Man, you're still at the top of your game. I was completely captivated by this video of a game I haven't gotten around to playing yet. Its passion is rather infectious.
This is the exact same way I felt playing this game as well, and I'm glad to see someone else acknowledge what made this game special to them in relation to their life experiences. While George relates to the slow gradual journey of a bike ride cross America. I relate to the probably near 2000+ miles I've rucked on foot in the military with sometimes ridiculous amounts of weight towering above my head exceeding 130lbs in some cases in the form of many things from ammo, food, water, clothing, and gear, to mortar tubes, stinger missiles, and javelins. Playing through death stranding gave me the same calm feeling as I walked up nearly vertical mountains seeing my destination come closer and closer by the mile. Another great video well done!
@@Jose-se9pu I don't know if 'hated' is the right word here. Just that the story went off the rails stupid in ways most people probably wouldn't notice.
I travel around in a wheelchair every day I feel like hearing this sort of mechanical analysis of Death Stranding from that perspective would be interesting. Primarily because disability tends to make every day movement into a version of this negotiation of the enviroment. Maybe these mechanics would connect with disabled players more than ablebodied ones. If anyone seeing this is disabled and has played Death Stranding I'd be interested to hear your thoughts
Disabled dude here. It's an odd one for me: On one hand, the obstacles put in front of the player via gameplay mechanics (primarily balance and weight distribution) are a weird reflection of how I imagine my disability negatively affects my experience of and capability to walk as compared to a non-disabled person. I was born with my disability, so I have no real basis for comparison. If I tell you that I would fall over when I walk if I didn't use crutches, and that my legs and hip are kind of stiff, more able-bodied readers can maybe make a better comparison than I. On the other hand, these same mechanics afford a much greater degree of control over Sam's walking than I have over my real life legs. This feels very empowering. This odd mix adds up to an experience of walking in Death Stranding that is sort of like the one I'm used to, but with one exception. I have much greater control over my body. It feels kind of great :) Great enough to complete the game.
I was born with fibrous dysplasia I my legs and skull and can’t walk without crutches. I haven’t played DS yet but I’ve always wanted to see a video game where you play as a disabled person on crutches or in a wheelchair or maybe both
In The Surge you get to start off on a wheelchair. Which was pretty interesting, I was surprised to see that. But of course, the game being a souls-like, they must take it away at some point, and they do so very soon.
see, why can't there be a soulslike with a disabled protaganist? Those games pay special attention to movement in a way that I would love to see implemented through the lens of disabillity.
This game, and I'm serious don't laugh at me, taught me a lot about walking. There is this road going steeply up I occassionally need to travel by foot. During winter it freezes over with ice. I've developed my own style of climbing over it over the years but I've actually managed to apply some stradegy from Death Stranding to fine tune it (lowering your center of weight and climbing it that way).
I agree with the observations of George. When I pick up bundles of rebar with a coworker and traverse a congested construction site I'm constantly scanning where to walk and avoiding loose gravel or small garbage piles and the movement is limited since I'm tethered to my coworker who is holding the same pieces of steel. Travel can be challenging by itself. The difference is, George went on a biking trip and found out how complex the mechanics of traveling is and developed a new appreciation for it while the complex nuance of traveling was forced on me by my work. I hate the game because What George found compelling I found has a chore.
@@liuzhaoqi2003 I don't hate my job Not every job is takes place in a congested site with power lines above. Thee are a lot of sites where there are enough space to shake out and separate the various lengths of steel.
My biggest pet peeve in gaming related to movement, to this day...is how every developer doesn't seem to understand that human beings can in fact...walk up steep hills.
Fallen order does this to a degree. There are some dedicated slide spots that you can't climb up, usually made logical with ice or slick mud, but there are also some spots that you slide going down, and climb on all fours going up.
It also emulates really well the experience of being a deliveryman, from the logistics of planning a route, to checking your map and your surrounding to be sure were you have to turn and things to avoid, to also sometimes forgetting something and only finding out when you arrive to the place you were supposed to go and having to do the whole thing again. The only thing that it does not feel at all like it is how much praise you get when you're done with one.
Sad part on the last one. I always respected delivery guys but not that much, even after Fallout: New Vegas who pride itself on you being just a "courier". But you're just another rootin' tootin' cowboy in that game. The part of being a "courior" felt like a wierd title. A meme This game tho. Gave me way bigger respect. I always greeted delivery guys in a respectful way. But now I smile, way hi, soften my voice to be welcoming, thank them alot of delivering the package, and just be nicer than before. Keep on keeping on out there, delivery men! 👍👍👍👍👍
@@CrystallizedBlackSkull I mean, I always took NV's approach to the courier thing more as a backstory for the player for role playing experience. IIRC it's not stated that you are one as a career. Maybe you just needed some cash and figured delivering stuff would pay decently? I guess for that courier, experience, there's always mods.
