Page 103 - Metropolis Megazine No.120 International

and the main mission, you can rebuild narrative and, consequently, more ela- down the entire system from within. The
structures destroyed by the cataclysm. borate cutscenes [narrative transitions in greatest villains and manipulators emer-
We can build roads and, now, the mono- animation]. ge in chaos and conflict. Its predecessor
rail to facilitate the transport of goods dealt with the fear of fragmentation and
between the main warehouses. Remem- Events in the game evolve in line with isolation («Death Stranding» released
ber that the more transport or rescue events in the real world. As Margaret just before the start of the COVID pande-
missions you complete, the more bonu- Atwood used to say, ‘In science fiction, mic). It's a true classic where, in an isola-
ses you get, from materials (for construc- it's always about now.’ In the first game, ted world, someone fights atavistic for-
tion) to new weapons and tactical upgra- Hideo Kojima addressed the importance ces to unite humanity through a network.
des for your missions in the field. of connecting cities and isolated outpos-
ts with their pockets of humanity. In this In terms of narrative, we're only going
The focus of «Death Stranding 2: On the sequel, that connection (i.e., the fact that to lift the veil (I'm already 30 hours into
Beach» remains on the game's design we are too connected) and the dangers the game). But I think that, in line with
and gameplay. The design is even more of manipulation (inspired by the disinfor- what PlayStation has done in its history,
refined in the various visual landscapes. mation rhetoric of social media) are cal- especially with superlative studios and
The gameplay is smoother with more led into question when trying to break creators like Hideo Kojima, we should let