American Trudge Simulator (Death Stranding) would be a better game if it took out the ghosts and the pretentious Kojima writing. It wouldn't be, like, [i]good[/i] but it would be better. The best thing in the game, apart from the social elements, is when the camera pulls out and Icelandic folk rock serenades you as you approach the destination or just cross an empty field in solitude and reflection. 


But then the game drops invisible ghost guys on you and just adds more systems and mechanics that don't work well together and makes you go [i]even slower[/i] in a game where your top foot speed is 'slower than a turtle's ass' and then your dumb baby is crying and being a baby so you have to rock the fucking controller but not too quickly and oh fuck you turned too quickly now all your cargo is in the fucking water god dammit now people are talking at me for five minutes telling me how to open a menu and press X fuck this. 

If the game just did away with the stealth ghost bits and focused more on the initial hurdle of traveling in a non-wifi area it would be better for it. The terrain, the MULEs who attack if you're carrying cargo, the time rain, and plotting the fastest route while balancing tools and cargo is already a fair challenge for the player, throwing stealth sections at you because oh no the wifi isn't up and it's raining just makes it even more of a chore. And it's not like it's any more fun to use the shit and piss and blood grenades on them, it just makes it take longer in a different manner. 

There are sometimes moments of, like, genuine artistry but it's sandwiched between too many mechanics that don't work in sync and Hideo Kojima smelling his own farts and expecting you to enjoy the smell with him. 

Game's not fun, 10/10 GOTY