Stick around the smash community long enough you'll hear someone say it Kidding, don't stick around them, the stereotypes about them smelling bad are true...
@@OjoRojo40 hhahahhahah Dunkey sounds like a dunkey next to this review, like if he does not have brain cells or something. Dunkey is really terrible at most reviews he makes.
The problem is that's what everyone expects of a big budget game. I like to compare Death stranding to the classic Monster Hunter games. They are for a small audiece that wants a very specific experience that isn't found in big budget AAA games. The problem is that Death Stranding is a big budget AAA game and the mainstream audiences generally don't like that kind of game.
What's brilliant is Kojima taking a massive risk unapologetically and taking all the time he wanted to pitch his own philosophy on Homo Ludens. There's no video game director that emodies "multiple realizability" better or integrates every aspect of the idea of "games" than Kojima.
"I really like history, actually." Huh, didn't know that. Cool. "I'm colorblind." Oh uh- I had no idea. "I BICYCLED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES." JESUS CHRIST!!
Wonder what will be revealed next; the stakes must be raised. "I once went on an adventure that started in Delaware and ended in Tingvollvågen with two dogs and a very, very lost raccoon." "I am your father." "I started a non-political revolution by selling lemonade in custom-made cups, that ended only once the minister's left-hand man died. On a tuesday."
Being a full time city kid who only sees big post-modern buildings and ugly concrete this game is an escape unlike anything else, seeing all these green fields and snowy mountains and big desert patches was an experience unlike anything else gaming-wise, also the gameplay was fun as heck in my opinion, planning carefully and watching out for the terrain and weather.
I find that an interesting comment, considering I always had a much larger tolerance for industrial and artificial environments in games than wilderness ones. In fact, I prefer them. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that I have seen a lot of wilderness areas growing up.
@@lounowell4171 My real world is just concrete and busy streets, I haven't seen wildlife and greens in years unfortunately, maybe I should get to it before I go crazy.
@@eliaskapravelos7171 I personally find cities to look better than nature ever could, 20th century industrial architecture especially. I know that is not a popular opinion.
Elias Kapravelos just take a train to your nearest small town. Ride a horse or two. Or rent out a boat. And do it with someone. It’s not as fun when you’re alone.
Don't know if you'll see this, but I just want to say; this video encouraged me to take my casual bike riding to new levels, which has pushed me to ride well over 350+ miles this year so far (which isn't a lot for many, but to me is huge!). Doing this has helped my social life out so much, from general confidence to having stories to tell and making small talk, which has gained me quite a few friends I wouldn't have otherwise. Because of all of that, I just want to say... thank you for making such encouraging content, even if you don't intend it to be so.
Wow! I hope I'll gain the confidence and skills to do this soon. I always wanted to walk, bike across whatever country. It was always my biggest dream. I hope I can do it.
I did 4 years in the Marine Corps and hiking up and down hills in Death Stranding took me back to those days of arduous struggle. The whole game just really struck a nerve with me in the right ways and my goodness i cannot express how it feels to know that other people have similar experiences with their relationship of the game. Amazing video man. Keep up the great content!
I haven't played it, but I noticed those parallels. It will be interesting to see if that translates to fun for me. When Sam holds his breath and tries to avoid not being detected, it reminds me of avoiding bored SNCOs. I crack up at the thought of that. I have a suspicion that it will be a chore to me though
@@jodrano9356 haha death stranding is the marine corps. BTs are SNCOs, you walk all the time, you have orders that make no sense. your LCPL is attached to your chest and you have to take care of him. oh and you live on monster, the only thing the are missing is cans of dip.
I connected with this game in the first river section. I grew up by a beach entirely covered in rocks. Every day after school, I would walk down there and run across the rocks. When this game got me to cross the first river, I looked up and down that thing exactly like I was on the beach again as a kid.
I didnt do any trips across the country but traversal has always been my secret passion in games so this has been...heavenly. People who hate the snow dont know what theyre missing. Great video
In most videogames, traversing is trivial while combat is the challenge. In DS traversing is the challenge while combat is trivial. This turns off a lot of people. But i enjoy having down time walking out in VG world and enjoy the landscape and architecture. In dark souls, botw, HZD, journey, and death stranding. I even made a dedicated insta account to photograph the scenery on botw and death stranding. I find it meditative.
Agreed. My favorite open world game is Morrowind, and my most cherished moments are simply traversing the wonderfully alien landscape of Vvardenfell. There is indeed a meditative quality to it, no doubt related to one of George's earlier videos, "The Importance of Quiet Time."
