★ — 9/10 Takes a while to get started but the end is worth it.

After going into Death Stranding completely blind having avoided every published content about it from the day it was released on the PS4 and not knowing what exactly I was getting myself into, I can only say that if you have absolutely no interest in a story-driven game, don't want to pay attention to what's going on, and watch all the cutscenes as well as listen to all the dialogue then I'm not sure if this game is for you.

In my opinion, the story is amazing but requires focus as well as patience because it takes a while before things get rolling, unfold, and take shape. This isn't a game that will spell out the entirety of the plot for you right away, it takes some effort and most of all patience to get there, and personally, I've enjoyed the ride and the end was definitely worth it.

I know there are quite a number of people who seem to like to label Death Stranding as a "walking simulator" but I firmly believe that those people have either never played the game themselves, don't understand what the game really is about and what it has to offer, or the type of game it is is simply just not for them. Is there a lot of walking around in the game? Yes, there is. Is that what the entire game is about? No, it's not, far from it actually.

Personally, I'm someone who genuinely dislikes fetching quests but for some reason, in Death Stranding, I never once felt bored, annoyed, or frustrated while taking trips back and forth between locations in order to fulfill deliveries and quest-related things to continue my journey through the story. It's also not just simply running from point A to B and back because the game throws various things your way that you have to adjust to. You have weight to manage, check what type of equipment you may need, plan a route to take, figure out the dangers you may run into, whether to go by foot or take a vehicle, and plenty of other factors to take into account for the best possible outcome and your trip to go as smooth as possible.

Another reason why labeling Death Stranding as a "walking simulator" is beyond me is that walking simulators focus on environmental storytelling and exploration without an actual threat or enemies. There are plenty of threats in this game. From MULEs, human NPCs who want to steal your cargo, to areas filled with creatures called BTs which is short for beached things, to actual boss fights.

Of course, when you start out, your main focus is on being stealthy because you don't get the means to fight back right away which could also be something that puts people off because it takes quite a while for things to unlock but I think this is a much better solution in this type of game than immediately throwing every possible equipment one could ask for at the player right from the start. You need to work and put in some effort to get something in return which, in my opinion, definitely isn't a bad thing at all. Gaining people's trust, not letting them down, and working towards a common goal is what unlocks possibilities and gets you closer and closer to the end of your journey.

Visually and auditory, Death Stranding is absolutely stunning. The cutscenes are great and add a lot to the delivery of the story. The voice acting is really well done and the soundtrack is absolutely beautiful and pleasant to listen to.

50+ hours into the game and I'm still not tired of it. I haven't played a game in quite a while that kept my interest for this long, especially after already having finished the main story, I hardly ever go back into a game after I'm done with the main story.

To me, Death Stranding looks amazing, sounds amazing, plays amazing, has amazing characters as well as an amazing story and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who really likes story-driven action games and has the patience to push past a slow start.

★ — 10/10 - An emotional roller coaster that's absolutely worth it.

Honestly, I don't even know how or where to begin and I don't think I could put into words just how good this game is, in my opinion, no matter how much I'd write about it.

Recently, I had installed a whole bunch of games to try out and Rakuen was amongst them. I went into the game completely blind and had absolutely no idea what to expect. Initially, I thought that it would just be something that I'd start up, play for a maybe 30 minutes and then put to rest because it just isn't for me but, let me tell you, I have never been this wrong about a game in a long time and boy, I was not ready for the emotional roller coaster this game sent me on.

While not expecting it, Rakuen pretty much drew me in, the moment I started playing it and it was a pleasure to get to know each and every character and their stories. The dialogues and story, in general, are really well written and easy to understand as well as follow. I honestly loved every single character I got to interact with.

The game does have puzzle elements and while they can make one think a bit at times, they're not really that hard to solve and blend in well with the story and the rest of the game. Everything flows together really well and it's just a really pleasant experience altogether.

Last but not least, the music. The soundtrack of Rakuen is basically the icing on the cake or the cherry on top, whichever you prefer. It just adds to the atmosphere in pretty much every location and helps with pulling you into the game even more. That's at least what it did for me so, in my opinion, it's awesome.

In my opinion, it was a well spent 8.5 hours to play through this game so there is no way that I could not recommend this game. Buy it, play it. Just make sure to grab a box of tissues before you start because I’m sure you'll need them.