076
REVIEW
INFO
FORMAT PS4
ETA OUT NOW
PUB SONY
DEV KOJIMA
PRODUCTIONSamPorterBridgesmightbe
the name of Norman Reedus’
Solid-Snake-like gruff lead,
but after we’ve strapped a
ladder to each of his limbs
he might as well be known as
Ladderman – in keeping with
the codenames afforded to the
rest of the supporting cast.Our ladder-strapped arms and legs don’t
allow us to zip around the post-apocalyptic
landscapes Doc-Ock-style, but they do afford us
a certain mastery over the realistically designed
environments. Most of the game revolves around
Sam having to deliver packages from one point
on a map to another (and mostly on foot, thanks
to its unkind terrain).
Unlike in open worlds like Assassin’s Creed
Odyssey’s, where you can sprint easily across
Greece, every route you take in Death Stranding
has to be carefully considered. It’s fantastic that
the open world’s very existence is a key part of
the game, rather than it just being somewhere
you go to travel between missions. Death
Stranding’s one of the few games we’ve played
where a river has caused us to stop and nervously
consider our options.ROAD TRIP
In the wake of an incident called the Death
Stranding (a series of ‘voidouts’ which instantly
destroyed large sections of the country and began
to break down the barriers between the world of
the living and the world of the dead), survivors
have been isolating themselves, losing the“IT’S FANTASTIC THAT THE OPEN
WORLD’S VERY EXISTENCE IS A KEY
PART OF THE GAME ITSELF.”
DEATH
STRANDING
Sometimes a man’s just
got to take a strand
BB DRIVER @MrOscarTK