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Discussion [spoilers]30 minutes of Death Stranding 2 gameplay, no commentary
- Thread starter anonpuffs
- Start date
OP
OP
if you were able to tolerate hellblade 2 you'll be able to tolerate death strandingPerhaps but to each their own.
I know what you mean, but to be fair Decima is limited to only what Horizon and Death Stranding needs, and to work in PS and PC only.
Unreal works even in mobile, Switch or Meta Quest and any VR device, plus adapts very well to any genre, online multiplayer, etc. And well, I assume as engine most of the gazillion things it offers to the devs aren't available in Decima.
Hahaha. I only tolerated Hellblade 2 for two reasons - first is that it only took me around 8 hours to complete and roll credits and second is that I know if they make a third game that I will want to go back and play through the second game so I said screw it, it's short, let me just zoom through it which is what I did.
As for Death Stranding 2, im not bashing the game as it looks great, im sure the audio will be top tier but nothing I have seen from the gameplay/combat interests me. As for the story and characters, im sure the characters are good but Kojima's stories are usually "out there" and never interest me as im someone who hasn't completed a Kojima game since MGS 2 on PS2 and wasn't the biggest fan of the game's story/characters, ending boss fight which introduces a brand new game mechanic (wtf?) and forces you to play as Raiden which was my biggest negative in the game. I'm simply not into Kojima's games and haven't been for a very long time and before anyone asks, no, I don't give two shits about Overdose either. I'll wait for Physint which I hope will be of interest to me.
But for those here who will be playing it, I will simply say that I hope you enjoy the game.
What interested you about Starfield’s gameplay/combat?
The space ship combat followed by the first person shooting combat when on foot. I didn't do melee combat or stealth in Starfield.
OP
OP
Guess
The shooting was all pretty bad and barebones, basically completely one dimensional
The shooting felt good to me at launch at 30FPS and even better at 60FPS. There were a lot of different weapons even though im someone that usually sticks to just a few. I had an awesome shotgun and assault rifle. Ship wise, I loved the combat and it became even better later on when I upgraded my Ship.
OP
OP
If you stick around long enough you'll realize the motives are very transparent. We love mediocrity as long as it has a brand name on it.
This can easily apply to PlayStation and Nintendo fans as well. It's amazing how people always think it's this or that when the reality is quite simple - maybe the person which in this case is me, just liked and really enjoyed the game. Just a thought.
OP
OP
I never said it didn't? There are hundreds of high quality games out there & the vast majority of them are not attached to one platform holder or another.
I also never said it was a bad thing. I played Atelier Yumia, which I rated a 7, rather than going back and playing God of War, a game I could never get into after several attempts, despite the objective fact that Yumia is worse in many if not all ways as a game, merely due to personal preferences.
It's fine to like Xbox games just because they're from Xbox. That's your personal preference. The only observation I'd make is that if you like those games and would like to see them continue in the future you shouldn't want Microsoft to continue doing the things they are (gamepass) or having the leadership they currently have.
I think Death Stranding 1 combat was merely OK, just like how I'd rate Starfield. Nothing exceptional. I didn't play either game for the Combat. And in Starfield's case, couldn't find any reason to really play it as I didn't find anything to be any good. At least Death Stranding had other elements that made it extremely interesting and engaging, which put it up there as my game of the year in 2019.
DS2's combat looks vastly improved to the point of it actually being a really fun sandbox, especially since it's aping design from Metal Gear Solid. Instead of avoiding encounters, I will outright seek them out and use tons of tools at my disposal.
Fair enough but that's not how your post comes across.
If/when Microsoft ends Game Pass Ultimate, they're done as is the console and probably the majority of the studios that they've acquired in the last 7 years. Game Pass is what allows Microsoft to do what they're doing. Without it, all of these AA games don't exist or happen. Games like Avowed, South of Midnight, Towerborne, The Outer Worlds 2 or something like getting Platinum Games to make Ninja Gaiden 4 never happen because publishers aren't going to publish these games because they're not going to set the world on fire and make huge profits. The big AAA titles like COD and Doom and Starfield would still exist but as someone who likes and enjoys AA games, I would be losing a ton of games and studios that I actually like and enjoy.
Why so many are against Game Pass is beyond me. It's basically a digital rental store similar to Blockbuster/Hollywood Video or Mom and Pop video stores decades ago. Why you and so many others believe that eliminating what is by far the best thing Microsoft has ever done or offered the Xbox fan base is truly baffling and mind boggling to me especially when the old school method doesn't work for them which I have seen for over a decade long before Game Pass existed.
People always say "support the devs" which is such bullshit because 90% of people actually don't regardless of the platform and second, Microsoft paying independent development studios like Rebellion for Atomfall and Sniper Elite Resistance for example IS literally supporting the devs because they're giving them upfront guaranteed money that is in no way, shape or form guaranteed on the seller's market. People can still buy the games even if they're on Game Pass and I know so many people claim that it hurts sales but it doesn't because if you're playing the game on Game Pass and even more so if you drop it after a few hours, those people were never going to buy the game regardless. Even more so, literally hundreds if not over a thousand games release, bomb and fail on a yearly basis that have nothing to do with Game Pass but yet, people see one or two games do amazing and all of a sudden believe that everything is great and that Game Pass is the problem.
