i think the cutscenes' emphasis on connections and logistics are telling but what really gives it away is calling the bandits MULEs. i feel like kojima is in direct dialogue with M.U.L.E., advancing a vision of radical generosity over that game's free market ruthlessness.
so let's go with "post apocalyptic socialism sim"
― adam, Monday, 11 November 2019 15:55 (four years ago) link
aw shit, i think by mentioning MULE you just made me buy this goddammit
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 11 November 2019 16:45 (four years ago) link
it rules forks just do it
― adam, Monday, 11 November 2019 17:03 (four years ago) link
damn u
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 11 November 2019 17:08 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Box4XDvBSgE
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 11 November 2019 17:09 (four years ago) link
I am kind of disappointed because it seemed like I was going to finally meet Mads' character and you.. kind of encounter him? not really. I'm sure it'll come later.
This is the first game where I've gotten something that seems like it could cause lethal damage after having some random incapacitating items and I feel really hesitant about the idea of shooting people. Those MULE guys seem like assholes, but do I really need to injure them that badly?
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 17:11 (four years ago) link
“Drudgery sim”?
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses)
that's sort of what i like about gaming, ultimately at a certain point they all boil down to tedious drudgery. commit this otherwise useless sequence of button presses to muscle memory. this vision of gaming has been around for at least as long as pac-man - i remember as a child reading books on how to get good at pac-man and it was all rote execution of patterns. we pay money for the chance to do routine things.
― tantric societal collapse (rushomancy), Monday, 11 November 2019 17:41 (four years ago) link
This thread is the manifestation of the game I was most looking forward to, please update with tales of dystopian banality
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 11 November 2019 17:53 (four years ago) link
the irony of the fact that this will take until Wednesday to deliver is not lost on me
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 11 November 2019 17:59 (four years ago) link
I think the banality aspect has been oversold, to an extent. There have been a number of games with interesting landscapes, but I can't remember many details of them past rote pathfinding. Might have to jump over some rocks, may encounter an impassable area. In this game, not only is the world very beautiful, but the obstacles seem meaningful. Do I set up a ladder to make it past, or do I go around and use my tools later?
When I connect a new area, will I discover that the other way up a hill that seemed insurmountable on the map already has a series of ropes and ladders placed by someone online, making my journey that much shorter? There's a joy of discovery to it
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 18:03 (four years ago) link
yeah, the game isn't boring at all. in its insistence on paying attention to your surroundings and to your movements it's not at all unlike metal gear solid, just without the trappings of Tactical Espionage Action. that absence is the engine of Gamer Backlash, plus i think there's a (faulty) collective assumption of rebuke in that absence.
― adam, Monday, 11 November 2019 18:10 (four years ago) link
So it's actually fun?
― Antonym Scalia (Leee), Monday, 11 November 2019 19:07 (four years ago) link
what if I told you in 2019, that a video game would not only get the idea of "likes" from strangers giving that kick of dopamine, but did so in a way that made it a constructive gameplay dynamic?
there are some abuses of it, like spamming of a bunch of signs that a player has to pass through near home locations, but overall it's a well-balanced mechanic
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:14 (four years ago) link
Still looking for clarity: if you play offline, that whole aspect of the game is nullified?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:21 (four years ago) link
You get "likes" from doing certain tasks in the game, but the abundance of physical objects in the landscape won't appear
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:25 (four years ago) link
so there's no benefit to the likes if you're offline?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:26 (four years ago) link
my understanding is that the online components don't require playstation plus
― adam, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:26 (four years ago) link
(if that is the issue)
― adam, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:27 (four years ago) link
I'm perversely avoiding any actual reviews or gameplay videos atm because every anecdotal comment somehow confuses me further re: what this game even is/is about. Which I find fascinating.
― Maybe you wanna lay off the Mountain Dew, there, Burt. (Old Lunch), Monday, 11 November 2019 19:28 (four years ago) link
it's possible some of the structures are put up by the NPC porters (your job) in the game, as a few appear, but I don't know that anyone reviewing or even playing the game has done it completely offline
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:28 (four years ago) link
the "likes" are what levels up one of your five metrics
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link
i've gotten likes from NPC porters for shit i've left lying around
― adam, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:30 (four years ago) link
OL, there's a backstory that at the core establishes this post-apocalyptic world, what the precursor event was, and some of the basics that differentiate this world from our own. The story starts to answer a lot of the unknowns, but a lot of it is "we discovered this technology, it did amazing things, and something horrible happened" with some additional elements related to the fact knowledge was lost in the chaos and your NPC peers are discovering the history as you are.
