i have cometh back for one post; i finished death stranding director's cut, and i was gonna write about it, but it turned out way too long, so here's a short summary and some images:
the game's story is what you can expect usually from someone like Kojima; it's deep, cinematic, narrative-driven, but it also has some parts hidden in optional reads such as the mails and info, much like cassette tapes from MGSV
however, the gameplay, at least on harder difficulties, show off the good and bad of the game:
on normal difficulty, you usually don't have to care about things like container damage, shoe wear, or anything like that, as the game is usually very easy with that stuff, so it doesn't feel anything special; however, on hard difficulty, I feel as though that should be the introductory difficulty for most players, as it makes them actually worry about what they're doing
on a difficulty like hard, containers can get damaged over a few minutes in timefall, you have to actually plan if you want to avoid BTs or sneak past them; maybe even battle them, you also have to think about shoe wear, time used, energy, battery power, and those types of things; it makes it feel like a game
however, the gameplay itself overall felt great at times, but dull at most; it was great at the start, when you had almost nothing at your arsenal, where you had to change shoe wear every 5 minutes, avoid BTs and MULEs, and overall have to properly strategize and learn how to proceed in the game, but when you come to halfway, it starts to become dull, with the introduction of things that make the game child's play; trucks and trikes that carry everything and go faster than you eliminate the need for carriers, speed skeletons eliminate the need for bridges, and weapons eliminate the need for sneaking, you can even defeat an entire MULE camp at the start of the game with your starting weapon of a BOLA gun
this made the game less exciting, and more dull and repetitive, causing a lot of players, including me, to simply stop playing at that point of time
however, in the gameplay, there was one part that made it go instantly from dull to exciting, and that's when your BB had to rest for a long while. you see, you need your BB to see BTs, so you can both sneak and fight them, and without it, you can sense them; this was an instant wake up call, as you no longer could sneak, and you had to think if you were going to risk fighting them (as you can see them briefly appear when they spot you, thus opening a brief window for attacking them before they get to you and start a BT boss fight) in the timefall, or you could risk walking around them in the expense of taking your time; i personally chose to fight them, and it was really great, as you had to carry your weapon at all times, ready to fire in case you stumbled upon someone, while slowly making your way to your destination, both sneaking and being slowed down by the same snow that was currently eating your cargo alive
however, after that, it became dull again, and that's basically the gist of it; other stuff to point out would be the OST, which is fantastic, but it is a real shame that you couldn't have a music player in the game, so you were forced to listen to silence and Sam walking around
this isn't a comprehensive review as I really don't want to write tons, so in all, I give it 7.5/10: great plot, narrative, cinematic stuff, and music, but it is a shame that the gameplay wasn't exciting at most times
i'm in a bad economical situation as i am the sponsor of the family's confirmation gift to my other nephew, in addition to having to pay rent twice this month due to a new rent payment date; 15th for this month, and then 1st for the next month, but i am regardless considering to get SH2 purely for the sake of me being bored
however, it's also very expensive, so if anyone has a few key sites that they trust with their life, be sure to tell them so i can snatch it