Review after roughly 25 hours

[VenlafaxineHead]

I love this game. I really do. 

 

I've never played any Metal Gear games and am definitely not a Hideo Kojima fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

That being said, I received this game as a Christmas present for PS4 around three years ago. It remained on my shelf in it's cellophane untouched until two to three weeks ago. I was put off by all of the negative reviews simply referring to it as a "walking simulator." I had just finished FF XVI and was looking for a new game to play. I decided, what the hell... I'll try it out. I paid $10 for the PS5 upgrade and dove in. 

 

In the beginning, I was somewhat overwhelmed with the interface and learning how to balance/move around was a chore. Having ADHD, I tend to give up on things rather easily if I can't just jump in it intuitively. For whatever reason, I stuck with it. I didn't know if what I was doing in the game was right - I didn't know what I was doing at all half the time. As time progressed and I stuck with it... I kept learning by trial and error. Now I'm excited to come home from work and sink a couple hours into it every night. 

 

The game is so much more than a "walking sim"... it requires you to manage inventory, think about your path/destination, plan ahead with the proper equipment and learn how to improvise. The world is gorgeous and the rewards for completing side quests make it seem worth the trouble in the long run as you mostly attain equipment to help make your travels easier. I like the community concept without actually having to commit to playing a "multiplayer" game. Contribute if you want, but it's not necessary. 

 

All this being said, I can totally see why the game is so polarizing in opinion. It's definitely not a "middle-ground" game... you'll either love it or hate it. I would assume many people that have disliked it probably never stuck with it long enough, or were long-time fans of Metal Gear and this game really diverged from that model. 

 

I'm always a fan of games doing something different - games as a medium for art and expression. I'm an older gamer (45) and this one just hits right for me. I'm excited that I'm only on chapter 7 and still have a ways to go. I'm also stoked that there's gonna be a DS2!  

 

This is a 9/10 for me at the moment. 

[GT__Jedi]

Nice review on the time you've put into the game.  I also have this one sitting on the shelf and didn't start it because of the discussion on the forums.  Looks like I'll need to give this one a second look.

[matigrosso91]

I played the original PS4 version on release and I freaking love it. This here is the fuel i needed to start the Director's Cut lol

[D4T-V4UL7_HUN7R_]

This is one of the most memorable games for me on ps4. I took almost 90 hours to get the platinum and I still go back and do a few deliveries when I feel like just chillin and looking at the beautiful scenery. The music is also a perfect fit and adds a lot to the atmosphere. 

[PeachyJacobs]

I had a very similar experience to you. I held off on playing it for a long time as I made the mistake of reading some opinions online, something I never normally do. It's now one of my all time favourite games and I have over 100 hours playtime. Truly a one of a kind game and something completely different to anything I have played before. Fantastic game.

[VenlafaxineHead]

Just finished the main story last night. 

 

10/10. Great stuff!!!

[preciseRNG]

so after 76h I platined the game and felt I didn't rush it.
The story kept me going and going and is worth every second.

As soon as possible I did build zip lines everywhere I could and where I felt it could be useful --> BIG game changer espeacially for the post game grind.

 

Don't forget to go for the extra content that came with the DC (don't want to spoiler anything) because you get stuff you have to craft for the Homo Faber trophy.

 

While the post game grind can get a bit tedious on some point I really enjoyed this game to its fullest and am happy to finally watch the trailer for the second game! 😊

Edited September 7, 2023 by preciseRNG

[ippikitako]

Similar feeling and situation here.

I got the PS4 version two years ago. Then the Collector´s with BB figure. When I heard of the Director´s Cut I decided not to play on PS4 and wait until I got that version and a PS5, which I got a few months ago. Prior to this I was already a big Metal Gear and Kojima fan (hence the reason for buying 3 copies, haha...)

Anywho, I finally started the game a couple days ago and I´m about 7 hours in. Still on episode 2. I too was overwhelmed, took me a while to get in gear but really enjoying it now.

