Shadow Of The Colossus (2018): Whatever It Takes

Shadow Of The Colossus is an action-adventure game developed by Bluepoint Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is a remake of the 2006 game of the same name originally released for the PlayStation 2.

The video game focuses on a young man named Wander who wants to bring back to life a girl named Mono. To do this, Wander and his horse Agro enter a place named the Forbidden Land and makes a deal with a creature called Dormin: Wander has to kill sixteen creatures called colossi and Dormin will revive Mono. Meanwhile, a mysterious party led by someone called Lord Emon is tailing Wander. 

Regarding the gameplay, you control Wander. He can attack by using his sword or bow and arrow, he can also jump and climb obstacles and walls. As said before your main goal is to seek out and kill each colossus. You can find them by raising your sword in a sunlit area and it will show you the right direction, then you use your horse Agro to travel the Forbidden Land and explore and escalate ruins and buildings to reach them. 

When facing a colossus you have to find its weak point and kill it; every enemy has a different strategy to be defeated and has a unique weak point. You may have to scale the colossus to reach its weak point and stab it with your sword. While scaling you have to remember that Wander has limited stamina and if you do not climb fast, he falls. After you slay each colossus, you return to where Mono is laying and a cutscene appears and then Dormin tells you where the next foe is. All of these is repeated until you annihilate the sixteen colossi.

It sound simple, but finding each weak point of every boss is difficult and to win the battle you need to be strategic. All sixteen colossi are different: Some are gigantic beings made of stone, looking like moving antique constructions, while others have animal-like characteristics; some use weapons and other use elemental techniques like thunderbolts to defend themselves. Each one is unique, and require different methods to defeat them, and it's up to you to know how to triumph. 

Another interesting point is the minimalism the game presents, since you do not encounter NPCs throughout the whole game, there are no other enemies than the colossi and despite being an adventure game there are no towns, dungeons or palaces to be explored and most of the constructions are in ruins, and the only other living creatures you encounter are some animals that inhabit the land. Moreover, you don't talk to anybody, but Dormin and your horse, and that makes the game really immersive while you traverse the areas. The desolated and vast land gives you a sense of loneliness and melancholy in this emotional and larger-than-life journey to bring back a loved one back to life. 

SOTC has been regarded by many as one of the greatest video games ever made and I wholeheartedly agree. The mind behind SOTC is game designer Fumito Ueda (Ico, The Last Guardian) and his games are usually noted by having a fantasy-based setting with their own mythology and language, accompanied by mysterious and symbolic characters and plot, beautiful music and visuals, and often require a deep analysis.

To try to grasp what SOTC means as a whole implies taking every part of the game and analyze it separatedly. There are many theories and stories surrounding the plot of the game, the characters and its setting. Who or what is Dormin? Who is Wander? Why is Mono dead? What are the colossi? Why is the Forbidden land called that way? Who is Lord Emin really? Many questions arise and some have answers and some not, but I think it is for every player to discover them.

The music is simply beautiful. The bittersweet songs really add a different feeling to the battles and without them, SOTC would not have the same impact. The OST can be calm, epic, sometimes sad... Wherever you are you will remember these symphonies, because they will leave a mark.

Compared to the original game, this remake is a huge improvement; it has enhanced basically everything, except for some issues with the camera and controls, but they are not something that can completely ruin the experience. We can notice the difference by the level of detail of the landscapes, Agro and the colossi; a sight for sore eyes.

All in all, the great influence Shadow Of The Colossus has made in the gaming industry is huge, and with reason, since you will never encounter another game like this. Shadow Of The Colossus is an epic journey into the unknown, a story about love and companionship in which the only thing that makes you keep going forward is to challenge life itself in order to be reunited with a loved one once again.

PS: In here I leave some images comparing the original game and the remake.

Journey (2012): Between Heaven And Ruins

Journey is an indie adventure game co-developed by Thatgamecompany and Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Originally released in March 2012 for the PlayStation 3, it was later ported to PlayStation 4 (2015), Microsoft Windows (2019), and iOS (2019).