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:32 (four years ago) link
fwiw the thread (strand?) title here is a reference that becomes clear not far into the game
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 19:33 (four years ago) link
finally a game that can breach the high watermark set by bioshock for creepiest cosplay
― $1,000,000 or 1 bag of honeycrisp apples (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 11 November 2019 19:50 (four years ago) link
oh man there's gonna be a thousand norman reeduses at comiconfat reedus, skinny reedus, buff reedus, black reedus, ups delivery uniform reedus, amazon delivery uniform reedus, DHL delivery uniform reedus, asia reedus, sexy reedus, mecha reedus, dog reedus...
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 11 November 2019 20:10 (four years ago) link
I'm wondering what point in the game unlocks the Chvrches song!
The non-score musical parts so far are ok, but I feel like Kojima has found a band that's halfway between Imagine Dragons and Coldplay
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 20:17 (four years ago) link
I guess I should say vibe-wise, since there's not just one band
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 20:19 (four years ago) link
This is actually pretty fun and addictive. I don’t think the gameplay footage really sells it. There is a kind of tactile satisfaction in hauling yourself over the landscape that doesn’t really translate well to someone not holding the controller.Not without its problems. The MULE and BT enemy encounters seem really simplistic and half-baked. I’m down with de-emphasizing combat, but I wish those systems were a little more sophisticated.There are certain elements that seem to be deliberately irritating. Trudging through BT morass, mashing buttons as monster arms tear cargo off your back while a baby is crying in your face via the controller speaker is a good example. But that stuff is relatively minor/brief.
― circa1916, Monday, 11 November 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link
I've only had one BT battle encounter so far! And it was right at the beginning, before I really got the dynamic. If you're cautious and well-stocked with grenades or some of the later weapons, you can knock those suckers back to the afterlife.
I kind of want to trigger a battle because apparently if you take out one of the larger enemies that appear, they drop a ton of crystals
― mh, Monday, 11 November 2019 20:25 (four years ago) link
gameplay in the looks a bit like a walking version of spintires, would that be accurate?
― thomasintrouble, Tuesday, 12 November 2019 17:13 (four years ago) link
THE HEART-SHAPED BUBBLE
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 00:43 (four years ago) link
the president's henchman is 'die hardman' who wears a leather suit, cravat and METAL SKULL MASK 24/7 i can't
i ended up just running the fuck away from the annoying BTs at the incinerator, suddenly found myself at the edge of a cliff, and somebody named igor had left.... a rope for me! at the edge! i liked the shit out of it and rappelled away, thanks igor.
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 00:46 (four years ago) link
thomas i think spintires is more frustrating and lets you screw yourself over. here a modicum of attention will keep you upright.
love this game. just got the "speed skeleton" and i am booking it across this rock strewn ghost-scape. also i am getting the rhythm of infiltrating BT areas so it's less of a drag. stupid MULEs not so much. i'll figure them out.
― adam, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 00:58 (four years ago) link
I’ve gotten pretty good at shooting MULES in the face with my bolo gun. Drops em.Game really starts opening up in chapter 3. Trucking my stolen MULE mobile down the highway, wind in my hair. Feels good.
― circa1916, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 03:17 (four years ago) link
just got the BRIDGES truck, really adds to the UPS vibe. loading that motherfucker up with claimed metals and ceramics all the way to south knot city.
― adam, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 12:20 (four years ago) link
Tracer, Igor was the guy in the truck with the corpse at the very beginning!
― mh, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 13:02 (four years ago) link
Ahhhh!
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 13:32 (four years ago) link
I've been trying to put a certain feeling into words and I think this is how one says this these days.. This game has big Tomb Raider 1 energy
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 15:11 (four years ago) link
I have yet to see a single pyramid-shaped breast
Kojima is still insanely bad at female characters, but I'm just shaking my head and sighing when that issue pops up
― mh, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 15:13 (four years ago) link
This game has big Tomb Raider 1 energy
this, to me, is the highest praise, so consider my interest in eventually playing this officially heightened
― actor Robert de Niro disguised as an Uzbek homeopath (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 15:15 (four years ago) link
oh. that makes me much more interested.
