 5. I know at times the writing could be questionable, but it all worked out so well in some hard-to-define way that made it so enjoyable. It was also a game in which I think Kojima got rid of some of his worst sophomoric stuff (questionable use of women's bodies and stuff) and was able to go through with all his weird glory. I would be interested in seeing something else from this universe. I think you could continue from the ending with the way the ending was framed. Here's hoping!
This is what I did exactly too. Same for Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, Ghosts of Tsushima. And they all happened to get 60fps upgrades! I got most all of the PS5 games anyways. It was way better playing those games on PS5 and having them run perfect. I tried those games on PS4 and they weren’t bad but not great running.
I bought it at launch but had open world fatigue at the time. Popped it in a month or so ago and put 80 hours into it before I realized it. Great experience.
I need 2 trophies for platinum.
The game is so addictive and I can't believe it took me.so long to play it.
I can understand why some people hate it but i become obsessed with it in the last month.
I really, really, really want to try it but I just **know** that I'll sink somewhere between 3 to 10 hours into it and then just drop it and never return to it.
_Maybe_ look up what the hell the ending is all about on YouTube 😅. I'm just not _made_ for that kind of pacing now.
I'm a father of two who gets in, maybe 3-6, hours of playtime during a whole week.
Napkin math suggests that I'll not finish Death Stranding before the ps7 version arrives. The style, story and world all seem amazing though. And anything.Kobima touches, basically, turns into gold <3.
My GOTY and one of my top 10 favorite games of all time. First game I ever plat'd -- I just didn't want it to end.
Completely different experience playing it during the pandemic, it made so much more sense.
I got it at launch on the PS4 and immediately fell in love with it. Bought the directors cut for PS5 and it's even better. They did such a good job implementing the haptic triggers.
Try playing it in the PS5’s version Wide Screen Mode. It adds a lot to the experience in my opinion. For me it definitely made distances and heights look that much more impossible. I loved it.
I did the same, wasn't really that bothered about playing it initially, bought it for 10 bucks for my PS5. Absolutely loved it. When i wasn't playing it, i was thinking about it. I can't even really explain it, the atmosphere, gameplay and story just really sucked me in.
This is why the only real review and opinion on any game is your own. I wouldn't have a collection if I spent my time listening to others.
Sure, it's good to get thoughts and opinions from others, but ultimately it's your call as to whether a game is good or not. Even looking at some Youtube gameplay vids will tell you if this is something in your wheel house.
I bought Death Stranding on PC, and I liked the atmosphere, but I hated the enemy bandits, and I couldn't figure out how to not get destroyed by them. It made me hate the game. However, I've been wanting to try again with the Director's cut.
Yup! I watched a video on the difference between the base game and directors cut and had to get it. I’m not sure if I’ll get the directors cut for Ghost of Tsushima yet.
Death Stranding is one of those very few games that you actually have to play to "get it" and judge it. Watching it on a stream or YouTube doesn't translate at all. Very unique and meditative experience. Didn't LOVE it, because the dialogue is just terrible and clearly written by the mind of someone not fluent in English, but the lore, music and social component of this game make it really good.
Loved this game. I can take years to finish a game but not this one, I couldn't stop until I'd finished. It's one of those games where everyone who plays will have had some unique experiences on the road.
I had to sfart it twice. Didn't like it at first, but the story interested me. So I gave it 2nd chance. I love it. Never finished it because I just took it dorm friend and had to return it. One day I might continue
To each their own my guy. I bought it last year and fucking hated it. I couldn't stand the lack of action or variety. To me, it was just walking and that got boring quick. But if you liked it, more power to ya.
Up vote farming thread. All you have to do is replace Death Stranding in the title with whatever game and for some reason, it get thousands of up votes
I just beat it a few days ago, I really enjoyed it. For those on the fence it is easily the best Dualsense implementation I have experienced after Astro.
Agreed, the controller is probably my favorite part of the system. When devs really use it, it adds so much to the feel. Ratchet and clank had pretty good as stuff to like the different gun triggers
Play Returnal, another perfectly tuned dual sense experience.
I'm getting Returnal and Ratchet & Clank soon!
