Get Played - Death Stranding 2: On The Beach First Impressions

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

Heather, Nick and Matt return to the world of Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding and discuss their first impressions of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. They talk about being hooked by the early game, making deliveries, and more. Check out our brand new merch at kinshipgoods.com/getplayed Follow us on social media @getplayedpod Music by Ben Prunty benpruntymusic.com Art by Duck Brigade duckbrigade.com For ad-free main feed episodes, our complete back catalogue including How Did This Get Played? and our Premium DLC episodes and our exclusive show Get Anime'd where we're currently watching Gurren Lagann go to patreon.com/getplayed Join us on our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/getplayed Wanna leave us a voicemail? Call 616-2-PLAYED (616-275-2933) or write us an email at [e-mail] Advertise on Get Played via Gumball.fm All of our links can be found at linktree.com/getplayedpodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a HeadGum Podcast. Wow, first day as porters for Drawbridge. This is so exciting. Yeah, I'm excited. Look, I'm just excited to get out there and make some deliveries. Yeah. You know what I'm excited to do? Make a difference.

Yeah. Yeah, actually, that's true too, because we're not just making deliveries, aren't we? We're making a difference. We're reconnecting. People who are off the Chiral Network or haven't ever been a part of the Chiral Network before. That's right. So I guess we're gonna head out into the wilderness

and we've got this fabrication machine that allows us to make anything, so I think we should just gear up. Yeah, I guess let me step to the terminal, because I know I'm gonna need some container repair spray, so let me just, there we go, all right. I plotted my route prior to this point, so I've seen that there are a lot of mountains

and a lot of sort of- Uneven terrain. Uneven terrain, so I'm gonna fabricate an extra set of boots actually excellent. That's really smart I'm I know that there's gonna be some Some areas that I'm not gonna be able to jump down or jump across So I'm gonna get two ladders, and I'll snap those on to my back here two collapsible ladders, so that's me Don't forget by the way you can connect ladders. Oh yeah, you can make- You don't have to just use one length of ladder. You can make a long ladder.

Yeah, you can make a double length ladder. So maybe I'll get four. I'll get four ladders. Do you mind if I just go again? Yeah. I'm definitely gonna need- And we're taking turns. Oh, I thought we were.

No, of course. Yeah, so if you have something you wanna fabricate, fabricate. Go on. Okay, great. I'm gonna get 15 pairs of panties, 15 pairs of panties in increasingly large size. This way, because I've been thinking about this, I tend to shit my pants a lot when I'm like out on the wilderness, you're like,

I don't wanna stop, you don't know where the BTs are. So I'm gonna, the reason I got ascending sizes is that way I can layer them so I start with my size and then I can I didn't want them to get tighter and tighter yeah so so now I got all 15 pairs of panties on so when I'm shitting my pants you just pull yeah just the one from inside out and then it's just not a problem anymore okay I see why this hasn't worked for me in the past No, yeah, I just cut the line here. Oh, yeah, go for it and I'm printing out 15 pairs of pre-shed panties That just kind of keep me occupied, you know

Why does this machine have that as an option? You can do anything. It can do anything. Okay fair fair. I'm gonna fabricate a porno magazine, okay Whoa, dude. I don't need to know that for the articles do you whatever you want to do on your own time? That's up to you. It gets lonely out there I think I'm gonna break at the logjam here print on a second fabricator. Oh That's huge actually that's actually a really good idea that's an excellent idea and you know what I have a I have a pretty good idea okay based on that I think I'm gonna print out another version of me so I'm just gonna Oh

God okay, maybe I should Sort of like I know I know The only way we could fix this is if there's one more of each of us to fight it probably yeah I mean yeah, let me let me print. Let me just quit Maybe we should just close the door on this facility and leave these guys in here. Burn it Well the clones trapped us in here We comfort Lou and wear a hat that says why me as we give our first impressions on death stranding 2 on the beach This week on Get Played. [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING

[♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING [♪THEME MUSIC PLAYING Welcome to Get Played, your one-stop show for good games, bad games, and every game in between. It's time to get played. I'm your host, Heather Anne Campbell, along with my fellow host, Nick Weiger.

That's me, Tiger Weiger, along with our third host, Matt Apodaca. Who was that? What the fuck? I'm this guy this week. The whole time? That's right. Get ready. Buckle up. Who was that? What the fuck? I'm this guy this week Get ready buckle up. I started I wonder if should we have connected Everyone this is Matt Appadock. Oh everyone and welcome back to the premiere video game podcast where it is

Death Stranding 2 launch week and we are here with our first impressions That's right, our long national nightmare is over. Death Stranding 2 is finally with us. And additionally, our producer, Rachelle Chen, Ranch is back. Hi, Ranch. Hi, Ranch. Welcome home. You were in Taiwan for a bit.

It's great to have you back in studio. How was your trip? It was okay. You rode the high-speed train there, and that was one thing I was like, I mean, I feel like you were taunting me when you were just in the group text. I did send it to the group chat on purpose

because I knew you would appreciate the high-speed rail. That's awesome. How was that? It was extremely fast. Usually the city where my grandparents lived in is like a four-hour drive from Taipei back in the day and it took 36 minutes. Oh my God. Let's fucking go.

