Death Stranding

Death Stranding is a game by Hideo Kojima, a realistic walking and logistics simulator, with elements of action, survival and stealth, and a third-person view. The player travels through a post-apocalypse world, finding survivors, rebuilding a fragmented society, and creating a unified network between cities.

The plot is presented through numerous well-directed scenes in the format of a chamber thriller. All screensavers are made with the participation of famous Hollywood actors and recorded using advanced motion capture technology. The philosophy of the game is to understand the true value of establishing relationships between people.

In the near future, a catastrophic event occurred - the “Exit of Death”, due to which our dimension of living people became linked with the dimension of dead people and demons.

A grandiose apocalypse has occurred, the United States has ceased to exist, people are separated and scattered throughout its territory, what is happening in other parts of the planet is unknown. The few survivors took refuge in cities deep underground.

chiral creatures - the restless souls of people, as well as various demons (perform the function of bosses) - have broken into our world. When a chiral being consumes a person, living or dead, a vortex is created, drawing all matter into another dimension, leaving a huge crater in our world.

A huge danger is posed by chiral rain, whose drops, like a time machine, accelerate the flow of biological life - a person caught in such rain will quickly grow old. It also causes corrosion of metals and degradation of plastic, over time corroding everything it comes in contact with.

The story of Death Stranding is presented atypically. First, the player is dynamically immersed in the essence of events in the first two chapters, after which, before the entire map is revealed, the script slowly introduces new characters and tells their backstory.

The strengths of the plot include missions when the player goes to the fields of the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Vietnam War - but it’s better to look at them on your own.

And only after the middle the plot unfolds to its fullest: the picture of what happened begins to be filled with new details, the characters acquire story arcs, intrigues are revealed, several sharp plot twists occur, the number of dialogues and cut scenes increases, as well as their length.

The main character Sam Bridges (Norman Reedus) successfully masters the field of a courier, and his sensitivity to the dimension of the dead and the ability to return to our world after death help him get out of the most hopeless situations.

Therefore, the US President instructs Sam to carry cargo between the survivors, win their trust and join the Chiral Network, “the spiritual successor of the Internet.” The network will connect all cities and towns in the United States, allowing the transfer of data, exchange of experience and solve the problem of interconnectedness of the worlds.

There are a lot of characters, it’s interesting to talk to them, and the star cast and cool direction keep the player’s attention until the very end. At the same time, the game is linear and actions will not affect the ending - Death Stranding is not an RPG.

Chiral rains have literally erased human civilization — only piles of rubble and trash remain in the cities, surrounded by barren stones, mountains, rivers, and snowy peaks. In this regard, Death Stranding has a dead game world — no life simulation, static placement of dangerous and safe areas, no side quests or NPCs.

Formally, the locations are small, but they are entirely composed of rugged terrain of varying degrees of difficulty, making the game world simply huge. There are no direct routes and sprints, you need to find paths for climbing and descending, detours and fords, descend with a rope or climb a ladder.

The surface itself in Death Stranding is a playground, and the main gameplay mechanic is walking and controlling it. While Sam moves from point to point, the player constantly controls the direction, speed, and balance of the character. You can trip over a stone, lose balance from a push, and fall, breaking the cargo and failing the mission.

An excellent physics engine changes the character's position, taking into account the slope of the surface, whether it is flat or bumpy, what lies on it, grass and snow, whether the hero is ascending or descending, as well as the speed and depth of the water. A strong current will simply sweep Sam away, and the cargo will drown or be lost.

At the same time, the player needs to maintain a balance between mobility and the weight being carried. Carrying more is more profitable, but a character with a tower of cargo on his back slows down and has a harder time maintaining balance. He also needs to sleep, eat, go to the toilet, wash, and take care of his shoes.

Moving boxes from point "A" to point "B" makes up most of the 100-hour playthrough. The process becomes more varied due to threats. The first threat is the crazed couriers, MULEs, who will try to take the main character's cargo if they find him. You can run away, knock them out in a fistfight, or stun them with a shocker.

The second danger is chiral creatures, capable of sensing the player and dragging him into their dimension — then the player ends up in the otherworldly realm, from which he will have to escape. You either hide from the creatures or fight them with special weapons (grenades or firearms).

For delivering cargo and completing story missions, Sam receives likes, which accumulate into levels and points. The latter are spent on minor character upgrades. As you progress, more content is unlocked — delivery robots, levitating platforms, motorcycles, and even vehicles. You gain the ability to build structures in the open world.

The main development is provided by progressing through the story and connecting cities to the Network — for this, you are rewarded with resources, gameplay opportunities , and equipment, such as an exoskeleton for the legs.

Connecting this area to the network activates asynchronous multiplayer, in which players help each other while each remains in their own world. Gameplay opportunities expand, for example, if you lose cargo, another courier can deliver it. And you can build a pass through a mountain pass that other players will use in their world.

In reward, you receive likes that encourage the character — increasing stamina, the amount of cargo carried, and improving movement-related stats.

В такой асинхронной игре гораздо проще возводить постройки — мосты, дороги, станции зарядки авто, пункты отдыха и в целом улучшать игровой мир. Чем всего этого больше, тем проще проходить игру — можно попасть в мир, где проложены широкие дороги, разбросаны автомобили и станции зарядки. Под действием хиральных дождей это тоже разрушается, но не очень быстро.