See you on the beach - the thread for Hideo Kojima's DEATH STRANDING

*rocks BB way too quickly*

Death Stranding (2019) @giantbomb @jeffgerstmann @taswell #DeathStranding pic.twitter.com/CIsjHTgE47

— Jacob! (@JacobGehnert) November 9, 2019

18 hours deep, still in chapter 3. happily building roads.

the design and aesthetic are top notch. i love that HD means you can really read all the dumbass slogans kojima slathers over every surface. even the corny music works, when it swells up and the camera pulls back crossing a giant open space. the upward-floating debris, the weird tendrils hanging from the hovering overpasses, the porter bots wearing little shoes and singing to themselves.

trudging slowly over wet sand with an enormous stack of high-performance underwear crates is fun. putting ladders in stupid places is fun. getting and sending thousands of likes is fun. rocking the baby is reasonably fun (and i spend most of my day entertaining an irl toddler). feel like most reviews don't mention that the game is actually fun and satisfying to play. when you do something stupid and drop every fucking thing you are carrying (a rare occurrence unless you are not paying any attention), mashing triangle to pick stuff up is hilarious. it's got a similar feel to snake picking stuff up in mgs, it's a really fast animation and when you mash it norman reedus goes fucking nuts throwing shit back on his cargo stack. feels good.

love the bananas story and setting.

the walking simulator is my favorite game genre and this sounds fucking awful to me

it's too bad everyone established "walking sim" as a flippant term for narrative adventure games because now that there's an actual walking sim we don't have a term for it that won't cause confusion

how does the online element of this game work? online players can affect the landscape based on things they leave out for each other... but does that mean that technically you might be able to bump into each other and if enough people play it there could be thousnads of Reedus's walking around? I take it that's not the case?

i've already floated 'stumbling simulator' tbf xp

“Drudgery sim”?

xp it's asynchronous, it'll load some amount of other players' constructions into your game, prioritizing people on your PS friends list, but you're not actually in the same instance of the game world as anyone else

'Slow Gaming'

other people can contribute to your constructions and vice versa so the resource accumulation/distribution is less onerous. i like upgrading ppl's stuff when i don't feel like hauling a zillion kg of metal back to whatever knot city.

i think the cutscenes' emphasis on connections and logistics are telling but what really gives it away is calling the bandits MULEs. i feel like kojima is in direct dialogue with M.U.L.E., advancing a vision of radical generosity over that game's free market ruthlessness.

so let's go with "post apocalyptic socialism sim"

aw shit, i think by mentioning MULE you just made me buy this goddammit

it rules forks just do it

damn u

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Box4XDvBSgE

I am kind of disappointed because it seemed like I was going to finally meet Mads' character and you.. kind of encounter him? not really. I'm sure it'll come later.

This is the first game where I've gotten something that seems like it could cause lethal damage after having some random incapacitating items and I feel really hesitant about the idea of shooting people. Those MULE guys seem like assholes, but do I really need to injure them that badly?

“Drudgery sim”?

― Fuck the NRA (ulysses)

that's sort of what i like about gaming, ultimately at a certain point they all boil down to tedious drudgery. commit this otherwise useless sequence of button presses to muscle memory. this vision of gaming has been around for at least as long as pac-man - i remember as a child reading books on how to get good at pac-man and it was all rote execution of patterns. we pay money for the chance to do routine things.

This thread is the manifestation of the game I was most looking forward to, please update with tales of dystopian banality

the irony of the fact that this will take until Wednesday to deliver is not lost on me

I think the banality aspect has been oversold, to an extent. There have been a number of games with interesting landscapes, but I can't remember many details of them past rote pathfinding. Might have to jump over some rocks, may encounter an impassable area. In this game, not only is the world very beautiful, but the obstacles seem meaningful. Do I set up a ladder to make it past, or do I go around and use my tools later?

When I connect a new area, will I discover that the other way up a hill that seemed insurmountable on the map already has a series of ropes and ladders placed by someone online, making my journey that much shorter? There's a joy of discovery to it

yeah, the game isn't boring at all. in its insistence on paying attention to your surroundings and to your movements it's not at all unlike metal gear solid, just without the trappings of Tactical Espionage Action. that absence is the engine of Gamer Backlash, plus i think there's a (faulty) collective assumption of rebuke in that absence.