Journey is a video game in which you control a mysterious robed figure in a vast desert and your main goal is to reach a mountain that appears in the distance. 

Regarding the gameplay, Journey is based on exploration and you have to reach a specific mountain by walking and jumping through the obstacles you encounter. Moreover, through a special scarf you wear, you have the ability to temporarily float. In addition, during your travel you can encounter another player and help each other. You can't communicate with them, except through music and you get to know the other person's name after you finish the game. The game's lenght is approximately between 2-2 and a half hours.

Journey has to be one of the most interesting and beautiful experiences I have experienced in a long time when playing a video game. The cryptic story, told through images, gameplay and without a single word uttered is intriguing to say the least. You are this robed figure, this wanderer who, for unknown reasons, has to travel through a desert and reach a special mountain. This desert is full of ruins of an ancient civilization and there are strange characters who appear before you to help or slow you down in your journey.

What happened to the world? How do you fit into the story? Why communication through music? Who are the other characters you encounter? There are many questions and you have to do some research to get some answers, since the video game doesn't tell you everything. Is that a bad thing? Not for me, since I love having to look for hidden meanings, symbols and metaphors in a story.

The mind behind this gem is Jenova Chen, who has worked on video games like Cloud, Flow, and Flower. All of them in a similar vein, and Journey also shares similarities to them and transmits this sense of peace and melancholy. Wandering through this desolate land is a priceless adventure that accompanied by its breathtaking scenarios and incredible music composed by Austin Wintory makes a great piece of entertainment and art.

Words are not needed while you venture into the desert, and despite that, you can still create a bond between you and another stranger. You can help an unnamed individual and reach the ending together like lifelong partners. Isn't this how life is supposed to be? Going through a long hard road, avoiding and overcoming obstacles and perils?

All in all, Journey is a masterpiece and can be classified as an artsy game, that despite having a short lenght, the story, gameplay, graphics, and music make up for it by showing a mysterious and perfectly crafted world in which kindness is essential. Journey is an experience that can touch your soul, showing that in life you don't have to be alone, and going with a friend along the way, everything gets a little easier, even if we do not know what the ending might be. 

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019): When The Animals Dance

"Hesitation is defeat"

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action/adventure video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 22 March, 2019. The game takes place in Japan during the Sengoku era and tells the story of Wolf, a shinobi whose lord gets kidnapped and has to save him at all costs.

As said before, Sekiro is an action/adventure video game, mainly focused on stealth, combat and exploration. The game's director is Hidetaka Miyazaki, which created the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne, so the video game shares some "SoulsBorne" characteristics.

In Sekiro, you can upgrade your gear (Wolf's prosthetic arm), learn new skills, and customize your abilities. Your main weapon is a katana named Kusabimaru, which is used to break enemies' posture (the enemies' blocking ability) by attacking them in order to reduce their health points. If you attack your enemy enough they leave an opening that allows you to strike a deathblow, an attack that instantly takes one health bar. Moreover, the stealth elements (inspired by the likes of Tenchu and to a certain degree the Metal Gear Solid series) allow you to remain undetected and in doing so you can eliminate some enemies and even take one health bar of some main bosses. In addition, you have a grappling hook that helps you reach different places. Also, Wolf has a special ability that allows him to resurrect if you die fighting. This ability is limited, but can be restored by defeating enemies. Another important thing to add is that saving the game can only be done by quitting to the main menu, and by doing so, enemies respawn (except bosses) and you replenish your health bar and health items. Also, compared to other FromSoftware games, the game can be paused and our character can jump (Yay!). In addition, you can talk to NPCs to know more about the game's plot and complete some quests.

Sekiro has been regarded as a game with a very high difficulty, and I have suffered a lot while playing it. The gameplay is amazing and fighting your way through the levels is an unforgettable experience. The game has a total of 41 bosses and mini bosses, and most of them are a nightmare, but every battle is epic and a rewarding challenge. Every boss requires a different strategy and combats are based in trial and error. A player is going to die countless times in Sekiro, and you can get frustrated easily, but achieving victory in this video game is the greatest reward you can obtain.

