Jim Sterling's Death Stranding "Jimpressions"

[Kyuuji]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Why don't you actually quote them instead of picking bits from threads and running off to giggle about them because they happen to like something different to you.

Some 🥝🐄 level of pathetic this. Mocking people for posting about a new video game they like on a video game enthusiast forum.

 

[stan_marsh]

Why don't you actually quote them instead of picking bits from threads and running off to giggle about them because they happen to like something different to you.

Some 🥝🐄 level of pathetic this.

Click to shrink...

Skimming through their post history there is clearly some Kojima hate. Not surprised, some people have no life 🤷‍♂️

 

[Deleted member 4093]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Couldnt be me

 

[Lobster Roll]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

There really is a Simpsons gif for everything.

 

[lazygecko]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

I'm not really on board with trying to dismiss people's opinions on the game as being intellectually insincere. Ultimately, they're enjoying their experience with it, but may not be equipped to express it effectively within the traditional framework of game critique.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Some 🥝🐄 level of pathetic this. Mocking people for posting about a new video game they like on a video game enthusiast forum.

Click to shrink...

Kiwi cow?

 

[Leo-Tyrant]

But that's not how enjoyment and tastes operate. It's not a binary thing; they depends on context, mood, genre, and myriad other facets.

The fact that you think those comments are some kind of mental knots people are making to try and idk, force themselves to find something enioyable but really they can't stand it and are just making excuses...is ridiculous. Instead of you know, simply taking such comments at face value and accepting that different things click with people for different reasons. Hell, the same person can bounce off something hard but then have it click with them later.

Click to shrink...

You are absolutely right that enjoyment is subjective (but that's not my actual point).

A list of actual things you can (or cant) do , with added context can be very effective in describing the over al scope of the game design and gameplay logic (that's what we used to read in the day of read-only reviews).

Most reviews and comments I have seen/read are ambiguous. On the other hand, Jim was able to abstract in a list of quick highlights what the game was (for him). You were also able to very quickly corroborate with added detail in a couple of those items (micro management) .

It shouldn't be this hard to get a comprehensive and neutral view of what the game, or isn't, and even if the actual final experience differs from a "list of things" at least you (as the final user) would be more clear on the scope of the game/baseline experience.

 

[More_Badass]

I'm not really on board with trying to dismiss people's opinions on the game as being intellectually insincere. Ultimately, they're enjoying their experience with it, but may not be equipped to express it within the traditional framework of game critique.

Click to shrink...

Or not want to. It's posting on a forum, not making a video essay or writing a design dissection on Gamasutra

 

[Kyuuji]

People talk about video games being respected and art then when something comes out that has people being more nuanced in articulating their enjoyment of it than "it's great" it's laughed at.

It's silly. We should hope for more AAA games that are entertaining in unconventional ways, even if they won't be for everyone.

Death Stranding absolutely nails what it sets out to achieve and that certainly won't be for everyone. For those it does click for though, it's offering a gameplay experience that doesn't fully match any other. It's strands (oh my) of different things fleshed out into something that's tied around a theme that supports them. Where those elements may have been more passive or accessory before in other games, they're now a focus, fleshed out and woven into the core game and narrative.

Also an aside: The entire system around lost parcels is the coolest thing to me. I lose my footing while climbing and drop a piece of cargo. Little box goes tumbling down out of my reach and I press on. In someone else's game, they walk by that spot and spot my lost box on the ground and pick it up. Maybe they get to a postbox further down the line and need to drop it off to carry something else. Another player later visits that postbox and collects that parcel, intent on taking it a step closer to where it needs to be. Maybe they make it there, maybe they drop it in a river and it washes away for someone else to pick up.

It's a small but neat thing that really ties into the theme and feeling of the game.

 

[Armadilo]

lmao "stop liking thing I don't like"

Click to shrink...

Stop hating on things that I Like

 

[Zlug]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Oh I'm on this post, Hi ! I'm the one who said "I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

Am I supposed to be the Simpson guy on the gif? The only Kojima's game that I liked was MGS2 tho, so I'm far from being a Kojima fan.

Either way, if I had to be more explicit... I'm in chapter 3 at the moment, weakest points for me are the story/cutscenes (way too much for my tastes) / the UI/ Physics ingame especially with the bike/ Combat system against the MULES.

Other than that, I'm enjoying the "walking" part of the game, letting ladders or other things for others, using items from others is cool. The soundtrack and sound design is top notch too and of course the ambiance.
I'm only able to play like 2 hours maximum per session of play tho, I have to take breaks because It bores me after this lapse of time (hence my quote). But I want to continue to play it, to see what the game will offer to me for my future travels.

 

[Seeya]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Shadow of the Colossus has a lot of fans tho

 

[astro]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Yes, the game often amounts to more than the sum of its parts.

That;s quite a simple concept and common occurrence in gaming and art in general...

 

[Deleted member 364]

People are so mad others are enjoying this game. I guess they really want to play it but an IGN score scared them off. xD

 

[jacket]

This is a very well put together video and Jim is a great speaker.

