Open World
A major aspect of both games is the open world, and how it ties into the gameplay.
In Death Stranding you spend a lot of time venturing through the world, finding new pathways to your destination. Mules and BTs will pose serious problems along the way, but you have a host of tools to help.
While there aren’t many huge things to do in the open world, there are tons of little details and items, not to mention all the player-created signs and objects. It’s an open world that, somehow, feels interesting despite being mostly empty, and a big part of that is because you have to figure out how to get your deliveries over the terrain. The world itself is an obstacle.
MGS V is the polar opposite of this, with an open world that just feels like a series of spaced out camps. Most of your time will be spent traveling between the various enemy encampments, and while there are things to collect, overall there’s simply not much to do.
The minute-to-minute gameplay is fantastic in MGS V, but the open world itself just isn’t engaging.
Winner: Death Stranding
