The irony is the people who are mad about the review are creating divides in the gaming community, in order to champion the game. Looks like someone didn't catch the subtext that Death Stranding was trying to convey (or play the game at all).
@brunothethird: Yeah, and after hearing Dan talk about it a bit more on this week's Beastcast, it does use the concept of cells/souls as an upgrade system. So my reaction was a bit knee jerky but I am glad to find someone else who has/had the same frustration when it comes to describing difficulty in games as being "Dark Souls."
@brunothethird: I could not agree with you more. Difficulty in video games has had resurgence ever since the FromSoftware titles took the spotlight, that I can't deny. But something like this or Hollow Knight, have very little to do with being "souls".
That said, I have enjoyed games that have taken the formula and made them their own. The titles you said, and things like: Nioh or Lords of the Fallen are great too. I just think we use games to describe other games when it comes to elements and not the whole. Which can be confusing for someone actively seeking out a similar experience, and finding out its nothing like that at all.
I really dislike when anyone uses Dark Souls as a shorthand description. Or when they say, "this is the Dark Souls of _____". I love what the FromSoftware games have done for the industry but indirect storytelling and difficult combat existed before the series. Using it to describe a video game feels lazy, especially when you are just talking about one or two elements and not the full structure of the game. Sorry if I upset anyone, this kind of thing has bothered me for awhile.
I think it all depends, for me its all about how the game left me feeling. After I finished playing The Last of Us, I never wanted to play it again. I felt I had been an integral part of Joel and Ellie's journey and saw its conclusion.
Where as something like Final Fantasy 7, I revisited it when the PS4 re-release came out and saw a world that I hadn't seen in almost 20 years.
But other times, I feel like I can see a video game mechanically. I have maybe put close to 100+ hours into Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, because I have achieved a near 5 minutes and 30 second speed run of the main campaign (no kills, no alarms, tranq. only). I can nearly tell you where every guard's post is and how it changes once you reach Chico.
And whenever I feel like replaying something older like Resident Evil 2 or Metal Gear Solid, I test myself and see how far I can get without saving. Once I get a game over screen, I just turn off the game and feel like I had spent adequate time with it.
Video Games are such a diverse medium/hobby because you can physically interact with it, completely different than anyone you know.
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