 

[Deleted member 29682]

I was thinking about this as well, but then

- I'd take out degrading shoes, because it sucks
- I'd take out the encumbrance system, because people hated this since TES
- I'd take out degradation through rain, because bleh
- I'd take out carry limits for ladders or ropes or whatever so I can traverse in peace
- I'd make my grenades stronger since all fights are basically endurance runs on how long you can throw those things and how many you produced beforehand
- I'd make the baby not goddamn scream all the time
- I'd try to remove general time sinks, limiting systems and inventory management stuff, as ppl do in most games.

Now, what actual game is left there? Just pressing up to go from A to B to C and back to A again?

I feel this game is trying to make all these degradement systems, encumbrance and inconvenience scales the actual game (which is why I won't play it I guess), so I'm not sure if removing these would actually make the game itself better, or just more boring.

Click to shrink...

Yeah while I think such systems can be overdone to the point of tedium, resource management (and abstractions of it) is nothing new in games. In many games, figuring out how to get from A to B with certain restrictions and rules is an interesting puzzle to figure out. It really only becomes a problem for me if you can more or less ignore most of the systems and still make progress with little extra effort. That's when it can get tedious and unnecessary.

 

[Perzeval]

What's kiwi cow?

 

[MegaMix]

After a couple hours into the game this video is like a 1:1 mirror of my own impressions.

I'm glad there are people out there who like it but I can't possibly imagine way.

It's basically Breath of the Wild's transversal with barely any enemies to interact with, no dungeons, and extremely cumbersome mechanics and systems.

 

[saiko]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Pathetic post. Why don't you actually quote them instead of hiding in other threads?

 

[LuisGarcia]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

What an absolute pathetic post.

Maybe go and do stuff you enjoy instead of looking through a thread for a game you don't like which you haven't played.

Honestly pathetic.

 

[Viale]

Was hoping I'd disagree with Jim since I liked RDR2, but I'm a couple hours in, and... he's right on for me at the moment. I'm hoping it gets better, but I'm just kind of... bored playing it. Feels like most people are enjoying it a lot based on the OT, so I hope I come around on it. I dont need action scenes or giant set pieces to enjoy a game, but this hasn't super been doing it for me. Maybe the vehicles will help out.

 

[BrutalInsane]

I watched a friend play this for an hour and a half. 75% cutscenes, 25% gameplay. The game seems like a mess, but I can see it being enjoyable as a 'I'll play this for an hour' type of game every few days. It seems like it'll get under my skin if I try and binge it.

Doom 2016 is my 'perfect game', for what it's worth.

 

[Champion]

Kiwi cow?

Click to shrink...

lmao I looked at it for 2 minutes and just gave up.

 

[LuisGarcia]

I'm not even 100 percent on the game and keep going from liking it to not but I think this thread has convinced me I'm done with the forum.

There is no discussion. Just trolls getting there digs in at people who are enjoying a video game. It's honestly worse then gamefaqs.

Mods are doing fuck all as well.

 

[NCR Ranger]

Yeah, that video is making the game sound just as dull and filled with Kojima's odd shit as I figured it would be. Still, I will probably play the game at some point on a deep sale or a rental just to see with my own eyes.

 

[Slaythe]

Shadow of the Colossus has a lot of fans tho

Click to shrink...

Shadow of the Colossus doesn't overstay its welcome.


This isn't regarding people who love DS from the bat, more so for people that don't enjoy themselves. It's a very long game and the pacing is way off. So for people that have a hard time with it, if it doesn't click by hour 12 (or whatever), they will hate this.

 

[Joo]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

You are one strange person. It's very much okay not to like DS, but this is what you enjoy and decide to spend your time on? The most bizarre thing is that you'd really need to scour for these in the thread of a game you obviously don't like.

You could at least quote properly if you want to comment on other people's posts.

 

[bottledfox]

Most of what I enjoy about DS so far is the bread-and-butter survival gameplay in which I'm in a tough situation and have to choose between less-than-ideal routes and utilize limited resources to get safety. But that doesn't happen quite as often as I'd like, at least so far.

 

[Lant_War]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Yet another user that hasn't played it, so they don't understand. Pretty blatant.

 

[Hailinel]

Some 🥝🐄 level of pathetic this.

Click to shrink...

...What?

 

[Deleted member 4067]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Lmaooo

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

People talk about video games being respected and art then when something comes out that has people being more nuanced in articulating their enjoyment of it than "it's great" it's laughed at.

It's silly. We should hope for more AAA games that are entertaining in unconventional ways, even if they won't be for everyone.

Death Stranding absolutely nails what it sets out to achieve and that certainly won't be for everyone. For those it does click for though, it's offering a gameplay experience that doesn't fully match any other. It's strands (oh my) of different things fleshed out into something that's tied around a theme that supports them. Where those elements may have been more passive or accessory before in other games, they're now a focus, fleshed out and woven into the core game and narrative.

Also an aside: The entire system around lost parcels is the coolest thing to me. I lose my footing while climbing and drop a piece of cargo. Little box goes tumbling down out of my reach and I press on. In someone else's game, they walk by that spot and spot my lost box on the ground and pick it up. Maybe they get to a postbox further down the line and need to drop it off to carry something else. Another player later visits that postbox and collects that parcel, intent on taking it a step closer to where it needs to be. Maybe they make it there, maybe they drop it in a river and it washes away for someone else to pick up.