I bought a switch and BoTW about a month before Death Stranding came out. I put zelda on hold because I was really anticipating DS and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. In fact after I finished the game and resumed BoTW, I found myself missing the mechanics of the best walking simulator to date. I'd find myself just zoning out during traversal and not really paying any attention to the environment or the very few obstacles present.
I had no idea! Well, at least in regards to the shoulder buttons. I just beat the game a couple of hours ago and watched this video after holding off for three months, and now I kind of wish I had watched it beforehand haha
I really wanted to enjoy this one, I was on board with the idea that the traversal and exploration in an open world game was at the forefront rather than typical combat situations. Metal Gear's mantra was "what if instead of confronting your enemies, you avoided them?" And Death Stranding would be "instead of enemy confrontation, what if traveling was the core mechanic?" But I found that the game erred more on the side of rewarding conservative play, and instead of overcoming challenges it was more of an exercise of reducing tedium. The game teaches you early on how much harder it is when Sam is overloaded. So then you avoid taking on too many orders at a time to avoid the penalty. Then once you get the Floating Carrier and vehicles, you stop worrying about the balancing mechanics entirely. As George mentioned the strategy of zig-zagging along cliffs to reduce the angle of the slope over a longer distance, I found myself being able to force vehicles up the most ridiculous terrain, just to avoid carrying on foot and therefore needing to play with balancing. The boots mechanic is also a funny one. All you need to do is periodically replace them after a couple of trips. If you don't you will be penalized. All you need to do is just remember to replace them. So rather than enjoying the gamified traversal, I actually enjoyed the gamified social help aspect of Death Stranding. Someone has to use or specifically like your structure; ideally confirming that you made someone else's trip more efficient. But that's the fatal flaw to me. Other people help remove the challenge from your own game, and you're left with an easy delivery with no challenge. Yes a game can be an experience more than just it's gameplay mechanics. But I found the other aspects of the game not very compelling either. So I ended up with a 40 hour game with story front and back-loaded, with a very long and bland middle section with insignificant characters and little plot development helping it along. The gameplay either feels tedious or trivial if someone else's structures are in place. And even I say all of that as another Hideo Kojima fan. But I don't think its a controversial opinion to say that his output pre-MGS4 was more impressive than post-MGS4. Books and music can be written by individuals, but games and movies are mostly made by teams. A game isn't great just because Kojima was at the helm. A collective had to work together to ship the game. We should look past simple idolization of a single figure who might be the spearhead but was supported by many others who don't get close to the same credit. I'm a little disappointed in myself that I can't name other major staff besides artist Yoji Shinkawa. I'm glad others were able to enjoy Death Stranding, but I wasn't able to. If you agree with me click the thumbs up to give me an oxytocin boost I guess
Kalvin Clein 😂 I don’t agree with everything you wrote, but loved the ending to your comment. Here’s an oxytocin boost for you 👍 👍 👍 Today’s a good day.
I don't know how to argue except 'I don't agree'. To me the floating carrier didn't ruin the balancing aspect of the game, it just reduced the load. You still had to worry about Sam while he's moving the carrier, also the carrier doesn't apply in every situation, such as if you're scaling a cliff with a rope, and certain terrains may cause it to snap. As for the vehicles, they can be a liability as much as an aide. Usually a load up the bike and drive out to my destination, but within a few minutes I'm ditching the bike and going on foot because I'm tired of smashing into every rock in existence. Also there's cliffs and ravines and other things which the vehicle straight up cannot access. So I invested in the bike under the assumption it would to me to the objective, now I'm stuck with this huge cargo in the middle of nowhere. It's both a deterrent against being reliant on vehicles as well as being part of the gameplay. Suddenly finding yourself in a difficult situation because of either bad planning or something unavoidable, such as weather or environmental obstacles. I hear the argument a couple of times from you and others that you just spam vehicles up ridiculous terrain. I guess this is a gameplay hole if it works, but I've never tried it, because honestly, why would I? It looks ridiculous and it's not how the game is meant to be played. Why would you deliberately want to play the game in a silly way? Every MGS game, no matter how highly rated, allows you to go rambo on the enemy and bypass the sneaking mechanics, but it's a much less elegant and engaging way to play the game. I mean yeah, Kojima should have anticipated players would try to spam terrain and make it impossible, but part of the blame is on you for relying on such a stupid mechanic instead of just playing the game properly. As for "rewarding conservative gameplay instead of overcoming challenges", I found the game does both. The game is constantly giving you orders that seem simple but come with huge catches or roadblocks that will either cause tedium or completely wreck you. For example, you have to ship a huge amount of pesticide to the timefall farm, more supplies than can be carried, so you have to rely on a vehicle or floating carriers. However, the only accessible routes are through a mule camp (they'll sabotage your vehicle and wreck.steal your cargo) or a mountain which exposes you to timefall and is unaccessible by vehicle. So you have to pick your poison and prepare accordingly. I chose the challenge of making it through the mountains quick enough to avoid