Death Stranding

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 18537 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13,013 out of 18537
  2. Mixed: 1,182 out of 18537
  3. Negative: 4,342 out of 18537
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  1. RedSumo
    Nov 12, 2019
    4
    Very dull gameplay, feels more like a interactive movie than anything else. Tedious gameplay elements made this a slog. Story is the only redeeming quality. But for a video game, it just isn’t fun, no other way to explain it.
  2. Dethtrooper
    Dec 3, 2019
    4
    Imagine, we are travelling through all USA from West to East, and near the end when we are on the East they say-Sam, now just go back to the West. Just like that without a reason. No vehicles, no power-legs, nothing at all. Just super boring walking for maybe 4-5 hours or so. Because Kojima wants you to suffer.

    Would you like that?)
  3. Makaveli
    Nov 25, 2019
    4
    This game is REALLY repetitive and every time there is a cutscene it has to be try hard dramatic. It's not very good. I was hyped for this game as I love Kojimas games but this one is not so good. I repect change but I dont like doing repetitive things over and over while having to escort a baby around. There are a lot of things that I hate and love at the same time. I mentioned the babyThis game is REALLY repetitive and every time there is a cutscene it has to be try hard dramatic. It's not very good. I was hyped for this game as I love Kojimas games but this one is not so good. I repect change but I dont like doing repetitive things over and over while having to escort a baby around. There are a lot of things that I hate and love at the same time. I mentioned the baby I hate it but I also think it's an interesting idea. I have mixed feelings.. Everyone seems to like the story and the acting but I thought Norman Reedus and couple others were decent.

    . I also couldnt believe the Norman Reedus ads for his show on AMC and Monster Energy drinks... Find it hard to believe Monster Energy drinks would be the last of the franchise wars.
    Kojima is just one crazy SOB, I dont like this game but I'm glade he finally got to make the game he wanted and I'm glad some people are enjoying it.. I work all day and I come home and feel like this game is work.

    The gameplay is also a thing I hate and love at the same time.. mostly hate it though.. I really think the point A and then point B thing was lazy. Seemed to me he focused more on making an art piece instead of a video game that is fun.. This game does have flashes of brillances here and there which make me very interested, once I do get interested Kojima pulls the rug from underneath me.. I want there to be a Death Stranding 2 because I think it's interesting but I would prefer less overly dramatic try hard cut scenes and fun gameplay.. Maybe make Death Stranding a theme name like Finally Fantasy and have a different story each time.    … Expand
  4. Forneray
    Nov 9, 2019
    4
    Courier simulator. Argh. Não passarei o pano no jogo somente pq é do Kojima. O jogo é chato. Um simulador dos correios.
  5. theTRUTHson
    Nov 11, 2019
    4
    Nice graphics. Good walking simulator. you walk walk walk walk walk walk wa
  6. hiperionsungod
    Dec 11, 2019
    4
    movie with an added video game. repetitive game mechanics. Repeated missions. Boring as a video game, interesting as a movie.
  7. Daveisonline
    Nov 10, 2019
    4
    This game has absolutely no business being a big budget AAA title. All the reviewers I heard said the game is "Not for Everyone" yet Sony has been marketing it like a Mass Appeal $60 game.

    While the concept of the world is unique and had me invested, the actual storytelling is paced terribly. It took 2 goddamn hours for the plot of the game to actually start. Not to mention the over the    This game has absolutely no business being a big budget AAA title. All the reviewers I heard said the game is "Not for Everyone" yet Sony has been marketing it like a Mass Appeal $60 game.

    While the concept of the world is unique and had me invested, the actual storytelling is paced terribly. It took 2 goddamn hours for the plot of the game to actually start. Not to mention the over the top symbolism thrown into the naming conventions. The main character is Sam Porter Bridges, because his name is Sam working as a porter for the company Bridges, a company who's motto is connecting people. Outposts are called Knots, and your goal is to connect these knots with a massive data connection called "Strands". Its so obnoxious that it delves right into being pretentious.

