Death Stranding

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2355 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,752 out of 2355
  2. Mixed: 225 out of 2355
  3. Negative: 378 out of 2355

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  1. Fyre
    Nov 26, 2020
    5
    While the story is good with its interesting lore, the gameplay just does not hold up. Way too boring, slow, and I don't enjoy walking as gameplay.
  2. Yannig
    Nov 27, 2022
    6
    + Great attention to detail.
    + Somewhat interesting story.
    + Good graphics. - Just not fun to play. - The same cut scenes and summary screens again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again ... - The end is so tedious. It took about three hours (and two ending credits) before all the ending cut scenes had    + Great attention to detail.
    + Somewhat interesting story.
    + Good graphics.

    - Just not fun to play.
    - The same cut scenes and summary screens again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again ...
    - The end is so tedious. It took about three hours (and two ending credits) before all the ending cut scenes had finished. I kept on wishing the game would just end already.

    I feel somewhat like a free man now the game is finished. However, there's work to be done, the game doesn't really finish. Orders available.

    Please release me already! Aaaaaagggghhhhh!!!    … Expand
  3. Ariek
    Nov 25, 2020
    5
    While its graphics were outstanding and the details were well implemented, the story is lakin more moments of impact. The game have big segments in where the player is basically wandering around aimlessly, which turn it dry and sometimes boring.
  4. flp456
    Mar 14, 2021
    6
    Visualy gorgeous but endless boring and repetitive cutscenes ruin the gameplay experience
  5. Windaller
    Jul 27, 2020
    6
    This game is a very mixed feeling. Yes, it is gorgeous, and the world multiplayer is something very new and carries a lot of nice social massage. But it is annoying to play for me. It is very slow-paced and a bit tricky to follow. My recommendation if you don't have a free 100 hours to spend just relaxing and walking in quite an empty open world, save your time, and watch an excellentThis game is a very mixed feeling. Yes, it is gorgeous, and the world multiplayer is something very new and carries a lot of nice social massage. But it is annoying to play for me. It is very slow-paced and a bit tricky to follow. My recommendation if you don't have a free 100 hours to spend just relaxing and walking in quite an empty open world, save your time, and watch an excellent compilation of story cinematics on YouTube. The story worth it, but I can see why Hideo should go to film now. And yes - Кодзима Гений!… Expand
  6. SlaughteRedLamb
    Jul 19, 2020
    7
    Amazing graphics and scenery but the story can be tired and monotonous at times.
  7. x_moyo_x
    Jul 16, 2020
    5
    It is good to see a game with so many refreshing mechanics and experiences. Let take a look to the game:

    Graphics: What can I say, they are amazing, the 3D engine provided by Guerrilla is one of the most advanced one, performing excellently moving big maps. The details are impressive and the face expressions are close to real life. The technology behind is one of its strongest points.    It is good to see a game with so many refreshing mechanics and experiences. Let take a look to the game:

    Graphics: What can I say, they are amazing, the 3D engine provided by Guerrilla is one of the most advanced one, performing excellently moving big maps. The details are impressive and the face expressions are close to real life. The technology behind is one of its strongest points.

    Sound: The environment effects are created nicely and they sound like they must, nothing revolutionary but doing a good job. The voices of characters are nicely recorded and match with the face expressions. The music does ok with good and chill themes around that appear under pressure. Nothing to complain.

    Game play: Well, I liked it a lot, but I can understand that this is not a game for everyone. Do not be fooled, this is a walking simulator and it has all the good and the bad of these types of games. You will expend hours trying to reach a point with no interaction with any living form apart form the protagonist. It is a game that you will enjoy if you like to child out and enjoy the journey with some punctual combat moments. The combat, on the other hand, feels simple and out of options.

    Story: Remember this is a Kojima game, so you shall expect a lot of confusion during the game, with a lot of second meanings and unconcluded elements. After finishing the game, you would probably try to find an explanation of the ending in Internet. For me the story could be better as it is a complex and slow-paced apocalyptic tale told by NPCs through large cinematics. Am I the only one that miss simpler stories as MGS the twin Snakes or MGS 3 Snake eater?