― thomasintrouble, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 15:47 (four years ago) link
womb raider (because babies (not sure where i'm going with this))
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 15:49 (four years ago) link
womb raider is a mission in this game, kind of
― mh, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 15:53 (four years ago) link
also my nickname in college
― na (NA), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 16:16 (four years ago) link
sorry
― na (NA), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 16:29 (four years ago) link
my phone tells me my copy is on the way, presumably on foot over the scenic tundra of brooklyn
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 18:38 (four years ago) link
https://www.polygon.com/videos/2019/11/11/20959269/unraveled-kojima-name-generator-death-stranding
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 20:58 (four years ago) link
Since it was announced I've continued to misread the game's name as "Death Standing," and given so much of the gameplay appears to be about finding your footing while traversing rough terrain, "Death Standing" kind of works!'
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 21:25 (four years ago) link
it's a strand game though
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 21:38 (four years ago) link
It’s a feature of Kojima’s “strand-type gaming”
― calstars, Wednesday, 5 July 2023 15:38 (ten months ago) link
A few years late, but I started this a month or so ago, not quite finished the story but got sidetracked up working on my zipline network (anything better than a 350 line between mountaintops?) and doing special deliveries (which i only recently realized was a thing). incredibly fun and also a lot of incredible irritation at some of the gameplay/mechanics.
one annoyance in particular, why do open/close tabs on your inventory only happen for some sections and not others (like, i can't close my utility bag? great, good to know i have blood bags every time i access my cargo and have to scan past them every time). also, i want to select all cargo in a closed tab, but no. seems minor, but when you are constantly shifting stuff around, it adds up.
but just how tied you are to the earth, it's so much more tactile than any other game i've played.
dog latin, i appreciated your review, especially as i share a deep reverence towards Stalker and DFW
― francisF, Friday, 13 October 2023 00:15 (six months ago) link
oh, and when i started i could not stop hearing the line from I Think You Should Leave "There's too much fuckin shit on me. I can't do this, we did way too much!"
― francisF, Friday, 13 October 2023 00:18 (six months ago) link
Thanks francisF.
I watched Dunkey's videos about this game and lmfao'd all the way through.
There is definitely a lot of annoying UI bullshit in this game. A LOT.
And I don't want to be that guy. There's no excuse these days for UI bullshit in modern games.
But, coming in the time that it did, I excused it because it felt like a parody of commercial computer systems. Show me an office worker who doesn't find their interface highly annoying.
Death Stranding is not really a FUN game. It's far from perfect.. But it is a successful work of art - a commentary on Weber's theories about the Protestant work ethic and the parallels between labour and boredom and godliness and beauty therein.
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Friday, 13 October 2023 00:35 (six months ago) link
yes absolutely. and if the frustration was too much for me i wouldn’t play it. but i continue, and getting better at working around these kind of problems is satisfying in its own way, getting efficient. i’d love a video of my gameplay at the beginning when i could not make heads not tales of most of this game.i’m pushing up against the bandwidth with my ziplines, which is annoying, not sure how much more i can acquire at this point - i’ve had to delete all other structures and simplify/curtail my lines more than i like.
― francisF, Friday, 13 October 2023 02:04 (six months ago) link
you have a lot of agency in this game even if it’s illusory
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Friday, 13 October 2023 02:32 (six months ago) link
Optimising my ziplines towards the very end of my playthrough was extremely satisfying. An inch out of place and it could mess up the whole network. But a well placed zipline can connect you to so many places on the map. And before you know it, you can careen from one biome to another in mere seconds. Thank god you can remove ziplines directly from the map (IIRC) rather than having to travel to them.
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Friday, 13 October 2023 07:21 (six months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKIacsoRIEQ
― francisF, Saturday, 13 January 2024 22:37 (three months ago) link
couple things in there that the last big update added that I never got to, but… holy shit, lol
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Saturday, 13 January 2024 23:20 (three months ago) link
God-tier strand-type gameplay
― calstars, Saturday, 13 January 2024 23:29 (three months ago) link
I've played a zillion hours of this game (but not the directors cut) and I have no idea what's going on here
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:40 (three months ago) link
my sentiments exactly
― francisF, Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:50 (three months ago) link
90% of that is the jump ramps (you run in and it launches you) and a high level upgrade to the stabilizer that has little jets that are supposed to keep you upright but apparently act as an ad hoc jet pack if you abuse it just right
that and the cargo cannon, function of which is pretty clear
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Sunday, 14 January 2024 03:25 (three months ago) link
Maybe I'll go back one day, this probably is the pinnacle of Art Games, also it's deeply, deeply funny. If you don't get it, that's very much on you
Bit worried Kojima will leave the medium behind now people are giving him movie money
― craning to be leather (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 14 January 2024 03:26 (three months ago) link
I suspect Death Stranding 2, or whatever it ends up being called, will have gameplay that’s more than subtly different
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Sunday, 14 January 2024 03:28 (three months ago) link
Yeah I bet
But this one is like Buddhism Simulator or something, can't imagine where he'll go
― craning to be leather (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 14 January 2024 03:37 (three months ago) link
oh that’s the stabilizer! i was wondering how i finished this thing without realizing there were jet packs.i would like to go back to this - i’ve done the lion’s share of special deliveries. i put so much work into my ziplines though, do they really degrade in real time? not a fan of that at all! Really one of the very best games ever.
