Death Stranding Review: An unprecedented leap into the future of video games

Story & Characters:-

The entire main cast of Death Stranding

Death Stranding is, at its core, a story about fatherhood, hope and human connections. But, there's a lot more going on in here than just that.

The 10-15 minutes long cinematic sequences have been placed incredibly well throughout the game, and it helps by unraveling the mystery of the game's world one piece at a time. Every time an episode ends, the players are left with more information than they could swallow at first glance.

And like I said, the fact that Death Stranding never forgets that its a game - not a movie - that helps it elevate its narrative even more, which is evenly scattered not just in the cut scenes, but in game's side content (emails, books, etc) which is solely left for players to discover.

I'm Fragile but I'm not that fragile.

I spent countless hours reading the emails I got from the people I connected via the chiral networks, reading different interviews regarding the origin of BB's, what caused Death Stranding in the first place and the back story of the characters I met throughout the game.

Even some of the side characters that you meet via the hologram have a story to tell, which one may not find in the traditional cut scenes, but rather in the emails they send you after every delivery - telling one about their conditions and experiences as they move along with their lives.

This is also a major driving force behind making "standard" deliveries in the game (side missions), because as the game play rewards players with new tools every now and then, it also rewards players with new information about the game's world and its characters.

Give me back my BB

Speaking of characters, Death Stranding's narrative is solely focused on few of the major characters in the game, each of which have an episode or more dedicated to them. It gives each enough spotlight to shine.

The voice acting and the performances have been done phenomenally well which is not surprising given the star studded cast - with the likes of Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro - the game boasts.

What isn't good here is the abundant use of repetitive dialogue, especially in the early hours, that can really break immersion from this otherwise fantastic storytelling throughout.

Even in the first few hours, you'll probably hear Lindsay Wagner's character Amelie speak to you a dozen times that you need to go west and connect the world, etc, so much that it can be nauseating. This is one of the reasons I could never get emotionally attached to her character, which does spoil some of the key moments regarding her later in the game.

Also there are segments where the game's narrative doesn't take itself seriously at all. There are few cut scenes which features such cringe, cliched dialogues that will make you wonder whether its the same person who crafted this otherwise beautiful and multi-layered universe.

She's my BB and I'm her Mama.

But in the end, Death Stranding's storytelling shines, especially in the second half of the game when it actually starts taking itself seriously. Mads Mikkelsen character Cliff is phenomenally written and his performance definitely surpasses Hollywood levels at times. It also made me a huge Mads fan, and I can't wait to watch more of his work.

Norman Reedus' character Sam, on the other hand, is a bit strange. He's not more of a character of his own but you as the player meeting other characters throughout the story, hence the reason why his character has so much less dialogue in the entire game.

Overall, Death Stranding's story is sometimes emotional, sometimes twisted, sometimes hard to follow - but something everyone will grow to love and understand eventually. The world Hideo Kojima and his team have crafted is refreshing and has something to tell which shouldn't be missed out by anyone.

Just taking in the view

Death Stranding is a 50+ hours journey of traversing beautiful landscapes all alone with only one's BB - you'll find out what that means - as their company, with some fantastic key moments in between where the camera pulls back and another one of those melancholic yet powerful songs from the American Icelandic band Low Roar starts to play. A song which hits you so hard, you can actually feel your heart pounding in your chest.

Add to that a world connected by other players' silhouette to whom you can offer help and get help in return, and a metaphorical mystery which unravel itself slowly with a jaw dropping twist at the end.One which will make you grab the biggest box of tissues by the time credits roll.

Death Stranding is a huge leap forward in the video game industry and generates a feeling that no other artistic medium is capable of providing currently.

Our Score- 9.6/10

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