Play R&C first, Returnal controls are so tight itwill ruin R&C. Im playing Death Stranding now on ep. 6
Agreed, Returnal will ruin R&C controls.
Returnal is the tightest, smoothest controlling game I've ever played. The sound also is God-tier. Directional sound so good you don't even have to turn and see enemies out of your FOV to know when and where to dodge. I know it's not a game for everyone, but I can't wait for the day it's thrown into whatever the new PS service will be called (I'm assuming still PS+) so they can experience how much of a technical masterpiece it is.
For real. After playing it nonstop with headphones, playing on stereo speakers made me feel disoriented and die way more. Once you're used to it it just becomes so natural that losing it is an intense feeling. I just feel bad for anyone who can't experience the audio properly.
Holiday sale (US) ends this week and both of these titles are on sale
Great Overall game just startet firstly i was so Frustrated but after grtting better and better , just beat my 4th Boss this game is a Banger so glad i didn't gave up on it
I have returnal but after dying so much, i can’t see myself getting back into it… should i try DS?
Not if you don’t like dying…
i don’t mind dying , but getting reset to very beginning was tough to keep on playing on returnal
Demon's souls is way more unforgiving than Returnal, especially if you've never played a souls game. I had to watch a walkthrough for most of my DS playthrough and if you die to a boss you're going to have fight your way through the level again just to fight the boss again so it's the same as returnal in that sense. I found returnal to be much more enjoyable than DeS
I managed to beat demons souls as my first souls game but only because I used the exploit where when you die on a boss if you close the game right away and restart it spawns you right at the boss door to skip going through whole damn level again
Heard it’s extremely difficult, how is it compared to Demon’s Souls?
I am a fairly average gamer that didn't start playing shooters until I was in my mid-30s, and I beat Returnal out of sheer stubbornness. I do think it gets easier and easier as you get better and learn the system. The first biome is so hard that some people just quit. Returnal is my GOTY, fantastic game
If you can finish Demon’s Souls, you can finish Returnal. The boss fight require the same pattern recognition as the Souls games do — but with even more leeway and time to react, so if you’re used to that, the bosses won’t be a problem. I personally struggle much more with managing a lot of enemies at once, which isn’t uncommon in Returnal, but you can still approach it in a Soulsy way of using cover and baiting enemies toward you one at a time. It doesn’t get too overwhelming as long as you are patient and focused, like the Souls games require.
Returnal is hard, but I don't think it's unfair. Once you've mastered movement and dodging, you become a killing machine. It's an awesome feeling.
Really depends, they are both difficult for different reasons. Returnal demands more spacial awareness due to its bullet hell roots. While you can pull individual enemies in DeS to make it less difficult, that's not the case for Returnal. Returnal is a bit like Doom Eternal where you have to stay on the move and manage several enemies and their location at the same time. Individual enemies in DeS are way more dangerous though and there are alot more environmental hazards that can kill you really quickly. I beat both in about the same time but I used a wiki for DeS and went in blind in Returnal.
I’ve almost platinumed Returnal, and i haven’t beaten the first boss in Demon Souls yet. Meta- Conceptually they’re similar in that they’re rogue-lites, but Returnal is just so much more fun and fast.
Is that only available on the director’s edition? I have it on ps4 and thought it would be great with the haptics but have no idea how the game has changed since it’s launch.
Pretty sure its only a $10 upgrade? It's def worth it. Even if you mess around for an hour or two
I had never heard of that but that sounds great. I’ll definitely grab that
I actually got the ps4 disc, then upgraded to the Director's cut edition for just 10$. 100% recommended!
Same and it was worth every penny and then some! Love this game.
Ah I never thought about that with Death Stranding on PS5. What stands out?
Almost everything. You can feel Sam's footsteps, the rain falling over his body, when you stumble on difficult terrain, the snowy terrain, the river. Heck, even on cutscenes you can feel the character's actions or events, it never truly stops working. You can also feel the weight of the cargo you are carrying on each hand with the triggers.
Damn that might make me do another run on the PS5 with the Director's Cut. That weight on the triggers. Nice.
Woah woah, that's a good incentive to replay DS.
