Death Stranding, which was one of the most anticipated releases of this year, finally launched last Friday, and the reviews of Hideo Kojima’s first post-Metal Gear Solid project have been mixed, to say the least. As of right now, the user score for the game on Metacritic is a 7.0 out of 10, with 2,290 of the votes being positive, while 1,083 of the reviews were negative. It’s also worth noting that 123 of the users had mixed feelings about the game.
While speaking with an Italian media outlet, Kojima talked about why some American fans and critics don’t like his latest release, saying that some of the US-based critics don’t like it because it’s not a first-person shooter, adding that it “flies higher” than any FPS.
“I must say that the game received rave reviews, especially in Europe and Japan,” said Death Stranding’s creator to Italian website TGCom24. “In the United States, however, we have had stronger criticisms. Perhaps it is a difficult game to understand for a certain type of critic and audience. Americans are great fans of first-person shooters and Death Stranding isn’t one, it flies higher.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that one of Hideo Kojima’s projects has been the subject of a ton of criticism, as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which was released back in 2015, was reviewed well by the critics, but, for the most part, longtime fans of the MGS series hated it. However, most of its critics blamed Kojima’s former publisher, Konami, for the game’s story feeling unfinished.
Before the release of Death Stranding, Kojima said that he’s hoping to create a new gaming genre as he did after the creation of the Metal Gear Solid series. But, as of right now, it’s unclear if what he’s calling the “Strand” genre will catch on.
Most of the criticism surrounding the game has to do with the lack of action and repetitive quests, with players’ chief complaint being that it’s a walking simulator in a largely empty open-world.
However, the game’s visuals and cut-scenes have been praised, which is hardly surprising, as Kojima’s games, except for the aforementioned Metal Gear Solid V, always feature top of the line cinematic scenes.
Even though it was originally billed as a PlayStation 4 exclusive title, Death Stranding will be making its way to the PC next year, as it’s expected to launch on the platform by next summer.