    Gameplay is not much better, the core gameplay loop revolves around getting one "KNOT" to another, with your main obstacle being the terrain. Thing is if you carry too much, you're more easy to lose your cargo just from stepping on a small rock. But if you travel light, you'll end up being forced to make repeated trips. And the actual trecks themselves are BORING! The only time something interesting happens is if you walk into what's known as BT territory; where Ghosts wander the ares, but it's painfully easy to avoid them. The other main enemy are MULE's who will frequently attack you, yet the combat comes down to easy button mashing to make quick work of them.

    Whenever you do beat a quest though, the game is eager to shower you with hollow praise, no better than a gatcha game that throws confetti everywhere to make the players feel like they're accomplishing something. All in all, this game is nowhere near as profound or innovate as it's director Hideo Kojima is propping in up to be.    … Expand
  8. Friendzie
    Nov 8, 2019
    4
    If you made the same game on a lower budget, and your name wasn't Kojima, would anyone play it? I'm not here to hate on the man, but this is the kind of narrative you would expect to see at a avante garde film festival. Nothing wrong with that, but gameplay clearly takes a backseat to the concept. If there were something that could have been done to make the game more fun, it wouldn't haveIf you made the same game on a lower budget, and your name wasn't Kojima, would anyone play it? I'm not here to hate on the man, but this is the kind of narrative you would expect to see at a avante garde film festival. Nothing wrong with that, but gameplay clearly takes a backseat to the concept. If there were something that could have been done to make the game more fun, it wouldn't have been done if it interfered with Kojima's artistic vision. That's a problem for me. Maybe some people are into games-as-cinema, but essentially the gameplay is that I'm spending my time balancing a giant backpack for 20 minutes trudging from place to place, often with very little happening. As you get farther in, you get attacked more, and maybe it gets more intense when you reach areas beyond where I've seen. In any case, enjoy the sounds of a screeching baby strapped to your chest when you do encounter some danger. And don't expect a deep combat system.… Expand
  9. H310
    Dec 8, 2019
    4
    Boring. Extremely boring. Nothing interesting to do. Just go from A to B. Worst game of this generation, even worse than The Order.
  10. Kakashi2
    Dec 27, 2019
    4
    The flaws that exist in Death Stranding are very similar to the flaws that existed in MGS5. There are interesting ideas interwoven with boring and repetitive game play. Kojima always offers interesting ideas, but his last few games he seems to have grown comfortable with boring segments within his games. Here is a little summary below.

    Pros: Beautiful music Interesting ideas and    The flaws that exist in Death Stranding are very similar to the flaws that existed in MGS5. There are interesting ideas interwoven with boring and repetitive game play. Kojima always offers interesting ideas, but his last few games he seems to have grown comfortable with boring segments within his games. Here is a little summary below.

    Pros:
    Beautiful music
    Interesting ideas and themes
    Interesting characters

    Cons:
    Game play is tremendously boring and monotonous
    There isn't enough variety    … Expand
  11. zetabosio
    Nov 9, 2019
    4
    The story is interesting, but the gameplay its so boring, and the melee fights so bad, that the game suffers a lot from that.

    Next time, spend more time in making a good gameplay and less in cinematics...
  12. YoSahop
    Nov 8, 2019
    4
    Definitely should have taken the previous reviews into consideration & especially with IGN. It takes a very long time to do anything in this game as far as it being very repetitive. Definitely a title you should buy for $20 when it drops to that price. Graphically the game looks awesome, but does that make it a fun game? It feels like a chore and I hate chores that I don’t have to do.Definitely should have taken the previous reviews into consideration & especially with IGN. It takes a very long time to do anything in this game as far as it being very repetitive. Definitely a title you should buy for $20 when it drops to that price. Graphically the game looks awesome, but does that make it a fun game? It feels like a chore and I hate chores that I don’t have to do. Definitely an underachiever in gameplay.… Expand
  13. maxyps
    Dec 11, 2019
    4
    Extremadamente repetitivo y aburrido. Cinematicas muy largas que no tienen coherencia con el gameplay.
  14. HSuke
    Jan 15, 2020
    4
    You know all those boring fetch missions that you hate doing in other games? Death Stranding is nothing but fetch missions. It's so tedious to move around and deliver items. The story makes very little logic sense. The combat is absolutely dismal with the dumbest AIs who have horrible pathing and just sit around waiting for you to shoot them. It's a badly-designed game with a AAA budget.
  15. robomartion
    Aug 10, 2020
    4
    Waste of time!!!!! Zero reason for exploration. Would probably be better as a movie, but an odd and strange one at that with dialogue akin to the Room.
  16. Jach
    Nov 12, 2019
    4
    Just like many said, it was hyped as something but turned out to be something else. Even worse, the gameplay is boring and frustrating (deliver this, deliver that and hold R2/L2 otherwise ...).