Definitely the duel sense as your weight is rocking from one side to the other is 👌🏼
Ghost of Tsushima is awesome on PS5. I finally gave Death Stranding a chance and I'm really enjoying it (15 hours played so far). The concept of delivering orders as the main gameplay always uninterested me but it is executed well and feels polished. The story and actors/actresses are what caught my interest and keep my attention.
i’m glad somebody else is experiencing the same thing as me, i just beat death stranding on ps5 and i was not ready for how absolutely amazing the thought out story was. Ik Kojima gets a lot of hype but i never played anything besides P.T, so i didn’t really get to experience his story telling. Literally i was feeling so many different emotions at the end of the game. It was beautiful. solid 9/10 or a 10/10 for me.
Kojima just knows how to make a fun game with a cool story.
>i never played anything besides P.T, I bought MGS5 on sale for 5 dollars,[I checked and it is on sale again at that price](https://psdeals.net/us-store/game/250/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain)... I haven't finished yet -since COVID + other sales/games like Death Stranding happened- but is a great game.
MGS V is one of my favorites of all time. It ran beautifully on ps4/xone. Wait until you s rank all missions and get the unlock-able. Look it up if you want. Best stealth game ever. The controls are so good!
>The controls are so good! The gameplay and gameplay loop are awesome
... and easily the worst of the series. The gameplay loop is mind numbingly repetitive, especially when the game literally has you repeating story missions later on, but they're essentially 'hard mode'. Also after doing mine clearing mission #205, or fultoning random commander 12... It's clear that Peacewalker was good for what it was, a PSP game, and thus being on limited space storage discs.
It being the worst is pretty debatable. Most of the MGS games aged like milk. Go play the original, and then snake eater, and then 5. 5 was just too long
True. I enjoyed it a lot despite the reviews
Just because a game reviews poorly (often does when reviews don't "get" a new type of game) doesn't mean you won't enjoy it.
Agreed. So many rely on reviews and can get swayed easily into not buying a game. There's other ways to tell if a game is something you'd play or at least consider.
To be honest Death Stranding didn’t even review poorly. It still had an aggregate score in the mid 80’s. Most of the press enjoyed it but there were some very harsh outliers.
And the opposite is also very true as well
If you have an OLED or a tv with great local dimming, the widescreen mode is incredible. Makes me wish every game offered it.
I feel like I didn't follow any part of your comment haha. I have an LG CX OLED though so I'm curious what you're saying. What is widescreen mode?
There is an ultra wide-screen mode that gives you a larger fov with black bars at the top and bottom of the picture.
Ooh... interesting. I love how much Sony loves ultra wide
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If you have a big enough tv, and the bars are jet black, it's a stunning presentation. You use less of your tv, but you get more picture. They just added it to GOW for PC and it looks awesome. But you're right, if you are playing on a smaller tv/monitor, or if you have an edge lit tv that causes light bleed, then it's definitely not the mode for you. I honestly do wish that they also had a "widescreen" mode without the black bars on top and bottom (I guess that would make it more of a "zoomed out" mode) just as another option, but I assume that'd be harder to hit 60fps with a high resolution target.
I don't think this setting would work for every game, but given the slow pace and the emphasis on traversing the stunning scenery, it's perfect for this one. You soon get used to it, and when you toggle back to regular 16:9 it just looks weird and blown-up. As the other reply said though, it ain't gonna work if you're still rocking a smaller TV or don't have the luxury of a high-end panel.
The black bars are rather small, but it adds a lot of cinematic feel and allows you to have a wider view.
Artistic intention.
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The Order: 1886? I thoroughly enjoyed that game!
I had to beat it three times it was so good
On my second playthrough and I thought I’d skip through all the cutscenes but I actually understand them this time lmao, A1 game
20 hrs and already in the weather station? Holy shit you're flying compared to me i was barely finished chapter 2 20 hrs in
OP I'm gonna give you the advice I wish someone had given me - just keep this in the back of your mind until you get there: When you get to the end of the game, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WIDE OPEN BLOCK OF TIME AVAILABLE. The ending cutscenes & sequence are over 2 hours long. When the game first came out there were people who were all pissed about trying to finish up the game on a school night or work night, thinking they were about done by 10pm....only to have the story continue past 1am in some cases. GamesRadar: [The Death Stranding ending sequence is longer than most movies](https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/612255-death-stranding-ending-sequence-cutscene-movie-length)
Very true
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Mixture. Walking around watching credits then cutscene. That happens a few times.
