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Death Stranding Dunkey review

Are you enjoying Death Stranding?

  • Yes its a great experience

    Votes: 712 43.4%

  • No its a mess

    Votes: 367 22.4%

  • I Have Mixed feelings

    Votes: 207 12.6%

  • Thor: The Dark World

    Votes: 354 21.6%
  • Total voters
    1,640
leafcutter

leafcutter

Member
Feb 14, 2018
1,219
Dunkey plays a game poorly on purpose to gather funny clips for a review, then blames the game. Nothing new here.
 
Starshaped

Starshaped

Banned
Jun 11, 2019
49
Between this and watching DSP fall down a mountain with explosive cargo about 10 times, it makes me ask why they aren't route planning, building ladders etc, and instead they're just brute forcing themselves over terrain. Watching DSP trying to drive a truck up a mountain is possibly the most painful thing I've seen in a long time.
 
Gero

Gero

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,231
Starshaped said:
Between this and watching DSP fall down a mountain with explosive cargo about 10 times, it makes me ask why they aren't route planning, building ladders etc, and instead they're just brute forcing themselves over terrain. Watching DSP trying to drive a truck up a mountain is possibly the most painful thing I've seen in a long time.
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Because they are bad, just like most of the reviewers who hated the game because of that.
 
GymWolf86

GymWolf86

Banned
Nov 10, 2018
4,663
Starshaped said:
Between this and watching DSP fall down a mountain with explosive cargo about 10 times, it makes me ask why they aren't route planning, building ladders etc, and instead they're just brute forcing themselves over terrain. Watching DSP trying to drive a truck up a mountain is possibly the most painful thing I've seen in a long time.
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Is dps dr disrespect?? He hates slow games without action, why forcing on playing something like ds??
 
Ananasas

Ananasas

Member
Jul 11, 2018
1,743
linkwashere said:
The main problem of the traversal is the total lack of challenge that makes many of the traversal options almost irrelevant, and how the ones that are relevant make the traversal irrelevant (zip lines) which made the game lacks the reward it should have for a game that it's about moving from one place to other. Also, what should be some key and rewarding mechanics for the traversal like the vehicles make the experience even worse because of their poor gameplay and physics in relation to the terrain.

Interrumping the traversal with shit combat that it's just there to make everything slower than it is, it's not a great decision either and just everything more tedious than it should.
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Lack of challenge yet a lot of reviews seem to constantly fall down. The planning is the challange, you dont magicly get all zip lines connected, you still need to use ladder to get up some clifs in order to set up zip line connections.
 

Deleted member 2809

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
25,478
A very popular channel made a video about a very popular recent game
And it got views ?

giphy.gif
 

Deleted member 32135

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 9, 2017
1,555
Ananasas said:
Lack of challenge yet a lot of reviews seem to constantly fall down. The planning is the challange, you dont magicly get all zip lines connected, you still need to use ladder to get up some clifs in order to set up zip line connections.
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L2+R2. There, your amazing challenge to not falling down. So rewarding.

The game is as easy as it can gets. And it gets worse after chapter 2.
 
MilesQ

MilesQ

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,490
nib95 said:
You do what most people do, play the actual game? You know, the way the gameplay and story is meant to be experienced....
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The story doesn't get any better actually playing the game either because the story isn't very good or particularly engaging. The long ass cut-scenes only make you annoyed that you're not playing the game.
 

Deleted member 679

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,741
Manfred said:
You cannot skip anything with tyrolean traverses, because it won't work until you restore electricity and/or the chiral network, that implies to do a part of the work by yourself. You won't be able to build and/or see others structures before having linked the main base of each territories by feets, or bring electricity with an highway.

And you have the placement of nodes, where you have to study and experiment the topography because a simple rock can ruin an optimal path, and taking account of a distance that can be easily upgraded if you have filled your previous bases with chemicals.

Also, multiplayer won't necessarily put you in sessions where that network is coherent or completed. Then you have to timed missions or big cargos requiring sort of planning when did in "premium" mode where you cannot improvise that much.
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So it's more for backtracking than to reach your original goal? That's more interesting, for sure.

SuperFakerBros said:
That's exactly what people have pointed out repeatedly, myself included, but, for some folk, the name itself is enough for the argument to apply and it's not as if we don't think a series or developer's or publisher's history doesn't have an impact on a game's score. We just think it's normally not enough to make up for a game not actually being particularly good as most folk, well, aren't really diehard fans of a series

My guess is, at least in these kinds of instances, that a beloved series or developer or whatever is given the benefit of the doubt if a game, while still being good, isn't necessarily great. It's just that, afterwards, they might not be as forgiving if they don't course correct. Albeit, that's sort of going into conspiracy and is just an idea that I've mused in my head
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That's more than fair, and, to be completely honest, I don't participate in many in depth discussions about the Zelda franchise, so my impressions are just from glancing at discussions, and all I saw was the mocking. But it's absolutely possible, and even likely, that people tried arguing in good faith for a long time before they got tired of it and just started dismissing the point entirely.
 