So it's actually fun?

what if I told you in 2019, that a video game would not only get the idea of "likes" from strangers giving that kick of dopamine, but did so in a way that made it a constructive gameplay dynamic?

there are some abuses of it, like spamming of a bunch of signs that a player has to pass through near home locations, but overall it's a well-balanced mechanic

Still looking for clarity: if you play offline, that whole aspect of the game is nullified?

You get "likes" from doing certain tasks in the game, but the abundance of physical objects in the landscape won't appear

so there's no benefit to the likes if you're offline?

my understanding is that the online components don't require playstation plus

(if that is the issue)

I'm perversely avoiding any actual reviews or gameplay videos atm because every anecdotal comment somehow confuses me further re: what this game even is/is about. Which I find fascinating.

it's possible some of the structures are put up by the NPC porters (your job) in the game, as a few appear, but I don't know that anyone reviewing or even playing the game has done it completely offline

the "likes" are what levels up one of your five metrics

i've gotten likes from NPC porters for shit i've left lying around

OL, there's a backstory that at the core establishes this post-apocalyptic world, what the precursor event was, and some of the basics that differentiate this world from our own. The story starts to answer a lot of the unknowns, but a lot of it is "we discovered this technology, it did amazing things, and something horrible happened" with some additional elements related to the fact knowledge was lost in the chaos and your NPC peers are discovering the history as you are.

fwiw the thread (strand?) title here is a reference that becomes clear not far into the game

finally a game that can breach the high watermark set by bioshock for creepiest cosplay

oh man there's gonna be a thousand norman reeduses at comicon
fat reedus, skinny reedus, buff reedus, black reedus, ups delivery uniform reedus, amazon delivery uniform reedus, DHL delivery uniform reedus, asia reedus, sexy reedus, mecha reedus, dog reedus...

I'm wondering what point in the game unlocks the Chvrches song!

The non-score musical parts so far are ok, but I feel like Kojima has found a band that's halfway between Imagine Dragons and Coldplay

I guess I should say vibe-wise, since there's not just one band

This is actually pretty fun and addictive. I don’t think the gameplay footage really sells it. There is a kind of tactile satisfaction in hauling yourself over the landscape that doesn’t really translate well to someone not holding the controller.

Not without its problems. The MULE and BT enemy encounters seem really simplistic and half-baked. I’m down with de-emphasizing combat, but I wish those systems were a little more sophisticated.

There are certain elements that seem to be deliberately irritating. Trudging through BT morass, mashing buttons as monster arms tear cargo off your back while a baby is crying in your face via the controller speaker is a good example. But that stuff is relatively minor/brief.

I've only had one BT battle encounter so far! And it was right at the beginning, before I really got the dynamic. If you're cautious and well-stocked with grenades or some of the later weapons, you can knock those suckers back to the afterlife.

I kind of want to trigger a battle because apparently if you take out one of the larger enemies that appear, they drop a ton of crystals

gameplay in the looks a bit like a walking version of spintires, would that be accurate?

THE HEART-SHAPED BUBBLE

the president's henchman is 'die hardman' who wears a leather suit, cravat and METAL SKULL MASK 24/7 i can't

i ended up just running the fuck away from the annoying BTs at the incinerator, suddenly found myself at the edge of a cliff, and somebody named igor had left.... a rope for me! at the edge! i liked the shit out of it and rappelled away, thanks igor.

thomas i think spintires is more frustrating and lets you screw yourself over. here a modicum of attention will keep you upright.

love this game. just got the "speed skeleton" and i am booking it across this rock strewn ghost-scape. also i am getting the rhythm of infiltrating BT areas so it's less of a drag. stupid MULEs not so much. i'll figure them out.

I’ve gotten pretty good at shooting MULES in the face with my bolo gun. Drops em.