    Online: The online system is something similar to Dark Soul; you cannot summon other players but players support each other building elements that other players can use to make the journey easier.

    Performance: The game run smoothly in pcs that are 4 years old. The engine is really optimized and it look amazing, but this game has a DRM that slows the game close to 20%: Denuvo. This evil DRM affect deeply the performance of the game and I am not really up to install this kind of programs that fill your computer with trash and undeleted element in the pc.

    Good things:
    - Technology behind the game is awesome
    - Refreshing game play
    - First line actors
    - Original online system
    - Music is ok

    Bad things
    - DENUVO for god shake
    - Not a game for everyone
    - Combat system can be better
    - The story can be confusing, again not for everyone

    I would give this game an 8.5 points, but the Denuvo DRM is an evil that must be destroyed in the pc industry. Sadly, I must give this game less points. Unfortunately, I bought the game before I knew this game has Denuvo.    … Expand
  8. jonatasmv
    Jan 18, 2021
    6
    Technically, a masterpiece.
    Great actors and characters.
    Amazing plot...very original;
    But, sadly, with a boring "gameplay"!!
    For me, it seems that the delivery missions are a "toll" that we have to pass to learn more about the story
  9. panthera1
    Jul 16, 2020
    6
    sooo boooring. not engaging story, long walking without any significant purpose, so long clips that you cannot stop or skip. not worth the time nor money.
  10. Mixey1991
    Jul 20, 2020
    5
    5 maximum for it. ppl who score it 10, u really think that this game is perfect?really?omg, whats wrong this u?
  11. Justareviewer21
    Jul 19, 2020
    6
    It’s a very.... specific game, it’s really slow and beautiful, but, for me, it wasn’t worthy, it’s not my gane
  12. ArianHedayat
    Jul 19, 2020
    5
    این بازی یک بازی بسیار متوسط که بدون هیچ نقطه aخوب باعث میشه که یک افتضاح و بدترین بازی تریپل سونی در این نسل به شمار میره
  13. TenchuuKhan
    Jul 27, 2020
    6
    How do you rate a game that has rather terrible gameplay in terms of the only challenge being that it's rather annoying to deliver packages? Literally, the only challenge is the endless sea of stones scattered throughout the map.

    However, the story or rather the mythology is well developed. The delivery though, the ending that explains everything literally takes 3 hours consisting of    How do you rate a game that has rather terrible gameplay in terms of the only challenge being that it's rather annoying to deliver packages? Literally, the only challenge is the endless sea of stones scattered throughout the map.

    However, the story or rather the mythology is well developed. The delivery though, the ending that explains everything literally takes 3 hours consisting of 2.5 hours of cutscenes.
    You literally just finished the game and it just won't stop ending...
    At least all questions are answered, no loose endings ala "ah you gotta have to interpret that yourself".

    The concept of the game isn't so bad - deliver packages, reconnect the people.
    The people just aren't interesting, so there's no point in doing side quests to get to know them better or anything.

    So my advise here really is: just do the main objectives, you'll do more deliveries than you wanted to anyway.
    And once you get a vehicle you'll hate the stones even more... the vehicle physics are so bad, you'd think this is some indie dev game. It's laughable.
    Do yourself a favor and, even though it's really hard, don't go near stones in the water - you'll get your vehicle stuck. Definitely.
    And the battery life on vehicles is... just astoundingly bad.

    The physics when carrying packages though makes absolute sense. How you gotta counter the weight by leaning left/right or stopping from falling is perfect.
    Climbing looks like ass though and is unpredictable.

    If they made driving in the least interesting, sort of like Mud Runner, it could have been a good game.
    This however, is a rich story packaged in a bad game.

