Death Stranding Reviews

From your first steps in Death Stranding 2, you know you’re in for something special. The sequel to Kojima’s 2019 game is an audiovisual spectacle throughout its 50+ hour story and endlessly replayable endgame.

Hideo Kojima has long been a visionary auteur, his feted career stands as proof. With no walls to contain him, he has given birth to Death Stranding. It's an experience that will be remembered for a long time, from its early hype to the untethered lunacy of its narrative. It's an art installation of a game that filled me with rage as often as it did joy. It is sweeping in both lustre and purpose, though it wears a few warts on the pleasant, bare bones of a game about deliveries that has no right to be as memorable as it somehow is.

With a few of its existing rough edges smoothed out, Death Stranding Director’s Cut manages to be a more approachable experience than its previous incarnation, and for those coming back to it, there’s just enough new to warrant a second journey across America.

As this review reveals, Death Stranding Director's Cut takes the original game and shines it until it glistens. Ported to the next generation, it looks and feels better than ever. This is the best way to experience Kojima's magnum opus.

While the new features and missions are nice, the world around us has made Death Stranding better.

Death Stranding is filled with things that must be seen, a sprawling, genre-spanning sci-fi adventure from a developer like no other. Its tackier clumps of writing and stunt casting seem overwrought, but its direction and its stars shine brightest

Think of a controversial game. Chances are, one of the first few you’re likely to name is Death Stranding. Mysterious since it’s initial reveal, not everyone was on board with what Kojima Productions went for in the final game. I loved it, and as a group COGconnected ended up naming it Game of the Year in 2019. Now, Death Stranding is on PC, published by 505 Games. Not only does the game hold up, it’s arguably more impactful than it was on release.

Death Stranding does exactly what it set out to do - create an experience like nothing else on the market that is fresh and extremely thought provoking. It is one of the most ambitious titles I have ever played through. The game knows exactly what it is, and doesn't try to change that. Although the gameplay may fall short for some, Death Stranding is easily one of the most striking titles I have played in years, and is one I believe should be experienced by all.

The idea of running back and forth across a large area may not be appealing to everyone. However, after setting aside the weirdly, and wonderfully confusing story and a few tense BT encounters, I found my time with Death Stranding to often be a more relaxing, chill, experience that I would recommend you check out.

A playable essay on human connection and individuality cleverly disguised as a walking sim.

Less than a year ago, Hideo Kojima’s mysterious game Death Stranding was released exclusively on Playstation 4. Leo initially reviewed the game shortly after launch, giving it a respectable seven out of ten. He praised the game’s amazing graphics, some of its sound design, and ideas it presents, saying that, in the end, “Death Stranding is a game that doesn’t feature big issues that completely ruin it, but it’s absolutely packed with a ton of small inconveniences that weigh it down ...

Overall, Death Stranding is an enjoyable, story-centric game, with realistic physics and unique in-game interactions. Although it was a little difficult to understand the story at first, the game's creator Hideo Kojima spaced out the small details enough to keep players engaged and progressing, eager to learn more. Although many fans have compared this new game to the Coronavirus pandemic due to their similarities, we can only wait to see if our world will bear any similarities to Kojima's creation.

Death Stranding is a transformative experience that transcends genres to convey a message everyone must hear: we are stronger together and weaker apart.

Hideo Kojima's weird post-apocalyptic delivery sim finally comes to PC.

If you do manage to hold out, you will be rewarded with flashes of brilliance, it’s just that those flashes are buried as deep as the core story is buried in the endless dialogue. And as profound as it wants to be, this is still a game in which you can equip and unequip your penis so you can p**s out Red Bull. The good stuff is waiting for you beyond that p**s, beyond the s**t grenades, beyond that Ride with Norman Reedus advert unceremoniously plastered into a game universe where I didn’t see a single television set. It’s just a test of attrition.

Death Stranding is an excellent game with a lot of content and a ton of unique angles. The story is straight-up dumb a lot of the time and things can get tedious and clunky, but the thrill of exploration and making your own way overcomes all obstacles. Just like. Ugh. Sam Porter Bridges.