Amazing game so far. Kojima has some balls to pull this off. I´m glad he did and glad he broke free from Konami, so he can finally do what he wants.

[Swotam]

All in all a pretty decent game. Typically weird and confusing as is the norm with Kojima, definitely one of those stories that will have you on YouTube looking for someone to explain the finer details. The gameplay loop was oddly satisfying and the post-game grind for Platinum wasn’t that bad but you definitely have to take the time to build out your zip line network in the mountains and strategically rebuild some roads so you can get around more easily.

 

While I liked the story after getting into it, I did find the BT areas somewhat tedious after a while, especially post-game. At that point you’re just trying to get shit done and having them constantly be in the way in certain areas got old. Also the degradation of equipment got mildly annoying at times, especially with zip lines out in the middle of nowhere. Unless you get really into the game you’re likely just going to build Level 1 structures and those degrade fairly quickly so you’ll have to repair or rebuild from time to time and it’s not a ton of fun trudging up some mountain (again) to rebuild a zip line tower that you already trudged up the mountain to build it on. I sort of minimized the impact of this by focusing on specific areas and trying to get everything done there before moving on to the next group of people. If you build out a massive zip line network up front and then start the post-game grind you’re definitely going to find yourself doing maintenance because the whole thing will degrade at roughly the same time.

 

Fun game though. I’ve always been a bit of a Kojima fan so I was happy to get into the game and I honestly liked it a lot more than I expected.

[Speling_Expirt]

Nice to read your enjoying it. I received 'The Art of Death Stranding' as a gift this Christmas and it is fascinating to see all of the unused concepts that didn't make it to the game, and the designs of all the characters and places etc. 

 

Like you, I'm also excited for DS2!

[jashjacob]

Just started replaying DS on PS5 after playing for a couple of hours back when I had PS4. Somehow I feel the movement speed is superbly improved with the DC edition. 

[TheBarrowCasual]

On 8/23/2023 at 6:11 PM, VenlafaxineHead said:

I love this game. I really do. 

 

I've never played any Metal Gear games and am definitely not a Hideo Kojima fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

That being said, I received this game as a Christmas present for PS4 around three years ago. It remained on my shelf in it's cellophane untouched until two to three weeks ago. I was put off by all of the negative reviews simply referring to it as a "walking simulator." I had just finished FF XVI and was looking for a new game to play. I decided, what the hell... I'll try it out. I paid $10 for the PS5 upgrade and dove in. 

 

In the beginning, I was somewhat overwhelmed with the interface and learning how to balance/move around was a chore. Having ADHD, I tend to give up on things rather easily if I can't just jump in it intuitively. For whatever reason, I stuck with it. I didn't know if what I was doing in the game was right - I didn't know what I was doing at all half the time. As time progressed and I stuck with it... I kept learning by trial and error. Now I'm excited to come home from work and sink a couple hours into it every night. 

 

The game is so much more than a "walking sim"... it requires you to manage inventory, think about your path/destination, plan ahead with the proper equipment and learn how to improvise. The world is gorgeous and the rewards for completing side quests make it seem worth the trouble in the long run as you mostly attain equipment to help make your travels easier. I like the community concept without actually having to commit to playing a "multiplayer" game. Contribute if you want, but it's not necessary. 

 

All this being said, I can totally see why the game is so polarizing in opinion. It's definitely not a "middle-ground" game... you'll either love it or hate it. I would assume many people that have disliked it probably never stuck with it long enough, or were long-time fans of Metal Gear and this game really diverged from that model. 

 

I'm always a fan of games doing something different - games as a medium for art and expression. I'm an older gamer (45) and this one just hits right for me. I'm excited that I'm only on chapter 7 and still have a ways to go. I'm also stoked that there's gonna be a DS2!  

 

This is a 9/10 for me at the moment. 

Yeah i haven't give this game any time atall bought it ages ago and just never gave it chance. So sat down and started playing it again now, its a truly fantastic game, glad im at the start and can enjoy it for what it is.