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Trailers have been baffling and cryptic.
Kojima has never been one for simplicity.
Americans have retreated to the cities, which have isolated themselves from each other.
As Sam Porter Bridges, players are tasked with hiking from outpost to outpost, delivering cargo.
Bringing the UCAs chiral internet back online connecting the once isolated regions is the main narrative thrust ofDeath Stranding.
Like Kojimas other games, it is heavy on minutiae.
Pulling the left and right triggers on the controller causes Sam to redirect his center of gravity.
Hike too long without resting and stamina decreases.
Spend too long in timefall and your equipment visibly rusts and degrades.
it’s possible for you to pee wherever you want and a mushroom grows in that spot.
Where once cities were stranded, now strands connect each city together.
You see, they link him, but they also cuff him.
There was little to do in-between these camps and the open-world setting felt incomplete.
InDeath Stranding, that lifeless terrain is central to the game.
There are almost no signs of life and barely any ruins of the old America.
Its all natural landscapes dotted with the occasional tiny hut.
Yet theres also so much world that you cant immediately see.
You wont see anyone else in the game, but youll find signs of life everywhere.
The metaphors are not subtle, but subtlety has never been Kojimas strong suit.
Supporting characters have names like Deadman, Heartman, and Die-Hardman.
Shortly after the credits rolled, I sat around for another 45 minutes of non-interactive cinematic cut scenes.
In what universe would anyone even fund such a lavish production?
Like some of the characters inDeath Stranding, the man exists on another plane of consciousness.
In many ways, its crazy thatDeath Strandingexists at all.
