First of all, before criticizing the great genius, I would like to indicate a clear line between my common impressions and the game. I played this game for more than 70 hours and with complete confidence I can say that I never regretted the time spent. The plot, which is presented exponentially in the last hours, simply blew my brain, and yes, I, as an ordinary layman, are sure of all 100 percent that I did not understand and half of what was laid in this game in the form of the plot, metaphors, allegories, hidden ideas and other heaps of "genius" Kodzima. Many times I realized how much sense was invested both in each individual element of gameplay, and in each separate replica and katsen. This is really the work of a genius, I take off my hat for the whole message, the whole philosophy and thoughts that are in this game. And this despite that atmosphere, empathy and feelings for the main characters who impregnate you throughout the game.
But now I would like to consider Death Stranding not from the point of view of the art project, but to analyze each part of the gameplay separately. I perfectly understand the whole message and ideas that I wanted to convey Kojima with the help of gameplay and will consider it exclusively under this prism.
Also, I will never at least touch the plot directly, but only indirectly mention its essence relative to part of the gameplay. And there are a huge bunch of claims to her, which we will now disassemble.
Low Roar, you are too beautiful for this game (music)
How many good words were said towards music, not empty words! The musical accompaniment is really very emotionally and sensually saturates the individual moments of the game, I was really touched by these compositions during the gaming process, but there are problems that do not allow us to enjoy music normally.
Music can start playing before entering the danger zone of creatures \ mules \ terrorists, because of which it instantly stops playing
Music begins to play when you are already finishing a mission or when you use transport and quickly overcome the distance that the music should play.
Music plays only during the plot missions, perhaps for most players who missed side effects and did not study the world at all, they will not find the problem. But this is a large stone in the garden of developers who could not make a dynamic playlist. Which will be included not only in the scribbled moments of the plot missions, but also walking around the world.
In a compartment with all these I can say that a really beautiful musical soundtrack fades out of the methodology of its use in a way. But the most important thing is that if you close your eyes to this and try to download music on a flash drive, you still cannot listen to music during the game. This is generally what is it? Initially, I thought that I did not download the tracks correctly or I had a broken flash drive, but going to another game everything worked. And the problem is not only with music from a flash drive, you also cannot use the same Spotify which I certainly do not have, but the players on the forums have already faced such a problem. Here you have evidence by the screening below.
And this would not be such a problem if such a implementation was in another game, say with a less slow gaming process. But it is clearly felt that a lot of work was done on the soundtracks and these compositions were selected with the soul for such a meditative gameplay. But the game does not have the opportunity to freely listen to the compositions when you want. But there is still a player in the game, but the only place where you can listen to music is in your personal room. I can only justify this act by the fact that the player at least somehow they make this ton of boring letters, diluting them with music. Really wonderful music, which is doubly offended
Stomping clay in the open world (the main mechanics and the open world)
The main gameplay of the game, or rather the walking mechanics itself turned out to be at least ambiguous, it certainly did not leave anyone indifferent. From myself, I can say that I really liked to walk, and I was able to imbue the process of the game. But with him there is one big "but". I’m not a master in this, but I will try to bring an analogy.
You bought a new, chic and large apartment. But the apartment is absolutely empty and there is nothing in it besides the most necessary things, and sooner or later the joy of buying an empty apartment will pass and not be replaced by a new one, if you do not live and do not decorate your home. And I can say the same thing about Death Stranding, where the entire gameplay consists of shasteaging here. Yes, it’s nice to walk in the game, but there is too much this pleasant process, because of which it gets tired very quickly. I do not want to seem to those who did not understand the main essence of the gameplay, and puts the game 0 on methacritic. And I’m not saying that this journey is a bad concept, just throughout the game it practically does not change, but only gradually accelerates. But the game does not bring any new elements that could harmoniously combine with the main gameplay. Without changing it (which is important) but only competently complementing the concept of this melancholy and lone journey.