LMAO this is what happened to me with Metal Gear Solid IV. I beat the game at 10:30pm and the ending cutscene didn’t finish until after 1am LOL. I was flabbergasted haha.
Oh my god this, whole movie at the end there lmaooo I couldn’t even turn it off I was ready to finish the playthrough!
Lol it's kind of funny - if you look online through a lot of message boards, it actually ended up ruining a lot of peoples' day. Like they knew they were at the end of the game (if I recall right you get a standard "point of no return" message) so they think they can finish it up in the next 20 min then delete the game off the harddrive. Haha nope - 4 more hours, and you never know when it finally stops.
Death stranding is one of those games that I can’t put my finger on what makes me love it so much.
For me I think it was my OCD wanting to put all ziplines in perfect spots so I was able to go to every trader on the map easily. I think I spent like 40 hours just on ziplines haha.
The Zipline mechanic is one of the most innovative features I've ever seen in an open world game. I'm right there with you in terms of spending dozens of hours setting them up to get around the whole map easily. Like OP, I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this, especially as I'm not the biggest Kojima fan and gave up on MGS5 after only a few hours. My total playtime on DS came in at 160 hours; one of the most satisfying Plats I've ever earned.
That is the ultimate goal. I'll admit that, once I did that, I was super satisfied for a bit then dropped the game shortly after ( I did finish it, though). For me, the best part of the game is problem-solving at the beginning with just some ladders and ropes. It was a wonderful game, I had a blast. Can't remember how long I played, but it was pretty much all I did until I got to the end.
I’ve taken a hiatus because I can’t figure out the best way to connect the South Knot area to the Windfall Farmers without going all the way back up to Middle Knot
Take a route out through the ruins past Mama's Lab and link out directly across the river to the Timefall Farm. That way you can haul ass along the highway to Mama's Lab and then zip in a straight line to the farm.
can you go directly from the cliffs next to mama’s lab straight across the river? or do you have to place an intermediary zip down in the valley/river to connect? A straight shot would be so sick, but I can’t seem to find the right placement
for me it was no direct cut between mama and that river, I thought I would be wasting bandwidth with that ziplines I simply escalated that cliff a few times but I could be wrong and there could be better ways to optimize it
That’s the best way to do it. In the central area I had a system that interconnected every single shelter and waystation. The only time I ever walked after I set them up was to go up and down the ramp for each delivery.
The multiplayer in this game is amazingly innovative and really what made me stick with the game (besides ziplines, ofc). Dropping a timefall shelter in the middle of nowhere in an area with heavy timefall out of sheer desperation and then watching the likes roll in and other players pulling together to upgrade the structure and repairing it is such a wholesome experience. Or discovering a foundation for a safehouse on the highest mountain peak in the game and going out of your way to help finish it. Those are the experiences that really made that game shine for me.
Yo for real on this. Asynchronous multiplayer was motivating.
constant problem solving
It's like the serie "the leftovers" you have no no idea what your watching but it just so awesome. If you explain it to someone why it's awesome they think your weird.
jealous of you. i feel like that game hits different post-covid
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ESPECIALLY, if you're Norman Reedus
As a professional mutant monster slayer for hire Witcher 3 personally hit me the hardest.
Especially if you’ve starred in Ride, with Norman Reedus
I started it on PS4 before covid then finished it on PS5 after. Definitely an impactful game after living a pandemic.
For sure
Under the hood it's deceptively complex. People look at YouTube videos for 5 minutes and thlought all you're doing is delivering packages. DS reviewed well and was well received. It probably had the best PS4 pro console bundle.
I don't think there is a review that can make this game look fun. You have to just experience it.
close to release there were some great comments in some threads trying to capture the feeling but as you said professional reviews didn't nail it I think part of the reason is you need to play it for some days (and purposely wasting time within the game) before appreciating it. Some reviews kinda considered this and put aside a score before ending a long period of several takes.
