Death Stranding - In-Depth Analysis - (Critique/Review)

I was living a lie hung up on past regrets but somewhere along the way I started changing started meeting people that made me think that maybe it wasn't all bad people that put their faith in tomorrow and in me that kept the lights on waiting for hope to arrive so I gotta deliver for their sake you'll say you'll be stranded outside [Music] [Music] for seven years I've contended the last of us was the greatest story ever told through the medium of video games one look at this Channel's history and it becomes abundantly clear that have analyzed that franchise like a madman however one might also notice that I've made several lengthy death stranding videos around the same time I feel they may have been overshadowed a bit by the popularity of the Last of Us content if that is in fact the case and let it be known that I've been covering everything I could find on death stranding for quite some time theorizing and research ultimately made the anticipation burn far worse however it was finally extinguished by the game's official launch five months ago I understand major gaming outlets have already spoken their piece about deaths training at the same time I believe no one can truly do justice to analyzing this game in the amount of time they did to put it in perspective I played upwards of a hundred hours filled three manila folders of notes and drafted and redrafted this script at least a dozen times now with all my thoughts on the title finally sorted out I feel proud to present the following documentary analysis on Kojima's latest opus even if one is completed death stranding it's likely they missed a key thing or two along the way thus I feel it's only right to include a precursor for some of the games rather esoteric concepts death strandings lore is one that rolls the greatest achievements of Kojima's career into one grandiose culmination the key component of it all is an event known as the death stranding a cataclysmic explosion that rearranged the fabric of space and time leaving behind a dystopian world filled with the remnants of mankind well this world is depressing it also brings about a certain serenity to suggest the game is trying to hint that perhaps comfort can be found in the mellow nature of sadness from tranquil views of the lonely horizon to heartwarming moments with BB there's an undeniable and peculiar charm to be found in Death strandings reimagining of Earth these moments of peace are amplified by the numerous encounters with what are known as BTS the gooey black monsters that attack players along their journey essentially they are souls that are trapped in an area between earth and the afterlife known as the beach think of this as an airport terminal but instead of catching a plane it's for hitching a ride to the proverbial beyond the only way for a bt to escape the beach is to either repatriate to earth or die on the beach thus sending them to the next layer of eternity this is why players receive likes from BTS after killing them for it allows them to move on in the past souls flowed through the beach smoothly however its natural order was disrupted by an organisation named bridges who conducted experiments with the beach this led to everyone's personal little purgatory becoming entangled thus causing the deaths stranding as BTS poured over into earth so did Kyrie Liam clouds and time fall these are two key terms one should understand so I'll paraphrase their definitions given by interviews with Kojima as well as their respective case files which can be found in game Kairi liam is a form of antimatter excited by gamma radiation it causes minut distortions in the space-time continuum somehow loosening the seams that connect one to their Beach when excited current Liam mixes with time fall and descends to the ground below the entire region beneath the clouds become strongly connected to the beach this is why BTS appear in areas prone to time fall a form of precipitation that causes acceleration of anything it comes into direct contact with this takes the form of rained snow or even hail depending on the climate the time acceleration effect only happens the first time time fall hits an object however and it becomes normal safe water afterwards so while the world of death stranding does have its moments of serene beauty there are plenty of dangers as well the person to blame for all this is the fictional President of the United States bridgett strand who isn't a real person rather the earthbound copy of Emily who was left to inhabit the beach of eternity this phenomenon is explained by the fact that Emily is what's known as an extinction entity according to the game's official wiki an extinction entity abbreviated ee is a living being whose purpose is to bring about mass extinctions they do not age which is why she maintains the same form as a 20 year old despite being alive as long as bridgett now one important thing to note is that an ee is not necessarily evil in fact one could make a case that they are trying to help humanity for their goal is not to annihilate the planet entirely but to force humankind through hardships so it can evolve and survive longer there have been 5 extinctions over the course of history for example the Ice Age which wiped out nearly all of Earth's population but in the end led to the Agricultural Revolution similarly not everything caused by the death stranding is bad crypto bytes are massively nourishing food that stemmed from the beach thus hunger is never an issue for the characters in this game additionally people learned how to use Karelian to create what's known as the chiral network a postmodern form of connection that allows for instantaneous transfer of data both intangible and tangible this sounds great on paper however it actually allowed Amelie to bring about a second death stranding this was amélie's true