It's the future. That's what happens. America fucking sucks. It's such fucking bullshit. It's such a bad country. It's so bad. It's like the fact that it would make the most sense in the world, everything else they wanna be

the fucking best at. And it's all the wrong shit. would make the most sense in the world, everything else they wanna be the fucking best at. And it's all the wrong shit. We need to figure out trains. We also used to have as a national point of pride, like building the best infrastructure and having like the best space program and all that shit. It's like now all that is going to be disassembled and transferred to the private sectors

and enrich themselves. Yeah, it's so fucking grim. It's like what you're doing in Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2, like rebuilding America, like that just needs to happen now. Like, just deploy bridges now and build the UCA. We can start from here. But isn't the UCA a private corporation?

Well, I mean, there are elements of that. So I don't know. Maybe we are doing bridges. We just need whatever the best company is. Yeah. Let them do it. Let Apple build the roads. I was going to say McDonald's.

Is the UCA in Death Stranding 1 a private company? Because Drawbridge is privatized. But I thought that's a new element in Death Stranding 2, not to get too far ahead of it. Yeah, that is definitely private. Yeah, I if I recall which I was shocking that I did not retain a lot of the main parts of the lore in the beginning of that, but I did watch the Story so far thing that they give you at the beginning which is

barely helpful. Wow, I kinda liked it. We should pause on this. We shouldn't get fully into it. We gotta have stuff to talk about when we're talking about our thing. That's right. But thank you, Ranch, for returning. I'm so happy to be back.

She expanded the Kyrell network into a foreign defense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have to turn in your Cupid device. Tyrell Network in a foreign language. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have to turn in your Cupid device. Imagine listening to this and not having any idea what Death Stranding is. Yeah.

Like, because we are so entrenched in the lore, even the stuff we don't remember, that like, now it's just part of our language and our vocabulary? My cell phone ringtones, my text tone and my ringtone, have been death stranding calm notification things for six years. And so those sounds are just a part of my daily life.

Yes. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Those sounds are just a part of my daily life Just a crying baby It's like But it's just I, I say that, I guess, to just highlight that the game, like we did three episodes about it in the past. Yeah. Legendarily, it is the title that we have dedicated

the most amount of personal air time to, is Death Stranding 1. It's still, I think, in the top five of my most hours played on my PlayStation. Oh, wow. Interesting. It's still up there. Elden Ring has, like, I think surpassed and doubled it because of how much you have to play the game.

But it's still an all-timer. I played it, I mean, I played a shitload of Death Stranding and then, of course, Death Stranding Director's Cut, which we talked about with Kirk Hamilton at 3-Click. Yeah. Who was just listening to talk about Death Stranding 2 and I'm very excited, it sounded like a much dumber version of him.

Yes. But the, It's good. and talk about Death Stranding too. And I'm very excited, it sounded like a much dumber version of him. Yeah. That's true. But the... It's good, we like it, it's good. McDonald's. Yeah. Aw. Yeah.

So it's a, but like, I have over 100 hours like in Death Stranding. I played the shit out of it, really enjoyed it, and you know, it is definitely one of my favorite games of that generation. Heather, you're obviously a huge fan of it. Yeah, yeah, I don't remember what my actual time

topped out at, but I platinumed the game, which was enjoyable. It was fun to do. Why don't we hold the Death Stranding Talk for the Death Stranding. I'm sorry, we just, yeah, we just were trailed up. It just, it just came out. We were all just playing it as much as we could

in the past couple days. It's not left my mind since starting it. And it's just great. I'm just happy, I'm just happy that there's a new, good video game out. It seems, it's nice, we do. It's been a pretty good year for games It has been really good. It's been a really great. I was winning my way back to Claire obscure. I'm so

Upset, I didn't feel like I'm you're in the middle of a game At this point now feels like it's two years old at this point rebirth. Yeah, what the hell you doing? I'm abandoning it Rebirths going back in the womb What the hell you doing? I'm abandoning it. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha What a cool death that'd be, paled by Sephiroth. Yeah. He's not gonna kill you, he's just gonna be, he's gonna scold you. That's gonna lot of McDonald's for not a lot of money. Prices and participation may vary. Mcdoublemeal, $6 in some markets for limited time only. ["What Are You Playing?" by The CW plays.] We got all sorts of Death Stranding 2 to get into,

but first the question we always ask in the structure of the show, in this first portion, is what are you playing? What are you playing? Hi, it's me, the Resident Evil Merchant. And I'm gonna ask my friends what they're playing. And they already spoiled it because they're talking about Death Stranding 2,

but maybe they still got room to play other games. I don't know. Let's ask them. Yeah, sorry for disorienting you there by going a little bit out of order, Resident Evil Merchant. You're on standby, waiting to hear us talk about video games, and then we immediately start talking about

a different video game, which is not what we're gonna be talking about for what are you planning. I get real upset when things happen out of order. Yeah, you and I, I think a lot of our people who comment on the podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You must hate that pivotal scene from A Few Good Men.

What? What, I don't know what? When the whole courtroom's out of order? I think that's a different movie. Is that a different movie? Yeah. And also, I think it's a miscommunication because I mean like... Is that also...

sequential. Is that also in A Few Good Men? I fucking hate pulp fiction! Fuck that movie! I thought A Few Good Men was you want the truth, you can't handle the truth. That's what it is. Yeah, I think this whole system, that's I feel like a different thing.