Death Stranding is an interesting look at what makes a game a game, and not much else.

Despite everything though, I’m glad I played Death Stranding. I think. It whittled me down for the reasons above, as well as its many pointless short cutscenes for things like entering your private room and taking a shower. Even its menus are tiresome and convoluted. Yet, I have to give credit to Hideo Kojima for trying to make something different. For me it didn’t pay off, but I did feel there were moments of brilliance here and there. Death Stranding is an ambitious game, but it’s also one that’s self-indulgent and overwrought. With better pacing and the excising of some of its less flattering content and features, Death Stranding could have been something special. As it is, however, it’s just a slog that ultimately turns around and spits in your face.

Death Stranding might not go down as my favorite game ever made by Hideo Kojima, but it's very likely his most inventive and unique to date, which says a lot. If video games as a medium are ever going to progress past where they are right now, we need more games like Death Stranding that are going to take chances and try out new ideas. Not everything that Death Stranding sets out to accomplish works, but it stands firm in its vision all the same and as such, is worthy of admiration.

Death Stranding might be the most unique AAA game of the generation, with an addictive core gameplay loop that manages to combine a new concept with tried-and-true design philosophies, and a story that - while messy - has a sweet emotional core that’s likely to stick with players long after the credits roll.

An incredibly unique title that takes chances we don't often see on a AAA scale, Death Stranding is gorgeous, sombre and intriguing, underpinned by a motif of human connection despite largely revolving around fetch quests and traversal

Almost perfect if not for the nitty-gritty. If it’s quite there but not enough to push the boundaries, it’s still an awesome game.

Death Stranding is not the overly-strange inaccessible walled garden the marketing has made it out to be. It’s weird, don’t get me wrong! But anyone with a surface-level understanding of surrealism in art should be able to acclimate to what is essentially a playable Hollywood production.

After a long and very confusing marketing campaign, Death Stranding is finally in the world’s hands. It marks the first game Hideo Kojima has helped to make under the ugly divorce from Konami and the founding of Kojima Productions. It boasts some big names, wild concepts and quite a big production for what’s technically an indie studio. Is it just an all for show ‘Hideo Kojima and his friends‘ project or does it actually have something special about it? I’ve spent near forty hours w...

Visually, Death Stranding is a sight to behold. The notable actors look remarkably realistic, but the environments take the cake in the visuals department. From snowy mountains to desolate dusty plains, the world of Death Stranding is breath-taking to look upon as you travel throughout every corner of it. I’ve also got to praise the cast’s performances, with Mads Mikkelsen standing out as the best. Every scene involving Cliff feels heart-breakingly genuine, which goes a long way in making his character sympathetic.

In Marvel’s Spider-Man, the high-profile PlayStation 4 exclusive that launched in the second half of last year, upgrading Spidey allowed him to leap effortlessly across entire skyscrapers in Midtown Manhattan.

Death Stranding's core gameplay mechanics will not appeal to everyone. What I found to be dull and monotonous at times, others will find relaxing and rewarding. It's rare for a game with such a big push, such a huge marketing presence, to be so niche in its design. However, if you have the patience to trudge through this long journey, you won't be disappointed.

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A work of unbridled ambition and imagination but also a pretentious, contrived, and frequently quite dull gameplay experience – Death Stranding is peak Hideo Kojima.

The general consensus is that Kojima crafted an intriguing world with heavy-handed commentary but its sometimes exhausting and tedious gameplay can be a stepping stone to its enjoyment. The majority of reviews are positive and even those with major critiques still gave the game a decent score. So if you’re hyped up about this game, then it’s likely that you won’t be buying a piece of trash when it comes out on November 8th.

Certain landmark games in recent years, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2, have managed to successfully tread the line between the rigidity of realism and the exhilaration of pure escapism. But much like its stumbling protagonist, Death Stranding just can’t consistently get the balance right despite possessing equally lofty ambitions and countless inventive ideas. There is a fascinating, fleshed-out world of supernatural science fiction to enjoy across its sprawling and spectacular map, so it’s a real shame that it’s all been saddled on a gameplay backbone that struggles to adequately support its weight over the full course of the journey. It’s fitting that Kojima Productions’ latest is so preoccupied with social media inspired praise, because in some ways I did ‘Like’ Death Stranding. I just didn’t ever love it.