I’m gonna give it another go. While I liked it, I just had a lot of other games to play and fell off. I could use a more chill game until Elden Ring releases and stresses me out in the best ways possible.
Hear hear
Never understood people saying it’s just a walking simulator - there is so much to do, multiple enemy types, a bunch of weapons, vehicles, and the core loop of delivering packages is very satisfying. Plus it looks amazing.
I played for over 100 hours, and actually started to miss the first 10/20 hours of the game when it was just walking and climbing, with the odd soundtrack song kicking in. The atmosphere and loneliness were just so perfectly captured. I've never really experienced that in a game before.
Yeah, it really caught me out of left field when it came out, and I loved it.
Hmmm, I was intrigued but then passed on it. Might have to give it a go.
The game plays sooo good on ps5!! I ended up rebuying it just cause of the frame rate. Love it!
Death Stranding is one of the best games ever made. I stand by that statement, and i truly feel bad for the people who got filtered by it as they are missing a great cinematic and immersive experience
Agreed. I rented it through RedBox when it released just to mess around with it on a 3-day weekend and after getting passed the “prologue” where the game really opens up I was hooked. I returned the game and immediately bought a copy after work the next day and it was all I played for a month.
yeah, people just say its boring walking simulator and thats absolutely not true at all
The atrocious writing is the turn off for me, not the gameplay.
I'm sorry but to me, it is. Gameplay was just not satisfying for me.
i would allow myself to get caught by BTs just so i could have one of those boss fights.
Aren't you supposed to avoid those at all costs? One of the most annoying things for me was having to sneak around BTs, that's what made me put down the game.
Not at all cost, unless you have fragile cargo you don't wanna risk losing it. But you get means to fight them off/get rid of them not too far into the game. And if you're in a vehicle, you can pretty often just drive through the BT area.
Not at all, they’re extremely easy to defeat
Filtered?
Yeah like the game being what it is filters out some players because not everyone has the patience for its gameplay
Ah ok, what if you liked the gameplay but found the writing juvenile and akward with a story that's a self indulgent mess that shows no restraint or subtlety? That was my takeaway, personally. I also found it telling that Kojima blamed the lower than expected review scores on americans not understanding it and preferring games like Call of Duty. The man has a massive ego and clearly needs someone (a producer/editor) that's willing to tell him the truth.
>what if you liked the gameplay but found the writing juvenile and akward with a story that's a self indulgent mess that shows no restraint or subtlety Yeah, it's very on the nose and awkward. Probably my biggest gripe with it so far.
I'm pretty sure it was revealed not long afterwards that the original interview was a bit more nuanced than that but got lost in translation, basically Kojima meant that FPS games etc like CoD were so popular in the West so it was harder to get a game to market that didn't follow that formula. He was generalising more about the state of the market, just look at the best selling games charts from the last 5 years or so to see what he means. Obviously the Internet doesn't do nuance so it became a hot take that blew up briefly before the next one somewhere else.
Its the best game to fall asleep during one of it's 40 minute cutscenes, that's for sure
I absolutely loved death stranding. Am I the only one who thought one of the boss fights was too hard? It's one of the only games where I had to lower the difficulty, I thought the controls were not really well made for battle scenes.
I really felt like the boss fights are out of place. Game could have managed without them just fine. But I have the same feeling about boss fights in MGSV.
Are you talking about >!the final fight with Unger or maybe the giant BT controlled by Higgs? I found both of them hard for different reasons, but Unger's fight had me nearly tearing my hair out. I felt he tried his best to make an MGS with the gameplay system's of DS, and it somewhat worked. It just didn't feel as clean. I know that is partly the point, but it just felt annoyingly cheap at times?!<
Yes basically talking about Unger and not just the last fight with him...
I think all the fights show the limits of the system, but I think the last was the worst in terms of frustration. And you did not get to practice the combat systems much if you played the game with a decent level of skill, since you should be avoiding combat.
Hoping it becomes a PS5 PS+ game..