And actually that's one that I know more from The Simpsons reference. That's what I know it from too. So that's why you can see how I got confused. I only know it from The Simpsons. I'm so confused about what you guys are confused about. But there isn't A Few Good Men reference in The Simpsons, which is like, you want the, side show Bob,

you want the truth, you can't handle the truth, no truth handler you. Bob, I despise your truth handling abilities, or derived rather. The Simpsons is good. I was saying, because the Resident Evil merchant was saying that he doesn't like when things are out of order. Yeah, I don't like it.

I was trying to evoke that scene, but obviously I pulled the wrong one. So, you know, it's just a wash. The whole show's a wash now at this point. No, no, it's okay, you can salvage it. Manabataka, what are you playing? I'm still playing Hollow Knight. And I'm glad Ranch is back.

Because- Ranch is back. Ranch is back, by the way. I'm back. We're so fucking back. Ranch is back, Ranch is so back. So- That fucking back. Ranch is back. Ranch is so back. So. That's what I want to hear at the salad bar.

Well, because when it's not there, you go. You start crying. It's not there. You're like, what the hell is going on? Where is it? Where is it? The, the, just, just because we were just talking about it, the line is from the film and justice for all,

Norman Jewison film I've never seen starring Al Pacino, 1979, I should watch it. I tell you, you know what, so should I, so I can get the reference right now. What does he yell? He yells, you're all out of order? You're out of order, you're out of order. This whole trial is out of order, is the actual line. You know he's always yelling.

Yeah. He's gonna yell something good. I think it's like a movie that I don't know, maybe it's awesome, I've never seen it, but for me it's one of those movies where it's known for that scene, like Five Easy Pieces, a Jack Nicholson movie, which is fine, but it has the one great scene

that everyone's quoting that is elevated beyond the movie itself. Five Easy Pieces, it sounds like the first half of a 10 piece movie. It has the one great scene that everyone's quoting that kind of is elevated beyond the movie itself. Five easy pieces, that sounds like the first half of a ten piece movie. That back end is starting to get full. A little tougher. Why was that so funny to you? Because I saw Nick enjoying it as I was saying it. He was there for the whole thing. Shit eating grid immediately.

He's like, I'm Matt Tuckins. He's going to do something. So I was still playing Hollow Knight. Last week, after the show, after saying that I had been playing it, I went home and I played it more. And I sent a picture to the group chat, was like, I just, or a text to the group chat, I just beat this boss and was excited about that.

And then a minute later, ah, fuck, no I didn't, because there was a second phase that seemed like it was, it seemed like it was done. It's like the Guardian, the Guardian ape in Sekiro It's a prolonged period between phases where you feel like you've actually completed it I like collected an item like I was like I've done like this and then he was like surprise bitch And then he came back and then I lost immediately because I had like one health Right left and then had to do the whole thing over again

But then did it pretty quickly again after that because that's the thing about games like this Is that I I feel like I can get frustrated and want to? Snap my new Nintendo switch two and a half yeah I'm having a hard time with something like that, but I just I I can see how I'm supposed to do it and this is the same with any like a souls boss or like a just like a metroidvania boss like there's like just pattern recognition and You just have to just learn their their move sets the bosses move sets and stuff so

I've completed quite a few of those. I'm now in the I'm in Kingdom's Edge Ranch and I Just gotta say this game is fucking hard It's very hard, and I think it's especially hard right now because I think for where I am I'm like Considered if you can consider there's no levels in the game, but I'm like under leveled for where I am because I have six I'm like underleveled for where I am because I have six health things. What? Yes. And I should have probably like eight or nine,

but I only have six. You were shocked by that. I'm playing it on hard basically. That's crazy. You gotta grind a little more. Well, I have to, what I think I need to do is just like go back to the opening areas and now then traverse places that I hadn't been before

because I now have new abilities, like a double jump and a dash and a super dash basically. So I think I'm gonna spend some time going back. So now I then see why people are like, this game is 100 hours long because I think I have like 30 hours in it or something. And I think I still have like a third of the game in terms of areas left to go sure which is

That's a lot. It's just a lot of stuff and then the bosses are really hard. I did meet the Dung defender who is a boss that you can fight and the thing about the Dung defender is he's really funny He's kind of like a big dopey guy and like they don't talk like they I guess they do speak but they don't like It's not like in English. It's in like their little Bug language and so there's this guy and he kind of sounds like has sounds like the Swedish chef kind of useless Like oh, oh, oh, oh, and he's like you're finding you're like where's this guy coming from and then you go find him and then he's like this is big singing guy and you have to fight him and you get like a charm after you beat him

And the charm makes you stinky That's fun. It's a stinky, but it gives it does damage. Yeah to Enemies and stuff so you like you can want that equipped if you're having a hard time with like a boss or something You're like oh like I'm just getting if I'm just even passing over the boss It's getting like very minimal, but some damage. You got a little low grade AOE that's just kind of always on. That's it. It reminds me of the garlic, another smelly thing and vampire survivors. But it makes you stinky and it's like a big like brown cloud of stink around you.