plan all along and she used a man named Sam Porter bridges to carry it out initially it was assumed the Paris siblings born from brigitte strand however the truth is that sam was the first ever bridge baby or BB c in order to reach the beach bridges needed to use fetal infants as a go-between this is because they are theoretically the closest to the other side however Sam is not like your traditional BB for his father Clifford Unger attempted to free him from bridges when he learned of their evil intentions this led to him being gunned down along with his child in the crossfire feeling great sorrow Amelie decided to bring Sam to her Beach and resurrected him via its power this turn Sam into what's known as a deathless repatriate wit dooms meaning he can't die on earth and he has a heightened sense for BC activity Amelie raised Sam like a mother until she can no longer hide the it was at this point that she had to brainwash him into believing the pair were siblings born from Bridget strand after years believing the lie he learns the whole truth behind homilies identity during the games immaculate ending sequence which leads into our next segment being the narrative and which we'll discuss the ending and much much more when you're all grown up you'll need it to make us whole again and when the time comes you'll have to stop me you are the only one who can promise you'll remember Sam I'll be waiting for you on the hitch [Music] as much as I want to start by talking about all the amazing things that happen in the latter half of death strandings plot I know it's only right that I break down the narrative in full however this will not be a summary of everything that happened throughout the entire story of the game as I assume you completed the title already and having opened with a refresher course on the lore there's really no need for further explanation rather I feel it's time to diverge into the themes and ideas presented by the narrative that caused it to resonate so strongly with audiences death stranding suggests the bonds one forms with others is the key to life's existence this can be backed by nearly all of modern science for reproduction requires two beings on top of that the world is simply a dark and foreboding place without others take it from me for I used to think I could be content in total isolation after completing this game though I've come to realize the folly of this notion I once had the truth hit me right between the eyes when Sam willingly became stranded on the beach to prevent extinction he was a man who felt he had no connections no love no reason to stick around on earth a true misanthrope yet when actually faced with the reality of being alone for eternity he realized that life without contact is miserable which is why he begins to open up to those around him following his rescue I've got no ties to anyone or anything I might as well be dead I felt like that when we first met in the cave I still do don't act like you're the same person you've learned how to touch to feel you've connected with people with us everything I touch I lose and while he still holds some of his cynical past beliefs he is ultimately a changed man this message resonated strongly with me and hopefully with some of you as well additionally the segment contains a classic Hideo Kojima fourth wall break involving the credits the plot could technically end at this point and all loose ends would be tied up to make you think this the game leaves you with nothing to do for about 10 minutes pressing the button to call out to others will actually trigger Sam to say things like is that it or is this thing really done eventually they even give you the option to commit suicide to move on but the gun is empty and thus the torment of loneliness lives on one might compare this moment to that a Metal Gear Solid two's dead-end tunnel and which players are asked to turn off the game console and quit in both cases the answer is not to give up for the true ending is yet to come this stranding takes this to a bit more extreme level though for voices an anti suicide message on top of the fourth wall break mgs - may have been profound to tell players to stop however actively having to press the button to shoot yourself is in my opinion one of the most bold design choices in videogame history aside from the character arc of Sam the theme of connection is also heavily represented by the mission of the bridges organization they may have been unethical in their practice prior to the death stranding however their goal of reconstructing the world serves as a form of atonement for destroying it in the first place their method for achieving this is the link survivors of the apocalypse into what's known as the UCA or the united cities of america this leads players to encountering numerous individuals many of whom have read their touching back stories reuniting them with the world after struggling with its horrors brings out a certain bittersweet feeling of achievement the universe of death stranding is dark foreboding and at times downright depressing but so long as people are connected nothing can stop life and love from triumphing over death and despair the connections we form extend our legacy and define our existence on earth likewise the ones we sever bring us one step closer to the grave not in the literal sense but in the fact that life without anyone else is essentially death on earth [Music] another major part of death strandings narrative is its message about life and death Hebei Okajima is certainly no stranger to using his games as a forum for spreading his philosophy however I think many will agree death stranding covers the most abstruse topics he's ever explored what is the meaning of life what happens after we die these are questions whose answers have been sought after since the dawn of man this training isn't claiming to know but it does