― francisF, Sunday, 14 January 2024 05:06 (three months ago) link
afaik Kojima has two games in the making: Death Stranding 2 ("Ocean") and this : https://www.gameinformer.com/the-game-awards-2023/2023/12/07/hideo-kojima-is-making-a-new-game-called-od-with-jordan-peele
― StanM, Sunday, 14 January 2024 06:13 (three months ago) link
also it's deeply, deeply funny. If you don't get it, that's very much on you
OTM. Pretty much every element of this game is hilarious.
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 January 2024 10:12 (three months ago) link
Is it worth me playing through this game again to access the Directors Cut stuff? I have my saved game from when I platinumed it a couple of years ago, but loading it up most of my zipwires are dilapidated and I'm kind of disoriented with the landscape. Curious about how the DC plays out, but not sure if it's worth my time just for the additional stuff
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 January 2024 10:14 (three months ago) link
I would love to play this game without all the annoying black shadow creatures that I die to every time
― Ste, Tuesday, 16 January 2024 11:18 (three months ago) link
Coming out for iPhone and Mac Can’t wait to see how strand-type gameplay feels on touchscreen
― calstars, Tuesday, 23 January 2024 22:40 (three months ago) link
what???
― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 23 January 2024 22:44 (three months ago) link
strand-type gaming is back in 2025!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cs-A1rNvEE
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Thursday, 1 February 2024 15:48 (three months ago) link
there are so many things in this video that make me think "what the hell is THAT"
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Thursday, 1 February 2024 15:49 (three months ago) link
hmm
― calstars, Thursday, 1 February 2024 16:31 (three months ago) link
nnnggghngnn want to play it nnnnow
― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 1 February 2024 16:42 (three months ago) link
hah, I missed that Kojima also announced ANOTHER game, in the "action-espionage" genre for Playstation
so he has three games in the works
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Thursday, 1 February 2024 16:51 (three months ago) link
The DS2 trailer is appropriately batshit.
I love how grim and and serious everyone is in these worlds. They're impervious to the absurdity of the universe they're situated in. It's similar with the Souls games, except when Miyazaki injects humour or goofiness into his games, you can tell he's letting the player into the joke. With Kojima, every line is delivered with deadpan sincerity, like every word is the most important thing anyone's ever said. It gives the eerie impression that Kokima himself doesn't realise how ridiculous his games are.
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Thursday, 1 February 2024 17:16 (three months ago) link
'On The Beach' is also a pretty funny title
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Thursday, 1 February 2024 17:17 (three months ago) link
Because that’s the one place you won’t be if you’re playing this game
― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2024 18:39 (three months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/VsxfRch.jpgMobile strand-type gameplay has arrived
― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2024 19:12 (three months ago) link
It's similar with the Souls games, except when Miyazaki injects humour or goofiness into his games, you can tell he's letting the player into the joke.With Kojima, every line is delivered with deadpan sincerity, like every word is the most important thing anyone's ever said. It gives the eerie impression that Kokima himself doesn't realise how ridiculous his games are.
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Thursday, February 1, 2024 12:16 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink
the joking virgin vs the chad genius
― lag∞n, Sunday, 4 February 2024 19:45 (three months ago) link
It worries me that he described his other new project as half movie / half game. I’m just not interested in exposition
― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2024 19:50 (three months ago) link
its nice that this has a the joker, are their jokers in all universes, something to think about
― lag∞n, Sunday, 4 February 2024 19:53 (three months ago) link
That guitar battle looks real dumb
― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2024 20:31 (three months ago) link
I mean, Death Stranding itself was a third movie, two thirds game. I'm really not sure the dial needs to be moved any further
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Sunday, 4 February 2024 22:28 (three months ago) link
every kojima game has something goofy involving a guy using a toilet
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Monday, 5 February 2024 14:14 (three months ago) link
The mobile version adds another level of difficulty to the game. I made it to chapter 1 though
― calstars, Friday, 9 February 2024 23:50 (two months ago) link