5 reasons to truly reconsider playing Death Stranding if you still haven't

There's a moment in Death Stranding when the game lets you just... walk. No enemies, no timers, no chaos. Just you, the weight of your cargo, and a piece of music that feels like it was written for that exact second. It is in that brief moment of connection to the world, to Norman Reedus' Sam, and to something intangible, that you realize this isn't your average action game.

If you've dismissed Death Stranding because of how 'weird' it looked, or because you chalked it up to a 'walking simulator', I don't blame you. However, I will say this: you may be missing out on one of the most strangely moving journeys gaming has to offer.

5 The game's message is unlike anything you've experienced

When it all clicks, it really resonates

If ever there was a game that took a while to get going, it's Death Stranding. There's the whole tutorial, then the setting of the stakes, and I'd argue that the game doesn't really 'begin' until chapter 3. Still, every frame on screen up until then remains breathtaking, even if the gameplay up till that point is tedious, admittedly. However, when you're twelve hours deep into Death Stranding, calmly making your way across a stream, or resting alongside it, thinking about the last NPC you met and connected to the rest of the world, the message all comes together.

Granted, Kojima's storytelling doesn't give you all the pieces, and they really do take their sweet time to fall in place, but when they do, there truly is nothing like what Death Stranding makes you feel. You're supposed to go through the tedium of the first few hours before discovering the first road somebody else paved for you, or grabbing blood bags that somebody else left along because they didn't need them. The whole experience of being connected to strangers while never seeing them, but basking in their kindness.

4 It is really not a delivery simulator

Calling it one is extremely reductive

I get where the 'delivery simulator' or 'walking simulator' comments have come from. However, it's such an egregiously reductive description of this wonderful game that I can't help but scoff at it. Calling Death Stranding a walking simulator is like calling something like Breath of the Wild or Skyrim a walking sim because — get this — you walk everywhere. If you do believe it to be one, or actually call the game as such to shut down any discourse about why it's a fantastic experience, you're missing the point. Well, that, or you're either trolling or are incredibly impatient and need your games to deliver nothing but instant gratification.

Sure, you walk around a lot in Death Stranding. But you also ride bikes and trucks for your deliveries. You also get into combat situations and play through stealth segments where you systematically take down outposts. You also get to hike, play around with the logistics of your deliveries, and take on missions and quests for some of the most interesting NPCs you'll ever interact with.

I myself asked a friend of mine why he hadn't played the game even five years after release, and they did say it was a walking simulator. All I could say was how every open-world game in the world could be called a walking simulator with actions and conversations peppered in between. It's one of the most famous critiques that people have thrown against Death Stranding, and it's also a complete misstatement of the entire game.

3 It's still one of the most gorgeous games ever

Can we have more Decima engine games please?

From the opening to the very last frame, Death Stranding remains one of the most beautiful games, regardless of what platform you play it on. I played it during launch week in 2019 on my PS4 Slim, and then the Director's Cut on PC just a month before the sequel dropped. I continue being enthralled by the game's beautiful vistas, from the Scandinavian mountain aesthetic to the dark, rocky environments that look as pretty as they are punishing.

Even today, as I pick a delivery and purposely decide to do it on foot just for the vibes, the natural vistas in the game are a joy to look at. Crossing a gentle stream with a ladder just so I can put it down for someone who might come there with a heavier load, and then walking up a hill to reveal a huge valley teeming with greenery is something that continues to take my breath away.

Even if it's more than five years old at this point, Death Stranding continues to look and feel amazing, thanks to the Decima Engine's brilliant capabilities when handling vast open worlds.

2 Its perfect sequel demands you play the first one

Death Stranding 2 is one of the best games of our time, but it requires homework from the first one

That's right — fresh off of playing Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which is my pick for game of the year 2025, I couldn't stop trying to get all my friends to play the first game. They had either never begun, gave up on it a few hours in, or simply had no plans to touch the game, but after incessant begging and bargaining, most of them gave in. The biggest reason I wanted them to play the first game was so that they could really play the sequel, which, for my money, is one of the biggest accomplishments of the medium.

Not only does it truly make Kojima's vision come to life without wax, but it also polishes any rough edges the first game had. Still, it's impossible to enjoy or understand Death Stranding 2 without first playing the first game that started off this weird world with its weird rules that somehow all make sense. Whether it's the brilliantly-curated OST, or the jaw-dropping next-gen visuals, or even the refined acting performances and over-the-top setpieces, Death Stranding 2 has so much to offer players, and it does, so long as you play the first game.

1 You will finally 'get' Kojima's wild vision

Games like Death Stranding will always be important for the medium

We throw the word 'visionary' around a lot, but in Death Stranding, you feel like you're inside someone's undiluted imagination. For once, Kojima wasn't beholden to the constraints of a franchise, a publisher's formula, or a fanbase expecting more cardboard boxes and CQC. And while that freedom led to Death Stranding becoming one of the most divisive titles of the last decade, it also resulted in something raw and singular, giving us something only Kojima could have made.

It's not just about the long cutscenes or the cryptic lore (of which there is plenty), either. It's the way every gameplay mechanic, story beat, and artistic choice aligns with his central theme of connection. From the actors he casts to the way he uses silence, from the meta-commentary to the unapologetically melodramatic twists, it's all part of this beautifully strange, cohesive vision. Heck, even if you've never cared for his previous work on the glorious Metal Gear franchise, Death Stranding manages to function like a creative soul laid bare — it's messy, poignant, indulgent as hell, but altogether entirely unforgettable.

Fair warning, though — you won't like everything you see. I know I didn't like the acting, or the overly expository writing, and yet, that's kind of the whole point at the end. Death Stranding is the rare AAA game that doesn't try to please everyone. Instead, it tries to say something, and succeeds. Once you tune into that frequency, the game becomes something a little closer to art.

Death Stranding deserves a chance from every gamer out there

If Death Stranding has lived in your backlog, maybe it's time to genuinely reconsider.

I get it, I really do. There are games you 'should' play, and games you actually want to play. But if Death Stranding has lived in your backlog, or even on the no-play list because you weren't sure if it was for you, maybe it's time to genuinely reconsider.

It's not because everyone says it's good. It's not because Kojima made it, either. It's because there's something strange and vulnerable and oddly beautiful in this game that you just won't find anywhere else. And sometimes, that's reason enough to take the first step.