    Combat is... absolutely laughable. No challenge here, bossfights are boring as fk.
    The only time it's challenging is when you gotta deliver a package for your last mission and you get a bossfight... and you fall over with the package and it gets broken - which it will... 2 hits/falling and it's a goner.

    I really just can't comprehend how you can put so much work into a game and ruin it with horrible gameplay where the core of it just isn't in any way satisfying. It's such a shame.

    Bottom line - can't recommend it.    … Expand
  14. CraigSouthern
    Jul 15, 2020
    5
    I enjoyed the fact hideo tried an entry of something completely different. Music was fantastic, visuals excellent but unfortunately the actual gameplay fell flat for me. Many peoe will enjoy the traversal, but me personally found it boring and to repetitive to invest more of my time. I rated it 5/10 as a you'll either love it or hate. I played a good 20 hours and payed £50 for it but amI enjoyed the fact hideo tried an entry of something completely different. Music was fantastic, visuals excellent but unfortunately the actual gameplay fell flat for me. Many peoe will enjoy the traversal, but me personally found it boring and to repetitive to invest more of my time. I rated it 5/10 as a you'll either love it or hate. I played a good 20 hours and payed £50 for it but am reluctant to return to it. I knew it was a gamble I have read the story is amazing but getti g to that point I ran out of steam. Weirdest thing is I would recommend it because it's so different and unusual you have to try it just in case it is your masterpiece... That's how good/bad it is.... There's no denying it's unique it's just boring to a gamer whose been spoilt this generation on playstation. Maybe next time kojima… Expand
  15. IMBADA
    Jul 18, 2020
    6
    30시간 플레이했습니다.
    괜찮은 게임인데 다른 사람한테 추천은 못 하겠습니다. 그러면 결국 괜찮은 게임은 아니라는 거겠죠.
    게임플레이나 아트, 사운드, 컨셉, 스토리도 마음에 드는데 스토리텔링이 너무나 별로입니다. 설산부터 심하게 뺑뺑이 시키는 레벨 디자인도 마음에 안 듭니다. 레벨디자인은 딱 봐도 예산 문제로 보여서 이해는 됩니다.    30시간 플레이했습니다.
    괜찮은 게임인데 다른 사람한테 추천은 못 하겠습니다. 그러면 결국 괜찮은 게임은 아니라는 거겠죠.
    게임플레이나 아트, 사운드, 컨셉, 스토리도 마음에 드는데 스토리텔링이 너무나 별로입니다.
    설산부터 심하게 뺑뺑이 시키는 레벨 디자인도 마음에 안 듭니다.
    레벨디자인은 딱 봐도 예산 문제로 보여서 이해는 됩니다.
  16. Gaber17
    Jul 21, 2020
    5
    This game is actually amazing,spetecular,perfect.Kojima Productions thanks for this beautiful story.Can't wait Death Stranding 2.
  17. thatguywhoshere
    Jul 16, 2020
    6
    It's a fantastic game, no doubt about that. From the time I was able to play of it, it was very engaging and looked beautiful. It was also incredibly well optimized.

    ... when it wasn't glitching or crashing. The game had a new texture bug every few minutes and crashed for me every five. It's hard to get into the game when there's always a fear that I could fall through the floor or have    It's a fantastic game, no doubt about that. From the time I was able to play of it, it was very engaging and looked beautiful. It was also incredibly well optimized.

    ... when it wasn't glitching or crashing. The game had a new texture bug every few minutes and crashed for me every five. It's hard to get into the game when there's always a fear that I could fall through the floor or have my progress reset. I'd definitely give the game a higher score if these issues were fixed, or, at least, severely mitigated.    … Expand
  18. Clive_cowan
    Jul 25, 2020
    6
    The game is Different and original. With a great story. Not my usual kind of game but a good game all round.
  19. GamersInfuzed
    Jul 17, 2020
    5
    Hideo Kajima did it again with this stunning game. The story, the characters and the world is very beautiful, detailed and interesting.
  20. NYFAN23
    Jul 21, 2020
    6
    I have around 32 hours played on this game between both PS4 and PC. I have not yet finished the game but I have to say i really am enjoying playing through this game WHEN IT WORKS. I was going to give the game an 8/10 but after a few crashes, AI quality and some bugs, the game has dropped majorly for me.

