Death Stranding Directors Cut might actually convince me to play: here's why

Date:
Sun, 29 Aug 2021 20:05:01 +0000

Description:
The Death Stranding Directors Cut trailer sold me on the game and no, it wasnt for the Metal Gear Solid missions.

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As the adage goes, there are two types of gamers, and Im the type that
bounced off Hideo Kojimas oeuvre and didnt pick up his long-awaited opus, Death Stranding , when it finally released in late 2019. When I read reviews detailing the extensive length of the game, much of which is spent simply walking and meditating on the world, I felt reaffirmed in skipping it. But
the changes coming in the Death Stranding Directors Cut are just the things
to get me to finally play the game.

We all got an in-depth look at the new features coming in the Directors Cut during the Gamescom 2021 Opening Night Live showcase. While the various updates include indisputably positive additions like 4K support and a 60fps performance mode in the games PS5 version, Im focused on the extras that make the lengthy travel easier and faster.

Before you say anything yes, I know Ill be robbing myself of how the game is intended to be played as Sam Bridges, the lonely everyman tasked with connecting the world one parcel delivery at a time. I know that walking the long, unpeopled expanse of the world is the point, giving players time for their minds to wander just like they would during a real-world jaunt outside civilization.

As our reviewer Cian Maher put it, the game opens with the player
travers[ing] harsh terrain while keeping delicate cargo intact. As you cross impassable abysses and sinuous rivers, the involuntary descent into
loneliness is juxtaposed with a solemnity that is, despite itself, quite
warm.

But I cant deny feeling some relief at the prospect of launching that cargo out of a catapult to save me some time.

Or climbing atop 'Buddy Bot' a pair of autonomous legs as they ferry me and my awkwardly large backpack.

Or hurling myself off a misty cliff and letting vernier jets bring me to a soft landing instead of trudging down a hill.

Even to someone whos not spent a moment in the game, these delivery support options feel ludicrously alien, both to the world and to how players are
meant to explore it. Ease betrays fidelity to Sams journey, cheapens the impact of his shipping pilgrimage, and so on.

But if its the choice between balking at a game thats just over 40 hours just doing the main story, as the site How Long To Beat suggests , and trying out Death Stranding with shortcuts at hand that could trim that down, Ill take
the latter. (Image credit: Kojima Productions) Yes, I'm robbing myself of the 'true experience', and that's okay

Part of this comes down to time schedules and commitments mean I rarely
stick with a game longer than 20 hours, and I think many games that do last longer overstay their welcome with repetitive padding (most recently, NieR: Automata, an intriguing 15-hour game that plods on for 20 more hours after). As the years go on, my tolerance for lengthy single-player experience has waned, especially since it competes with multiplayer gaming with friends online which has been most of my social interaction in the last year-plus of lockdown.

Heres the thing I do regret not feeling able to spare the time to enjoy
Death Stranding like everyone else did when it launched in November 2019, especially once it became eerily prophetic in early 2020 as Covid lockdown
set in. I lament that stress over unfinished projects, family commitments,
and daily obligations keeps me from even relaxing into a long play of a game like Death Stranding.

The Directors Cuts bizarre transportation additions to the game ease that stress; theyre little relief ripcords I can pull if I reach a ridge and realize I need to scramble down a valley and up the other side. Just having the options available makes the game feel less intimidating and more accessible.

But Im also relieved that these easements arent the result of a mod like it or not, they are Kojima-blessed, as part of (and Ill quote the trailers massive text here) T H E DEFINITIVE EXPERIENCE. At least his seal of approval means these extras dont violate the spirit of his game too much, at least
from his perspective.

Some players will probably disagree. As Kotaku s Ethan Gach writes, Death Stranding elevated the mundane drudgery of safely delivering packages undamaged by the elements into an irresistibly tense existential crisis. Drones are fun, but Im not sure how cutting through obstacles by delivering cargo via remote control plays into that.

I might have agreed if I'd played the game at launch and maybe I still will, if I come to accept that those extras dilute the experience too much. But at least theyll get me in the door to try out a game that I just didnt think Id get around to. And hopefully more of these kinds of pain point-easing options get added to games in the future for later-wave players who just needed that one thing to ensure the game might be for them, too. One of the best-looking games shown at Gamescom 2021 was a complete surprise



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/death-stranding-directors-cut-might-actually-co nvince-me-to-play-heres-why/


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