The Correct Way to Play Death Stranding

Fundamental features of Death Stranding feel like an intentional sacrifice of the game's integrity to improve its mass appeal. This is unfortunately common in modern AAA gaming these days. But it feels exceptionally out of place in Death Stranding because the game is incredibly far from being a mainstream game.

**Links**

**Time Stamps**

00:00 Rewalking The Path
01:36 The Two Button Game Breaker
03:41 Disconnecting
05:23 The Road To Everywhere
06:47 Other Factors
07:53 Tying Your Own Knots

#gideonsgaming #deathstranding

[rasmadrak]

I think the worst part of Death Stranding is how it was seemingly marketed.
It has a somewhat complex story and engaging cut scenes and characters, but the PR for the game was mostly "walk around and try not to fall".
It took me years before actually picking it up and now I think it's one of the better games I've ever played, tbh.

[thevoiceofnick]

I liked this a lot, and I'm also a big believer in setting your own rules when playing a game. The first time I played AC4: Black Flag I totally ignored all fast traveling, forcing me to get used to 'life at sea' and finding things along the way to objectives.

For DS I'm interested to try this method. I also thought the roads were a bit of a bittersweet reward, as they pretty much remove what's interesting about the game. Same with ziplines, which are even less engaging to use. The one thing I think roads do well is to communicate, through gameplay, the idea of humanity ironically beginning to lose its connections all over again even after the reconstruction has begun. It's a very effective representation of the Kuralt quote, "The interstate highway system is a wonderful thing. It makes it possible to go from coast to coast without seeing anything or meeting anybody." 😅

[johnphoenix]

I disagree with you about not using roads. The goal is to reconnect America and roads are a vital element especially when the character is delivering stuff.

[utubruss]

I loved making hard things mundane. Taking a truck and running routes to get 5 stars

[AAgunner]

Yeah, finding that ONE randomly placed generator from another player when your trike is just about to die is awesome! But literally having to DODGE randomly dumped (and often very colorful) trucks and trikes from other players gets old real quick.

Even once had a trike blocking my route... Like, you needed a pretty good amount of momentum to scale this one steep and rocky hillside, only to crash into a trike parked on top of that hillside and rolling back downhill...

[QuintonLeo]

I did a lot of hikes in the military and what are called "ruck runs, " meaning we ran with large and very heavy packs on our back. grabbing both straps to balance yourself is very realistic though and I have no issue with it. you move much slower this way, just as I remember during the ruck runs, but have much better balance and it makes going down or up steep terrain much easier. I'm only 10 hours into the game but I love it and this little feature felt very realistic.

[milkduds]

The online is great, until you first meet Mama, who says she’s been alone and had no visitors, only to pull up and see 5 vehicles parked out front like we’re about to do a casting couch scene 😂.

[wwld]

I think that when hideo said it was a brand new genre he didn't mean it in a condescending artsy way but in the sense that you have to really give it a chance and reach chapter 3 to see if it "clicks" with you, it can be a game where you just deliver packages and optimize cargo but there's so much more to play with, so many game mechanics and systems - and the idea of connecting with other players and helping each other out has never been done on this scale with this budget before, its a very solitary and introspective game

[auricprophet]

The correct way to play a game is in a way that makes you happy. I work a 12 hr a day 5 day a week, stressful job, have 4 kids and a mortgage. This game is a godsend for me, the music is perfect, the scenery is gorgeous and the story is 2nd to none. Its challenging and decent in length. Gameplay is a 5th or 6th thought.

[hgerfgr]

This is great man. I love the gameplay to bits but my no.1 issue with it (from a postgame perspective) is that it becomes a matter of going through menus to select an order, pressing x a couple times as I watch Sam fly across my perfect zip line network, and repeat. I thoroughly enjoyed creating that network, but the only delivery I truly remember was the one that takes you to your first waystation after capital knot where I had to bring a ladder and a climbing rope. As rewarding as the roads and zip lines are, they minimalize your engagement with the game to a silly degree.