    Editing this after yet another crash, the game at the moment is unplayable for    I have around 32 hours played on this game between both PS4 and PC. I have not yet finished the game but I have to say i really am enjoying playing through this game WHEN IT WORKS. I was going to give the game an 8/10 but after a few crashes, AI quality and some bugs, the game has dropped majorly for me.

    Editing this after yet another crash, the game at the moment is unplayable for me.The game looks great, the soundtrack is awesome and the story is fine with me, i'm actually looking forward to seeing what happens if the game will ever let me continue playing it. Fix the bugs, glitches and crashes and this review will rise back to an 8. The more crashes that happen, the more i will come back an re-edit and keep lowering that score.    … Expand
  21. ShaamaanPL
    Oct 8, 2020
    7
    This game is... Well, it's NOT a 0, 1 or any of the low scores people give it. It's also not a 10. It's a very... specific game, and that's putting it nicely.

    Yes, the primary game play loop is about... walking. Or, well, travelling from one place to another, with mechanics added in to make this more difficult (uneven terrain, crevices and the occasional enemy). That's all there is to    This game is... Well, it's NOT a 0, 1 or any of the low scores people give it. It's also not a 10. It's a very... specific game, and that's putting it nicely.

    Yes, the primary game play loop is about... walking. Or, well, travelling from one place to another, with mechanics added in to make this more difficult (uneven terrain, crevices and the occasional enemy). That's all there is to it; that's the whole gameplay. Sprinkled in are VERY long cutscenes in classic Hideo fashion.

    If you enjoy games like Elite: Dangerous or Euro Truck Simulator then this will probably be OK with you. If you feel bored if you don't get to shoot an enemy in 5 minutes, then this will bore you to death. The problem with this game is that it was never really marketed appropriately, shrouding the game in mystery without ever showing the actual gameplay. So people expected it to be something it's not. But KNOWING what you're getting into is now a lot easier with gameplay videos and detailed descriptions, so if the concept of making deliveries, on a fundamental level, seems appealing then you're good to go.

    Visually the game is decent enough, with the real-life actors being portrayed really nice in-engine. Performance is smooth with no issues at all. Music and sound are very good as well. The story is... well, it's Kojima. I won't spoil it, suffice to say there are some really nice moments... and some really cringy ones too.

    Ultimately I'm having fun making aforementioned deliveries and rebuilding roads and pushing the story forward. But, again, this all ties back to the main loop - if you feel making deliveries is enough to keep you going then have at it. Otherwise, skip.    … Expand
  22. jordanlearmonth
    Jul 31, 2020
    5
    Game has an interesting story and concept, unfortunately it is ruined by the length of the game at 40-60 hours. This means you will be walking and delivering parcels for that amount of time, the gameplay isn't great the BT's are more annoying than scary massive disappointment imo.
  23. Duex
    Jul 16, 2020
    7
    Marromenos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  24. Ch1ck3n
    Jul 26, 2020
    6
    Death stranding? More like death slipping all the time when I’m trying to climb a mountain! But to be honest it isn’t a bad game.
  25. tjholowaychuk
    Dec 8, 2020
    6
    Refreshing to play something more cathartic and meditative in the industry but I wish they went all-in on that, it's hard to enjoy fetch-quests and clunky combat, but the environments alone are nice to explore. I'd also lay off the metaphores a bit, naming everything "Strand" just sounds silly after the first few times.
  26. hoanns
    Nov 29, 2020
    7
    Its a very well made and produced game.
    The soundtrack is very nice.
    The world looks great but in combination with the sign spam from other players, lacking npcs or real settlements feels not that immersive. The gameplay consists of more than walking, you rebuild infrastructure in various ways helping you and others deliver. You fight throught enemy camps and connect various    Its a very well made and produced game.
    The soundtrack is very nice.
    The world looks great but in combination with the sign spam from other players, lacking npcs or real settlements feels not that immersive.
    The gameplay consists of more than walking, you rebuild infrastructure in various ways helping you and others deliver. You fight throught enemy camps and connect various settlements. The walking and carrying package mechanic is new and refreshing, too, but in the end it's all too repetitive and after I finished the story I did not keep on playing, because the gameplay on it's self was not rewarding enough.    … Expand
  27. savvym
    Jul 29, 2021
    5
    Death Stranding is a realistic walking simulator in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world based in the territory of America where we play as a cargo porter.

