So I've been glancing over the comments on here, threads and on tweets to get an idea of what people think of the game so far and well, I notice a lot of worried comments, I see a lot of negativity after reading people's early impressions on the game etc. comparing it to MGS V, which some didn't like and you know what, that's ok. I can reason with people's caution of picking up a game, given the climate in the industry.
And people do process games differently, everyone has a genre they like or stuff they rather enjoy. The biggest worry and well, I have to agree that it is a trend that can go either way, like Battle Royale is the "Empty Open World" debate. We have Red Dead Redemption 2, Breath of the Wild, Fallout 76, The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, Skyrim and so on.
I went into Breath of the Wild with zero knowledge, I knew it was an open-world experience with choices and no set sequence of events, new inventory system and gear quality. And I know many will say it's a crazy risk but I was literally buying a Switch just for Breath of the Wild. The new formula, the new take on the series left a positive impression on me, to the point I started a second play-through of it to experience things differently from start to finish.
I know some people are on the fence about Metal Gear Solid V, from the Konami fallout to the mechanics and open world being so-so. I personally still enjoy the mechanics of Metal Gear Solid V, I personally think it was ahead of its time in terms of planning, strategizing and performance. Still to this day, I find new ways of integrating tech and equipment to complete my mission. Now I know some people still complain about the ending, the story and the overall twist but I could see the message it sent, how we as players took the role of a leader, a legend and made it our own.
Fallout 3, this sticks in my head because it was a rather fond memory when I finally gave Fallout 3 a chance. When Fallout 3 first came out, I found it boring, it didn't click with me. I put the game aside, thinking it was a waste of €60 that Christmas. The Summer came around and I got the itch to play Fallout 3 again on my Xbox, saying "Meh, I'll give it another shot" 3 months later, I was aiming for a perfect gamer score on it. I finally got my footing, I finally got into the rhythm and honestly, it became one of my favorite games. But the reason I tie this into both the reception and the style of Death Stranding's walking around is that one night, I was wandering the Wasteland with Dogmeat and the ambient music was playing and I couldn't help feel a sort of bliss, exploring a barren wasteland, picking up the fragments of this world and writing my own story. Something eerily beautiful in the Radioactive scorned world.
Another little discussion I've had with a good friend of mine was about the Witcher 3. Now I'm a big, big fan of the Witcher, read the books, enjoyed all three games (even Witcher 1 which does divide fans) and I'm looking forward to the TV series. My friend did not enjoy the Witcher 3, he sat down and gave it a bash but the combat wasn't what he expected and he couldn't stick by it. I always respect his thoughts, it wasn't for him and he respects my admiration and appreciation of it. It's something we "connect" over, discussing the game and our experiences. We do share the same positive thoughts about MGS V and moments that stuck out. One of the moments that still literally haunts my friend is the moment we had to execute our own men, who were infected with the vocal cord parasites. The fact your men would stand there and accept their fate, for you!
There is another thing I did read earlier in a tweet and I have to mention it because I have my own perspective on it now. Talking about Quiet in MGS V in the helicopter being flirtatious with you and her attire being sexualized versus Norman Reedus taking offense and punching the camera when his crotch is stared at for too long. It provoked me to think of a few things and process thoughts. So Quiet, Kojima said we'd feel bad for making her a sex icon? I can reason with it now because like Venom Snake being Big Boss's double, his front-man, she was a subject and pawn for Skull Face as well. They spoke a common tongue like most characters in MGS V and that was Revenge. Big Boss, Kaz, Skull Face, Quiet, Eli, all those people were connected by one thing, and that was revenge. But getting back to the topic of Norman Reedus's response to his crotch being stared at, it reminded me of a video about sexual harassment and inappropriate practice in the workplace. 80% of the people were men and while some think it might be double standards for Reedus to react, it is becoming more common for men to speak out about being sexualized and objectified. Now I'm aware this could be taken out of context and biased but there's a deeper meaning than just "stop looking at my junk". We also know that Sam has a fear of being touched so maybe, this plays into it too but hey, that's my five cents on that topic, onto the next bit.
Looking at it another way, Blade Runner, an iconic Sci-fi movie with one of the most beautiful character moments in cinema was a flop on release, it took some time to age and become the gem it is now. A lot of people love Marvel, a lot don't. A lot of people like DC, a lot don't. Maybe it's just me becoming more open to reason and understanding people's needs, wants and perspective on things but we're all going to have differing opinions no matter what and even critics will say the same. That shouldn't taint or sway people away from games. I remember a review about Horizon Zero Dawn from Destructoid, they gave it a 7.5 and you know what? I respected their honest review, I didn't let it taint my view on the game and I'm glad it didn't, because Horizon Zero Dawn became another major favourite of mine. Days Gone had a mixed reception, another friend of mine adores the game, he went all out to platinum it!. Assassin's Creed and the sailing, I know people who hated sailing and others who loved it. When I looked at Black Flag, I thought "Pirates, so dumb, I'll probably skip it". Ended up buying it the night of the PS4 release, played through it and loved every second.
Anyway, it's 4am here, those are my thoughts so far, I know I may have rambled but I love sharing my little stories about games, good or bad and reminding people that release day is the time when we'll know if it's really for us or not. Thank you for reading my spiel :) <3
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