Game really starts opening up in chapter 3. Trucking my stolen MULE mobile down the highway, wind in my hair. Feels good.

just got the BRIDGES truck, really adds to the UPS vibe. loading that motherfucker up with claimed metals and ceramics all the way to south knot city.

Tracer, Igor was the guy in the truck with the corpse at the very beginning!

Ahhhh!

I've been trying to put a certain feeling into words and I think this is how one says this these days.. This game has big Tomb Raider 1 energy

"The only thing he listens to is Radiohead"

I guess this is going here

2/2
"The LEGO Batman Movie" is a masterpiece that dares to step into this tacit understanding.

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 14, 2022

I’m back on my bullshit (playing DS: Director’s Cut on PC)

Not sure how I feel about some of the additions, but the entire field packed with the floating balloon-like visible BT creatures was cool. I’ve got so many chiral crystals now.

Trudging through mountain passes in the snow remains a test of endurance, but one I appreciate

I did find a good use for the cargo cannon, though. I screwed up and managed to get my truck stuck in a treacherous rocky area when it was full. Built a cannon near it and got all the cargo to a safe harbor

I did find a good use for the cargo cannon, though. I screwed up and managed to get my truck stuck in a treacherous rocky area when it was full. Built a cannon near it and got all the cargo to a safe harbor

I think if I went back in it would be to get all the zip lines working. Those things are dope

Yeah, my save game I was working on was pretty early so I transferred it to the DC

Unfortunately it was early enough that my chiral bandwidth was low and I can’t zipline it up

As someone who platinumed the original version of the game a while back, I'll say that the real game starts once the story is over. It becomes a deeply strategic experience setting up those zip lines just so that you can shave seconds off each run

Based

So I recently realised I could transfer my platinumed PS4 game onto the PS5 Director's Cut. So pleased!

Bit miffed to find a lot of my zipwire network now has holes in it - that's not supposed to happen is it? Ziplines don't deteriorate just cos you left the game alone for a few months? Nevertheless, it's now saying a lot of my lines are out of range, despite me having placed them super carefully so I could get from one end of the map to the other in mere seconds.

I'm yet to do any of the cool new stuff. I understand there's catapults, a race track and a shooting range now?

They do deteriorate, I believe, regardless of whether you've been playing or not :(

It’s a feature of Kojima’s “strand-type gaming”

A few years late, but I started this a month or so ago, not quite finished the story but got sidetracked up working on my zipline network (anything better than a 350 line between mountaintops?) and doing special deliveries (which i only recently realized was a thing). incredibly fun and also a lot of incredible irritation at some of the gameplay/mechanics.

one annoyance in particular, why do open/close tabs on your inventory only happen for some sections and not others (like, i can't close my utility bag? great, good to know i have blood bags every time i access my cargo and have to scan past them every time). also, i want to select all cargo in a closed tab, but no. seems minor, but when you are constantly shifting stuff around, it adds up.

but just how tied you are to the earth, it's so much more tactile than any other game i've played.

dog latin, i appreciated your review, especially as i share a deep reverence towards Stalker and DFW

oh, and when i started i could not stop hearing the line from I Think You Should Leave "There's too much fuckin shit on me. I can't do this, we did way too much!"

Thanks francisF.

I watched Dunkey's videos about this game and lmfao'd all the way through.

There is definitely a lot of annoying UI bullshit in this game. A LOT.

And I don't want to be that guy. There's no excuse these days for UI bullshit in modern games.

But, coming in the time that it did, I excused it because it felt like a parody of commercial computer systems. Show me an office worker who doesn't find their interface highly annoying.