So it's like a pretty good, really cute, do do charm. And then there are some vendors. I don't know if this happens in all vendors, but I went to a vendor wearing the charm, the guy that you can sell stuff to. It's really cute. Do do charm And then there are some vendors I don't know if this happens in all vendors But I went to a vendor wearing the charm the guy that you can sell stuff to and he was like get that Stinky charm out of here. I'm not doing business with you He makes you take he makes you go take it off somewhere. I love details like that They don't have to put that in the game. They don't have to a little extra bit of polish. Um I have

Like two complaints two frustration points, I think. When you die, sometimes you save at benches, and those are your save points for when you die. So it'll behoove you to save at every bench that you see, especially if you're getting closer to a boss. Right. But sometimes the distance between where the bench is and where the boss area is is too much,

even if you do unlock the little shortcuts that you can find along the way. And sometimes they're treacherous. So it's not like just like a straight shot or like sometimes it's like there's spikes or there's like a bunch of like tough enemies along the way. And so you're like, am I even going to make it to the fucking boss area? Like right. It's like a classic Dark Souls run by or like run back where you just kind of like you know Bypass a bunch of skeletons or over the fuck and yeah right into it so like that that can be tough and then the other thing is

When I lose when I lose a lot of Geos which is like souls you can get back, and you can get them back easily, but you have to fight your shadow, which is then like a whole thing, or you could go to this guy who you give a stinky egg, there's a lot of stinky stuff in the game, you give a rancid egg.

See what you like it. What the fuck? I don't stink, you stink. You like it Sometimes it's like you guys are talking in a different language Nobody stinks. It would be shocking if anybody in this room stunk. Right? I think we're a pretty good smelling crew. Yeah, we're a good smelling crew.

I'm not going around whiffing everybody, but you know. You'd notice if someone smells noticeably bad. It's a small room in here. Yeah. You can give this guy a stinky egg, and he then summons the thing that has your geos to you and it's like an easy way to get it but that thing is so far away in the beginning area. Oh so this is my overall biggest complaint. I wish every biome had all the different stuff so you don't

have to go back to where the stuff is to like because like some this one vendor that sells that you can sell stuff to is in one place Oh he's just in one and it takes a long time it takes sometimes it could take a long time to get out of an area or You know or you there's like a fast travel system and stuff too, and you can like travel to and to you know fro but It's just like I wish they I wish every area had like this is where the shop is and in that type of thing Yeah, I mean like like I've only ever gotten a few hours into Hollow Knight a few false starts

But just speaking generally from what you describe what you describe like I understand from a design standpoint making something Inconvenient sometimes that can be good if it adds challenge or adds You know a depth or color to the world or whatever. But sometimes it's just like, oh, you're just adding, just taking away more of my time to do this task. It just adds tedium. It does add depth though, because like when you have to go back to like the starting area to go do a specific thing,

there's always like a little bit of like new dialogue when you see like the guy that's always there. You always got to check in with him, see what's going on. They'll have new items in the shop there or whatever. And so I love it. I think this is an all-time game. I love the knight. I love him.

And I want a little tattoo of him. He's so great. His character design is so good. He's just a little guy, he's got these little wings, and he's got little horns up. I love him, I love him. He's just my favorite little guy. You love a little guy.

I really do, but he's number one right now. He's so good. Frog from Chrono Trigger can sit down. Frog can fucking. Oh my god, Matt. How dare you. Wow. Be my best friend forever. How dare you.

Wow. Be my best friend forever. You know when you finish. But yeah, so I'm hoping to finish it. It's now my in between Death Stranding 2 game and my wife tells me that I'm too into it because the thing she hears me playing, the thing she hears from me when I'm playing it is,

oh, fuck! That's too much. But that's what I've been playing. Wow. Nice. Heather, what are you playing? Well, I've got two games that I've been playing in the little corners of life that I've squeezed out around Death Stranding 2.

One is that I've continued playing Welcome Tour on the Switch 2. I don't know why I'm doing it, but I know it's there and it's so easy to just drop in, do a quiz, learn about a chipset and then leave. It satisfies the same thing that like reading a news article satisfies for me. It's like, oh, what am I gonna learn about the switch to today? So now I'm in the final area

I'm inside the system, and I'm learning about the chips, and I'm I don't know I'm enjoying I'm enjoying being a tiny little girl running around inside the switch to did you try to pick someone? That would seem like it was like you or Or did you just pick a random one? I picked a random girl. Yeah, I know Nick's answer, but I just wanted to know. Nick didn't have to choose. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

But I'd also like to talk about, and I know I said, I would only talk about Fortnite once a month. Unfortunately, something has happened in Fortnite that is worth talking about, which is that they issued a side mode called Blitz Royale, and it was not supposed to be like a massive mode for them. Like it's not, their main money pool comes from the Battle Royale games, whether Build or Zero Build. But they issued this side mode called Blitz Royale

where you are in a much smaller island With a much smaller pool of people so the games are significantly faster It's like 30 people instead of a hundred people you drop with High powered weapons and boons that are from all the seasons of fortnight like all of the different seasons of fortnight. Whoa Everybody on the island drops with the same mythic weapon and the same boon. So everybody has the same significant starting advantage. But the massive advantages after that are randomized.

Like you go up to a crate and you might find a boon from season, chapter five, season five or something. You can become the goo. You can be, like I haven't seen the goo, but you might, it's probably in there. I just remember that one. That's when we were playing it for the show. Here's what is surprising about the mode

is that it now has double the players of standard Battle Royale. It has been a major success and it's drawn all of the player base over to this smaller, faster, snappier mode where the games go faster, you have more of the weapons that you enjoy using, you don't spend as much time running around

looking for other players. There's technically less to do, but more combat to engage in. And then the game is over. Because there are so many people playing it, the loading island is faster. So you're going through game after game after game. It feels like Reels.