The game has a really very beautiful and large open world, it is really well recreated for the chosen style. Each time I wanted to see a new part of it, and perhaps this is where its advantages end. The main problem is that there is absolutely nothing to do in it, there is nothing to observe or entertain yourself in it. There are no normal side missions, in the world there are not scattered at least any kolekte blord (except for memory cards to which players stumble upon by chance). As an example of a good open world, I want to give Spider Man 2018, although the games are completely different, but, as in Death Stranding in the game with a spider, one of the main features is a movement around the open world. Where the player can stumble upon a bunch of backpacks, attractions, random events and tasks. And here they are made not only in order to create the effect of the fullness of the world, but also very well woven with the main gameplay allowing the spider to open new costumes and abilities
There are also no interesting places in the game that can be studied during your adventure, exploring abandoned houses, caves or the remains of a former civilization. Yes, there are several unusual places in the game, but this is a drop in the sea compared to the size of the open world. The open world does not try to tell you the story of any ruins, or the history of the places before the events of the game.
And I do not ask from the game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey with huge buildings and their historically exact copy, but it would be possible to at least minimize the open world of the game at least something, so that the player was not easy to trample on the earth under his feet, and to study the open world in the game also has difficulty, yes, at the very beginning of the game you will feel certaindifficulties, but with the amount of time spent in the game it is impossible not to get used to this system and not start to get bored. Moreover, the game gradually provides more and more tools for simplified conquering land.(of course, not all of them are useful, (we’ll talk about this later). As a result, all the hostility of the world is leveled to zero because of which the player ceases to experience at least any difficulties and challenge. Of course you say that the game is not about challenge, it has its own philosophy and another goal of gameplay, which makes you feel every step of Sam at the tips of your fingers and many other atmospheric elements. But such an effect is present only at the beginning and all because in Death Stranding progression is not observed in the protagonist, but you, like a player. When performing delivery, you begin to understand at an intuitive level how everything is arranged, which stone you can stumble on, how much cargo can be carried away and just see the game through and through. The same can be seen in Dark Souls, a newcomer in it like a shy rat care carefully from behind each corner, just not to run into troubles. And an experienced player runs into a new location for a more complicated enemy, and this approach is already completely repelled by the atmosphere that was present in the game at the very beginning.
But even if Dark Souls is no less atmospheric game, often players come there to get a challenge and they get it. And in Death Stranding, the player, as in Dark Souls, begins to see the game through which most things are on the beginning of the game simply disappear, because the player does not feel difficulty, but simply begins to dissect game open spaces with a bunch of goods on himself. And the point is not that the game is not complicated, the problem is that the player is so accustomed to basic mechanics that they have no effect on him. And the same thing happens with the open world, where the next zone will no longer be a danger.
Ahead we have a mountain. I’ll just drive it on a motorcycle
Or I will be a bunny
Oh God, a dangerous zone with creatures, how can I be? Just run her
It is necessary to steal a load in mules, you need to come up with a plan, a route, can carefully get through the bushes? No, I ran, took it, ran away
Anyway, a horse in Skyrim has a serious competitor
All this could have been avoided if the world itself at least somehow changed during the passage and offered the player various situations and the zones in which the gameplay constantly changed. (Except for mountains, there are no other unique areas in the game), for example, it would be possible to arrange a lost cargo in the gerry of a volcano. Having created dangers not only for Sam, but for, for example, lava puddles in which your shoes wear out extremely quickly
Or because of the effects of chiral rain, a zone appeared that was very overgrown with all sorts of vines and other vegetation. Because of what to break through these thickets can only with the help of good acceleration on the motorcycle
And in the end, impenetrable canyons, hollows and rocks that cannot be passed without additional equipment, where each ladder will be worth its weight (actually impassable and not bypass routes, and not what we observe in the game)
We run headlong! (Delivery of goods)
The process of delivery of goods itself begins with the capture of the order and this action can be divided into two components.
1. Thinking through the route and uniforms with the necessary things
You know, when I watched reviews / advertising for the game everywhere said that this is a very important part of the gameplay. That you need to carefully think through every trip, checking the weather, relief, dangerous zones and, depending on all these factors, you must take the necessary uniforms and go on a hike with a calm soul.