It's a small but neat thing that really ties into the theme and feeling of the game.

Click to shrink...

It's amazing. Building stuff to help others or find stuff from others in dire situations is absolutely fantastic. Best asynchronous coop multiplayer I've ever experienced.

 

[Grimmjow]

This is already happening and it's cracking me up. Here's a few choice gems from the OT:

"I actually really enjoy how lifeless the world is"

"I found one place to hide from the rain, and stayed there like, 15 minutes waiting. Anyway, the game creates a lot of cool moments, like every game Kojima did."

"I'm bored playing this game but I still want to continue either way. Weird."

"I mean at its core its just a walking simulator wrapped around long and obscure cutscenes but I'm loving it all"

"The Gameplay is on the tedious side, but it fits the story and I don't find it negative."

Literally can't make this shit up.

Click to shrink...

Are you actually peeking into the OT so you can cherry pick some quotes and mock people for enjoying a game?

Era can be pretty pathetic sometimes.

 

[hammurabi]

You know a thread is going to be wild when the OP is banned. Lol

 

[Doc Laserstein]

🥝🐄

Click to shrink...

If somebody doesn't explain this, it's honestly going to bother me all night.

 

[AnonymousApple]

If somebody doesn't explain this, it's honestly going to bother me all night.

Click to shrink...

Same here.

 

[Kuro]

The kiwi and cow are probably a reference to two forums that have creepy stalkers that gossip and talk shit about other forums, celebs, egirls, etc.

 

[Prine]

Are you actually peeking into the OT so you can cherry pick some quotes and mock people for enjoying a game?

Era can be pretty pathetic sometimes.

Click to shrink...

I must admit I'm simply stunned at some those comments.

Edit: OP banned? Wow.

 

[amc]

So a Kiwi and the cow is instead of a farm emote?

Is there even a farm emote?

I dunno, I don't even know much about the place I'm referencing tbh.

 

[Pyccko]

So a Kiwi and the cow is instead of a farm emote?

Click to shrink...

seems like it

 

[Kyuuji]

If somebody doesn't explain this, it's honestly going to bother me all night.

Click to shrink...

Reference to less than savoury forums that follow, screenshot and mock Era posts/posters.

 

[BakedTanooki]

Already suspected that Jim probably won't enjoy this game so much :)
I can see where he is coming from. It's just not his cup of tea. Nothing more to it.

 

[Deleted member 42484]

I'm not even 100 percent on the game and keep going from liking it to not but I think this thread has convinced me I'm done with the forum.

There is no discussion. Just trolls getting there digs in at people who are enjoying a video game. It's honestly worse then gamefaqs.

Mods are doing fuck all as well.

Click to shrink...

Don't let a few posters in one thread represent us all. Some threads and discussions turn toxic. Death Stranding and it's reviews has been a toxic and divisive conversation.

Game looks terribly boring to me so I'm skipping, and I'm generally a Kojima fan. I'm not sure why some people are going so far to suspect people who enjoy it as liars or something. People can like things for whatever reason they want.

And for what it's worth, as uninterested as I personally am in the game, the unique setting and presentation is enough for me to understand the allure.

 

[s0l0kill]

Too bad for him, finished it and it definitely picks up later down the road.

 

[Raijinto]

If nothing else I'm surprised how scathing and brutal Jim's take is of this game. I too never expected him to like it but him not having a single shred of fun with this game is what surprises me. Even with popular games that he isn't as big a fan of he still found enjoyment- see BotW, LiS and his very infamous MK7 reviews of examples of this. So him disliking it this much puts the game close to the likes of Anthem, RE6 and Yooka-Laylee in his most disliked game impressions that I can think of.

 

[Graefellsom]

Loving the game so far. Traversal is so much fun... only real complaint so far is the text size is clearly made for people sitting at a desk or with giant tvs. Can't really read the descriptions or see the item destinations(i still have 20/20 vision last i checked). I remember this being an issue in games since Dead Rising on the 360, seems like such a basic oversight. A couple of the button prompts similarly are hard to see.

 

[Voodoopeople]

Why do people keep tip toeing around Kojima when they don't like his games?

I'm not racist, but.....

If someone makes something you think is rubbish, you don't have to qualify it.

 

[Hyun Sai]

I must admit I'm simply stunned at some those comments.

Edit: OP banned? Wow.

Click to shrink...

You know a thread is going to be wild when the OP is banned. Lol

Click to shrink...

Not necessarily. The ban may be for something outside of this thread. Not going to search this post though lol.

 

[JustJavi]

Not necessarily. The ban may be for something outside of this thread. Not going to search this post though lol.

Click to shrink...

He was actually banned for 1 day for trolling on a pokemon thread.

 

[Yossarian]

How are the spoilers in the video?

I've only played a little bit. My predominant early takeaway so far is that it is really fucking nice having a triple AAA game centred around helping people instead of murdering them. However on the nose Kojima's messaging is, it is a more than welcome counter to the usual divisiveness plaguing everything.