manage to provide an extremely entertaining explanation from a fictional perspective now I've already covered the game's depiction of the afterlife but what I haven't done yet is talk about how this ties in with its message about mortality and the endurance of the human spirits the world of death stranding is thought to be a lost cause most people believe and have come to terms with the fact that their death is most likely impending in the near distant future thus giving up on surviving and giving in to death this has made clear right away as one of Sam's first missions is to dispose of a suicide victim and more examples like this continue to pop up over time most notably through Higgs and his terrorist faction countered abridges their goal is to finish off mankind for they feel it's already doomed and it's better to just get it all over with sooner than later what I'm supposed to do keep the extinction entity safe and it was Slade his wife there's no stop in the sixth extinction no matter what you me or anybody else does humanity has a few hundred thousand years left I just cut to the chase accept our fate at the creatures before us even Sam himself has serious doubts about humanity's chance of survival his grim outlook on life greatly helps in establishing an undercurrent of struggle that runs prominent throughout the entire game deep down I can't blame him before I strongly feel I would face similar emotions under such a bleak circumstances I don't think humanity needs to be erased but there are moments when I feel it's already past its prime and I can't imagine how desperate I'd be in the shoes of sand yet even he is able to find a way to persevere this suggests that even when pushed to the absolute limit the human spirit can endure so long as it has the will to do so Sam's journey across the remnants of America is filled with pain and anguish the odds of his success were slim to begin with and several external factors along the way made his chance of survival even less probable despite all this he made it as a result he found a new lease on life he saw the beauty of humanity learned the truth of his origins and let go of his past and most of all he regained his will to live death strandings answer to the age-old mysteries of life and death is that what happens in the latter is uncertain so we must do our best to find solace in the former one can resent the world and believe it is doomed however this game argue is the power of love will always outweigh that of hate a theme that comes full circle when players are presented with the choice to shoot Amelie or allow her to annihilate life however neither of these options are the one needed to complete the game for the only way to stop her from bringing about the end mankind is to simply approach her and give her a hug you found the common thread to strand them today and you did that people ain't quite possible to live life one day at a time while taking a humanities course I learned quite a bit about ethics of the ancient world when looking at the plot structure of death stranding it becomes abundantly clear that the narrative follows what's known as the hero pattern this was commonly used in ancient Greek storytelling and shows up all over the place in popular culture and it come without a doubt be found here in deaths training the first step is for a hero to have an unusual birth Sam without a doubt meets this criteria for he was technically born on the beach that is if you don't count the time you spent as a fetus connected to the underworld from inside a capsule in a research facility I mean damn this is as unusual as it gets now the second step is being tested in childhood let's see throughout the game one can see numerous flashbacks to Sam's upbringing which took place mainly on the beach growing up in total isolation led to Sam's fear of human contact later in life and certainly demonstrates hardship during his formative years the third step is the heroic journey Sam's Trek across America is definitely comparable and linked to a postmodern version of the Iliad or the Odyssey there's simply no arguing that he didn't go through hell and back to form the chiral Network so this step can be checked off as well the fourth step is a final act of heroism following the bulk of their journey this is obviously represented through Sam's final encounter with Amelie on the beach during which he faces several of the affirmation ultimatums last but not least is the unhealable wound Sam may have survived the beach however he will always live with the painful knowledge of the truth about Amelie and his real mother and father just as with ancient Greek texts the idea that ignorance is bliss also pops up here for example the story of Oedipus is one in which a character learns of a dark prophecy he is doomed to fulfill showing that for thousands of years mankind has struggled with the question of can one know too much for their own good one can make the case that by living inside bridges well-constructed web of lies Sam never truly had free to live his own life another common theme touched on by ancient Greek literature but alas there's another saying the truth will set you free and on the whole I feel the death strandings suggests that mankind does have free will Sam may have been brainwashed over the years into being whatever Bridges wanted him to be but in the end the power of the human spirit wins out this is shown during what is in my opinion the most emotional moment in the game where Sam has a choice to either follow his orders to cremate BB or try to bring him back to life by disobeying bridges after living in the clutches of the very organization that murdered his mother and father Sam finally breaks their shackles and decides to keep BB against their orders to burn him in that state there'd be nothing to stop you from removing them if you did the UCA wouldn't know where you