Death Stranding is not really a FUN game. It's far from perfect.. But it is a successful work of art - a commentary on Weber's theories about the Protestant work ethic and the parallels between labour and boredom and godliness and beauty therein.

yes absolutely. and if the frustration was too much for me i wouldn’t play it. but i continue, and getting better at working around these kind of problems is satisfying in its own way, getting efficient. i’d love a video of my gameplay at the beginning when i could not make heads not tales of most of this game.

i’m pushing up against the bandwidth with my ziplines, which is annoying, not sure how much more i can acquire at this point - i’ve had to delete all other structures and simplify/curtail my lines more than i like.

you have a lot of agency in this game even if it’s illusory

Optimising my ziplines towards the very end of my playthrough was extremely satisfying. An inch out of place and it could mess up the whole network. But a well placed zipline can connect you to so many places on the map. And before you know it, you can careen from one biome to another in mere seconds.
Thank god you can remove ziplines directly from the map (IIRC) rather than having to travel to them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKIacsoRIEQ

couple things in there that the last big update added that I never got to, but… holy shit, lol

God-tier strand-type gameplay

I've played a zillion hours of this game (but not the directors cut) and I have no idea what's going on here

my sentiments exactly

90% of that is the jump ramps (you run in and it launches you) and a high level upgrade to the stabilizer that has little jets that are supposed to keep you upright but apparently act as an ad hoc jet pack if you abuse it just right

that and the cargo cannon, function of which is pretty clear

Maybe I'll go back one day, this probably is the pinnacle of Art Games, also it's deeply, deeply funny. If you don't get it, that's very much on you

Bit worried Kojima will leave the medium behind now people are giving him movie money

I suspect Death Stranding 2, or whatever it ends up being called, will have gameplay that’s more than subtly different

Yeah I bet

But this one is like Buddhism Simulator or something, can't imagine where he'll go

oh that’s the stabilizer! i was wondering how i finished this thing without realizing there were jet packs.

i would like to go back to this - i’ve done the lion’s share of special deliveries. i put so much work into my ziplines though, do they really degrade in real time? not a fan of that at all! Really one of the very best games ever.

afaik Kojima has two games in the making: Death Stranding 2 ("Ocean") and this : https://www.gameinformer.com/the-game-awards-2023/2023/12/07/hideo-kojima-is-making-a-new-game-called-od-with-jordan-peele

also it's deeply, deeply funny. If you don't get it, that's very much on you

OTM. Pretty much every element of this game is hilarious.

Is it worth me playing through this game again to access the Directors Cut stuff? I have my saved game from when I platinumed it a couple of years ago, but loading it up most of my zipwires are dilapidated and I'm kind of disoriented with the landscape. Curious about how the DC plays out, but not sure if it's worth my time just for the additional stuff

I would love to play this game without all the annoying black shadow creatures that I die to every time

Coming out for iPhone and Mac
Can’t wait to see how strand-type gameplay feels on touchscreen

what???

strand-type gaming is back in 2025!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cs-A1rNvEE

there are so many things in this video that make me think "what the hell is THAT"

hmm

nnnggghngnn want to play it nnnnow

hah, I missed that Kojima also announced ANOTHER game, in the "action-espionage" genre for Playstation

so he has three games in the works

The DS2 trailer is appropriately batshit.

I love how grim and and serious everyone is in these worlds. They're impervious to the absurdity of the universe they're situated in.
It's similar with the Souls games, except when Miyazaki injects humour or goofiness into his games, you can tell he's letting the player into the joke.
With Kojima, every line is delivered with deadpan sincerity, like every word is the most important thing anyone's ever said. It gives the eerie impression that Kokima himself doesn't realise how ridiculous his games are.

'On The Beach' is also a pretty funny title

Because that’s the one place you won’t be if you’re playing this game

https://i.imgur.com/VsxfRch.jpg

Mobile strand-type gameplay has arrived

It's similar with the Souls games, except when Miyazaki injects humour or goofiness into his games, you can tell he's letting the player into the joke.
With Kojima, every line is delivered with deadpan sincerity, like every word is the most important thing anyone's ever said. It gives the eerie impression that Kokima himself doesn't realise how ridiculous his games are.

― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Thursday, February 1, 2024 12:16 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

the joking virgin vs the chad genius

It worries me that he described his other new project as half movie / half game. I’m just not interested in exposition

its nice that this has a the joker, are their jokers in all universes, something to think about

That guitar battle looks real dumb

I mean, Death Stranding itself was a third movie, two thirds game. I'm really not sure the dial needs to be moved any further

every kojima game has something goofy involving a guy using a toilet

The mobile version adds another level of difficulty to the game. I made it to chapter 1 though