OutofMana

OutofMana

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,081
California
MilesQ said:
The story doesn't get any better actually playing the game either because the story isn't very good or particularly engaging. The long ass cut-scenes only make you annoyed that you're not playing the game.
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The Mads storyline is the only worthwhile narrative. Too bad you have to deal with the rest of the bad story telling to get anything out of that.
Most engaging thing the game has to offer is the gameplay and the asynchronous multiplayer.

As for the Dunkey video, he obviously didn't like the game. Whole video is just his typical shtick in explaining why. People are just taking it way too seriously.
I'm sure this will continue and reach critical mass if it doesn't get game of the year at Geoff's award show.
 
nib95

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
MilesQ said:
The story doesn't get any better actually playing the game either because the story isn't very good or particularly engaging. The long ass cut-scenes only make you annoyed that you're not playing the game.
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I'm really enjoying the story personally. I find it pretty fascinating and really unique. Whilst I think it's heavy handed in places and has those classic Kojima oddities, it's super engrossing and on the whole very well acted. I'm always looking forward to when more of it is unravelled and more things are explained.
 
Wamb0wneD

Wamb0wneD

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
18,735
DrDeckard said:
In 24 hours? Wow.
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No, overall. But these videos have a huge headstart and then are kind of tapering out. It's not like they will get the brunt of their views in the weeks after a video is put up.

It's just a popular youtuber with a popular game. The video title doesn't even say anything about how he liked it, so saying it's about negativity is straight up wrong.
 
DrDeckard

DrDeckard

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,109
UK
Wamb0wneD said:
No, overall. But these videos have a huge headstart and then are kind of tapering out. It's not like they will get the brunt of their views in the weeks after a video is put up.

It's just a popular youtuber with a popular game. The video title doesn't even say anything about how he liked it, so saying it's about negativity is straight up wrong.
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Yeah but then people will share the video and say how negative it is etc and it spreads.
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,380
GymWolf86 said:
Never farmed anything, you have a tons just by exploring the world, the game is not shy in terms of food and shit to mix by any means...
And food or crafted shit doesnt really change the concept of what i was saying.

My point was, why zelda climbing is fun? Or more fun than ds climbing? It's factually wrong and i was originally talking about what dunkey said in his review, it pull me out of every thing he has to say about the game...

Like when jim sterling said that knack 2 controls and combat are unprecise, i can't take seriously someone who said something so factually wrong...
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This is what makes BOTW so brilliant. You took the time and effort to find a cooking pot and load up on stamina items prior to heading out. While the average player was tackling the climbing puzzles, you said "HELL no" and took all of your stamina items and made a bunch of dishes so you could brute force and trivialize the fun climbing challenges. That was your decision prior to setting out and exploring the world. That was part of your experience that you played your hand in creating alongside the game. You made your preparations, you packed your bags, and you went for the hike that you envisioned for yourself.
 
Hate

Hate

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,730
The reviews of this game has certainly turned me off from buying it day one but it seems like the game needs to be judged personally as it can be divisive.

One day I'll play it.

sorry dunkey, I love ya but I ain't watching that video. I know how spoilery your videos get.
 
Jonathan Lanza

Jonathan Lanza

"I've made a Gigantic mistake"
Member
Feb 8, 2019
6,818
EatChildren said:
The issue with discourse surrounding Death Stranding is how we quantify a bad playing game and one that simply built around a gameplay loop that does not have broad appeal. It's an observation that can be applied to an assortment of games and genres, and this weird fixation gamers have on a game appealing to the widest group of people in order for it to somehow be good. And I think part of the issue with Death Stranding is that Kojima has come off the back of Metal Gear Solid, a series spanning well over a decade that embraces scenario driven climatic stealth and action, that has appealed to millions for its admittedly comfortable and predictable gameplay loops.

And that's not to dismiss people who dislike Death Stranding for its gameplay, or don't find it appealing, but there absolutely has to be a point where "This game is not for you" is a legitimate, valid observation. I think Minecraft is boring, but I also recognise its various game systems are aimless objectives are not built for someone like me. Animal Crossing can get pretty boring, and I know many people who don't see the appeal, because in practice what do you do? There's no challenge in Animal Crossing. It's just emulating day-to-day stuff with cute animals, no real objective other than the ones you make yourself. Flight Simulator is just flying a plane from point A to B.