Some characters in Sekiro are:

- Wolf (Okami in Japanese) aka One-Armed Wolf (Sekiro in Japanese): He is the protagonist of the story. An orphan who was saved from a war-torn battlefield as a child and trained to become a skilled shinobi (or ninja). He is not a very talkative person, but goes through hell and back to protect his master Kuro. He is given the ability of resurrection by him.

- Kuro, The Divine Heir: He has special blood that grants immortality. He is abducted by Genichiro Ashina who wants to use that power. He is a young, but very intelligent and mature boy.

- Genichiro Ashina: Member of the Ashina clan. He wants to save his country from enemy forces by using Kuro's blood. He is a very skilled swordsman and the man who cut Wolf's left arm.

- Sculptor: A man who carves Bhuddas statues to atone his past sins. He is the one who finds Wolf after being left for dead and gives him his new prosthetic arm and helps you through your journey.

- Emma: A woman who helps Sekiro in his journey with her medicine expertise. She is kind and loyal to Lord Kuro as well.

- Ishiin Ashina: Warlord whom through a coup took control of Ashina. Twenty years later, old and ill, he just waits for his enemies to take over. He is a very kind man towards Okami and helps us through our journey as well, even if it means going against his adoptive grandson Genichiro's wish.

- Owl: Sekiro's adoptive father. He taught him the way of the shinobi and apparently died on Hirata state three years before the game begins. A very powerful warrior with shady motivations.

Visually speaking, graphics are a 10/10. Sekiro is beautiful, since the scenery is one of the most detailed I have ever seen on a video game. The attention to detail FromSoftware put in every level is amazing. Every scenario is breathtaking and every combat takes place in very distinctive places.

Inspired by ancient japanese music, the OST is nothing but great. Compared to other FromSoftware games, Sekiro has level and boss music, and they are calm, sad, beautiful and epic, which go pretty well with the game's themes.

Regarding the plot, Sekiro does not have a cryptic story like other FromSoftware games. Actually, the story is pretty straight-forward, but if you want to know more about certain characters or facts, you can read items and talk to the multiple NPCs around Ashina and its surroundings.

The theme of immortality once again appears in this FromSoftware game. The obsession the characters have regarding eternal life drives them insane and hungry for power. An example of this is Genichiro, who wants to create an army of immortal beings to save his country, even if it means sacrificing his own humanity in the process. Throughout Ashina and its surrounding many people have lost themselves because of their obsession with the divine blood, but Wolf's loyalty and sense of honor is greater. Genichiro wants to save his country, while Sekiro wants to protects and save a child. Both noble motivations that are twisted by the atrocities they commit on the battlefield.

War has never been fair or beautiful, and in Sekiro's world it is no different. We find betrayal and hatred, but also characters who want to do the right thing to protect or help someone they cherish. There are divided loyalties by proud warriors who serve faithfully to their masters, and people haunted by their glory days or past sins.

The video game has four endings, and to get them you have to play again to find how to unlock them.

All in all, Sekiro is a masterpiece who deserves all the praise it gets, because of its gameplay, combats, graphics, plot, and music. Everything in this game is placed almost perfectly and has a lot of replay value, and in the +50 hours I put into the game I had frustration, but also lots of fun. Reaching the final battle and beating the last boss is an experience that every hardcore gamer should try at least once in their life.