You know, it feels like TikTok or Instagram. It feels like you're scrolling Fortnite instead of like dropping in and dedicating a full half hour to a match, which is generally how long a battle royale will last is about 30 minutes 25 30 minutes right um it is drugs Yeah, that seems That seems pretty good. It has stripped down all of the stuff about fortnight that I find mildly frustrating

Which includes you don't mildly frustrating, which includes you don't run fast enough, which is my complaint in every game. The speed at which you want a video game to run is untenable. But in Blitz Royale, because you have access to all of these movement boons, you're running around like Sonic while playing Fortnite. Whoa. It is like super high jumping. It's like invisibility dashes.

It's fantastic and a little bit more chaotic, but generally speaking, a lot more fun. And you feel a lot less shitty when, like if you're playing for 25 minutes on a regular battle royale game and you walk around a corner and somebody one shots you in the head, you feel like ass.

Because it's like, I have just lost so much time. With Blitz, if you lose, you just load in again. And I think there's a possibility that this will become, that if they keep it around, I think it's gonna possibility that this will become, that if they keep it around, I think it's gonna become the dominant form of Fortnite. Is the smaller matches, faster gameplay. And again, it was accidental.

Like it wasn't what they were expecting. That's kind of, that's kind of, I mean, that that that that's kind of surprising to me that this was not like their big like, like, oh, we know this is gonna be the mode that's gonna of surprising to me that this was not like their big like, like, oh, we know this is gonna be the mode that's gonna attract everybody. It kind of caught them off guard. It certainly has gotten some advertising.

It wasn't like it was released under the radar, but at no point during any of the pre-press for the new season was it like, and we're gonna introduce a new mode, but it's Royale. You're gonna love it. It was just like a thing that was released. It's not like Lego Fortnite or like a Fortnite festival or something.

Yeah, yeah. But isn't that kind of the origin of Fortnite's popularity, like wasn't the main mode of Fortnite not Battle Royale originally? It was Save the World. So it's kind of like, this is just an iterative process where they keep finding a new thing that hooks people, even more so than the previous version.

Yeah, it's extremely addictive and has, I mean, drawn all of the people that I play with either on the Discord or in my private life into the mode. Like that's just where people are playing now. Is the mode here to say, and do you have a sense of like, we're just really into it now, but we know we're gonna go back to Battle Royale or or like, though this is like a superior version of the game. Well, I don't know either of those answers.

Got it. I know that each week, they're doing a different theme with Blitz Royale. So that's an additional like alacrity of gameplay. Yeah. It's like, last week was like all of the God Boons, and this week it's all the airbender stuff, like all of the Avatar, the airbender stuff.

So like each week they're dropping new, I think the plan was to pull the mode after a certain amount of time. I don't know if they're gonna still do that. And I haven't done, like, I'm not doing games journalism about it, like, it's just been kind of a shock kind of a rumble I You know I don't play fortnight, and I don't play those kind of multiply games really But like it's it what kind of reminds me of is

three different games, but the same sort of thing of just like the speed kept increasing that the the like the the What Hearthstone did over Magic the Gathering is in addition to making like fully digital and like taking advantage of the fact that it was, did not have to have a physical version so you could do like a lot more RNG and what have you. But like they, it was just like a smaller deck and much shorter rounds. And people got used to the pace of play of Hearthstone and then Marvel Snap comes out and it's like,

even smaller deck. We're going like, we're making this thing like less than half the size of the Hearthstone deck, which is already half the size of the Magic Gathering deck. And, you know, now instead of like, like a round taking 20 minutes, it takes like five minutes. You know what I mean? Like, they just keep, and it makes you wonder what the end point is going to be.

Are we going to get to a point where there'll be some big multiplayer game that people are playing at some point in the future, which around is like one minute long. You know what I mean? It's like, it's almost like old arcade fighting games where it's just like one-on-one, old arcade fighting games. Obviously there's a current thriving fighting game community, but like, you know, fighting game matches are not particularly long.

Could you have the same sort of thing happen with with a battle royale approach? I would be totally in favor of it if you could keep the loading and an island loading that fast. Because if, I think the, you know, the window of return, I don't know what the word is. There's like a phrase where it's like describes the,

that like the amount of time you put into something versus the amount of time you get out of it. But what I mean is, if you're spending a minute 30 in the game, you have to be able to load into the next game in 10 seconds. Oh, sure, right. You don't need that much, yeah, you don't want as much downtime, I get what you're saying.

Like that's part of what was kind of frustrating about Street Fighter when it went online is unless you were continuing with that same person, there was a length of time that you had to wait in order to fight somebody else, which kind of made you lose your own personal momentum. Whereas if you're at an arcade, you just drop in another quarter

and you're instantaneously playing again. So I think it's possible that that's where it'll end up and certainly I'll be on board for that I don't need 25 minute matches, and I feel like I'll look back on it and be like God do you remember that fortnight used to take like 25 minutes to win? Yeah, like that sounds insane It is this still this is like a zero build thing? Yeah. That's really cool. It's just zero build with the best weapons of all the seasons.