were or how to find you you'd be invisible the game does an outstanding job with creating cinematic suspense here the whole time I played through this delivery I got a surreal sense of sadness that only comes along once in a long long while throughout video games once I reach the incinerator I wanted to turn around but painfully I forced myself onwards I needed to know if Sam would go through with it and when the button to cremate BB appeared on screen my stomach lurched with fear after spending a hundred hours playing I realized that without even noticing I'd grown incredibly attached to BB this is clearly the intent and this final scene serves as the ultimate punch in the heart as one selects to confirm one last unthinkable order then after all the suspense Sam finally decides to refrain from finishing the job a final statement about choosing life choosing your own fate and starting over with a new attitude towards humanity a common kijima theme from Metal Gear Solid brought back into death stranding in the most beautiful way imaginable death stranding contains some of gaming's most well-written and acted out characters of all time I know I've already addressed Sam Amelie and Lou /bb however I'd like to highlight some of the more secondary characters you'll notice over the course of this segment that I've grouped them up into pairs this was done for when assembling my research I noticed the theme of connection is actually represented in how the characters each form a web amongst themselves to provide a clearer picture I put together an infographic absorb to help explain this visually as one can see the first pair is Clifford Unger and diehard men these two are linked together through the power of life and death itself for Unger saved Hardman's life countless times in Afghanistan prior to the death stranding then after all those years of serving under his beloved comrade he was forced to kill him as per bridges orders this action can be paralleled with Sam's choice to save Lou rather than obey his superiors suggesting that die Harlan was able to teach him a lesson about going with their morals over your orders even if it was unspoken personally I feel both pity and anger towards him pity because I think most will agree that deep down die Harmon is a good person trying to better humanity anger because he didn't stand up for bridges in the moment he could have an action foreshadowed by the stories of his cowardice during tours with hunger this character flaw may have got him through a combat zone in one piece but ultimately led to emotional pain that is far worse than that of war and even death he let the very man that saved his life die by his own hand because he was too scared to act and for that I hold mixed feelings about die hard men to this day you know why they call me die Hartman because he wouldn't let me die he brought my sorry ass back home every time thankfully Unger does get a relatively happy ending he may have died a tragic death but thanks to bridges connecting to the beach he was able to sort of get even from beyond the grave listen to how badass that sounds it's like a damn 80s action movie description all gags aside hunger is a notable example of death strandings excellent character development he exhibits many qualities akin to that of Metal Gear Solid threes the sorrow a character whom Kojima was praised for creating both are perceived as villains initially but their ultimate goal was to help players Unger tries to kill Sam initially because he thinks he's a member of bridges and doesn't realize it's actually his son once he does though he does everything he can to help Sam learn the truth and prevent bridges from hurting his family any further the story of Clifford Unger is one of a warrior a man who in life fought for good with everything he had not even the beach could break his will to find his son and save him from bridges the fact that both father and son took so long to realize the truth about each other is heartbreaking however by Sam ultimately learning what really happened I feel as though Unger was able to find peace in the afterlife an essential part of the game's overall narrative the story of Unger and I Hardman is one that stays in the minds of players long after finishing death stranding [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] the next pair of characters I'll be analyzing is mama and lakhna it wouldn't be right at me not to group these two up as they are identical twins that actually become one in the same by the end of the title this is a shining example of the games theme of connection however not the only one presented but the two sisters before her death and merging with Locke now mama had a baby tragically during birth it was killed by a void out I always painted under the rubble nothing to do with weight and weight felt like forever but Nolan came heartbroken mama decided to raise it as a bt connected to her via umbilical cord this is unnatural though thus mama is eventually forced to sever the tie with her Bibi she uses Sam to do this leading to one of the game's most unsettling moments in which you were forced to actively separate the pair via a button push do it [Music] [Music] as sad as it is this heartbreaking moment is wiped away when players get the joy of reuniting mama with her sister however this brief moment of happiness only serves to make the impending death of mama even more tragic the story of the pair is a truly depressing one that makes you think deeply about human connection I couldn't save our child but you can save our world only you I'll help you hear me you know we now make the world whole okay just like you make me [Music] next I'd like to discuss dead man and Hartman i grouped these two up because they are both essential members of bridges and lead eerie and bizarre lives the first of the duel players meet is dead man so we'll start with