DEATH STRANDING
WHY DO I EXPLODE LIKE A LITTLE NUKE WHEN I DIE?
James Davenport: Death Stranding is a hypnotic exercise in dramatic serenity.
For 90 percent of my 100-plus hours wandering the gorgeous, rocky terrain, I was completely alone. It was just me and Norman Reedus’ gentle breath. It’s nothing special for an open-world game to punt you out into a huge space on your lonesome, but Death Stranding understands how isolation feels, that jerky oscillation between peace and terror.
You’re alone in your job, delivering gear (and oxytocin) to subterranean settlements, and you’re alone in good ol’ indifferent, unforgiving nature. Death Stranding is about carrying on anyway and trying not to panic when things get worse.
Because they will. I’ve tumbled down cliffs and slid down a river or 12, but scrambling to adjust and salvage my shipment is always a thrill. Wrap it up in morose themes and visually stunning sci-fi concepts, and Death Stranding goes from hiking sim to ineffable mood sim real quick—like Journey, but with gravity and consequence.
And Death Stranding is a PC simulation game at heart, treating each of Normie’s legs with the same attention that SCS Software gives to the 18 tyres on a semi-truck. I wish I could import my own terrain data, because getting from point A to B is an exhilarating duel with physics, tipped into one another’s favor based on how much time you spent in prep. Can you carry a tower of resin up that mountain, through waist-deep snow, all before a blizzard arrives? Do you have enough climbing gear? Thermal pads? Fresh boots? Confidence? Why do I explode like a little nuke when I die? Only way to find out is by making the slow, steady climb. Baby steps. Andy Kelly: Death Stranding has completely changed the way I think about traversal in videogames. As much as I love Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, merrily skipping across mountains feels, suddenly, quite ridiculous. I don’t think every open-world game should go to the same lengths of simulation as Death Stranding, because the exhausting struggle of crossing a river or ascending a mountain peak is very specific to that game. But I would like to see other developers, inspired by Kojima Productions, make traversing terrain more involved and considered. It kinda cheapens Valhalla’s majestic Scandinavian peaks when you can scramble up them so effortlessly.
I also love how Death Stranding constantly drip-feeds you tools and gadgets to gradually make your job easier. At first it’s just you, your boots, and the elements, but later you get access to floating cargo platforms, electric tricycles, and exoskeletons that let you carry more weight. However, even with these helping hands, getting from place to place is still a challenge. When you encounter one of the game’s many varied, rugged landscapes, it almost feels like a puzzle to be solved. You stand at the foot of a mountain, bulky packages strapped to every inch of your body, and wonder how the hell you’re gonna get to the top. And when you do, after much toil, it feels incredible.