It took me 3222 minutes to finish Death Stranding. I was charmed by most of them and baffled by some of them. In each of them, however, I was convinced that Kojima had designed an experience that went beyond the category of previously known entertainment.

It took me 3222 minutes to finish Death Stranding. That was fifty hours of enchantment with slight shades of consternation. But all the while, I felt that Hideo created something that defies all the traditional rules of electronic entertainment.

I promise Death Stranding makes sense eventually. It certainly has elements that are weird and out there, but underneath all the dead sea life and ghostly figures with an affinity for black tar, there is a strong and stable narrative that threads each and every moment in the game. The world’s been divided and fragmented by a horrific event known as the Death Stranding, something that effectively thinned the veil between our world and what lies just beyond. Sam “Porter” Bridges is someone with a unique ability to sense the BTs; the dangerous apparitions that fill the distances between fractured cities. He’s also a repatriate, which means he can reconnect his soul (ka) to his body (ha) while in the Seam, bringing him back from the brink of death. Oh, and there’s also the timefall to consider, rain that accelerates the passage of time for anything it touches.

Death Stranding is a cerebral experience that isn’t fun. It’s a 45-hour monotonous slog that backloads everything engaging into the final act. Mission after mission we are mistreated to same old delivery formula, with a couple of fetch quests thrown in for good measure. It just doesn’t respect your time; where a game such as Red Dead Redemption 2 is dense with content, Death Stranding is void of anything to do outside of going from point A to point B. I sound harsh, but this isn’t a bad game as there is something here after you dig through all the mediocrity. Granted, it’s not amazing by any stretch, and doesn’t live up to the Kojima name, but there are elements that are compelling enough for most players to see it through. The interconnected world brings everyone together to overcome adversity, and the sci-fi mumbo jumbo lore is fascinating and pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the creator of Metal Gear. While the setup falls short, the gunplay remains solid and the stealth horror component adds a layer of enjoyment we didn’t know we wanted -- even though it more so reminds us Silent Hills will never see the light of day. The music is arguably the best part of Death Stranding, and the visuals, while fluctuating in quality depending on the area, have some of the best-looking character models seen in any game. If Death Stranding wasn’t so padded out it could have been something special; instead, we're left with a repetitive letdown that’s far more enjoyable to watch than play.

Death Stranding is equal parts amazing and exasperating.

There is no elevator pitch for Death Stranding.

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“Death Stranding is a technical marvel with an excellent, though slow, story.”

Hideo Kojima has fully weaponized the walking simulator, writing a love letter to the delivery service workers of our shipping and handling world. Death Stranding is about ending isolation, and does it so gracefully that I can't imagine it being done better than it's done here.

Death Stranding is like nothing I have ever played; beautiful, heart racing, heart breaking, frustrating, epic, stunning, and utterly nuts. I laughed, I cried, I cursed, and I went to the toilet an awful lot. Death Stranding isn't just my Game of the Year, it's a contender for Game of the Generation too.

Death Stranding is an anomaly in the video game industry. With AAA studios firmly entrenched, we seldom get to see a brand new studio like Kojima Productions get a blockbuster budget, A-list celebrity casting, and the backing of Sony for their first title. Of course, Hideo Kojima isn’t just any developer. He’s been involved in developing some of the most-lauded games in history throughout his 34-year career and is one of the most recognizable personalities in our industry. Death Stranding marks not only the new studio’s first production but also Kojima’s first game post-Konami.

There’s been much ado about Death Stranding. You’ve seen all the trailers, the bits of information about the gameplay, the star-studded cast. There’s even that World Strand Tour going on, not forgetting the PC release. For most of you, the game is just another week off, before your tantalizing dip into this world crafted by Hideo Kojima. What awaits you in this BT-filled world, as you step into the shoes of Sam Porter Bridges? Read on for our Death Stranding review.