    I never thought Kojima would do something like this but he did
  17. jddutra
    Nov 8, 2019
    4
    Interesting story bits here and there....but not a good game... Nobody bats 1.000 and this is a big whiff for me. Walking simulator to deliver to a hologram, cut scene, then do it again. If this game was on steam for 60$ by an indie developer, it would have nothing but negative reviews.
  18. MarquisDeMizzle
    Sep 5, 2020
    4
    A beautiful game utterly ruined by pointless and lengthy cut scenes and some of the worst controls in video game history. In a word, clunky.
  19. MacheteDontText
    Nov 11, 2019
    4
    Dont expect the story to make sense at any point. Starts off great, very well presented, hooks you into the game, bearing with the unique but shallow gameplay, just to let you down at the end. I expected something smart and entertaining and I was fed utter **** posing as art instead...
  20. KB5K
    Dec 21, 2019
    4
    I think Metacritic must be broken. You see, at the time of this writing, Death Stranding is scoring an 82%, which would indicate that this is a good game. And there's simply NO WAY that's even close to resembling reality.

    Here's a spoiler-free checklist for you: **Endless fetch quests? Check. **Lots of walking over large featureless unpopulated spaces? Check. **Ridiculous, pretentious,    I think Metacritic must be broken. You see, at the time of this writing, Death Stranding is scoring an 82%, which would indicate that this is a good game. And there's simply NO WAY that's even close to resembling reality.

    Here's a spoiler-free checklist for you:

    **Endless fetch quests? Check.

    **Lots of walking over large featureless unpopulated spaces? Check.

    **Ridiculous, pretentious, and impossible-to-comprehend story? Check.

    **Gameplay mechanics designed solely to aggrivate the player? Check.

    **Shameless in-game corporate advertising? Check.

    **Poorly designed, ridiculously detailed in-game menus that you can BARELY read because the print is so small? Check.

    **Most of your time spent managing inventory? Check.

    **Meaningless collectibles (e.g. "memory chips" that let you read factoids about random real-world things like motorcycles, action figures, and Kojimas favorite movies)? Check.

    **Not really exciting, not really scary, not really interesting--but generally just a depressing atmosphere? Check.

    **Seemingly endless amounts of cutscenes, even when performing routine actions? Check.

    **Artificially extended game length (Example: "Sam, before you can continue the main quest, you need to help these 5 meaningless NPCs with their fetch quests!")? Check. Another example: you're also forced to run around in circles throughout an empty environment during the credits for 30-40 minutes while the plot is explained to you -- because the plot is convoluted nonsense and Kojima *knows it -- and because it adds 40 minutes of "gameplay."

    **Generally BORING? Oh yeah, that's a check.

    Come on, Metacritic. Do better.

    This game is a 5 out of 10 at best. There are some good qualities: The graphics and acting are great. It's well-optimized on the PS4 and my experience has been entirely bug-free, even after playing through the entire game and completing almost all of the side quests it . It's ambitious and strives to be artful and make a deeper statement about humanity. But that's the most it has going for it.

