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Death Stranding is an indulgent mood piece first and an excellent hiking and delivery game second.Īndy Kelly puts it nicely in his review: "Some jobs seem impossible. Your goal as Sam Porter Bridges is to rebuild America by walking across the country and linking up cities, preppers, and waystations to, uh, the Time Internet? It makes next to no sense, but that's OK. Kojima's first game after leaving Konami, Death Stranding is set in a post-death reality where the concept of the afterlife has been blown open. Released: 2020 | Developer: Kojima Productions | Steam (opens in new tab) Read more: Ubisoft may finally be planning a return to Steam. He asked me what he should do so I offered to remove it, and he died instantly. One time I happened upon a Viking who didn't realize he had an axe lodged in his skull. Steven sums it up in his review (opens in new tab): "Most of the stuff you'll find is new equipment and treasure you can take back home or use for upgrades, but I also found hidden caves with challenging puzzles, secret boss battles, and weird little one-off quests that are often bizarre and sometimes hilarious.
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That said, female Eivor rules (opens in new tab). Some of these tiny characters will stick in our minds much longer than the big ones on the box art. Ubisoft also fills all that space with meaningful encounters, ranging from absurd to tragic. You'll have to play it to find out what we mean, just know this game is much bigger than the surface implies. This is a massive, moody world, and Valhalla has a couple more waiting in the wings. But Valhalla's surprises, specifically the open world ones, catapult it over the top. Released: 2020 | Developer: Ubisoft | Ubisoft (opens in new tab)Ī looser grip on the series' trademark stealth, a simplified loot system, and a gorgeous interpretation of 800's England would be enough alone to edge Valhalla above the already excellent Odyssey.
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