my cargo being destroyed by timefall instead of the tedium of sneaking through the mule camp and it was a huge sense of overcoming a challenge when I just managed to get the cargo there before it was destroyed. I think the trick to enjoying Death Stranding is to think of it less like a competitive video game (which mechanics can I exploit?) and more like a simulation of real life challenges in which you can use your problem solving skills in a simulated world. For me, that's how I approached the game automatically but I think some people need to change their thinking if they're going to enjoy the game. I know that sounds pretentious as hell but it's just the reality of it. It's not a game for everyone, and I respect that, but when someone says they WANT to enjoy death stranding I say well you can, but you have to rethink how you're going about the game. It's like playing solitaire. Nobody's going to force you to follow certain rules, but you're expected to. I know that's an apology for flaws and holes in the game design, but the game is actually so ambitious in what it's trying to do I'm surprised there aren't more holes than there are. If you want an interesting challenge, play the game where you accept every order the moment you receive it. It becomes a challenge of managing a huge workload and not pissing too many customers off. Is it more fun? I don't know, but it's more challenging
I guess it goes both ways, man. I feel a sense of accomplishment with every single mechanic and tactic the game can and does offer. I love carefully planning my route for long, heavy hauls on foot, going through, MULEs, cliffs, rivers and BTs with nothing but my +200 KG of cargo and a bola gun. I also love how fast and efficiently I can get a bunch of little errands done simultaneously by using all the roads, bridges, tools and MY BIKE, GOD I LOVE IT, just to wrap up the client's 5th star. But then... I also very much love the idea of using other people's bridges roads and such left behind purposely for everyone's use. It builds to this huge map. Giving you more options to traverse this beautiful world. From all the things I've seen built by others, it has never felt like it's robbed me from my gameplay, but enhanced it. Instead of ruining the fun and joy from the challenge of planning every step and crevice, taking that bridge over there (a bit out of the way) will instead TURN that satisfying challenge into a fun quick rush to this finish line. I always have to carefully remember that I'm not playing a difficult game. I'm playing a game all about planning, tactics, adaptability and reflex on delivering this cure for a shit hangover. I love this game. I love this community. I love the amount of freedom the game offers amongst us all. And i love hearing not how, but why it is, and isn't for everybody. Hearing your unique, well spoken opinion gave me a new understanding. Thanks, man. 👍
Most of your non-review videos tend to seem incredibly personal, but this feels like an even more personal video than usual for you. I found it fascinating to hear your opinion on Death Stranding. The difference in the way you experienced a game that I just can't quite enjoy seemed kind of beautiful to me. A bit humbling, if I'm being honest, and I'm not even that pushy about my opinions on games. Keep up the great work, dude.
I think you are on to something here. I biked across Canada 9 years ago, and so far I am 82 hours into the PC version of Death Stranding. You completely nailed what is so appealing about it to me. Great work.
@@ChenLadTV I don't get how. English is not my mother language and I have never made that mistake because the difference seems obvious to the ear. How come natives don't see it 🤣
When I was young we lived by the sea and I loved just running or walking around in the mountains. Exactly that feeling you spoke of about weaving between planning you next step to looking up and planning the path the next 100m ahead. I love that someone put that in a game.
I really empathise with how the bike trip affected you in social situations etc. I spent weeks out in rural france, working at various farms after my first year at university, the many experiences I had while hiking and working at these farms has made me a much more social person with my own stories to tell.
I feel where you're coming from. As a Marine I've had to walk under loads the size and shape as the ones in this game. It really captures the strategy of something so mundane but still challenging, as well as how petty the failures are. Maybe to really appreciate it you have to have been there, at least a little bit.
Death Stranding doesn't look like the type of game I'll end up playing (I've heard it needs a lot of time, which I frankly don't have), but credit where it's due- Massive respect for Sony for funding a game with just traversal as one of the core gameplay mechanics, and also massive props to Kojima Prod for crafting (from what my friends who've played the game tell me) a thoughtful narrative around these mechanics.
Although I understand (and agree to some degree) I don't know about thoughtful narrative, if what you mean the gameplay has some connection to the story than maybe yes, but a bunch of games done that before.
What I noticed about the game is how responsive and tight the controls are. Went from this to Jedi Fallen Order and the difference is extremely noticeable.
Its a walking, delivery boy simulator but its completely up front about being a walking delivery boy simulator. Every single open world game in the last 5 years has been a walking, delivery boy simulator disguised as a game.
While slightly exaggerated for impact purposes, it's not too far from the truth. If we take a step back, we can finally realise that "side quests" or any type of secondary content is actually the meat of these games. Sadly, it's often nothing more than turning you into a rat pressing a button to get food. So basically, what I'm saying is: well said, man
So you are basically commending it for being up-front about being boring fucking waste of time that is not exciting at all ? My, what else will we commend in the future, then ? A game chock-full of microtransactions that is up-front about "GIVE YOUR MONEEEY" nature of it ? My...