Death Stranding (2019): What We Were Meant To Be

"Once there was an explosion, a bang that gave birth to time and space. Once there was an explosion, a bang that sent a planet spinning in that space. Once there was an explosion, a bang that gave rise to life as we know it... And then came the next explosion. An explosion that will be our last"

Hideo Kojima is a man known for creating the Metal Gear Solid series. He usually has complex, amazing and convoluted/confusing stories, with great attention to detail, groundbreaking gameplay, and long movie-like cutscenes. If you look for almost every top game in a console, Metal Gear will come up at least once. Personally, I have played almost every game he has made since 2000, which means I have played his games for 20 years, most of them having as a main character Solid Snake, this larger-than-life spy/soldier/action hero who likes to smoke and hide in carton boxes. Solid Snake is an icon and Kojima has made his name resonate in the gaming and non-gaming community for creating videogames and his peculiar persona. Death Stranding is the last game developed by him, following his controversial departure from Konami Productions after the company cancelled a new Silent Hill game called Silent Hills in which he was working with film director Guillermo del Toro and The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus.

Before working without Konami's involvement in his already existent Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima still being part of Konami released Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (2014), P.T. (2014) and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015). The first one serving as the prologue chapter to The Phantom Pain. The Phantom Pain received critical acclaim for its gameplay and story, however many detractors felt that the game was not a finished product, because the second half of the game had re-used content from previous missions and the story left many loose ends that never got resolved. In addition, P.T. served as a demo for the cancelled horror game Silent Hills. P.T. also received critical acclaim and created high expectations for the potential upcoming Silent Hill, which we all know never came to light. Moreover, Konami after releasing an allegedly unfinished game (The Phantom Pain) and cancelling Silent Hills, plus the internal issues Hideo Kojima was having with some people inside the company made the designer to quit and focus on Kojima Productions. So, after all of that shitstorm he started working on his new game, Death Stranding. 

In DS you play as Sam Porter Bridges, a delivery man who is tasked with reconnecting a wireless communication network in the United States known as "Chiral Network" after an extinction event called Death Stranding, which decimated most of the world and ominous creatures from another dimension called BTs (Beached Things) started roaming the planet. You main goal is to deliver cargo and unite the country.

DS has a total 70 main missions/orders, while the side quests or standard orders are close to 500 (I think. I can't really confirm this). The game is divided in a prologue, and 15 episodes (number 15 not being a "real" chapter):

- Prologue: Porter

- Episode 1: Bridget

- Episode 2: Amelie

- Episode 3: Fragile

- Episode 4: Unger

- Episode 5: Mama

- Episode 6: Deadman

- Episode 7: Clifford

- Episode 8: Heartman

- Episode 9: Higgs

- Episode 10: Die-Hardman

- Episode 11: Clifford Unger

- Episode 12: Bridges

- Episode 13: Sam Strand

- Episode 14: Lou

- Episode 15: Tomorrow is in your hands

Before going deeper into the mechanics and plot I think I need to give some terminology for most of the things that are present in the game:

- Death Stranding: A cataclysmic event which created creatures known as BTs (Beached Things).

- Beached Things: Creatures that come from the Beach. BTs are invisible, but thanks to a special scanner they can be seen; they look like shadowy figures connected with an umbilical cord and consume life. After consuming people, the dead necrotize.

- Beach: A place that is between life and death and where BTs come from. Beaches are unique to every living person.

- Odradek: A scanner that helps you detect BTs, analyze the terrain and objects.

- Necrotization: Process that make the dead explode, creating voidouts.

- Voidouts: Explotions produced by the dead when they start to rot. Where a voidout takes place nothing survives and all that's left is just a big crater.

- Timefall: Rain produced by BTs. Whether it's rain or snow, Timefall ages and deteriorates whatever it touches.

- Bridges:  Company Sam works for.

- Knot Cities: Surviving colonies after the Death Stranding.

- United Cities of America (UCA.): Name the United States of America has now.

- Bridge Baby (BB): A premature baby that is a link between life and death. A BB is stored in a pod, and can help people to sense the presence of nearby BTs. 

- DOOMS: Supernatural abilities that allow people to sense, see or control BTs.

- Repatriate: People who can return from death. Our main character is a repatriate, therefore if he dies, he can come back to life.

- The Seam: Underwater world that is between the world of the living and the Beach.

- Chiral Network: A wireless communication system.

- MULEs: Terrorists who are obsessed with cargo, and steal what you carry.