MatthewMatosis put it well in his review if you've watched it. The absence of obstacles that are impossible to pass without the right tools, or at least cause more than a minor inconvenience, put less emphasis on preparation, and creativity then suffers also. Despite their usefulness, I never once built a bridge or ramp; why would I when I've already built a road? If I wanted to load a van up with packages and drive to my destination, I'd work for Amazon.

Some of the gameplay suggestions you bring up have crossed my mind a couple times as I work towards my true 100% of the game, but going offline is a great idea too. When I eventually and inevitably replay the game, I will almost certainly avoid roads and zip lines at the very least. Let's just hope DS2 leans more into its gameplay without offering so many ways to avoid engaging with it.

[jcire]

The only suggestion I have is to remove structures that have no practical purpose - like bridges in the middle of nowhere, and structures that have a better alternative

[Killerthemerc]

I'm doing a replay of the game it'll take me 3 days to do it but the story is worth it by god ill rebuild the fuckin highway again even if it kills me

[Ichabod_Jericho]

I just beat the game for the first time, after having given up on it halfway through the first time 4 years ago. I didn’t see as nearly as many roads, and the mountains were severely lacking in zip lines & other structures! Made me kinda sad😅 I’m loving the post game. I have so many materials at so many centers I’ve been spending like wildfire!! It’s made getting 5-star relationships much easier. I feel bad for people who quit when vehicles were no longer viable! 80% of the gameplay to be had is on foot in my opinion.

[crocodiletears]

Gotta disagree on the point you made as far as player structures. That fits in line with the games themes of links and chains. The point is that we aren't alone, that we are building upon the progress others as well as we've made to achieve our goal. So no, leave player structures on, it fits the theme.

[Nivlong]

In a way, I think the game itself is aware of that trade off with making things too easy. The Roboticist remarks that some porters find a certain skeleton as "too functional." Like they knew some would prefer harder gameplay. 🙂

[UnsealedWings]

Ehh, I don't agree, I like the 2 hands to stabilize, It makes sense, More from a gameplay perspective but also in a realistic sense as well, Obviously it wouldn't make you incapable of falling over in real life, but WOULD improve your balance, And cutting out roads all together? Nah dawg, I'll traverse the landscape a couple of times, but the 6th or 7th time going through an area, I've earned the right to bypass enemies and have a safer easier route to and from. This really shouldn't be titled as the "Correct" way to play, i know you mentioned at the end that you believe this to be that for a 2nd playthrough, But it just seems like you enjoy a more hardcore experience and that's fine, and if the game had been more hardcore i would had still loved it, But I'm happy with it as is, i do hope the next game is more hardcore, but if not, I'm sure i will still enjoy it. So lets just all agree, there is no "Correct" way to play a Singleplayer game, unless that "correct" way is whichever the player finds more fun.

[Nimoot]

There is 'no correct way to play a game' though.

[stentorean]

This is my first playthrough of DS and plan on playing it vanilla and using all the tools the game offers whether it makes things easier or not. I'm currently at porter lvl 201 and just hit episode 8 and I've started to make mental notes of things I plan to change on my next go around. Second playthrough will be on Very Hard difficulty, no HUD, disable online player structures and completely avoid building roads as I feel ziplines feel more engaging since you can make an early stop if you want to explore an area you didn't notice before. Took me 3 years to finally come back to DS but it's been unlike anything I've ever played.

[SandyRegion]

I completed all the roads myself. Don't think anyone helped me with it. Took so long.

[shauncarr]

Awesome to come across this video as these are all things I'm doing myself already. I've got an additional house rule I think you'll like. Don't ever use crouch during the BT encounters. You can still sneak through with a combination of walking slowly and holding your breath, but it's way more challenging and tense. Also if a BT spots you, you can stand perfectly still and hold your breath until they eventually get bored and wander off - but not before you're practically suffocating! Very cool.