@@zedxcu Yeah, obsessed with keeping gaming clean of boring shit like this, that will unavoidably lead to even further worsening of standards. Yeah, quite obsessed. I mean... this shit has "action" written in it's genre description. "Action". So basically Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Devil May Cry and the like are in the same league as that hiking delivery simulator. Genious. And this is after the awesomness of Metal Gear Solid and Zone of The Enders. Ofcourse I am obsessed. We need less needlessly open world games that waste time on getting from one point to another and instead something actually going on constantly. God, please keep FromSoftware safe... In the face of this shitty calamity we need them more then ever.
Open World games have become so smoothed out that exploration, y'know, the whole point of an open world game, had basically disappeared. What you're left is a glorified time wasting level select menu. I still don't understand why he's giving Breath of the Wild so much shit for it as that's a game that really made exploration and navigation a core part of its gameplay loop, I don't understand that especially considering his love for Witcher 3 which had a horse automatically taking you to your destination.
I may not have biked across a continent, but I did spend a great deal of time in my childhood and later life for that matter, walking in the mountains. I think that, too, gives this experience of "seeing the matrix" ahead of you, planning every step with what seems like superhuman speed - especially when running in rocky steep terrain, like mountain rivers, where the entire landscape is made up of; deadly drops, 90* edges made of pure rock that will end your life with ease, boulders that look secure but have like a 1mm^2 contact area and will slide / tilt / rotate under you instantly, weird algae and moss growth that will send you sliding down a 300-foot rockface and break all your limbs when you inevitably reach the end, and of course, water, ranging from still water puddles to life-ending flows of deep water going down the mountainside. Yet you jog along, eyes darting literally 1 or 2 steps ahead of you at all times, looking at, analyzing, and deciding where and how to put your foot down (the foot that's already in the air on its way down), with the occasional glance upwards to think about the next 10 seconds. Games like Death Stranding bring that same sort of joy to me. It's the same idea of finding challenge and enjoyment in doing something that, on a surface level, seems simple: Navigate from A to B.
7:11 funny you should mention this, Final Fantasy XV actually had this exact same mechanic in its sprinting system, wherein timing the pressing of the "sprint" button right before you run out of stamina gives you an extra boost of stamina. It really added some flavor to an otherwise standard traversal system.
I was born in Abruzzo, a region in the center of Italy. The mountain landscape there is basically where I've had most of my childhood adventures - when I visited on summer, we'd often go out with friends and have picnics on top of hills that were steep as all hell or sunbathe for a while on inclines. We also created weird stories to play in, in which all our myths and all the things we liked came together and melded with the place we were enacting these shenanigans in - a complete opposite to the factory-made, flat playgrounds I would usually see where I actually lived. Death Stranding is the game eight-year-old me has been waiting for since I first got a PlayStation, and I'm so happy you managed to - indirectly - capture this feeling so well through your own experience. You really are one of the best.
Sam isn’t so much a vessel for Kojima’s anxieties and frustrations as he is for our own. Death Stranding encapsulates the age of loneliness we find ourselves in. His work is repetitive, tedious, and met with hollow praise with each completed task. His assignments are managed via a cold UI which mirrors Asana or Monday, always offering yet another job to do. When Sam is disenchanted by the deluge of work on his plate, the main characters only offer repetitive platitudes about our country’s values and vision. It might even be the case that all this work is actively hurting the very country he is trying to save. Sam is working in a startup, headphones on, nose to the grindstone, not really interacting with any of his coworkers, as they all have their own boulders to push. It’s also a game about how this loneliness is born from our late-stage capitalism. Without the chiral network, Sam is on his own. He must pay for every piece of gear needed for the trek. Things that would speed up his travels, like roads and bridges, are far too expensive to build in abundance, so his journeys are far slower than they could be. Often, his tasks involve ferrying literal currencies (like alloys or ceramics) from point to point. Money is literally weighing Sam down. But, in the utopian society allowed by the chiral network, instead of each portal hoarding and spending their resources for themselves, wealth is pooled together and utilized by the many. Roads and bridges are built, with each user contributing a small bit of their earnings for the greater good. Signposts are placed, aiding not the signmaker, but the anonymous collective. Desire paths are warn into the earth, as our struggles make it easer for the next porter to climb the mountain. This game is about how socialism is the only thing that will pull us out of our wallowing loneliness. It’s a game that intentionally repeats dialogue, intentionally makes its characters so one dimensional that even their names are self-describing, intentionally weaves a convoluted story in which the player feels just outside of the loop. We are being hammered over the face by Kojima, instructed to ignore this narrative, to realize that the real story and message exists, silently, in gameplay.