- Extinction Entity (EE): Creatures who bring an extinction event.

- Cryptobiotes: Worm-like creatures that when consumed restore your blood levels. They usually appear in places where you pee (yes, peeing is a mechanic).

- Ka: Named given to the physical body in DS.

- Ha: Named given to the soul in DS.

So, what is Death Stranding? DS is defined by Kojima as the first "strand type game", and it might be a new video game genre since he was one of the founding fathers of the stealth game genre with the Metal Gear Solid series and it wasn't after a few years of being released that it received the "stealth" tag. But, what is a Strand Game?

First of all, the gameplay is pretty much like this:

- Hologram of a character tells you to deliver a certain cargo from point A to B and connect the Chiral Network.

- You order your cargo and objects before starting your travel.

- You start walking.

- You encounter BTs or MULEs and you fight or avoid them.

- You keep walking, climbing, and tripping over.

- You get to the destination.

- You deliver the cargo and connect the Chiral Network.

- Repeat.

As you advance, you access to new areas and produce new items with a Portable Chiral Constructor (PCC), this sort of 3D printer that allows you to construct structures likes bridges, generators, etc. The Chiral Nerwork is the basis for this new "asynchronous online multiplayer" which let other players help you by leaving supplies, structures and messages. Structures will eventually be destroyed thanks to the Timefall though. So, it is a single player video game and you never encounter other players directly, but you are never really alone. DS is a game based on kindness and being helpful to others.

When you finish an order you are evaluated, and your performance is rated by likes (similar to social networks likes). If you deliver a cargo in optimal conditions, the better, because you can level up, and in turn you improve your stability and weight capacity to carry more things. Remember that depending on how you order and pack your cargo, the way you move is greatly affected; if you have a messy order of your cargo, the easier will be for you to trip and fall.

DS has been mockingly called a "walking simulator game" or  "the first delivery game" (the last one labelled by myself), and it's not far from the reality. I have had a really frustrating and tedious time playing it. The fact that the landscape, despite being beautiful is hard to walk on, climb on or to do basically anything is challenging. Even if you walk you can trip over and your cargo falls and you fuck everything up. If you fall too much or fall from a really high place you can destroy the cargo and fail the order. If you have vehicles, then you encounter rocky places in which said vehicle doesn't work at all. The greatest enemy in the game is nature, since Timefall can destroy your cargo, or rocks make you trip over. Moreover, the encounters with BTs and MULEs are a nuisance and are not as epic as they should have been. Boss fights are really simple as well, which is weird for a Kojima game, since he often puts a lot of detail to enemies and their Artificial Intelligence. The bosses are these menacing tar-made Lovecraftian-like creatures, but they do not do much. You just throw them a hematic grenade (special grenade made of your own blood) or shoot until they are done for. Additionally, taking care of BB is really important since if BB is stressed it will eventually shut down and it won't detect nearby BTs. You have to handle it with care like a good dad takes cares of his baby.

Another big issue I had with the game is the really slow beginning, because the game really starts after like 10-15 hours of a 40-50 hours of total gameplay. I felt the same way with The Phantom Pain, which with DS are the two games I have less enjoyed from Hideo Kojima. I don't like them that much for different reasons. The Phantom Pain had amazing gameplay, epic movie-like moments, spectacular attention to detail, very good programming, but it lacked a focus on the story, the shocking and unnecessary twist and the fact that it was allegedly (I'd say literally) incomplete. DS has most of the time a really good attention to detail, specifically how Sam moves and reacts, the cutscenes, music, and insane plot, but the gameplay, which should be the main focus of a video game is not for everybody, it was not for me and I have played many, many games in my life. I literally bought a PS4 BECAUSE of DS, and waited three years for the release and it was not the game I thought it was going to be. Many loved it because of the same reason; because it was original, unique, different and it is... However, delivering stuff with relatively simple enemies in a boring walking simulator with frustrating environment did not make me have a good time. Kojima wanted to unite people through DS, and the only thing that happened is people praising Kojima and others calling him a hack. I am kind of in the middle, however what I really enjoyed of this game was the plot, which as crazy as it is, it tells a story of bonding and humanity.

