Speaking of games most of us thought were going to stay in development hell and be pushed back next gen...
Kojima Productions just had a livestream showing off the longest trailer for Death Stranding yet, as well as the game's release date which will be later this year. Gameplay looks a bit like MGSV with a heavier emphasis on exploring and using tools to get around the realistic landscapes. Plot? Um, well its a Kojima game and I feel the previous trailers have shown that we won't really have a good idea what it is until the game comes out.
Last edited by Wolf Kanno; 05-29-2019 at 09:16 PM.
The plot and characters look smurfing wild and I'm intrigued to see what Kojima and co have put together. The gameplay doesn't really inspire me on first viewing though.
We'll see about the gameplay. I'm less concerned about that because Kojima is usually pretty good on that front. From what we've seen in the trailers, it looks like it's using a style very reminiscent to MGSV which is not a bad place to start. The "HADES" section makes me wonder if this game is going to be borrowing some ideas from Dark Souls in terms of multiplayer. I know Connection is one of the game's main themes, so I imagine the more interesting design quirks are going to have to deal with that segment. Like, I wonder if the BT ghosts are representative of locations other players may have died in, so their placement may be more randomized since its player generated.
New trailer introducing Heartman. He is hooked up to a machine that kills him every twenty-one minutes so he can spend three minutes on the "other side" to search for his family that was taken by the Death Stranding. He's then resuscitated and has to wait another twenty-one minutes.
I kinda avoided trailers and reading too much since that teaser trailer....thing that was released a million years ago. I had an inkling from that (and that its Kojima) that it would be really good.
I'm not sure I'll buy it next week (time and £££) but I'm definitely going to play it when I can. I think it will be excellent, and I hope I won't be wrong
So this has been pretty interesting so far. Played a few hours into the game and I'm working on Chapter 3 at the moment.
For those expecting some unique gameplay switcheroo from the trailers, well you are mistaken. You are basically playing as a courier, but the game actually makes it really interesting with several hazards both in terms of terrain, environment, and just all the nasties wandering in post-Death Stranding U.S. of A. Interestingly enough, you actually don't get a real game over when you die in this game. The oddest element of the game is simply controlling your balance and stamina with your cargo load. You use the L/R 2 triggers to correct your balance and holy hell is the terrain rocky. I haven't fallen off a cliff just yet, but I'm sure it's coming. B.T.s the ghost like creatures are easily the most obnoxious enemies in the game though I haven't really had a chance to encounter too many human enemies. You can fight, and there are apparently weapons in the game, but so far in true Kojima fashion, the game really emphasizes the fact you shouldn't fight. Sam is just too slow and encumbered by his cargo to ever win against human opponents and the B.T.s require stealth at this point as there is no means to fight them at the moment. Though to be honest, it's been really refreshing to play a game that doesn't focus on combat that much.
Just as I figured, there is a slight Dark Souls-esque element to the online portion of the game as you can leave signs for other players and upvote them as well. Things you build in the world like Post Stations or ladder bridges can also be shared between players, though I imagine the likelihood of one popping up is probably dependent on the voting system. There is also some hilarious little details that is typical of Kojima that I love. My favorite so far is that you have a yell command to call out to people. There is a trophy for using this in an open area and still getting someone calling back. I yelled out saying "My name is Sam" and gt a callback from one of the bandit guys saying "My name is Sam too!". Neat stuff.
For story... I'll say right now that the game has more in common with older MGS titles than MGSV for those worried about that front. The game is very cutscene heavy and the plot has been easily the game's best selling point. For those who don't care about spoilers...
(SPOILER)It's been very interesting, but we still haven't quite figured out certain details. like what the freaking time period is because while the game gives off a vibe of "20 minutes into the future" the tech is so far advanced that we could be two centuries into the future from our current time for all I can tell. Despite what some people thought from the early trailers, I'm getting the impression that Mads character is actually the games deuteragonist but's he's only been seen through flashbacks connected to BB-28. What's really been interesting is how much of the games opening has actually been shown to us. Barring Troy Baker, MAMA, and Heartman's appearances, and the second trailer in the War World that introduced Mads character, most of the story cutscenes and trailers pretty much show us the first two hours of the games plot with just no context. Even the original teaser trailer of Norman Reedus holding the baby and crying has actually been in the game so far. There are still a lot of mysteries to unravel in the game but the plot has been keeping me hooked to find out more. Also, the name of Kojima's powers as the plot demands force within the game is called chiral and functions like nanomachines at this point though it's probably closer to the idea of the U.M.N. from Xenosaga.
Another neat thing so far is that a lot of the music from the trailers have been in the game. Some are just music you can listen to in your quarters, but a few of them, like most of the music by LOW ROAR have popped up in the game proper. The feel of the game has been super nice, even if the game logic is making me laugh bit as Sam has walked the distance of maybe twenty or thirty miles realistically but I've more or less walked from D.C. to Philidelphia city according to the map. Also Kojima must have it out for the breadbasket states and Chicago cause they are the largest crater on the U.S. map. I'm almost as amused by this as I was in Steel Ball Run and it's hilarious sense of geography about the States.
I think my only complaint so far about the game has been the awful tiny font for most of the messages and mission profiles. Not to mention this game is dragging us back to MGS3/4 level complexity with the controls which is a bit of a bummer considering the streamlined controls was one of the best parts about MGSV. I still can't figure out how to activate the controls that help me soothe BB.
I was hoping that this game might turn out well since I'm a Kojima fan but I have to be honest, after seeing some gameplay footage and hearing people talk about the game, it is clearly not a game that's made for me. It honestly sounds like "everything Slothy hates about Kojima games: the game." When the only thing I find remotely appealing about it is Mads Mikkelson is in it it's best I stay away.
Yeah, it's not a game for everyone. If you loved MGS you probably have a higher tolerance for some of the game's BS but I can imagine a lot of MGS fans themselves will be turned off from this game.
Based on the reviews I've seen the gameplay is pretty boring and the story isn't anything better than average. Sounds like this may just be a game for people who enjoy exploring beatiful looking open worlds.
Death Stranding will be out November 8th, 2019.
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