This a million times I don't know how much in the game is put there knowingly and how much comes from feelings and thoughts that kojima probably ruminated over for a while But the whole team managed to put these themes in the game and holy crap it's fantastic to be challenged on so many levels, i really believe that Death Stranding is the worthy successor to mgs2
Having hitchhiked across alot of the United States these past two years this video just hits different. There's alot of your experience I can see in my own.
I have a love for hiking and exploring, and I’ve always wanted a game that really encapsulates that feeling. Death Stranding is the first game to ever really scratch that itch for me. It even made me want to go out and hike myself. There were a couple times in my playthrough where I would just put the controller down, put some weights in my backpack, and go hiking through the pasture by my house to simulate sam’s experience.
I grew up in the mountains and the Winters there were like -25°C, you couldn't even ride your bike during that time. I often went off-trail hiking with friends, everybody carrying a 72l backpack and through the forest we go. Death Stranding was a real throwback to those days for me
You must be fucking kidding. Kojima got fired, Norman reedus only took the role because Guillermo told him to and Lea Seydoux is busy. What the fuck game is going to be made with none of these characters or kojimas guide.
I did a similar thing before graduating from college. I had hardly any money that summer and no one to travel with, but wanted to go to Spain because I had never been there. So I took the train from Vienna to the French/Spanish border and hiked from there to Santiago de Compostella along the Way of St. James. It took me 30 days to walk about 700km. The thing you said about mountains slowly growing in the distance is so true, when you walk it takes even longer. And you are also right about not forcing yourself to get to your destination quickly. I was in my mid twenties and felt really bad at the beginning when grandpas were passing me by, but after some days I did not really care anymore. Some days were really good and I was flying through villages and roads, on other days every step felt like it took me forever. But I did it and I am proud of my accomplishment. Unfortunatelly I can't tell a story about personal growth myself, I felt just like before (and I am still kinda unclear about my place in life more than 10 years later).It's kinda funny that I did not think about this experience when playing death stranding. The Walking part felt kinda familiar though. I took up climbing (and inevitably hiking as well) in the last couple of years so I know my way around the mountains. I even keep on hiking in winter now, to keep my lungs trained in order to battle the symptoms of Asthma. Don't think I could be a porter like Same though (fuck this reads like one of the NPC e-mails. Get out of my head , Kojima!) But tbh I build Ziplines everywhere I can nowadays haha.I was also not disappointed about the experience the game offered and I love that they tried something new. I never preordered a game before and I'm happy I had the right idea about the direction Kojima was going with this (I preordered so that I could play right away but a friend of mine bought the game in store physically and could play hours before me lol). It's a quiet game, there is hardly any music (though I wish I could create my own playlist when travelling like in the safe houses). And it's all about exploration, which I find out to be my main game play hook nowadays (Hollow Knigh GOTY for me this year because it was so late on PS4). I kinda wish there was even more, like some mountains and valleys that you don't have to travel to but where you can find side quests would be nice.
Donkey just wants every game in existence to be mario, with cheerful music, bright colorful graphics and fast paced gameplay. I really only watch him fun comedy awhich I think he's great at, but when it comes to serious stuff and reviews I dont think he makes really great points.
idk, it just doesn't seem fun to play at all. if you feel good playing it for a different reason, that's completely understandable. the game has a good story and a unique concept. but sadly the gameplay is anything but enjoyable. most people who play video games do that just for the sake of easily having fun. if you admit to it being the kind of gameplay that only people with a certain taste can enjoy, you really shouldn't complain about the negative reviews made by dunkey and penguinz0 and the like. just saying.
My father got me into backpacking. When I first saw the loaded-high packs of Death Stranding and the long sprawling landscapes, it actually made me think, "huh, here's a struggle and game that I think my Dad could actually find interesting." Him and I have spent entire weeks up in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, just trekking and talking about the trekking and experiencing the trekking. We didn't cover the same distance that you did in your astounding bike trip, George, but I like to think that we at least kinda know what you're talking about. In addition, it's just so refreshing for game developers to create a fascinating experience out of something besides the well-walked "gun go shoot" situation. To clarify, I love gun go shoot games. Doom Eternal is so far one of my favorites of 2020, but goddamn variety like this is so desperately needed in this industry.
@@tahirpleasant5640 How did I forget about those? I guess I was thinking about when he played through the Call of Duties but skipped over CoD 3 because it wasn't on PC
It's funny hearing you talk about how you plan each step and try to think ahead, right after I was watching you Sprint straight into a river like you're blind.