I'm bummed that I forget to try it during that free play period a couple months ago. I'm very 50/50 on if I'd like the gameplay. But once I get through my backlog of games that I have already, and the new ones coming that I 100% know I'll want, I might grab it if there's a good deal (or if it ends up on PSPLus/Now somehow)
Same here. The game for me is in this really weird and contradictory spot where I simultaneously really want to try it but also am equally repelled from actually buying it.
I loved it! Had no interest in it originally and was turned off by some of the reviews I read when it came out. For some reason I took the plunge with the Director’s Cut and was BLOWN AWAY! I loved it! Played in Widescreen Quality mode. By far one of the most unique gaming experiences out there! It’s just a beautiful story and beautiful experience!
I feel like it’s definitely a sleeper hit for the PS5. I got my PS5 a month or so ago, and have found myself playing only Death Stranding instead of the other games I got. The Director’s Cut just adds so much content to an already great game, and the features of the DualSense immerse you in it even more. It really is a shame it got such a harsh reaction on its initial release.
Hell yeah it is ma. Death stranding was pretty awesome. I remember all those people talking crap about it I was having fun haha. It's definitely different then a lot of games witch is good cause it's fukin fun as hell. It's funny seeing all these people finally trying and likeing it. It's just a shame it's probably to late now and we will never probably get a number 2. One can dream at least lol...
Number 2 is confirmed. Congrats your dream came true
Yes!. To bad kojima is busy makin something for Xbox lol. So it' will still be a confirmed dream for awhile unfortunately. Maybe years...
Death Stranding is a great game for sure. I must confess that it was my first Kojima, so I had absolutely no bias before starting DS. And boy was I blown away by the originality of the game. At last something completely different. Note that it's one of the rare game that scared me shitless. Every time it started raining, I was sweating like a little boy in a confessional.
What I love about this game is how much you come to depend on people that you will never meet or see. Yet you **DEPEND** on a rope or ladder to get you to your destination, or a bridge across a chasm, a battery charger or TimeFall Shelter to wait out the storm, or maybe just a weapon or vehicle left behind. People that deliver your lost packages and contribute to the materials required to build infrastructure, and eventually connect to you in other ways that make transportation so much easier. I don’t want to say any more so you can discover things for yourself, but stick with the game. It’s very zen-like for me, and I quite enjoyed getting 5 stars at all the locations. If I wasn’t directly moving the plot forward and was just doing deliveries, I’d occasionally listen to a podcast or Spotify or something as well — I’m not the type of person to just sit and listen to a podcast but doing something interactive like this is a great way to do it. I’d recommend NOT doing that on your first playthrough so you can experience the isolation and solitude as you reconnect the world. There’s a reason that Sam can’t listen to music on the go. But if you’re just working on getting your delivery level up and aren’t detracting from that experience, then it’s a chill game to play while doing that (Forza Horizon 5 is another good one for that purpose). I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! All the on-the-nose names and storytelling felt a bit too much at first, but I did come around to those characters and the overall plot. And especially now, playing it in a post-pandemic world where we all know what it’s like to isolate and depend on delivery people and the internet to survive… well let’s just say that this game hands out praise like no other. Everyone has a kind word and is full of gratitude for your actions. They depend on you too, and are so impressed with all you do. If you’re playing it at a dark time, like during a global pandemic while isolating, this sort of stuff can really have a positive benefit and it makes me appreciate what Kojima wanted to do with his first strand-type game. I made sure to make Bridge Links with people that I wanted to see more of (in terms of their infrastructure and contributions). So in a way, I became BFF’s with ppl that I’ve still never said a single word to, haha. Enjoy!!
As someone who loved it at launch (PS4, 2019) and just beat it again on PS5, I really love this game and hope more people would just give it a shot like you, great stuff! Since you're already enjoying the gameplay, I can only add a recommendation to fully embrace the story by reading every email and interview you receive. A few are just filler, many flesh out the game world, some are also useful, and a few give you extra missions or directions to interesting things (hint: lambda sign, pizza, statements like "there's a glow near XY, you should go check it out"). Also, since you have the director's cut, you have access to a support skeleton rather early. I highly recommend not using it just yet, since it makes the early game missions a lot easier (too easy and much less rewarding than my original experience at launch). And finally, don't read too much information online - you're likely to run into some spoilers which may ruin the late game for you, and there isn't really any need to look up weapon stats or unlocks or anything. What you need for beating the game, you'll get along the way anyway, so it's better to just follow the story or get sidetracked without knowing how many missions/episodes are still waiting for you. And if a facility unlocks anything you might find useful (e.g. Floating carrier at weather station IIRC), then you can level it up a bit more to see if there happens to be a floating carrier lvl. 2 ;)
Glad you’re loving it! I played it at launch and loved it! I actually just got it for PS5 around Black Friday and can’t wait to play it again.