As for the leadership at Xbox, I would put Phil Spencer at #1 because who else would it be? Moore? Guy was awesome but he was only there for four years (two with the original Xbox and two with Xbox 360) and then left for EA. Mattrick? The guy responsible for putting the brand in the position that it's been in for the last 12 years due to being obsessed with Kinect shit and TV TV TV garbage? All he did was convince me and millions of others to switch from Xbox 360 to PS4 because it sure as hell wasn't anything Sony did to get me in 2013. Hell, their E3 2013 showcase was a fucking joke and Microsoft's was far better but it didn't matter after the Xbox One reveal disaster.
If it wasn't for Phil Spencer, Xbox would have already been shut down in 2017, there would be no Game Pass and even if it did survive past 2017, they only had 5 studios, 4 of which I didn't give two shits about. So yeah, Phil has made Xbox way fucking better than it ever has been. People want to believe that going back to the old school way (which even Sony isn't doing anymore) like it's fucking 2005 is going to somehow make Xbox bigger than Sony and Nintendo. Spoiler alert - it wouldn't even make them bigger than what they are now.
As for the leadership at Xbox, now it doesn't matter and hasn't mattered since ABK went through. It's literally Nadella who doesn't give a flying fuck about exclusivity and even put Office on Apple products, Stuart and Hood running Xbox. Spencer/Bond/Booty are basically just PR talking heads and replacing them first and foremost isn't going to change anything because they're no longer in charge and second, who would even want the job knowing that they have no power or control?
You perhaps believe that as an Xbox fan, I should be mad or upset but for what valid reason? Exclusivity? Nah man. I get it but if all I cared about was exclusivity, I would never play third party games and I would only own a Nintendo console since they're the only company that does true exclusivity. For me, you gotta give me more than just the ability to brag about exclusivity or console sales or software sales which in all fucking honesty, does absolutely nothing for me personally. It's not adding money to my bank account or benefitting me in any way, shape or form.
For me, it's all about what the platform and eco-system offers me. When it comes to Xbox, I can use my Xbox One controller which is my personal best and favorite controller of all time, I get free cloud saves which has literally saved me several times this generation, Microsoft's published games day one on Game Pass Ultimate, free current generation upgrades, Ubisoft+ which includes their games day one, third party games day one on Game Pass Ultimate, an actual major showcase every June and most importantly of all, 30+ studios and a ton of games that I want to play and look forward to doing so.
To each their own but im very happy and satisified with my Xbox Series X and what Microsoft has offered me this generation especially since 2023 where their studios finally got going and started releasing the games I have been waiting for.
Starfield has some really cool combat stuff in it. For example, I saw a video a while back where someone literally played through an area in stealth and with melee combat like it was fucking Dishonored. Shit was cool but not how I would want to play the game. The combat is simply fun and enjoyable. No matter how many enemies I shoot in the face whit the Shotty (shotgun), it never gets old for me. The combat has to be fun and enjoyable for me to where I want to keep playing the game. The Division 2 for example has a lot of variety to it when it comes to weapons and builds and whatnot but the core aspect is sit in cover, shoot enemies from behind cover, clear the area and move on to the next combat encounter. You could say that this is basic and I probably wouldn't even argue it but despite playing hundreds of hours of the game, I never get tired of it because it's just a lot of fun and enjoyable to play. This is how I felt about Starfield when playing it. I put in over 500 hours between the base game and the Shattered Space expansion.
Starfield clicked with me because I have wanted a game with ship combat that was arcadish as opposed to being a simulation along with a great main story campaign, characters and side quests. The on foot combat for me was also great because I played it strictly as an FPS. I looked at Death Stranding and just saw it as slow and boring. I'm a combat/gameplay first guy so if a game looks boring, nothing else in the game is going to pull me in.
Death Stranding 2's combat does look better but at the same time, even you said the first game was only OK so even with DS 2 combat being better, is that really saying much? Granted, you'll have to wait another month to find out but that's not exactly a high bar to surpass, especially for Kojima who is one of the all time best.
OP
OP
As someone who went into Death Stranding as a skeptic, the problem with this analysis is that it singles out one mediocrity of a portion of the gameplay loop as such a hindrance to your enjoyment of a game that you are completely uninterested. Lots of games have mediocre elements. What makes them good is how all the different elements come together. And in that Death Stranding excels. I went into the game thinking it was just a package delivery/walking simulator, a third of the way through I thought it was preachy and pretentious. But I kept at it and kept an open mind because I saw the potential and when the game clicked, when I appreciated what the game was trying to do, that feeling really brushed away all the minor criticisms I had of the game. Yes, it's imperfect, but I felt that despite all its foibles it had a genuine message and a piece of inspired vision at its core, however flawed its execution. And I ended up finding it to be one of the most beautiful games I've ever played.
anyway you said you never finished a kojima game after mgs2 so maybe his method of storytelling isn't for you. But I will still shill for DS on the off chance that one day you'll give it a chance.
I don't even disagree with you but the problem for me is that I get bored quickly if the game isn't keeping me interested and engaged from a combat/gameplay perspective. Add to the fact that im getting tired of these massive open world games in general and when they look empty like Death Stranding does, it only makes it worse for me.
I'm not into Kojima's story telling methods at all. It's just too "out there" for me. You can shill for Death Stranding as much as you want but just know, that it's highly unlikely that I will ever play the game and even more so since it's a last generation game and going backwards rarely works out good for me.