I have degenerative joint disease - from a young age had no cartilage in my joints, and am basically always in some kind of pain when moving around, biking, etc. With that said, I am still passionate about making the most of the abilities I do have and getting out to explore and feel the freedom of just existing in the world. In a way I believe that's what I've been loving about this game... the fact that it reflects how at least for me personally, getting where I wanted to go IRL has never been the equivalent of holding the left stick forward. Going where I've needed to go and doing what I've needed to do to not be an outlier from my peers has always been about assessing the struggle ahead of me and deeming it worth it despite pain and limitation. I recently watched and commented on Dunkey's analysis of the game where he basically said that Mario perfected movement 20 years ago (implying that no one should ever do anything differently) and then proceeded to show footage of him bashing his face in the side of a mountain, or driving his motorcycle directly into rocks at full speed and wondering why they didn't disintegrate. It reminded me of situations in real life where people's blind acceptance that things should just be easy and thoughtless to do is their motivation on whether or not they do them.
After watching this video and the dunkview back to back: I have never felt the urge to play a game for myself to find out what I think about a video game this hard in a long time
The Dunkview won't give you an accurate assessment at all of the game sadly. The guy makes some fun videos, but he can't make a proper review for the life of him. (The game ain't perfect, but there's a difference between bad design and forcefully try to make the game look bad in an effort to validate one's opinion of it.) If you enjoy the idea of planning your routes and enjoying the journey it's a great game. If you want an action-packed FPS, then I'd not recommend it. Even with all the talk about its convoluted story, gameplay philosophy, and all that, it's core gameplay loop is quite easy to grasp. What's unique about it is mainly that it places an emphasis on nature as an obstacle rather than humans/monsters.
@@t6v4l968 I legitimately don't know what he was trying to prove there. That ramming a bike into a mountain makes it difficult to move forwards? I mean at least it kinda helps with showcasing the problems with his reviews? (There's also the overuse of headlines to prove his point, rather than using the contents of the articles. But I digress.) What's funny is that he made a video ridiculing the people who criticised his video, but later he took it down since it made him look quite petty.
glad to hear that, hope more people dont just take dunkeys word for it. i like dunkey but that video of his is full of shit. Not because he didnt like it, his stated reasoning for not likin it was full of nonsense.
@@t6v4l968 maybe he did it to demonstrate how bad the vehicle physics are. Just because there were 1 or 2 Minutes of him goofing around to show some bad stuff literally nobody cares to show doesn't mean his entire playtime was like that. He also brought up more than that, which nobody seems to notice. Like having 3 cutscenes for taking a shower or the dumb writing at times.
I camped and hiked alot in my childhood and this game clicked instantly with me during the intro where i found myself looking for rocks jutting out of a river a way to safely cross either by it being shallow or useing the rocks themselves to cross.
I hardly ever write RU-vid comments but I just wanted you to know that this video spoke to me on a really personal level and it is by far the favorite of this years-long fan of yours.
Finally somebody who comes close to describing why I love this game. People keep saying there is "no gameplay", but literally every single SECOND is gameplay. You can't stop thinking, can't stop planning for a moment, or you'll fuck up.
Dude. Fucking THANK YOU. I am so overjoyed that someone got the same kind of happiness and enjoyment out of this game as I did. It really felt like I was in a bizarro world with how many reviewers just seemed to not get it and rag on about how boring the game was. This review is a gem. Thank you, George.
You liked it MORE than MGS 5, 4, and Peace Walker?? I've been debating playing this game, and I'm a big Kojima and MGS fanboy. You've convinced me: I'm playing this game!
Finally get to watch this after playing Death Stranding for myself on PC. And I heavily agree, I loved the actual gameplay, it reminded me of the hiking I did in the rocky mountains with my parents when I was a kid.
I'm in the same boat. Really love how the themes of this game translate into gameplay. The only thing I really dislike is how towards the end the story becomes really indulgent.
Hey I wanted to drop you a little line to tell you how much I enjoyed this video. I also absolutely loved Death Standing and when I tell my gamer friends this, I always get the impression from them that they think I'm being a contrarian or simply being pretentious. I think it's a sign of the times that everyone, friends included, feel the need to validate their opinions by justifying why yours and theirs don't match up, but I could be wrong. Glad to know that there are other fans out there!
This is the single best review of this game that exists. Making something so abstract so personal and relatable is a special skill you possess, and it's been said before but you are at the top of your game. It's a refreshing thing to see.
Georgie boy you've done it again. Thanks a lot. Great analysis. Also great getting to know you through you getting to know Kojima through Death Stranding.
You and Girlfriend Reviews PERFECTLY put into words my feelings on this game. Not to mention your writing and storytelling are as in point as ever, I was showing my friend your MGS videos before the midnight release of Death Stranding just to give her a taste of Kojima before we plunged into this game. Thanks so much for your content!