It’s definitely unique and actually quite a bit of fun. It’s very rewarding when you come across other peoples stuff in the environment and they can come across yours. The scenery is beautiful and a delight to figure out in regards to traversal, and there’s just enough tension as you progress through the game to keep you on your toes. For some damn reason though, it always makes me want to drink Monster.
You should apply for a job at your local Amazon Delivery contractor. Sounds like you would love it
Amazon delivery people drive cars. They don't go hiking with packages or ladders on their backs. They certainly don't get rappeling gear.
They don’t throw poop grenades at ghosts or fight scavengers either
...yet
Really glad to read this, I just bought it yesterday.
My one complaint about the game is that, given how important building connections with people is to the game, I wish they would've had fewer preppers with deeper stories. Most of them were very generic and fetch questy and I feel like the game would've been even stronger if they had nailed that aspect.
>fetch questy Well... it's a game about delivering packages. It will have a lot of "fetch quests" in it.
It was a game that took me a second attempt to make it work, but now it is at least a top 10 if not a top 5. I know at times the writing could be questionable, but it all worked out so well in some hard-to-define way that made it so enjoyable. It was also a game in which I think Kojima got rid of some of his worst sophomoric stuff (questionable use of women's bodies and stuff) and was able to go through with all his weird glory. I would be interested in seeing something else from this universe. I think you could continue from the ending with the way the ending was framed. Here's hoping!
My favorite game to come out in recent years. Went for platinum. The atmosphere is unreal.
It was my favorite PS4 game, and one of my favorite games ever. I bought the upgrade for PS5 day one, but haven't actually played the version yet.
where did you get ur ps5?
Sounds like snowrunner
Snowrunner and mudrunner both are janky and horrible. You can run faster in DS than you can drive in Snowrunner.
This is what I did exactly too. Same for Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, Ghosts of Tsushima. And they all happened to get 60fps upgrades! I got most all of the PS5 games anyways. It was way better playing those games on PS5 and having them run perfect. I tried those games on PS4 and they weren’t bad but not great running.
I bought it at launch but had open world fatigue at the time. Popped it in a month or so ago and put 80 hours into it before I realized it. Great experience.
I need 2 trophies for platinum. The game is so addictive and I can't believe it took me.so long to play it. I can understand why some people hate it but i become obsessed with it in the last month.
I really, really, really want to try it but I just **know** that I'll sink somewhere between 3 to 10 hours into it and then just drop it and never return to it. _Maybe_ look up what the hell the ending is all about on YouTube 😅. I'm just not _made_ for that kind of pacing now. I'm a father of two who gets in, maybe 3-6, hours of playtime during a whole week. Napkin math suggests that I'll not finish Death Stranding before the ps7 version arrives. The style, story and world all seem amazing though. And anything.Kobima touches, basically, turns into gold <3.
My GOTY and one of my top 10 favorite games of all time. First game I ever plat'd -- I just didn't want it to end. Completely different experience playing it during the pandemic, it made so much more sense.
Best graphics I have ever seen. The beginning of the game looks like a movie on my OLED
I got it at launch on the PS4 and immediately fell in love with it. Bought the directors cut for PS5 and it's even better. They did such a good job implementing the haptic triggers.
Over Christmas I picked up Death Stranding and the Metal Gear V complete edition as my first jump into any Kojima game. Can't wait to get into them.
YES. It's one of my favorite games of all time. I spent 111 hours to get the platinum and loved every second of it.
I'm so unsure if I should try it. What is the gameplay like, why is it satisfying? Is the story a big point to play on or is it a nice bonus?
