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"Amazon Messenger Simulator": The new flagship game for the PlayStation does not deliver the goods | Israel today

2021-11-25T13:54:55.016Z


Death Stranding's director's edition is impressive and very invested, but it does not fix the main problem of the original version: it's just not fun to play.


No, it's not it

yet

.

How we tried to love Death Stranding, the quirky action-adventure game from legendary creator Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid).

How many opportunities have we given him, how many times have we told ourselves that there is no situation in which such a game is so invested, spectacular and it will be so ... boring.

Death Stranding, at least in our opinion, is one of Sony's biggest falls, and its new "director 'edition" for the PlayStation 5, which is supposed to be more accessible than the two-year-old PlayStation 4 version (and the PC version released in 2020), does not deliver the goods.

Quite ironic given that the main goal of the game is, well, to deliver goods - literally.

Not dead yet, but moving

As early as 2019, they claimed that Death Stranding was not an action game, but rather a niche mission simulator, which takes place in the post-apocalyptic United States and occasionally has to shoot enemies there.

The actor plays Sam (Norman Reedus from "The Walking Dead", who contributed his character and voice to the project in a very impressive way), a quiet and introverted guy who works for a courier company.

A groundbreaking event has destroyed the world, murderous and invisible creatures roam it in search of who to devour, and Amazon trucks no longer travel on highways and deliver packages to survivors.

So Sam loads heavy crates on his back, equips himself with various accessories such as ladders and ropes to help him get through the difficult terrain conditions, marks his destinations with a GPS, plans the shortest or most accessible route to the destination and embarks on dangerous journeys, usually on foot, between military bases And other settlement points.

Between mountains and rocks

Sam climbs mountains, crosses rivers, hides from the toxic rain and transparent monsters and crosses miles upon miles in almost complete silence, with only a cute passerby known as Bibi (BB), whom he carries on his body in an elaborate incubator (we are totally serious), hosting him for company.

From the game Death Stranding,

The baby is able to feel the monsters before they attack, and actually serves as an organic radar system. Sometimes he starts to cry, so Sam has to gently cradle him to calm down. We're still totally serious and yes, it's much weirder than it sounds. On the other hand, plots always There were the less coherent part of Kojima's games, so we did not get interested in it and flowed with it.

But yes there was interest from the gameplay. Some will say it is soothing, clears the head and even mesmerizing, but we think it is sedative, frustrating and discouraging. Take it easy, most of what you do at Death Stranding is walk, walk and walk and try to keep your balance. The more packages and items are loaded on Sam, the greater the weight he will have to carry and the slower his progress will be. The "tower" of packages will move from side to side while walking, and much of the time is spent in desperate attempts to stay on two legs and not fall. Any rock and mound can cause a total collapse if they are not reached ready; Rivers need to deal with the current and depth of the water and try not to get carried away; And the requirement from the player is mainly to constantly press the left and right trigger buttons of the controller, to control the balance mechanism, and to progress heel by thumb to the desired destination.

Did you arrive without losing the goods (and sanity)?

Mazel Tov.

After each task you will receive feedback on your performance (it is advisable to provide all the packages in good condition) you will shower, sit on the toilet, talk to some holograms, you will take on another task, try to understand a little more about the incomprehensible plot and so on.

From the game Death Stranding,

Again, this is not all that is done here, but it is definitely the point.

Here and there there are some enemies that Sam is asked to eliminate and vehicles he can drive (but driving is pretty cumbersome).

We have to admit that sneaking among the deceptive monsters that Bibi identifies can be quite tense and nerve-wracking, but defining Death Stranding as an action game is simply a crime, because Death Stranding is a walking and packing game that looks great and sounds awesome, but lacks the most important thing: fun.

What did the director mean?

Although the original Death Stranding received fairly good reviews when it came out in 2019, mainly due to its unimaginable artistic and technical achievements, Sony internalized that their product was not suitable for everyone.

Fans of action games like Uncharted did not understand what they wanted from their lives and were very disappointed, while Metal Gear Solid fans were expecting something completely different.

In the end, despite the ambitious project becoming a cult game, there was a great feeling of failure here and Sony, a company known for its spectacular and accessible action-adventure games, wanted to fix the situation.


This is where the new director's version of DS comes into the picture.

Beyond a few more plot missions, new enemies weapons and enemies, a negligible racetrack, improved graphics and a host of cosmetic upgrades required for the PlayStation 5, this edition aims to do one main thing: make the mission matter accessible ... to those not in the matter of missions.

From the game Death Stranding,

For the sake of this accessibility, small and likable robots have been added to the game that can carry the packages to Sam's side and reduce the load on him, and if you want you can also send them on solo missions.

Another new and useful utility is catapults that are capable of launching the packets to considerable distances, and reducing the distances that Sam has to cover with a real risk, not us, of a herniated disc or kila.

Do all these improvements slightly reduce frustration?

Yes, absolutely.

The errands are definitely getting easier and Sony must appreciate the initiative.

But do they completely dispel the frustration and make us aspire to be the messenger of the month?

Definitely not.

The cold truth is that while the new and invested edition makes Death Stranding a slightly more fluid game, it still remains a strange, niche, spectacular - and boring "mission simulator".

Yes, it will surely enchant a very specific type of gamer.

We applaud them, but do not know who they are.

What is certain is that they are not us.

6/10

Tested version: PlayStation 5.

A copy of the review was provided by the distributor.

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

If you find an error in the article, we will be happy for you to share it with us and we will correct it

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-11-25

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