Kojimas Death Stranding: Paketbote in der Postapokalypse

Death Stranding, the new video game from star developer Hideo Kojima, is receiving a lot of attention. This is partly due to the star-studded cast of real actors, from Norman Reedus to Mads Mikkelsen to Guillermo del Toro. Players slip into the role of a parcel delivery driver in a post-apocalyptic future – and into the digital skin of Norman Reedus, known from the TV series "The Walking Dead." A review by Andreas Garbe: Kojima, the creative mind behind the "Metal Gear Solid" video game series, delivers his latest work. On the surface, "Death Stranding" seems flat, but it is a milestone. "Futurama," the second animated series from Simpsons creator Matt Groening, begins with the main character being catapulted 1,000 years into the future. This is just fine, as he hated his old life as a delivery boy. Now he's arrived in the distant future and is looking forward to his new job as a delivery boy. What you do, he learns, is secondary. What matters is where and how you do it. In Hideo Kojima's "Death Stranding," the player must carry cargo back and forth between isolated bunkers. For the first few hours of the video game, this is only possible on foot through impassable terrain. Initially, he has little defense against the diverse threats that lurk there—acid rain, for example, or highwaymen. In such a nutshell, it doesn't sound very appealing at first. But Kojima manages to make it appealing. The captivating setting of a mysterious world is one of the things that draws the player in. A dark threat has brought the USA to collapse. The nation no longer exists. Some of the isolated bunkers have merged to form the United Cities of America. Its couriers roam the country, supplying members with all kinds of goods, from rare wines to underwear. They are equipped with a scanner connected to an unborn child in an artificial womb, which the couriers carry on their stomachs. The children are the link between the world of the living and the dead, as their brain-dead mothers are kept alive in a hospital. For this purpose, they are considered equipment. The player character is warned not to develop feelings for the child. It doesn't get much crazier than this. And Kojima is clearly copying an element from the 2007 blockbuster game "Bioshock," in which creatures that look like little girls share a similar symbiotic relationship. This was very controversial at the time. Here, too, this trick serves to significantly raise the emotional stakes. It's not exactly subtle. The game's message is also incredibly simple: Together we are stronger. But such superficialities can be forgiven. Because underneath it all, his world impresses with its meticulous attention to detail. A highly complex story unfolds through numerous cutscenes, letters, and encyclopedia entries. The player actually feels like they're in the shoes of actor Norman Reedus. Such identification with the main character is unique in video games. And the sound design is award-worthy. On the other hand, it's the so-called gameplay loop that keeps players engaged. In this case, that means: I deliver deliveries, get rewarded, use these rewards to make further deliveries easier, and accept the next orders. The rewards include weapons, vehicles, and the opportunity to build comfortable roads. If such orders take too long, experts refer to "chores" or "grinding" – both terms for tedious tasks in video games that one completes with more or less reluctance. For precisely this reason, many critics found the original version of the space game "No Man's Sky" too monotonous. "Death Stranding" is often on the verge of falling into the same trap, but the gameplay loop motivates you to keep playing. It even seems as if Kojima deliberately chooses this balancing act to underscore the monotony of the world. If "Death Stranding" were set in the present, it would be the Parcel Service Simulator of 2019. Critics have mixed opinions about the game. This shows that new ground is being broken here. Hideo Kojima has shown great courage and, with Death Stranding, has delivered a game that will be talked about for a long time to come. ----- Here on ZDFheute Nachrichten, you'll find out what's happening in the world and what concerns us all: We provide insight into the news world, explain the background, and address social debates. Discuss with us in livestreams and form your own opinion based on the facts we present. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss anything. Stay up to date at https://www.ZDFheute.de. #DeathStranding #Kojima #Gaming