Dan Tesenair

There are few games that I feel the need to post about, or even talk about to a larger audience, but after over 50 hours in Death Stranding, I've come to the conclusion that, at its core, this isn't even a game - it's an experience. An experience that no other medium of art could manifest. And through it's confusingly rich, fulfilling story and all the meditative contemplation that Hideo Kojima encourages you to sustain, I'm left with new thoughts of how the interactive medium has potential beyond belief. If you haven't heard of Death Stranding before, here's a quick, spoiler-free summary of the plot. An extinction event known as the Death Stranding has left what was previously the United States, shattered and divided into cities across the continent. You play as Sam Bridges (Norman Reedus), a simple courier who has been tasked with the overwhelming job of reconnecting America by journeying all the way west, from sea to sea. Now, allow me to preface this by saying that I am by no means a Kojima fanatic. I like the Metal Gear games and think he's a great storyteller and artist, but certainly isn't what some people make him out to be. That being said, he envisioned something different for Death Stranding. Sure, on the surface it could be classified as an action RPG, but that's irrelevant. Instead of fighting and conflict, you're met with quiet introspective. Instead of quick levels, you're met with long, difficult tasks that make the end reward so much more fulfilling. Once you delve past the exterior of this game and get into Kojima's real intention, you realize that what this game accomplishes has never been done before, and in this cold desolate world he created where communities and people are so separated due to the events of the Death Stranding, players are taught to come together. To link arms and lend aid to your fellow porters, for no other reason than to be kind. To help others out. That's the real beauty in this game, and why you shouldn't decide to play it or not play it based solely on a review. Forget the 6 out of 10s. Forget the 10 out of 10s. A review cannot convey the feeling of building a bridge to help others cross a treacherous river, or utilizing a ladder that another player placed there to help others get down a perilous precipice. At the risk of trying to be different, the game may be too slow or too difficult for some people. It encourages you to find structures or tools that other players have put down to help you along your way, until you're able to put up your own structures and tools for other players to use. In doing so, you become a helper yourself. And that's when it hits you. In a world that can sometimes seem so bleak and divided, Death Stranding teaches players a valuable lesson in community and goodwill. It teaches you to be grateful for community. Everyone is walking the same path and the weight you carry is not yours alone. And if the game didn't feel so difficult and tedious at times, that lesson would not hit so hard. Kojima doesn't want you to suffer. He wants you to reduce the suffering of others. "Because if you look for the helpers, you'll know there's hope" -Fred Rogers.