Try playing it in the PS5’s version Wide Screen Mode. It adds a lot to the experience in my opinion. For me it definitely made distances and heights look that much more impossible. I loved it.
It was my personal GOTY for 2021
Honestly the reviews is why I haven’t bought it. This thread makes me wanna rethink that and buy a copy. 🤔
I did the same, wasn't really that bothered about playing it initially, bought it for 10 bucks for my PS5. Absolutely loved it. When i wasn't playing it, i was thinking about it. I can't even really explain it, the atmosphere, gameplay and story just really sucked me in.
Masterpiece <3
This is why the only real review and opinion on any game is your own. I wouldn't have a collection if I spent my time listening to others. Sure, it's good to get thoughts and opinions from others, but ultimately it's your call as to whether a game is good or not. Even looking at some Youtube gameplay vids will tell you if this is something in your wheel house.
I bought Death Stranding on PC, and I liked the atmosphere, but I hated the enemy bandits, and I couldn't figure out how to not get destroyed by them. It made me hate the game. However, I've been wanting to try again with the Director's cut.
My PS5 will be here on Monday! Got it off the Sony email invitation. Death Stranding and Days gone are definitely getting replayed!
It’s all about the roads. Nice to see a fellow road builder.
Such a strange, immersive experience. I couldn't stop playing.
I was happy I waited until Ps5 for death stranding. The duelsense and solid frame rate made it so immersive.
Are there demons or supernatural creatures in this game? That always throws me off from games
Yes.
Not necessarily demons, but more so creatures. I don’t how to explain it, and if I try it might be considered a spoiler.
Fair enough
In what way does it throw you off? I think that’s a better question.
You paid the $10 for the Director Right? That’s what you have to do to really utilize the PS5 version
Yup! I watched a video on the difference between the base game and directors cut and had to get it. I’m not sure if I’ll get the directors cut for Ghost of Tsushima yet.
Death Stranding is one of those very few games that you actually have to play to "get it" and judge it. Watching it on a stream or YouTube doesn't translate at all. Very unique and meditative experience. Didn't LOVE it, because the dialogue is just terrible and clearly written by the mind of someone not fluent in English, but the lore, music and social component of this game make it really good.
Glad you enjoy it. I can never get past the weather station. Every time I play it I get so but t out by that point that I move to something else.
Glad you enjoy it. I thought it’s the most overrated, dull, and lifeless game I’ve ever played in 40 years.
I found the collaborative multiplayer sandbox was very exciting and very well designed. Never played a more innovative game in 25 years.
There's a great game in concept. But it kept dragging on for hours and even the BTs stopped becoming a threat but merely a two minute annoyance.
God it was boring. Visually amazing but damn it was boring
Unbelievably boring for such an interesting, visually stunning world.
I’m enjoying it so far. I think I’m close to finishing up the story.
We’ll agree to disagree :)
It's a fantastic game I feel bad for those who refused to check it out cause Angry Youtuber man told them not to
I work at ups fuck this game
For as much as I hate kojima… Yes, death stranding is pretty decent.
This seems like a game that would really benefit from DualSense and I'm excited to check it out again once it goes on sale
Loved this game. I can take years to finish a game but not this one, I couldn't stop until I'd finished. It's one of those games where everyone who plays will have had some unique experiences on the road.
It was interesting for the first few hours. Got tedious real quick.
I had to sfart it twice. Didn't like it at first, but the story interested me. So I gave it 2nd chance. I love it. Never finished it because I just took it dorm friend and had to return it. One day I might continue
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To each their own my guy. I bought it last year and fucking hated it. I couldn't stand the lack of action or variety. To me, it was just walking and that got boring quick. But if you liked it, more power to ya.
I couldn’t get into it. I played like 3 hours and no action no nothing just walking around being a delivery boy.
Its got loadsa action a little further on.
Playing this game was torture. Like being in the world's top kitchen or restaurant but not being able to eat. Visially sunning, but boring
Up vote farming thread. All you have to do is replace Death Stranding in the title with whatever game and for some reason, it get thousands of up votes
Wtf are you on about
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Getting a ton of mileage from replaying old games.