Wow. It's great. Wow. Nick, what have you been playing? Heather, thank you so much for asking. So I get the, I was trying to figure out anything to do with my Switch 2 before Bonanza comes out. Because I'm not that into Mario Kart World, like, whatever, fine.

I'm glad I have the new Mario Kart and it came bundled with a system anyway, the version that I got. But it's just not a game. It's kind of a game I've moved past at this point in my life. But I got the GameCube controller, which I think we all have now.

Oh yeah, yeah. The GameCube controller is really slick and I mean, it's just, it reminds you how stupid the controller was, but it's also so ergonomic and so distinct that you kind of, like I do have nostalgia for it and I did just have like, it is just great to like,

it just feels great in your hands. And actually playing a GameCube game with a GameCube controller which I have not done in I mean I guess it probably I probably would have hooked a wave bird up to my Wii U was maybe compatible with I can't remember I never got I never put plugged a GameCube controller to my my Switch one I don't think oh no not the Wii was compatible I don't know the Wii maybe it's just the Wii. Maybe the last time I actually was using a GameCube controller to play GameCube games

was with the Wii, and I never messed around with the GameCube controller for emulation on PC or anything. And so just, yeah, just playing these games again is so cool. Of course, Nintendo being Nintendo, they only have three fucking GameCube games available right now. All right, sure, fewer games than launched with the GameCube. But one of them is Wind Waker. And they give us Soul Calibur 2 and the F zero for GameCube F zero GX, right? It feels awesome to play Wind Waker

with a GameCube controller again. And Heather, you had the observation that, cause you can kind of, I think that by default, the C stick, the right analog stick is inverted for, so you, but you can change that setting in the Switch to- Which was, I don't think something you could do on the original Wind Waker. I don't think you could do it, no, I agree.

I don't think you'd do that in the original game. Maybe you could do it in the HD 2. Which was, I don't think something you could do on the original Wind Waker. I don't think you could do it. No, I agree. I don't think you'd do that in the original game. Maybe you could do it in the HD remaster. If you do that, it does like, you know, there's some jank to the UX, but it does like feel like a modern game. Like Link running around, just great running around. Oh yeah.

Fantastic running around game. Great locomotion. And it's also just the power of good art direction. I mean, like what other games that came out in 2003 still look this good, you know what I mean? Like it looks fucking incredible. It looks like it could be a game today. Like it's because, and I don't think I'm saying,

oh, it looks like an art style that would be emulated today of like the old Wind Waker. I'm saying it looks like a game that could come out now. Yeah, like, oh, there's this beautiful new indie game that has this really distinct look. Part of the response to, you know, Chibi Link back in the day is like, I think people will memory hold because

now this game is so beloved. But it was like, kind of polarizing the same way Super Mario Sunshine was around release. And there was a there was a big backlash to the art direction at the time, people thinking that like, like, that's not how that's not how Link looks that and obviously, you know, Twilight Princess is something of a response to this game, right? Like if just like, okay, we're gonna bring back the aesthetic that you were hoping for with this generation Zelda.

But looking at it now, it's like, wait, this is like maybe the best looking Zelda game, like in general? Like it's just like, the art direction is so pristine. And again, just like the distinct choice of having this sort of storybook animated look is a big part of what gives it its legacy. So it's just so weird to think back

of when that was coming out and when people were like annoyed by it. People were so fucking angry about it. I remember the first time I encountered footage from the game was at Anime Expo, that somebody had the trailer running on a television behind their booth, and I thought it was for a Zelda cartoon. Like I was like, oh, what's that?

Like, is that a Zelda anime? And they're like, no, that's the new game. That's the game. And I was like, what? And I remember being blown away by the explosions, like the way that there were like spirals in the explosions that look like a cartoon. These are all effects that we take for granted now

because of cell shaded video games. But at the time that was like the premier, the premier podcast, the premier cell shaded video game. Yeah, you had, I mean, you obviously had like jet set radio which I think predates it. But that was less of a, that was more just like a character design was like the cell shaded characters were the foregrounded element. Just the whole world just feeling like an interactive cartoon was like completely novel

and not in like in an interact, in like a way you can, you know can fully engage and control your character, not like something like Dragon's Lair or Space Ace. Right. So I didn't have a GameCube, I'd never played Wind Waker. I started playing it on Switch 2, but I haven't played it with the GameCube controller yet, and I'm excited to get in there and play it at some point. It's excellent

with the GameCube controller, but I'm excited to get in there and play it at some point. It's excellent with the GameCube controller. This Link, having backlash, having played a little bit, like the opening area of this game basically, reminded me that my very first Zelda was this Link because of the DS game, Phantom Hourglass. And I love the Phantom Hourglass. And I love the Phantom Hourglass. And that was the very first Zelda game I've ever played. So it's just funny to think about everyone's like,

I hate this Link. And my experience is, oh cool, this to me new character Link, I had not played a Zelda game before. So it was just, I don't know, it was nice to revisit the art style, frankly. I love it, I can't wait to check it out and play it a little bit more.

Oh! Oh, that was the other funny thing too. I was playing it and I was like, wait, so in this one, Link has a whole family. He has a sister and a grandma. I like it. I do like it, it's very, very sweet. Well, as the story goes, it's a really cool way

to investigate the Zelda myth. Like it's neat because their relationship to Zelda is kind of like our relationship to Lincoln Zelda. Like it's a cool, I love Wind Waker. It's one of my favorites. It's probably my second favorite Zelda after Breath of the Wild. Wow., it's probably my second favorite Zelda after Breath of the Wild.