The characters in DS are:

Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus): He is our main character. Sam is a delivery man who suffers from haphephobia (fear of touching or being touched) and has a mysterious past. The only thing we know at the beginning is that he is the adoptive son of Bridget Strand and step-brother of Amelie Strand. Sam has DOOMS and can sense BTs and also a repatriate, which means he can come back from the land of the dead. He also likes to drink Monster Energy.

Fragile (Léa Seydoux): Woman whom Sam encounters and starts a friendship with. Fragile works in a company called Fragile Express. Her body looks really aged except for her face, due to Timefall. She can jump through space and has history with Higgs Monaghan, whom she despises. 

Deadman (Guillermo del Toro/Jesse Corti): A doctor from Bridges. He is really interested in BBs and becomes Sam's friend. He is surrounded by secrets until he reveals his origin. 

Heartman (Nicolas Winding Refn/Darren Jacobs): A man who dies every 21 minutes. When he dies, he visits the Beach to investigate and look for this dead wife and daughter and know more about the Death Stranding. He usually gives you thumbs up and likes. Since he dies a lot and has a short amount of time in our world, he has TV series, stories, and music that can be enjoyed in 21 minutes or less.

Bridget Strand (Lindsay Wagner/Emily O'Brien): Sam's adoptive mother and United Cities of America's president. She has cancer and dies at the beginning of the game, not before giving Sam the mission to unite the country to give humanity hope.

Samantha America Strand aka Amelie (Lindsay Wagner/Emily O'Brien): Sam's step-sister. After her mother Bridget dies, she becomes the new UCA president. She has been captured by the terrorist group Homo Demens, and as Sam reconnects the country, he also has to save her.

Die-Hardman (Tommie Earl Jenkins): Director of Bridges and Sam's former boss. He is the one who is in charge after Amelie's abduction and gives Sam orders and guides him. 

Mama aka Målingen (Margaret Qualley): Another member of Bridges. Mama is linked to her baby BT and has a twin sister called Lockne.

Lockne (Margaret Qualley): Mountain Knot City's overseer and Mama's twin sister.

Higgs Monaghan (Troy Baker): Leader of the terrorist group Homo Demens and one of the main antagonists of the game. He is a cruel and relentless man who wants to bring the end of everything. He has supernatural abilities such as chiralium, BT and weather control, teleportation, telekinesis, among many others. He wears a golden mask and has his own pod with an obscure creature resembling a BB. He calls himself  "The Particle of God that Permeates All Existence" and usually breaks the fourth wall and sees everything as a game.

Clifford Unger (Mads Mikkelsen): A mysterious soldier nicknamed "combat veteran" who has control of other BTs in a war-like Beach. He is another of the antagonists of the game and wants BB at all costs. He likes to smoke while commanding his forces against Sam.

DS offers almost a 12 hour movie, which I think should have worked better as an interactive movie than this new "strand type game". Perhaps going in the same line as David Cage's videogames like Beyond: Two Souls (2013) or Detroit: Become Human (2018) would have been better to explore in depth the themes DS tackles and enjoy the story even more.

Strand is defined by Merriam Webster as:

1. The land bordering a body of water.

2. To leave in a strange or an unfavorable place especially without funds or means to depart.

3. Fibers or filaments twisted, plaited, or laid parallel to form a unit for further twisting or plaiting into yarn, thread, rope, or cordage.

And the meaning of strand varies in the game as well. There are many themes throughout the story which I am going to write about in here, but first I want to talk about the bad aspects of the story. Is DS style-over-substance? First of all, I think Kojima needs an editor or someone to check on him, because he uses way too much exposition; every character explain things like three times, and talk way too much when there's no need to. Moreover, the dialogue can be wacky and outright ridiculous, and there's a lot of tears involved, but this also happened with the Metal Gear Solid series as well. It's part of the charm perhaps, but the over-the-top and unrealistic moments are many, and the plot can be polished, however, despite all of that I felt things while watching the plot unravel. If a video game makes me feel different emotions I believe it accomplished something.

