Death Stranding: Director's Cut

Expanded and updated version of Death Stranding. Even more storylines, new tasks and expanded locations have been added to the game. As you progress, you will also be able to use additional weapons and vehicles, fight new types of enemies and explore new places, including the “Shooting Range” and the race track area, where additional tasks and mini-games await you.

The plot is presented with 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 — in cities, there are only piles of rubble and trash, and around are 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 places, no side quests or NPCs.

Formally, the locations are small, but they entirely consist of rugged terrain of varying difficulty, making the game world simply huge. There are no direct routes or sprints; you need to find paths for climbing and descending, detours and fords, descend by rope or climb by 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 character's direction, speed, and balance. 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 smooth or bumpy, what lies on it, grass and snow, whether the hero is climbing 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 carried weight. Carrying more is advantageous, but a character with a tower of cargo on his back slows down and has more difficulty 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 a large part of the 100-hour playthrough. The process becomes more diverse due to threats. The first is the crazed couriers, MULEs, who will try to take the main character's cargo if they spot him. You can run away, knock them out in a fistfight, or stun them with a shocker.

The second danger is the chiral creatures, capable of detecting the player and dragging him into their dimension — then the player ends up in the otherworld, from which he has to escape. You can 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 the game progresses, more content becomes available — delivery robots, levitating platforms, motorcycles, and even vehicles. There is also the possibility to build structures in the open world.

The main development is provided by advancing through the story and connecting cities to the Network — for this, you are rewarded with resources, gameplay features and equipment, like a leg exoskeleton.

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

In reward, likes that encourage the character — increase stamina, the amount of carried cargo, and improve 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.