Wow. Yeah, I guess Breath of the Wild has gotta be number one for me now, partly just because I never really connected as much with Tears of the Kingdom. But yeah, I do really love Wind Waker. And again, it's the game, the Zelda game of that era that lingers with me the most,

you know, and that I still think about. I guess, where else would I, I mean, I put when I was doing my top 10 list, our top 10 games of all time, I had Zelda 1, the Legend of Zelda for NES, Famicom on my list. I do have a lot of affection for that game. If we're actually ranking them against each other, because I mean, but a big part of that for me

was like the importance of that game and getting me into that type of, you know, exploring a world and dungeon crawling and just like the idea of a game being not just a series of challenges and a series of levels, but like an adventure that was so novel for me at the time. But if I'm actually ranking them against each other, I guess I probably would put Breath of the Wild.

I might go Majora's Mask. I mean, I really do love Majora's Mask as design, but I mean, Wind Waker's three or, no, no, no. Cause I can't put Link to the Past over that. Actually, I probably link them Why are we doing this? Is that what we're here for god damn it Jesus Christ Here's here I'll just just just put a bonnet breath of the wild link to the past

Majora's Mask Wind Waker is probably something like my order. Where do you think you place freshly picked Tingle's Rosie Roopyland? A game I didn't know existed until just now. It's like they handed the Zelda license to Chuck Tingle. Pull one off. Guys, should we talk about the thing?

Let's get into it. Let's get into our first impressions of Death Stranding 2 on the beach. My first impression is my God, so much in the world has changed since the last one. Yeah. Our world, like dropping in before anything happens, hearing the sounds of Death Stranding,

threw me all the way back to 2019 and made me be like, oh my God, this has been a very cataclysmic six years. Yes. It's been wild. I was thinking about that, how I'm different, like when I started playing the first one, just like, and then it made me scared

think about the The things that are gonna come true from this game So you know I release obviously in June 26 of year. We were not playing pre-release copies, but we did get the, we did all pre-purchase recording this based on the effective release date. So we all pre-purchased the digital deluxe edition, so we were able to play for a couple of days in advance. Well, one of us didn't get just the digital deluxe edition,

did we, Nick? Look, I had this pre-ordered, and I was not sure if I wanted to actually open it. So I got the Digital Deluxe Edition, because I'm fine double-dipping on this game, potentially, because, I don't know, whatever. I know I'm going to love it, and I love the first one. So whatever, I just kind of made that calculus, but I do have the death stranding to on the beach

collectors edition The physical copy Wow physical copy Look at this big bastard. It is it is the size of Nick's torso. Yes Now the first and it has it has a you know Lou on the front of it, the baby, and it's like, Ranch thought it actually was a car seat. That's what it looks like. It's cute. It is cute. It's adorable.

The first Death Stranding came in a briefcase, the collector's edition, with the BB in it. This one apparently comes with a statue of the Magellan, which is the ship from Death Stranding 2. Yeah, let me read the contents, because I still have not decided if I'm going to open this. And maybe I'll open it on the show, or maybe I'll take it home as, I don't know,

I haven't made a decision. If you don't open it, what are you or maybe I'll take it home as, I don't know, I haven't made a decision. If you don't open it, what are you gonna do? Just leave it closed forever? You gonna sell it someday? My Baldur's Gate III collector's edition is still in trigger app. But for what? I like having it.

To throw it away later. Like what? Yeah, he's not the kind of guy who collects. I like having it. I think one day. I'm not giving you a hard time. No, here's the thing. None of us have any leg to stand on on this.

No. No, I'm not like, I'm just, I'm curious about like- We just buy stuff. Your emotional attachment to a closed box versus like handling the stuff within. Yeah, maybe I'll open it. Let me read the contents. Physical items, Death Stranding 2 on the beach,

Digital Deluxe Edition, digital downloads. We'll have an extra code there. Ranch, if you want it or somebody. 15 inch Magellan Man statue, three inch Doll Man figurine, Matt's familiar with that length, art cards and a letter from Hideo Kojima. How about that?

Should I open it up? What? Wait, what? Did you just slight? I was being nice to you and defending you about this. Yeah, like why, why? Why did you just attack Matt in the middle of reading this like- I didn't attack him.

I don't- I have no idea. Now I have to sit over here being jealous of three inches. Hahahaha. Alright, I'm gonna open it up. He's opening it. Fuck. I wish you were opening it in a different way. Can you open it with a knife or something?

My god. He just started chewing it. I fretted my way through it. I just used my nails. Alright. Hold on. Can you put it farther away from the fucking cup? See I'm tearing it. I shouldn't have opened it.

It's because you got it. You became like a cup? What am I supposed to do? See, I'm tearing it. I shouldn't have opened it. I'm so fucking mad. It's because you became like a ravenous animal all of a sudden and he's just now shaking it over the floor. What are you doing? This is the most scared I've ever been. He's never opened a box. Hey, that's a nice box.