Regarding the good aspects of the plot, it has many funny and sad moments, there are horror and action elements as well in this sci-fi post-apocalyptic tale about a broken man trying to reconnect with his own humanity. Sam is a man haunted by his past; he has no connections and is given the task to unite a country that he doesn't really care about. "Build bridges, not walls" is a phrase that I have read somewhere, and DS is all about bonding, about building thing to connect people, not divide them. Metal Gear Solid has themes about genes, DNA and leaving a legacy along with many father-son issues and he has said is it his way of coping with the loss of his father when he was young. While making DS his mother passed sadly passed away so the theme of connecting is important, since he wants to reconnect with the dead, the people he wishes were here with him, but cannot reach no matter how hard he tries. DS tells us that even after death, the ones we love are always with us. We create bonds with people we meet in our lives and those people will always be with us, no matter how much we grow up and change. Moreover, the themes of nihilism and pessimism are present as well, especially in characters like Higgs, who literally wants to bring an extinction event wiping out everything, because we are living in borrowed times and Apocalypse will reach us sooner or later, so he prefers sooner. 

In addition, DS questions us about themes that games likes NieR: Automata (2017) have done before: How do we live after the world ended? Trying to find meaning in a world after it ended always lead to this unnerving feeling of hopelessness and sorrow. After the Death Stranding lives changed for the worse and many people suffered, including our main character Sam, who becomes this bitter, misanthropic, angry, sad person whom, by meeting new people and having new experiences, starts to see life in another light.

How do we keep going after we've lost everything? Sam has to suffer through a rain that ages, monsters, dying over and over again, terrorists, and many other perils while being haunted by his memories throughout this 40-something hour gameplay. It is a very long walk externally, but also internally, since the more he keeps delivering things, the more he changes. Why? Because he gets to interact with other people, and despite suffering haphephobia he tries his best to bond with others and establish relationships. 

Is this 12 hour movie perfect? No, but it offers many great characters, with amazing backstories like Cliff Unger. Mads Mikkelsen offers another one of his great villains to his long list of stellar characters with this mysterious supernatural soldier. My favorite moments are with him on the screen. I love Mama as well and her tragic backstory, and to be fair there aren't characters I despised. All of them offer something nice to enrich the plot.

Also, the beautiful landscape offers a nice view. Some of the places you visit are very green, others look like Mars, or totally buried in snow, among the futuristic facilities you visit in each delivery. You are alone, but never lonely in these breathtaking terrains. Additionally, the score and OST are really good and my only real complaint about it is that you can't listen to the songs by choice as you did in The Phantom Pain. At the end I'll leave a link to the song Ludens by the British band Bring Me The Horizon.

"From Sapiens to Ludens" is the moto of Kojima Productions. The word Ludens is taken from the 1938 book called Homo Ludens written by Johan Huizinga. We are humans that think and feel, but playing is also part of us. Perhaps we, Homo Sapiens (people with wisdom), are becoming Homo Ludens (people who play) and with this are creating connections. People tend to believe that entertainment divides us, specifically video games, but being on your own in a game with people you have never met can also create good memories. DS tries to unite us with its absolutely batshit crazy story, in which the final scene will be in my memory for years to come.

Is Death Stranding "A Hideo Kojima Game"? Absolutely. Can it be better? Yes, it can. Death Stranding is an ambitious experiment that might not have worked 100%, but the plot and themes it tackles, and the amazing way it presents them is unique and interesting. Death Stranding is a journey about accepting pain and sorrow, connecting to the ones you love and believing again in humanity through the eyes of Norman Reedus and his funky fetus  a delivery man and his weird cute baby. We hate, we love, we suffer, we laugh.. And as Sam, if we let people in, we can change for the better, because we need to... What else is there to do? In Death Stranding and life at the end of the day all we have in a hopeless world... is hope.