Game of the Year 2019
First Runner-Up: Death Stranding
Senior Editor Alex Gibson: My Death Stranding playthrough lasted 60 or so hours, but honestly, it felt as though I’d been playing the game for three years before that.
Since 2016, Death Stranding’s bizarrely compelling trailers kept the gaming community busily trying to decode its enigma. And yet, when I finally set out on Sam’s journey to reconnect America I actually had no better idea of what the hell was going on than when Norman Reedus’ naked body was first showcased on a beach surrounded by dead whales and cuddling a small child. Gosh, that doesn’t sound at all right when you type it out.
It really is an extraordinary and unique game, which is something to cherish amid a AAA gaming industry that’s so often hesitant to really innovate and push the medium forward. Death Stranding doesn’t get everything that it attempts quite right, but it’s certainly a one-of-a-kind experience.
The story and setting are at the heart of that, of course — the brainchild of a developer in Hideo Kojima who’s clearly been busting to flex his creative muscles after having worked on a single IP for twenty years previously.
And Death Stranding’s plot often does feel like a bit of an explosion of ideas rather than a cohesive plot at times. It’s heavy, serious stuff for the most part, but often strangely whimsical and self-aware, too.
I’m not sure I was all that compelled by it as a whole, though it’s the incorporation of political ideology, social issues, and themes of companionship were impressive. Certainly as a tone piece, and a setting for the monotonous but strangely captivating gameplay, Death Stranding’s premise is brilliant.
Graphically, too, Death Stranding is astonishing. I could wax lyrical for pages about its photorealistic environments and impressive motion capture, but in brief, this is Hollywood grade production, complete with a Hollywood cast who do a superb job delivering the aforementioned heavy plot notes.
The gameplay is where things get divisive. Part deliver-boy simulator, part third-person shooter, there’s a lot of tedium to get through before Death Stranding either clicks or doesn’t click for you. Personally, I loved rebuilding and reconnecting America, even if I totally burned out on building roads and then nearly freaked out when I realized I should have been using zip lines — all this before trudging my way through a cinematic-heavy final third of the game.
Thinking about it all now, Death Stranding was pretty exhausting. I really enjoyed my time with it, but I doubt I’ll ever play it again and I struggle to recommend it to friends. It’s one of those “it’s about the journey and not the destination” sort of experiences, but I’m very glad to have seen it through.
