“The old ‘see that mountain? You can go there’ adage has new meaning”
DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR’S CUT is a great journey, but Kojima only wants the destination
I’m often in two minds about the games of Hideo Kojima. He’s great at delivering novel ideas with a pretty frequent hit rate. The sniper battle with the End from Metal Gear Solid 3 or the scene where Psycho Mantis reads your memory card? Great stuff. But hour long cutscenes filled with dreadful dialogue? A habit of objectifying women of his games? The worst.
Death Stranding represents the highest peaks and deepest depths in terms of quality. The same overblown story and overlong cutscenes intrude in a game which otherwise excels at communicating such a strong sense of place. Ropey combat and stealth feel like a hangover from Metal Gear Solid V, mechanics that Kojima just hadn’t worked out of his system despite how out of place they feel.
But damn, that hiking! ‘Walking simulator’ is usually a mocking moniker for narrative focused titles, but if it’s taken, and Kojima can put to rest the whole ‘Strand Game’ nonsense, then Death Stranding should be called a hiking simulator. As delivery boy Sam Porter Bridges you have to carry packages across Iceland-pretending-to-be-anAmerican-wasteland, placing cargo on Sam’s body, stacking it on his backpack and shoulders to get the balance just right. Then you have to march across rocky terrain and hills, wade through rivers, and rappel into canyons, while making sure not to be knocked off balance by snags or harsh currents.
BRIDGE TOO FAR
When the game is just this, it is bliss. A melancholy journey where the very act of walking is made engrossing and challenging. The old ‘see that mountain? You can go there’ adage has new meaning in a context where travel is itself the obstacle. Coming to a chasm and having to go step by step, dismantling my sled, piling extra packages onto Sam’s back, and lowering myself down is every bit as compelling as any boss fight. Couple that with a great soundtrack and spooky encounters, and traversing Death Stranding’s world is one of my favorite gaming experiences.
The game is at its best when it’s all about the journey, and everything Kojima adds in the new Director’s Cut release seems centered around minimizing that down to feeling like a quick taxi ride. A bizarre misunderstanding of the beautiful thing they’ve built.
It’s the videogame equivalent of the Star Wars remasters, adding noise to something until the original is hidden under bloat and excess.
AS DELIVERY BOY SAM PORTER BRIDGES YOU HAVE TO CARRY PACKAGES