Something I wish to mention is that the concept for what is a video game used to be a gamification of an otherwise redundant task. Mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, serving food or running a bar. Video games started as an emulation of things in life from jobs, chores, board games, card games, and sports. Death Stranding is a game I really enjoy because it feels like a throw back to these times and the narrative makes me think of the evolution of video games. But, it also is a game I enjoy because of my experiences through my life. Aside from video games I have always been one for the outdoors and one for traveling. So take these things with a grain of salt.
Little speed boost is actually really smart mechanic and there is a really smart game that already did that: Shadow of Mordor. Although the jumping over mini obstacles for speed boost mechanic is often overlooked due to its unimportance relatively to the nemesis system
Gotta hand it to you, only RU-vidr i know that mix pop culture reviews with the intellectual and personal. I guess " real gamers" can't handle when their hobby is pressed against the expectations of art criticism.
Your comment about how the pioneer adventure concept of Death Stranding is a familiar pop culture adventure if not one commonly accepted in video games is spot on. A journey through wilderness is a valid and exciting premise that I'm sure we would see as a full fledged gaming genre if everyone were open to new gameplay conventions. Unfortunately our closest popular substitutes are survival crafting games, which are sometimes so focused around status meters and the player's options for replenishing them that actual exploration becomes a distant afterthought.
I’ve been anticipating this video for a while, and it’s just as interesting, well-written and original as I hoped! Love your videos, you always bring a fresh and well thought out perspective to the table George!
As someone who gets major kicks just from my brain connecting the haptic experience of playing Death Stranding with hiking experience since childhood this is right up my alley.
Dude, came back to this video because started playing DS again, now the Directors Cut and had to say congrats, you are a damn good comunicator man. Big fan from Brazil.
You know what, George, I have been really hesitant about this game. MGSV was a really dumb guilty pleasure, and I have barely brought myself to watch this game's hour-long cutscenes; however, after watching your video, I can say confidently enough... I miss hiking, man, I really want to go climb a hill again. Thanks!
Excellent Video. I love the concept, but will probably hate the game - better to delay it until, it's on massive sale (Cultist simulator was similar, liked the concept, but didnt have the patience to invest my time to "really get into it" and stopped after 3 hours...)
If you like Animes than give this Game a Shot. The cutscenes are Kojima-like over the top, cringy, too much Exposition, don’t feel Natural. But I like everything between the cutscenes and how the Progression System Works in this game
Great video. I absolutely loved my time with Death Stranding. It’s been a while that I’d put 12-16 hour binge sessions into a game on days off etc. I knew DS wouldn’t appeal to a mass instant gratification gaming culture, but it was 100% a game for me. I definitely believe this will be viewed as a classic down the road.
I love hiking mountains and this is exacly what I feel about this game, planning your routes and equipment, consantly dealing with the terrain and balance, finding out creative ways to traverse landscape, this is perfect for me. Shame it only gave me 40h of beating the main story, I want more content like Death Stranding
I never went on a trip like yours but was always fascinated with the idea. The most I ever biked was only a few miles and I can totally see where you’re coming from. I loved The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings for that reason. Its the same reason why I never fast traveled in Breath of the Wild and try to do the same in other open world games. That feeling of the moment to moment movement of any adventure instills excitement within me. That’s why I think this game clicked with me as well as it did for you. It solved the open world problem I’ve had for years by making traversal actually matter. I’m glad that you enjoyed this game George.
What I've noticed after the last few years is that the more you've actually traveled in real life, bike trips, road trips, international vacations, the more you appreciate not only the micromanaging gameplay of trying not to trip and fall while climbing mountains and trying to cross rivers, but also the story themes about bringing people together. It clicks with travelers and tourists more than it does people who only stay in one city their entire life.
"I liked this more than MGSV, 4, and Peace Walker." finally somebody says it. this is the best kojima game in a long long while. (also, side-note, i really love that this game is getting so many people to share their own personal stories of traversal.)
Great video, wonderful work. I had a number of problems with DS, but it's a game I grew to love (somewhere around Mountain Knot City) and eventually treasure. Part of that was learning to stop focusing on the big picture, and instead enjoy each moment as it comes. Learning that you need to walk around small rocks and pay attention to other minute terrain features was absolutely part of that. Also it's a great podcast game if you just want to relax and enjoy your time instead of trying to rush to the finish line.
Thanks so much for finally talking about it, George, you´ve always had this really interesting point of view of gaming in general, but especially with Kojima games! I´d been hoping you would. I´m gonna watch as much as I can, I´m currently starting Chapter 6 and don´t wanna get spoiled more than what I inferred from the Launch Trailer hahahaa
Loved the footage of Mount Fuji. I climbed last year and it was one of the most rewarding hikes I've ever taken. It wasn't awfully long, but man was it steep. The view at the end, though. Completely worth it.