So, my reaction to this game way back when was a much longer rant. I felt like putting it here because I liked how I worded it, but below you will find an updated rant that is much shorter, and a TL,DR all the way at the bottom.
- Rant 1: before we knew anything really
- Rant 2: after this trailer (see below)
- TL,DR: scroll to the bottom
...
So, to begin:
Maybe it's the Metal Gear fan in me howling, but I still don't "get" why everyone is hyped for this one. I think... I think I just, or rather have hated Kojima's storytelling/directing since Phantom Pain.
As much as I loved Guns of the Patriots I won't defend it as a brilliantly-written game that wasn't trying to close all the loose ends, contained a worthless VR training mode, and plenty of useless content like an oil barrel for Snake to never use after the same level it was introduced in. The final battle with Vamp was disappointing, Naomi and Ocelot's motivations and actions made little sense to me, and overall, it was the sort of highfalutin storytelling that I soaked up as a teenager, but am highly allergic to as an adult.
Then we get to Metal Gear Peace Walker. I won't talk about that one.
Metal Gear Solid 5 might have been the most entertaining Metal Gear gameplay-wise but I hated its story, or lack thereof, and while Konami might have been to blame for some of it, I was never convinced that Kojima's style of writing wasn't the reason the narrative disappointed me. Had he finished the game to his specifications - it still would have been an underwhelming plot with underwhelming characters (cept Kaz, he's lovely).
All of that to say - I really fell out of love with Kojima as a writer, but his ideas are usually fascinating to look at. And, sure, a baby in a jar, floating squid people, naked Norman Reedus. It's all great for memes and "da fuq, dis game gun b good."
So then - this game?
Really, what about this game grabbed you specifically? I thought it was the babies in the liquid for me, but honestly the more and more cryptic this game's marketing is the less and less I like it. I remember when GOP and Snake Eater did entire trailers that weren't truly part of the final game. Sons of Liberty did the Snake-Raiden switch which seemed fresh at the time - but at least I didn't feel like the game was just one big ball of "f-ck expectations." It wasn't being cryptic and weird for the sake of being cryptic and weird.
So my problem is:
This game does. I feel like no matter what I try to speculate about this game it's going to be wrong because it's so weird and David Lynch-like there's just no real understanding it. I'm looking at a video right now that sums up Death Stranding as "Brilliantly Artistic." I would definitely question that. And, yet, everyone else seems to really be digging this game.
I was told once "wait for an actual gameplay trailer." That trailer came. Still felt too cryptic and weird. Then I was told "wait for more." More came. Still feels cryptic and weird.
I was a little intrigued by the "stick and rope" analogy Kojima initially described the gameplay with, but now it just looks like a fusion of Phantom Pain and Ghostbusters. So, that was disappointing.
I guess this shouldn't be surprising because I don't care for games like FNAF where half the story is hidden in tiny little corners, the creator is constantly trolling, and most of the known plot is from fans making thousands of videos scrutinizing every detail. Not a fan of games like Bendy or Dark Souls either where the details are intentionally tiny. I like Twin Peaks but I hate Twin Peaks the Return because it's just this big, allegedly artistic, seemingly nihilistic ball of "what the actual f-ck is happening?" and loses the occasional heart-warming goofiness of the original.
So, something like Death Stranding, weird, vague, written by a man known for inventive twists and pathos - maybe it was never going to grab me.
TL,DR:
The f-ck is this game? This game is way too weird. What is Kojima on and can I have some?
What is Death Stranding? How do we define it, how would you currently describe it to someone?
The best I can say about Death Stranding right now is, "It... it seems to be a horror game..."
A) "...about a post-apocalyptic earth where humans are carrying around mechanical, amniotic devices, and seem to be in conflict with some kind of supernatural force that currently walks the earth."
B) "...in which you control an astronaut or a scientist who seems to be coming down from acid." All we know is Norman Reedus is in it and there's weird District 9-sh't going on - that's enough for some people to be hooked."
No comments:
Post a Comment