With the AAA video game industry currently so laser-focused on producing homogeneous, easily-monetizable releases, auteur titles like Death Stranding seem almost anachronistic. Sure, the indie scene may be littered with highly experimental, quirky little gems, but when was the last time a major publisher was willing to take a chance on something as utterly out-there as Hideo Kojima’s dystopian mail delivery simulator?

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Though it’s divided fans and caused quite a stir among community members, Death Stranding is unabashed in its strangeness and isn’t afraid to put players through deliberately uncomfortable situations. Weighted down by both the literal weight of a stack of parcels and the metaphorical weight of a lonely world torn in two, the game, at times, feels more like a depressive art project than a big-budget video game. Yet, with that in mind, does this title make up for the infamous loss of Silent Hills?

Obviously, this isn’t a question that can be answered categorically; no two players will come away from Death Stranding with totally identical opinions, and every player will react differently to some of the title’s hardships and annoyances. Still, it’s a story that Kojima otherwise wouldn’t have been able to tell. It offers a sort of even-handed social satire that isn’t often seen in media today and certainly wouldn’t have been possible to pull off in a game bearing the Silent Hill name developed under a tight-fisted publisher.

It could very well be that some of the flack directed at Kojima’s new title may stem from the fact that it has absolutely nothing to do with 2015’s P.T. demo, regardless of the fact that Konami retains the license to the Silent Hill franchise. For all of its oily ghosts and grey, brooding environments, Death Stranding isn’t really a horror game, and it feels like, issues with Konami notwithstanding, the once-in-a-lifetime creative effort behind one of gaming’s most notorious teasers has forever been lost—Death Stranding just isn’t the same thing.

It’s definitely unfair to compare the two, as the cancellation of the previous project was totally out of Kojima’s control. Still, relinquishing what was likely to be a stellar survival horror title for a weird hiking simulator which almost defies genre may feel like a bit of a slap in the face to some. Death Stranding feels like a pet project intended for niche audiences, and some may find that hard to swallow since it’s irrevocably been tied to what seemed to have been a much more promising experience.

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That said, Death Stranding is certainly better than nothing; prior to his partnership with Sony, Kojima’s future seemed very much to be up in the air, and, for a brief period, it seemed like the medium’s last great auteur may have been booted from the industry for good. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and, though what we eventually got wasn’t quite as enticing as his previous project, most are undoubtedly thankful that Kojima was given the chance to once again bring his wacky and wonderful creations into the world.

via: gamespot.com

In short, it seems like most gamers would probably have preferred the fabled Silent Hills to this, and, in a sense, Death Stranding feels like a heavily modified, warped plan-B version of the original concept. It’s far from resembling any of his previous works, but, for all of its dubious design decisions and tedious trekking segments, it’s certainly worthy of existing. Silent Hills may have been a more well-received experience on the whole, but, barring some tremendous culture changes at Konami, this is as good as it gets.

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