Death Stranding is prime for being picked apart in how it works, how it does not, where it could be improved, etc. If I had to pluck one non-narrative related criticism out of thin air, it would be that I think it's a bit too easy most of the time, for a multitude of reasons (generosity of online content sharing, usefulness of the gear, etc). But, to the game's credit, it sticks to its formula and has built all game systems around this. Yes, it's a walking simulator. You're a sci fi postman. You just deliver shit. But every facet in the game is built around this activity, an activity that is central to the gameplay loop. And it's okay if this "isn't for you", because that is a valid observation. For those who do enjoy this gameplay loop, Death Stranding is everything.

Not every game needs to appeal to everyone. Not everyone is going to find every gameplay loop of every genre enjoyable. It's okay for games to branch out and try a different approach to interactivity, and maybe in doing so will craft an experience that some people do resonate really well with. A lot of people are going to go apeshit over the new Flight Simulator because for them the thrill comes from literally just...flying a plane, mastering the physics, and all the real world emulation of technicalities. But I can also guarantee that a vast, vast majority of Era is going to find it boring as shit because all you do is fly planes. Disco Elysium is easily one of the best games this year, and one of the best RPGs of all time. But deep down I know fundamentally that no amount of wonderfully inventive, stimulating writing and brilliantly interwoven skill checks into text-based dialogue and event progression is going to sway people who are more drawn to Skyrim as their ideal RPG.

Death Stranding is great. You deliver stuff and walking or driving from A to B is satisfyingly engaging. It cleverly interweaves assorted environmental hazards alongside the topography variances to ensure you're always paying attention to manage your tools, stamina, weight distribution, inclines/declines, surface types, threats (BTs and MULES), etc. And I feel super rewarded when I get from A to B because I enjoyed the interactive journey there, and the visual/audio splendour on the way. There's this one mission towards the end of a mid game chapter which pissed people off because they saw it as pointless backtracking and it was more or less the breaking point of the game for them. I did the entire journey manually on foot and enjoyed every single second, from the music track kicking in at the start, the almost uncannily placed hotspring break halfway through the trek, the shift from grassy flat topography to stone and then snowy mountains, the passive dialogue connecting the two characters, and its conclusion. It all came together for what I felt was a marvellous interactive experience.

Even so, I still wouldn't readily recommend the game to people, not without detailing the game systems first. I've had two mates ask me if I think they'd like it. I told them they wouldn't, because I'm confident they wouldn't, though have offered to loan them the game when I'm done so they can try it out. It's the kind of game that I think does its unique gameplay loop far better than it has any right to. It accomplishes a lot of what I enjoy about certain interactive experiences. It was doomed to never appeal to everyone and I can totally appreciate when people play it and hate it. And that's okay, because I'm just glad it exists.
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The problem with the "It's just not a game for you rhetoric" is that it is an insanely broad statement that could very well not be true. Just because you don't like a game does not mean that you like ALL games that are of that concept. Not liking Animal Crossing does not mean that someone is going to dislike all instances of life simulations in video games. Even someone who dislikes turn based games may eventually find the turn based game that they like. It really stops being a valid statement as soon as someone is able to say "But I do like X and Y...". I know people who genuinely enjoy QWOP that don't like Death Stranding. There are probably tons of people who like the Truck Simulators that don't like Death Stranding. There's not really a point where you can dismiss things as "it's just not for you" because you have genuinely no way of knowing that.
 
Scuffed

Scuffed

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,896
DS is such a fascinating game. I'm not sure I've seen a game have so many people hate it but also have so many people love it. I did cancel my pre-order because I didn't think the gameplay was really for me BUT I watched a ton of Lirik streaming it and loved it. I still don't think I would like playing it but as a viewer it was a very good stream game imo. Overall I think the game is a net win just because of the intensity of the reactions.
 
Opus Angelorum

Opus Angelorum

Member
Oct 27, 2017
777
As expected, clips of him being over encumbered, attempting to drive up a steep rocky mountain on a motorbike.

As others have mentioned, play a game as badly as possible and complain about it : The Review.
 

Deleted member 20297

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
6,943
I mean seeing this video and several others, even the small twitter video on this page - it is quite easy to make this game look "clumsy" and I am not talking about a Dark Souls clumsy where people die because they didn't understand the pattern of an enemy.
 
Bricktop

Bricktop

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,847
Dunkey is right up there with Sterling as far as I'm concerned, even when I agree with them I think they're shit and annoying. Hating on DS won't change that.
 

Deleted member 5764

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,574
Watched this last night and thought it was wonderful. There's comedy gold in Death Stranding's systems when you push them the wrong way.

That said, I'm not sure why people are acting like this was supposed to be an objective critical review. The only Dunkey reviews I've seen that are remotely serious come from games that he adores.
 
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