    It's story driven and has repetitive quests in a semi-open world. Story is captivating and mysterious but I feel like there are some strange explanations inside missions and the initial tension and horror features evaporate shortly    Death Stranding is a realistic walking simulator in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world based in the territory of America where we play as a cargo porter.

    It's story driven and has repetitive quests in a semi-open world.

    Story is captivating and mysterious but I feel like there are some strange explanations inside missions and the initial tension and horror features evaporate shortly after experiencing them 10 times over.

    There are long cutscenes and a lot of unplayable scenes which you will be skipping on purpose after seeing them so many times and this happens when delivering a cargo, going to private room, repairing a bike and even when entering a BT territory, game stops you and goes into slow motion, like if it was not clear that you are going into danger zone from the signs around put by other players and these zones are same. Even facing BTs who are supposed to kill you, you repatriate and you need to be very bad at game to get to 0 health because after 20 hours in, they still did not manage to kill me, on the hardest difficulty.

    Walking is the most common way of getting around, the transport on bike comes into play after 7 hours but still walking will be required afterwards.

    We have to balance our body so we won't fall and damage the cargo which in some cases can still be delivered if it's not too damaged. The problem is our character will start losing balance easily when carrying over 120 kg and everything above that makes him move very slowly.

    When our guy - Sam - loses too much stamina, he walks slower, he can rest and sleep outside, refuel stamina by drinking a monster energy drink.

    The bike is charged at the power station but the territory first has to be connected to the first main city which requires you to deliver certain supplies.

    Besides taking 2 to 3 km walks across rough terrain with heavy load on the back, there are two types of enemies; BTs and MULEs.

    First, they are ghosts presented in the very start, they appear in the rain which happens in certain areas. They react to sounds and drag you to death if you fail to run off. They can even throw you off the bike.

    Second, they are bandits stealing cargos and use scanners to track your cargo whenever you pass by, they are using electrical weapons to stun you. They are afraid of rain.

    The enemies almost always respawn in the same areas. Many players have put up signs of warning areas but still we can not fully avoid the danger zones, we can only maneuver in between them and outrun them when they start chasing us.

    The bike can also be stopped easily and it's frustrating to beat the same opponents especially because we will be running back and forth a lot.

    Your character is a one man army but without real weapons, he is using his pee and poo grenades and can throw cargo or ram enemies with bike. He can knock them out.

    I see a big problem with building ladders and such to provide me the ways to cross some rough terrains, when going on the edges of areas, you are not allowed to build these bridges despite not being on the edge of the world map, just trying to avoid make a shortcut with a lot of fabricated ladders, the game easily prevents new players from seeing other players bridges and signs, why did the developers have to prevent a solo player from building in their single player game building anywhere they want when they grinded so long to have spare materials.

    The game does not respect a lot of my time and fails a mission by losing materials due to aging rain or BTs, but even worse when an NPC warns me about a nearby body to turn to necro but there is none marked on my map, nor receiving any objective, a couple hours later, a game is over when this supposedly marked body was not near, and was secretly time sensitive main mission as I can progress a couple hours but I can not continue afterwards.

    It is also dragging through its chapters like no other game. The story starts to stagnate just a few hours in, I reached only the 3rd out of 14 after 20 hours, still not completing all missions, you can see for yourself this game is grindy, frustrating and punishing despite not being very difficult.

