'Death Stranding' Review Roundup - Kojima's Odd Epic Splits Critics

The reviews are finally in for Hideo Kojima's bizarre-looking action adventure Death Stranding and, as expected, it seems to have split critics down the middle. Some are hailing it as an essential work of genius that's years ahead of its time, while others have taken aim at its bloated story and cumbersome mechanics.

In our own 6/10 review, Julian Benson said that Death Stranding drowns its good ideas in a messy story, arguing that its most beautiful and engaging moments are sadly "sporadic dots in an otherwise messy chore of a game."

IGN shared a similar sentiment in its 6.8/10 review of the game. "Much like its stumbling protagonist, Death Stranding just can't consistently get the balance right despite possessing equally lofty ambitions and countless inventive ideas," they wrote.

In a three-and-a-half-star review of the game GamesRadar also pointed out that the bloated nature of the game seem to let down its best ideas. "There is an okay experience here, filled with a scrapbooking hokum of afterlife mythology and pseudoscience, with a cast of likeable if bluntly literal characters but it's a game that, ironically, is easily lost in its lengthy delivery."

A three-star review from VG247, meanwhile, argued that those that hold out "will be rewarded with flashes of brilliance," but that "those flashes are buried as deep as the core story is buried in the endless dialogue."

"And as profound as it wants to be, this is still a game in which you can equip and unequip your penis so you can piss out Red Bull."

Other publications had an awful lot more positive things to say about the game, however. The Sixth Axis awarded the game full marks, describing it as like nothing they'd ever played.

EGM wisely acknowledged Death Stranding would prove divisive in its own five-star review, but also conceded that it was an experience unlike any other they could remember, while Push Square praised the gripping narrative and memorable cast in its 10/10 review.

You can check out a roundup of the rest (scored and unscored) below.

• Push Square: 10/10
• EGM: 5/5
• The Sixth Axis: 10/10
• Gamespot: 9/10
• GamesRadar 3.5/5
• Eurogamer: Recommended
• Kotaku - Unscored
• Polygon - Unscored
• The Guardian: 4/5
• Destructoid: 8/10
• Game Informer: 7/10
• USGamer: 3.5/5
• IGN: 6.8/10
• VGC: 3/5
• VG24/7 - 3/5

One thing's for sure, Death Stranding is going to be encouraging plenty of discussion in the coming months, and I can't wait to see what people think when it releases for PS4 next week.

Featured Image Credit: Sony

Topics: Review, Death Stranding, PS4