Death Stranding

You know when you have a dream and things don't make sense, and there's representations of things that represent other things?  That's Death Stranding.  In this dream you basically play the FedEX delivery guy in a nightmare dreamscape, with superb visuals and the best soundtrack in any game ever made and I loved every minute of it.  The repetition is so grindy though, that it requires extraordinary patience to finish deliveries and maintain the construction you've set up that I doubt many people finish.  The story has amazing acting from all the actors listed above, but I had no idea what they were talking about, but I think that's the point, it's a nonsensical dream, especially that all of America was a valley only a few miles long.

Finish deliveries, get new stuff, just don't kill anyone or you'll have to dispose of them in an incinerator, and if you can't make it to the incinerator, you'll have to restart.  Get 5000 likes, more or less, from everyone and you'll get all of the equipment in the game.  I started in December 2020 and finished in February 2021, so it's been awhile.

7.9/10.  Too grindy and tedious to give it an 8.

Death Stranding The Director's Cut is coming out sometime in 2022, not sure when.  Let me know your thoughts.

@Graybags, did you finish yet?  Did you do the big beer run from the Timefall farm to Lake Knot City?  I think the most difficult delivery is from Lake Knot City to the Paleontologist, a logistical nightmare inside a nightmare.

@Graybags

Fair enough and ya, Death Stranding is so grindy and repetitive I assume most people don't finish, thus the reason I suggest the song "The Bear Goes Over The Mountain" while you play.  Incredibly bold story though, there's nothing really like it out there.

Congratulations on the wedding!  All the best.

I meant the song in a more literal sense as your character Sam quite literally goes over a mountain to see what he can see and all that he can see is the other side of the mountain, over and over and over and over again!

Question:  "Drag through snow" are you crazy, did you not build zip lines over the mountain to move Mama?  That part took me no time at all, compared to what's yet to come!!!

I wish I could select a soundtrack while I'm doing deliveries, instead of just at 2nd tier PCC buildings, because it's the soundtrack that brings the feeling of the game to life.  It's missing little add-on's that would enhance the gameplay experience and compensate for the monotony, repetition, and grind.

I've only ever player the DC one, but then if I am going to buy a game that came out a while back, and there is a version available with more content included, I'd get that one.  Depending on price, of course.

Plus, I prefer physical copies, it's just how I am - old school I guess.

What's the difference in the prices?

Hey Deke, there are pros and cons.  I story moded the base game on very easy difficulty, which is a lot harder to do than the Director's Cut on normal difficulty, because the Director's Cut has added equipment that makes the game actually bearable and easier to play, ie. stabilizer's, catapults, chiral bridges, so you can play the game on harder difficulties later in the game in the Director's Cut (pro).  The added scenes and firing range in the Director's Cut don't add anything to the experience, at least as far as I'm concerned (con).  There's a test track at the timefall farm I haven't even been to yet, but that is definitely for post game sandbox people, not for those who are just starting out. (con)

You'll experience the game how it's meant to be played if you just play the base game on easy and walk carefully through the world, holding your breath (alt), and making deliveries only for SAM not for anyone else.  If you want to bypass some of the difficulty, get the Director's Cut.

Here's how I'd assess the difficulties when I first played the game:

Very easy is almost bearable, but not really.
Easy is unbearable.
Normal you'd have to be a lunatic.
Hard is for lobotomites (Fallout reference).
Very Hard is ??????????......unpossible.

You can switch between difficulties on the fly as you play, but there's no joy in playing anything other than very easy, because the grind is still the grind no matter what, and it's already unbearably hard on very easy.

*Helpful Hint:  Don't kill anyone, just knock them out or shoot rubber bullets, it's painful going to an incinerator with a dead body and even worse if he goes necro.  I realize that's a bit hypocritical considering I was having a moment and killed all the mules around Mountain Knot City, but I had a plan, and all the roads built, and a level 3 Truck with a clear path to the incinerator.  

That's one thing that bothers me about this game, and many others, there's no option to REASON with whoever is considered a "bad guy" like the mules.  Every time you go through mule territory they shoot first, unprovoked, and you have to defend yourself or die, so you're always fighting or trying to bypass.  Wouldn't it be better, if your player could pay a toll to go through their area, or better yet, incorporate them into bridges deliveries and work with them, even bring them stuff?  Like, people are a valuable resource, as this game's message is ALL ABOUT the value of relationships and connections, so, wouldn't a more psychological bent that works with the mules to come to a truce and peace, make more sense than constant self defence?  Off the top of my head, add a Diplomacy level where you get likes for helping mules, to eventually getting enough likes they create their own little societies that work with the Knot cities.  That's an add-on well worth buying.  Just saying.  (Yes, I know that's the plot of Free Guy!  But it's not even an option, the only option is, how are you going to defend yourself from them.)

Also, an update to the update came out on April 13, 2022 which was 35 GB, it's crazy to think that's half the size of the entire game just on stability improvements, see here:

https://steamdb.info/patchnotes/8551730/

Worth noting that Death Stranding Director's Cut is part of Humble Bundle's Choice this month, as well as several other worthwhile games. (referral link | non-referral link)