    Verdict:
    5/10

    If I took the story separately, I would probably say it is worth watching if you like a sci-fi horror movie but the gameplay drags it so low despite being rather innovative at some areas and definitely a good portion of the struggle I was having fun. I can not recommend this game to the general audience, nor to the fans of long story driven RPGs. It is an exhausting and not very rewarding experience. I almost loved it for its visuals but then I get reminded how bad the missions are and how grinding has not helped me at all.    … Expand
  28. 85103
    Aug 18, 2020
    7
    Cut scene, and more cut scenes, and too much cut scenes.
    That's why it is the movie, not a game.
  29. TangChao
    Jul 18, 2020
    5
    玩了前两章 ，好玩，绝对10分，不错，有意思，优化很好，垃圾IGN，
    玩到第三章 ，从上面跑到下面，又从下面跑到上面，草拟吗的又要从上面跑到下面
    玩到第五章 ，跑路，战斗，BT，跑路，战斗，BT，总算到雪山山顶了，好吧下山，吗的又要上山？还要带个包袱，甘霖娘的小岛秀夫 玩到第六章 ，对不起IGN，我误会你了 第七 ，第八，第九，第十，我己经麻木了 这个游戏就是个“开头的神作”，越玩到后面越感到乏味 很多人之所以给高分大多数都只是玩了个开头或者只是冲着小岛去的 单机模式那天文数字的材料收集让我望而却步 联机模式下别人造好了建筑，游戏又少了份建造的乐趣    玩了前两章 ，好玩，绝对10分，不错，有意思，优化很好，垃圾IGN，
    玩到第三章 ，从上面跑到下面，又从下面跑到上面，草拟吗的又要从上面跑到下面
    玩到第五章 ，跑路，战斗，BT，跑路，战斗，BT，总算到雪山山顶了，好吧下山，吗的又要上山？还要带个包袱，甘霖娘的小岛秀夫
    玩到第六章 ，对不起IGN，我误会你了
    第七 ，第八，第九，第十，我己经麻木了

    这个游戏就是个“开头的神作”，越玩到后面越感到乏味
    很多人之所以给高分大多数都只是玩了个开头或者只是冲着小岛去的

    单机模式那天文数字的材料收集让我望而却步
    联机模式下别人造好了建筑，游戏又少了份建造的乐趣
  30. HexadecimalByte
    Jul 22, 2020
    5
    The game is hard to get used to, it's not the best game with the best graphics but it's not terrible. There's many negative things about this game, I was hoping it wouldn't go too far from mgs, the gameplay is frustrating for me to play.
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Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best PC Game of 2020
11
#11 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 15, 2020
    70
    I approached Death Stranding twice. I spent a couple of hours with the PS4 edition and was fascinated with it. I kinda wish I stopped at that and let the game remain a mystery to me rather than complete it later on PC and be disappointed. There are moments when Death Stranding eludes the traditional 1-10 rating system. There are moments when it sets new standards and becomes a truly special experience. But those are just moments scattered throughout tedious gameplay. Still, it is in my opinion one of those games you simply need to play. [10/2020, p.44]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Sep 20, 2020
    67
    Death Stranding is asking you to find variety in a daily rut, cooperation possibilities for a character who has fear of contact, scientific explanations in clear-cut mysticism. Today, you’re annoyed that the story doesn’t move forward, and you have to trek into the same ghost-infested area as before, but tomorrow you’ll gladly spend a few hours hauling resources for a new highway and feeling good about it. This source of joy is very weird and defies explanation.
    Read full review
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Sep 5, 2020
    90
    Death Stranding on PC is the best way to experience this journey. Game is much more than a walking Sim, it mixes and matches a ton of brilliant new ideas and game mechanics. It is bursting with atmosphere, and the overall quality of the production and presentation is fantastic. Other than minor issues and some non-consistent storytelling, Death Stranding shows us that boundaries can be moved in the today gaming world.
    Read full review
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