    One could forgive poor gameplay if there existed an interesting and engaging story. One could forgive a poor story if there existed fun and interesting gameplay. However one cannot forgive an absence of both.    … Expand
  21. KamikazeSAT
    Nov 11, 2019
    4
    SEDEX simulator, you feel like a postal worker. I don't understand how Kojima had the courage to publish this game...
  22. Chronos1
    Nov 14, 2019
    4
    Be honest would people love this game so much if it was somebody else besides the massively overhyped kojima that made this game?? because i really dont think so.. I watched all the cutscenes and the gameplay is non existent.. not even close to worth $60
  23. Sky-Line___
    May 24, 2021
    4
    What a waste! The cast looked incredible, cutscenes/cinematics were looking sharp, but then comes the reality. How boring is this game? It’s incredible. Walking, walking, walking, stressing yourself over an unnecessarily complex inventory. That’s about it. And it is such a shame because the story and the universe behind this game were so interesting.

    Another terrible disappointment, but    What a waste! The cast looked incredible, cutscenes/cinematics were looking sharp, but then comes the reality. How boring is this game? It’s incredible. Walking, walking, walking, stressing yourself over an unnecessarily complex inventory. That’s about it. And it is such a shame because the story and the universe behind this game were so interesting.

    Another terrible disappointment, but the worse thing is knowing that it could have been very good if the gameplay was more than walking and reading annoying menus. Technically it is also doing a fair job. A real pity.    … Expand
  24. quake2th
    Nov 14, 2019
    4
    Another waaaay over hyped game pushed by Sony and released in an unfinished state to capitalize as much as possible on pre-orders and first month sales.
    When this will ever stop?

    No Man's Sky apparently did not teach people anything.
  25. dape
    Nov 10, 2019
    4
    + Graphics are amazing

    - Pacing is to slow - Fetch quests are base of game (the same quests we loath in normal RPGs) - Story is weird. It makes no sense on many levels but interactions between characters stand out as something totally unrealistic. - Most of game mechanics exists to be annoying not fun, and make slow and boring parts even slower and more boring I gave up trying to    + Graphics are amazing

    - Pacing is to slow
    - Fetch quests are base of game (the same quests we loath in normal RPGs)
    - Story is weird. It makes no sense on many levels but interactions between characters stand out as something totally unrealistic.
    - Most of game mechanics exists to be annoying not fun, and make slow and boring parts even slower and more boring
    I gave up trying to "play" this after around 6 WASTED hours. If you play games for fun: be warned and Stay away.