But in fact, this does not work again, perhaps at the very beginning of the game when you are still green and have not reached (as mentioned above) of the necessary progression, you will still use all these things. But soon it will become clear that in almost any situation you can do without them. And in the punishment for the abandonment of all this junk, the game will simply punish you with an extra absenteeism in 1-5 minutes and that is all the time. Or you damage the load a little stronger (which is extremely difficult to do)
All this equipment can be divided into several types
Equipment for conquering the relief I cannot call it useless, because in reality it allows you to conquer all kinds of cliffs and cliffs, safely get off the steep slopes. But in 95% of cases, all these obstacles can be safely by finding a bypass path without loading Sam with excess stairs and hooks. Here I can also take heels that I did not use at all, not feeling problems with finding in the mountains. The repair spray is not the most useful thing, it repairs only the container itself, not the load! And if you do not fall at all, then you will deliver the load in perfect condition. As for the breathing mask, it is needed literally in a pair of missions, after which it can not be remembered at all
Equipment for the fight against mules \ terrorists / creatures
The game has equipment to fight various opponents and if you look objectively, I did not find all this useful with the exception of the Bolshagan, which can easily tie annoying opponents. And other guns \ grenades that are already used mainly in bosses. In the open world, as for me, it is better to use the same Bolosgan, which can be much easier and faster to neutralize opponents than ordinary weapons. Dangerous zones with creatures can simply run, and in the battle with the barefoot, all the necessary equipment in abundance is lying around you. And in fact, this is all, the rest of the ropes, disorienting grenades, freight tricks are useless because it is much easier to use tactics Beyi run, mostly just run. Taking the load or just running a hostile zone
Equipment for lightweight walk
Perhaps the most if not the only useful equipment is different cascades (contours) that help a lot during the game and have various specifications forces / endurance / speed and can be used in different situations and if the circuit is correctly selected, it will complement you in certain situations in certain situations. I also want to add gloves with which you can carefully smear the enemy or stop yourself when falling from the slope
And about transport and buildings, I would like to talk later under a separate table of contents
2. Distribution of cargo and other objects on Sam
And now you decided what to take with you and are ready to conquer the dead expanses of the once magnificent America, but first you need to arrange all this correctly. And then, as I understand it, another part of the gameplay should begin, carefully considering where to put the next box. But this does not work again, because the process itself does not cause any problems. In fact, how we put our cargo should directly affect our movement, constraining and pulling in different directions complicating our path. But in fact, the only thing the player should do, or rather not to do, this is not to load too much on the hero. Everything else can be automatically, quickly and beautifully tamped by pressing 1 button.
And only occasionally you will need to take a fragile load in your hands or hang on some part of the body so that in the event of a fall it suffers less. Or put the shoes on the carbine, but the desired tool on the stand so as not to once again break your tower from cargo on the back pulling out any object from its middle. (But even in this case, at any time, you can again automatically cross all the existing goods)
And if you have gained too much you can place everything on transport or an air conveyor and it is done in a matter of seconds.
And we have examples of games where the player needed to approach the folding of objects in his backpack, even in the same old stalker and a heap of other games there was a system with cells, where each object occupied the N-Oe number of cells and the objects themselves had different forms, which was necessary at least somehow, but to think over the folding of things in the inventory, and let it often do not do itaffected the character and his movement (except for possible overload and as a result of constant slowdown), at least minimally gave the player the opportunity to organize things in their inverter interactively interacting with a backpack.
And the system in Death Stranding reminds me of an ordinary skyrim where we just put everything in a “bottomless bag”, where there is no need to at least somehow think through the location of the cargo. The only difference is direct visualization of goods on the character and we simply cannot build a too high tower of cargo and easily drag it. But this will already be the problem of the number of goods, and not their proper sorting.
I was the only time for the game when I needed to take up the correct location of the goods wisely. And all due to the fact that I scored four more than those supposed and tried to distribute everything on myself and two conveyors. Since the game does not use auto -placement for transport, I had to manually distribute the cargo to transport in order to carry it away as much as possible, but if you do not throw the tone of other boxes and the problem will not show itself in any way.