him initially it's assumed that he's a normal human then around two-thirds of the way through the game it's revealed that dead man's codename is more literal than expected I told you before about my buddy seventy percent harvested from cadavers do you want to know the real reason why because the story you've heard is one I made up the truth is I'm Frankenstein's monster artificial grown from pluripotent stem cells and when that vital spark didn't manifest ignore my organs they replaced the defective ones with those of the dead I never had a birthday I'm a soulless meat puppet no car a date then the concept of this is quite disturbing and it fits right in with the games motif of death despite how creepy he is though dead man is an all-around good person he tried so hard to be considered human by the world so much so that he went to great lengths to hide his true identity personally I don't think he's a Frankenstein monster at all spooky yes but certainly not evil come to think of it he's actually a better person than many of the characters in this game it's hard to call man inhuman when he does all he can to save humanity he displays complex emotions to something only humans can do so one might even argue that he's more humanistic than most of the humans in this game additionally the acting performance by famed Hollywood director Guillermo del Toro immensely helped in aiding his character development I knew he was an extremely talented man in but I never knew he was such a great actor and all-around dead man is one of the game's best secondary characters that further amplifies its themes and in case you've been waiting no I didn't forget to pay tribute to the awkward humor he brings to the table as well no audio records of what we say no video for the reading analysis get closer the next character Sam meets is another mutant of sorts named Hartman he may not be made of cadavers but like dead man his body functions on a level that is anything but normal see Hartman fittingly received his code name since he intentionally induces cardiac arrest every 20 minutes this defibrillation is followed by a second which brings him back to life three minutes later he lives in this vicious cycle for he's never moved on from the moment he lost his family to avoid out while he was in heart surgery since he was clinging the life in the hospital when they died he saw them on the beach momentarily the operation was a success though thus Hartman was stripped away from his family and returned to his earthly form the sorrow and anguish this caused him led to his obsession with the beach for he still believes he can locate his family somewhere on the other side and that was the last time I saw my family it's my damned heart's fault that we were torn apart but it's also the reason I'll see them again someday it defines me I am Hartman the most shocking thing about Hartman's story isn't so much the content rather the dramatic way in which it is presented for the first 50 hours or so it's implied that he's just a normal scientist working for bridges then after a series of creepy events with dead man players make their way through a dark and stormy blizzard to meet up with Hartman the secluded location and strange decor of his lab provide the perfect backdrop for letting players know that something a bit off is about to happen the suspense then comes to a head when Sam makes contact with Hartman who is mid defibrillation when he walks in this leads the players thinking they've just watched Hartman die when in reality this is just routine for him after Sam's panic and everything is explained the innervate mood is still sustained by a countdown to his next heart attack that appears in the corner of the screen since Hartman is the most knowledgeable person in the entire world regarding the beach you don't want to miss out on what he has to say which leads to thinking things like hurry it up dude you're about to die again thus the entire scene becomes a mind bender and I've actually had to rewatch it several times now after thoroughly going through it I can confidently stand by my opinion that Hartman is another example of outstanding creativity and character development well he may not play the most vital role in the overall narrative he does further amplify its message about the human spirit no matter how many times he has to die and come back Hartman will never stop searching for his loved ones his will spans the fabric of Earth in the afterlife and I genuinely hope he is reunited with his family sometime in the future I know the game never shows whether or not this happens I like to think that Hartman found peace but I guess it's up to you and I to decide for ourselves what we think happened to him what we do know is that it's a truly bizarre and ambiguous character that fits right into the mold of the surrealistic world of death stranding and it wouldn't quite be the same without him the final pair of secondary characters I'll be analyzing is fragile and Higgs these two are a bit of an odd duck for they're connected through mutual hate at the same time they're undeniably similar in many ways for some time Higgs acts he worked for the fragile Express however after years of living in post-apocalyptic America he began to believe Humanity was doomed this is when he formed a group of terrorists with the same ideals and outlook on life as him they only grew more powerful over time and eventually he would come back to attack fragile in incredibly brutal fashion the scene is rather disturbing and that's exactly how it should be for Kojima wants us to see Higgs as a villain he had truth is I don't much care for my face that's why I hide who you just love yours I bet daddy was real proud on the other hand it's most likely that he wants us to sympathize with fragile and her awful fate is both a moment of sadness as well as one of anger towards Higgs thus