    This could work as some indie/alt movie but as a video game it fails. I want my MGS, I want my PT. I don't want this boring %#$.    … Expand
  26. Jack09164
    Jul 10, 2020
    4
    В игре множество различных механик, которые по своей сути не глубокие, и при этом очень плохо друг с другом работают, а некоторые и вовсе делают бессмысленными некоторые механики. В целом, есть несколько неплохих идей и решений, однако, глупейшие геймдизайнерские ошибки сильно обескураживают. Наиграв в эту игру 52 часа и полностью пройдя всю сюжетную линию, понимаю, что из нее могла быВ игре множество различных механик, которые по своей сути не глубокие, и при этом очень плохо друг с другом работают, а некоторые и вовсе делают бессмысленными некоторые механики. В целом, есть несколько неплохих идей и решений, однако, глупейшие геймдизайнерские ошибки сильно обескураживают. Наиграв в эту игру 52 часа и полностью пройдя всю сюжетную линию, понимаю, что из нее могла бы получиться хорошая игра, будь условно тот, кто ее реально развивал и дополнял контентом, дорабатывал механики и сделал меньше душного и бессмысленного гринда, которого здесь очень много и ты практически ничего за это не получаешь. Сюжет здесь явно не сильная сторона, ибо он подается в начале и очень концентрированно в конце игры, а еще сами ходы угадываются за счет многочисленных намеков на протяжении игры. Персонажи раскрыты плохо, мотивация не всегда ясна, а поступки в целом вроде логичные, однако, наполнены абсолютно бездарно написанными диалогами. Единственный кто был хорошо, так это Дайхардмэн. Его раскрыли в конце, но его диалоги были наиболее живыми и реалистичными. Также оскорбляет отношение к самому игроку в игре: тебя будто считают полным идиотом, объясняя элементарные вещи по 3-4 раза, а то и больше, будто ты в первый раз не понял или не заметил какой намек, поэтому этот намек нужно обязательно обсосать со всех сторон, чтобы уж самый "одаренный" понял.
    Если же вас смущают игровые ролики, стриммы или вообще всё, что вы видели, то не стоит приобщаться к игре. Если же вас устраивает перспектива узнать весьма неплохо проработанный лор, играть в игру без интересной основной механики занимаясь душнейшим гриндом, то в целом игра может затянуть. Мне лично понравилась как реализована взаимосвязь игроков при постройки некоторых строений. Их, конечно, мало, но реально доставляет тот факт, что ты кому-то помог или кто-то тебе. Это немного добавляет осмысленности к твоему геймплею.    … Expand
  27. willvargas
    Dec 11, 2019
    4
    Una pelicula interactiva increíble pero con mecanicas repetitivas, sin justificaciones y hasta con un precio elevado para lo que solo gráficamente y en guión tiene de AAA.
  28. FelicityFenwick
    Jan 5, 2020
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I can see why this game is appealing to many, but it's not a modern "game" like most would expect. It's got a ton of routine work, it's largely repetitive without a satisfactory return on that work. And it simply is "less than" in terms of what I was hoping for on this first venture post-Konami from Kojima-san. But as EDGE says, this feels like a foundation for future efforts, and if that's the case, perhaps I will revise my score when that next "installment" comes in.… Expand
  29. R6FEDE
    Nov 19, 2019
    4
    The best part in this game? When i sold it, after 30 hours of nothing else but rocks, packages and rain...
  30. Narafed
    Nov 12, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Isn't it funny how critics call everyone trolls who don't fit into their opinion box; Ironic. This story is a mess, most people don't want to slog through 20+ hours of bad story to get to decent game-play, and more bad story. The story leaves things unexplained to the point of obscurity, and it makes the game not enjoyable for normal people who don't have some sort of paid critic agenda.

    This game is damn near impossible to spoil though, so at least there is that! Timefall, baby batteries, the last ever FedEx worker in the apocalypse, and all the Monster energy drinks in the world do not a story make if it's just stuff in a video game. The Monster energy drink promos are almost as bad as the advertisements in the emoji movie; are we supposed to believe Monster is the only drink to survive the apocalypse? Monster is in this game so much I thought one of the cans might get up and talk to the player at some point and become a character.

    We need to "rebuild America" in this game because the afterlife is seeping through to our world somehow (how?), and there is rain that ages things. WTF is this story, seriously? It's so convoluted that even the characters in the game are still trying to figure it out, which isn't clever; it's infuriating.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best PS4 Game of 2019
1
#1 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 111 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 86 out of 111
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 111
  3. Negative: 3 out of 111
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Mar 18, 2020
    100
    Death Stranding is creating a new game genre and therefore paves its own path towards more interactive experiences. It is a brave work thanks to its novelty, which fortunately is not a bragging right for its creators, as it may have seemed, but an exceptional title that will reward the brave who play it. [Issue#299]
  2. New York Daily News
    Mar 18, 2020
    80
    This game does manage to be fun, even if it is one of the heaviest experiences of 2019. Everything from story to gameplay is begging to be dissected, filled with imagery and symbolism -- just like so many Kojima games before this one. Entering Death Stranding, it’s likely that we all thought Kojima’s calling card was lengthy cutscenes and stealth and action gameplay.
    Read full review
  3. Carole Quintaine
    Jan 29, 2020
    100
    Death Stranding stands as a powerful author’s game which drives a strong message of how our over-connected society is evolving, and how we can help other players. Unlike many AAA games, it shines on a truly spiritual level. Well written, engaging and visually magnificent, it offers, despite some pacing flaws, an astonishing solo game with elegant multiplayer elements. A unique representation of Hideo Kojima’s talent.
    Read full review
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