wow, good timing, I have just finished Death Stranding. I LOVED that game ! It is perfect for the covid era : you play as a courier bringing packages to people

wow, good timing, I have just finished Death Stranding. I LOVED that game ! It is perfect for the covid era : you play as a courier bringing packages to people hiding in bunkers after an apocalyptic event. With a big emphasis on bringing people together and non violence. It also has as many original mechanics that an AAA game can have : you get the basic move and shoot AAA formula, but on top of it you have some great ideas about movement and they work very well at the kinetic level. Having to hold the grips of your controler to do not slip down a slope or to hold a package tight works very well to immerse you, especially coupled with great sound design and haptic feedback. [somewhat spoilery comment below] However, while I loved some of Kojima's gimmicks, this is a game where many of them were not needed. Characters with masks, hidden identities, double crossing galore, all of that works in the spy world of metal gear but feels very out of place in this story of survival. If they had cut on all of that and focused on the core ideas, I think it would have been a more interesting experience. Ironically, while I really appreciate that it is possible to have both AAA budget and a personal directorial touch; I feel that this game would have needed a director or such above Kojima to bring some more focus.