It may seem to you that I just want to slander the most beautiful system of inertia and physics that was laid in this game, because each additional load and every extra kilogram can adversely affect movements, speed, heaviness and just emotions of the character himself and it really feels during the whole game. This system is surprised to work out very high quality because every load is not in good weight. And it is felt all not only visually on the screen, but also felt physically during the game.On the fragment below, I had almost all the small boxes of the smallest severity (1-5 kg) and the large tank had a very impressive weight (120 kg) and see what influence the location of this tank creates on my back. Tank from above (the heaviest load at the top):
Tank from below (the heaviest load at the bottom of the backpack):
It’s just amazing, I have never seen anything like it and I am just amazed at what colossal work the developers did. But in the game you will not find this, the entire load will be automatically complicated in the most favorable position by pressing a pair of buttons and on this the whole interactive with your loads ends. I studied this fragment myself, specially placing the load incorrectly, because during the game it is impossible to get into such a situation, since you will always use auto -plating. Perhaps someone will say that you can not use auto-placement and create a challenge for yourself. Only then, to place the load in the place you need, it will be necessary to manually unload everything that is higher, and then again manually hang the whole thing on yourself.
But, firstly, in this way you will not create any challenge for yourself, because there is nothing difficult to sort rectangles by weight, and secondly it will be very boring and long. And I am sure that this was not so conceived by the game, and still you need to use auto -placement for a comfortable game.
As a result, we have an extremely detailed system of character physics, but it is unbearable by the simple implementation of it with the cargo management system. And the player simply gains all possible orders that he is on the way, and in 95% the only restriction is the weight of the cargo.This system is clearly not enough depth, let’s take a look at Tetris, because the simplest mechanics of folding cubes Tetris simply would have felt great in Death Stranding. Each cargo would have its own unique shape and the player would need to think what kind of orders taking into account the form of goods for their correct location. After all, different orders provided goods with different forms, which added more interactivity when sorting the cargo
Moreover, in this way, developers could kill two birds with one stone at once, because the game does not provide for the punishment for the damaged cargo (yes, we will be given less likes), and thus each cargo could change its shape if you had to reorganize the entire system that you built, because the container had a few centimeters of the protective layer from the side. But the problems with the load do not end there, of course, comments above could already make control of the load at times better and more interesting. But even if such a implementation would be too complicated, the developers could go the other way. After all, the whole load has no properties besides weight. Three times per game, we are given the human body, and this is the only unusual load for the whole game. But the transportation could be diluted with cargoes of unusual forms and properties.For example, a large glass -packet, which, due to the area, met strong wind resistance. Or some cargo that cracks when moving attracting great attention to creatures and other opponents. Or you can make some toxic medicines that Sam will breathe, thereby even expanding the use of an oxygen mask.
The whole city in a backpack (transport and buildings)
There are two more types of things that can help you in the passage and PHK for the construction of buildings in Death Stranding.
As for transport, it is really useful, I would even say through Chur. He is too dysbalance this is due to the fact that transport can safely overcome 60% -80% of the entire game world in transport. Transport has a battery and logically, this should be limited to the use of transport, but in fact, using the use of PCC and the construction of the generator, you can easily recharge almost everywhere in a matter of seconds (with the exception of places where there is no chiral network). In addition to the battery charge, the limiting factor should be a hostile relief that will not allow the player to freely move on wheels. But in reality, almost every hostile zone can be traveled or stuck and hitting, slowly but surely, most obstacles can be overcome, which will still be much faster than their two.
The abundance of this transport also adds oil into the fire, all these motorcycles and trucks are scattered on almost every corner, and there will always be several motorcycles and a couple of trucks in any node (with a garage), and nothing never prevents you from creating a dozen of these motorcycles, because resources are always abundant in abundance. And it turns out that even if I have a battery, or there will be an impassable territory ahead, and it will be dispensable in time, then I will not feel sorry to throw out this transport (mainly a motorcycle) and just get my legs with my legs. So somehow protect this transport, it makes no sense, such as the same horse from RDR2 where it can die, and then you will buy a new horse for your money.