accomplishing his goal with the two characters despite what she'd been through fragile continued to run the delivery company with the idea that humanity could still be saved it was her father's dying wish that she finished what he started her obligation to fulfill it shows how great her empathy is on a deeper level it can also be viewed as a message about legacy deaths training may argue that life after death is where the most important things happen however what we leave behind on earth is the point of our earthbound existence thus legacy is a truly important thing that everyone should try to make the best of Higgs is a man who to my knowledge was completely alone in the world he didn't have anything or anyone to live for a prior to the death stranding and following it he really began to hate humanity what's interesting is Sam actually fits the same description he'll Higgs even worked under Amelie to do her bidding in her plan to end the world the only difference between them is that Sam's innermost senses told him to do his best at fixing humanity Higgs did the exact opposite creating a classic black and white hero villain scenario the final confrontation involving the character triangle is one of the most badass in gaming I've seen recently the feeling of defeating him after yearning for the chance is so relieving and the fact that fragile is able to get her vengeance makes it feel even better no matter how much one tries to solve things with peace some people can't be reasoned with and I think we can all agree that Higgs is one of them and he got what he deserved that stranding is certainly one of the most unique gameplay experiences I've seen in recent years it belongs to Kojima's own self titled strands onra a hybrid of open-world adventure action and problem solving I've seen countless reviewers Bosch death stranding for being slow paced and a walking simulator first of all why is it derogatory to call something a walking simulator I for one thought the hiking segments of this game were actually quite fun plus look at nearly every other open-world game those have walking too but nobody complains plus there are numerous other mechanics and deaths stranding these reviewers seem to have not noticed had they actually put in the time to complete the game in its entirety maybe they would have it may start slow but things pick up after the first three episodes I don't understand why people complain about this for the title needed exposition in order to explain its massive lore if they would have just turned over the reins to players out the gate nothing would have made sense so as unpopular of an opinion as this may be I personally think death strandings pacing was outstanding the archetypal plot of any drama revolves around the general graph shown on screen as you can see things are meant to build up thus making the peak more gratifying for some unthinkable reason a bunch of reviewers had a problem with this saying things like well it takes 20 hours to start being fun this urged me so much for they seemed to be confused by the fact that 20 hours in a hundred hour game is a flash in the pan I feel this speaks to the attention span of modern society which seems to be getting worse and worse every year blame it on technology or whatever you want but there's no denying the rapid decline in people's ability to focus on pretty much anything personally I think this can be tied to smartphones which is why I commend this game for often forcing players to keep two hands on their controller so as not to lose balance I can't prove it but I'm fairly certain this was done to keep players fully invested and away from distractions plus why would anyone want to away from the world of death stranding it's breathtaking from both a graphical and creative perspective and who needs normal social media when you've got death stranding zone little networking system one of the coolest things about this game in my opinion is how the whole world is able to work together in a sense see every time someone adds or subtracts something from the map it affects the way the game's world is for everyone else roadways bridges zip lines and more can be constructed as a communal effort everyone has the option to donate materials towards building and as time has gone by since the game's release more and more things have been added players can also return lost cargo to other Bridges centers and will actually be sent to the original owner if someone does this for you or if one of their structures helps you out the game lets you send them alike creating a sense of connection amongst the player base that mirrors that of bridges and the game's overall themes regarding connection khadeem has been praised for several fourth wall breaks in his past games but in my opinion this is the most elaborate way he's done it yet it's not all sunshine and rainbows though as there are plenty of dangers that lurk beneath the surface level beauty of the games world for starters getting from point A to point B is often more challenging than it looks I couldn't tell you how many times I've struggled to cross certain sections of the map especially early on when the only means of travel is on foot of course trucks bikes zip lines and more become available over time however the difficulty level also increases as sam's technology is improved the same can be said regarding the combat at death stranding initially players are unarmed and forced to face BTS and mules with nothing but stealth to protect them by the end of the game though Sam's arsenal includes pistols shotguns assault rifles grenades grenade launchers rocket launchers and body armor what's especially cool is that most of these items have non lethal and bTW firing modes that one can toggle between easily and gay but just like with travursel better gear only comes when stronger enemies are in play which is why the combat in the early stages of the game looks something like this and the combat in the latter stages is more like this as far as the mechanics go this game for the most part runs like a charm I will admit the gunplay is a bit clunky and climbing in some areas is glitchy but given the massive scale of the game's world I'd say they did a pretty good job keeping things smooth standard encounters with enemies are entertaining for the most part though some are a bit dull however this is easily made up for but the game's outstanding boss fights now there's only two bosses in this game but players fight each of them three times the first encountered is of course Clifford hunger the first fight with him takes place in a Normandy s World War 2 Beach and revolves around locating them via the BT sensor I find this to be a neat touch for players spend most of the game trying to avoid BT activity but here the game expects you to move towards it the trenches in which the fight takes place serve as the perfect backdrop providing just the right amount of cover as well as a bit of verticality additionally the skeleton soldiers alongside hunger add another dimension to the fight if you're smart you can set yourself up to focus fire on hunger but if you fail to do so you have to take on all five enemies which is far more challenging the result is a boss battle that is well balanced between stealth tracking and combat and the next two against Unger are even better so let's move on to discussing the next one rather than in the trenches we've moved to the city this makes things a bit trickier for there's far more space for hunger to hide and his unit can actually sneak up on you if you're not careful at the same time one can use the remnants of the city to their advantage to do just the same so once again there's a nice mixture of tactical options the third and final encounter of Unger is where it's at though this time things are set in a Vietnam esque jungle stealth is the key to victory here even more so than the previous two fights in fact one can get through this entire battle without having to engage in heavy fire if they're sneaky enough the whole thing gave me flashbacks to Metal Gear Solid threes boss fight with the end which players track him through a jungle and can stealth the entire thing similarly the hIG's fights are reminiscent to those with liquid in mgs1 and mgs2 Sencha lee two forms of him that players fight during the journey the first is his Beatty form which is similar to fighting a metal gear the idea is to hit him with as much heavy firepower while dodging his attacks the second style of hIG's fight bears an even more striking resemblance to Metal Gear Solid as you can see the brawl between salmon Higgs here looks almost exactly like that of snake and liquid Ocelot at the end of mgs4 they even made the hug design mimic that of the title and clearly intended to drop a great big bomb of Kojima fanservice via this boss battle no beatings no void outs no [ __ ] just a good old fashioned boss fight stick versus room done versus strength one more best [Music] as a massive Metal Gear fan myself I had no problems with this and it actually tapped into my nostalgia quite a bit plus the set up for this battle on the beach makes for some rather entertaining cat-and-mouse game play that clearly took some planning to get right now beyond what I've covered there really aren't any other boss battles though one could argue that some of the BT encounters for this category I personally feel that there's just too many of them to be granting the title of a true boss fight nonetheless deaths training did an exceptional job of implementing several tense and enjoyable showdowns the gameplay as a whole kept me entertained for over a hundred hours and I still plan to revisit the title for fun despite the massive amount of time I've already logged on it I'm sure some will disagree but to me deaths training was a blast to play and an all-around excellent experience from a gameplay perspective it's certainly not for everyone but if you're someone who enjoys adventure games and has enough patience to not be glued to your smartphone constantly that I think you'll enjoy the game just as much as I did if you've made this far you now understand the journey I've had playing and researching death stranding over the past month at the beginning of this video I mentioned how I used to believe the Last of Us was the greatest story ever told through the medium of video games well I still contend that that is the best game ever made I do feel death straining ties it from a narrative perspective this was far and away my favorite game of 2019 and certainly the most impactful one I played in several years I'm still decompressing from the thoughts storm that now exists in my mind surrounding the title but at the moment I feel it's safe to say that death stranding has made my top 10 maybe even top 5 games full time because in reality it's more than a game it's a pioneer of a brand new gameplay genre a story containing as many philosophical ideas as an ancient Greek epic a cast of characters akin to that of a Hollywood blockbuster and above all a message about the meaning of life that reflects the beliefs and ideals of its genius creator Hideo Kojima you

Channel: CrashGaming

Views: 5,177

Rating: 4.8947368 out of 5

Keywords: death stranding, death stranding documentary, death stranding analysis, death stranding docu-analysis, death stranding in depth review, death stranding in depth, death stranding in depth analysis, death stranding review, death stranding critique, death stranding in depth critque, death stranding explained, death stranding lore, death stranding story, death stranding gameplay, death stranding characters, death stranding bosses, hideo kojima, norman reedus

Id: FHVW9v_IBsU

Length: 44min 41sec (2681 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 14 2020