Buildings have an important weight, some of them are really useful and in theory should greatly simplify your movement. For example, the bridge in the right place can shorten your way for several minutes, or in time the found generator will help you not throw a motorcycle in the middle of the wasteland. I can take the same thing to cables and built bases, the buildings are really useful and in this context they could really complement the game. Only I don’t know why, but I have never used most buildings. I myself only built generators, actively used bridges and took advantage of the game a couple of times per game. The shelter from the rain is useless, because Sam does not need rest for one task, you always have a flask that will instantly restore your endurance, and its property of the repair is useless, because rain cannot damage the load, even though it stands under it, only the container will break. Yes, the strength of the container reduces the damage to the cargo in the fall, but as I said above, you get used to the game mechanics so much that it is simply impossible to fall, it is simply impossible to fall. The same applies to the bases because you do not need a cardinal rest during the race, and the guard tower and mailboxes are simply useless. I used them only when taking platinum and collected absolutely all goods to increase the level of communication as quickly as possible.
Sam, deliver 200kg that garbage (basic and side missions)
There are no side tasks in the game.
Well, there is one with the delivery of pizza, with a rather interesting finale, but that is all. All side tasks are needed only in order to finish platinum. I can’t even call this grind of tasks, in any RPG assignment of the type of “take it”, at least they have some kind of subtext why you are doing this, just a mountain of cargo that you need to bring. And in response, they will tell you “wow well done, come on” and that’s all, to talk about what could be added to the game that lasts 50 hours+ side missions as it is just as pointless as to fulfill all these orders.
And the plot missions are the same orders with the usual load, and they differ from the side effects only in that the cargo has a context, and at the end you may be awarded with Katsen. But the game has a rather strange method of presenting the plot from which you are very tired. And I ask you to understand me correctly, I understand that Death Stranding was conceived as a project that players will go very slowly and meditatively delving into each character and empathizing with them, and really at Death Stranding it turns out.Only even I incredibly liked to walk on all these wastelands, watching how Sam takes every step, examining every pebble in front, after the middle of the game I was tired of doing this. Yes, this could be avoided given all those factors that I listed above relative to mechanics and gameplay. But this could also be avoided if the player was more often given a break from all this philosophy and delivery of goods. The game in the literal sense of the word going to the buffet between the scenes in the theater, and I know that many will say that people go to the cinema for drama for the sake of drama to watch a sad story and sympathize with the characters. But I also want to evaluate Death Stranding as a game, and not as a work of art, to evaluate as an interactive of the player and what is happening on the screen without missing the compilation of all its elements
Conclusion (I love this game, and therefore criticize)
No matter how trite it sounds now, but Death Stranding is not a game for everyone and only for her courage and identity, it deserves praise.
And I understand perfectly well what a thin blade I go now. I do not want to be a person who puts 0 without understanding the slightest essence. Or it becomes some kind of critic who puts 10 along the orgasm from orgasm from the Kitszen and the atmosphere alone, regardless of another part of the game
I tried to evaluate Death Stranding not as a work of art, but as a game, the player’s interactive and what is happening on the screen. At the beginning of the game, I looked at every step of Sam, listened to every breath of his, ran away from the crowd of mules in an attempt to maintain a valuable cargo. Dangerous zones with creatures took an alarm and many other factors were felt differently, but the longer I played it, the more often I saw all its problems as interactive entertainment. In conclusion, I can say that the main problem of the game is its duration. All her gameplay elements on such a long period of time cease to interact correctly with the player, in the end, giving only the illusion of the world in which we are found.
P.S
This is the first time I tried myself in writing a blog, so I will be happy to accept your criticism and try to improve, judge strictly!
P.S p.With
Perhaps the stylization of the blog pumped up, but due to updating the site, not all functions work correctly, so I could not use the function of “pre -examination”