This is really cool. So actually what we learned is that the box inside is better than the box on the outside. The inside box is pretty sick The inside box is nice, and this is actually it was good that you opened it actually because they actually the box slowly Nick Let me pry open this child's coffin Wouldn't be the first time he said that All right, here we go. Hey, nice.

He's just throwing shit on the ground. What was that? This is just the fucking disc. Are you sure it's not the letter from Kojima? Oh shit, it might be the letter from Kojima. Is there a letter inside? Don't tear it. God damn it.

This is insane. It might be cursed. Do you want to open it? Use a knife or something. I'll Freddy it. I'll use my nails. He's going to Freddy it. Oh my God. Okay, there we go. He got,- use a knife or something! I'll Freddy it. Hold on, I'll use my nails. Hold on. He's gonna Freddy it.

Oh my god! Okay, there we go. He got- he opened it. And by the way, the doll man's not three inches. That thing's huge. Hahahaha! Thank you, thank you, Ranch. Ranch got scissors for Ned. Thank you, Rochelle. Thank you.

While I'm doing this... There's nothing else we can focus on, man. Yeah, I have to make sure that you do it right He also immediately pointed the scissors at his own stomach I'm just trying to open this No, Nick if I trust anybody this is tricky look at what he's doing. This is tricky. Yeah, no actually I'm scared about it Okay, I thought this guy was a fucking boy scout the way he's handling these scissors I think he he's giving a badge son. He's the kind of boy scared of burnt down the forest One of them ones smoky was talking about no my I always practice campfire safety. That's yeah, that's good to know I can't this is just help a fucking... Do you need help, Nick?

Can I help you? I mean, you can dig at this. Is this... Let me see. Is this a segment? Oh, but you know what? I see what the issue is. A little tricky.

Because it's a sticker over it, and then there's also like, it's a fold in... Yeah, it's a weird sticker slash fold combo. Would a knife be better? Well, it's like a thing where... I think I almost got it though. Oh, you know what? Well, it's like a thing where you almost gotta go. Oh, you know what, do this. Come out from the side.

So I'm not supposed to open this part? I think it'll unfold easier if this stuff's out maybe. Okay. Okay. Now he's just tearing it up. He immediately just crushing it. I can't. This is pissing me off. What?

I regret buying this and I regret opening it. We have to just make it completely clear. He did this all on his own. Yeah. Like, he could have patiently and delicately gone through it. This is as if Sideshow Bob put his own rakes down. All right.

Here we go. Hideo Kojima, game creator. What if it said, dear Nick? Oh my I knew you'd have trouble opening this Fuck good Dear fellow porters welcome to the world of death stranding 2 on the beach I am very happy to embark on this new journey with all of you once again Death stranding is a game experience designed to help players feel the importance of connection

through the social strand system. During the pandemic, many of you may have experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness akin to the world of Death Stranding. In the sequel, however, our protagonist Sam is not the solitary figure he once was. With the support of his new companions and the members of Drawbridge, he will strengthen his connections. Now Sam and all of you will begin a journey of new choices. In a time where the word division is at the forefront, what is the connection we should truly seek? No matter what choices lie ahead, we encourage you to never lose sight of hope.

Stay true to your mission and discover and explore the connections you can find from there. How about that? Wow. Wow. And there's some cool art on the back of that too. and explore the connections you can find from there. How about that? Wow. Wow. And there's some cool art on the back of that too. Yeah, all the art, all the key art that they've released for the game is really, really good.

Which side do you put in the frame? I know. Do you put Sam and Lou or do you put Kojima? I think this is a two-sided frame situation. Oh. Yeah, you gotta have the Kojima letter on display, but Sam and Lou. So it's like hanging over your crib? It's really cute.

He only has the crib so he doesn't fall off the bed at night. I believe it. There's a bunch of different cards here, art for different characters. We've seen fragile again. Cool. There's fragile. Yeah. And I'm not sure if all these are in focus.

There you go. Here's Higgs. Higgs, who we learned recently from friend of the pod, Gene Park, shares the same last name as the owner and founder of Domino's. That's right. Yes. Which can't be a coincidence.

Well, especially when there's a Domino's Death Stranding 2 Japan only collaboration. Yeah. which can't be a coincidence. Well, especially when there's a Domino's Death Stranding II Japan only collaboration. Yeah. So Nick has pulled out all the art cards. He's pulled out the three inch tall dolmen figure. Yeah. Dolmen? It's obviously massive.

He just threw on the ground. No, it just, it fell. I didn't throw it. And then please. Oh my God. I should not be handling this. What is it? Oh, the Magellic? It's the statue.

Oh yeah, the statue. Okay. I just, what's so funny about this as an experience. I should not be handling this. Is that there is like, there are content creators online who this is their whole thing, opening boxes. Yeah. And I like, whoa, that's fucking good.

This is fucking rad. That's really fucking good. Okay, that's great. This was worth the purchase. It has a dick. Yeah, that's sick as hell. Okay, so it's a statue of the Magellan with some, you know, like a tar body,

I assume is going to happen at some point in the game. Yeah. It is- Yeah, I guess maybe we're maybe in minor spoiler country here. Well, this was every, I mean, this is- This was on the Boggison trailer as well. Yeah, it's a heinous and grotesque

and excellent looking figure. Yes. Wow. This is great. All right, I'm glad. I'm glad- He's back to- Purchase redeemed. He's gone back the other side of it. The purchase is good now.

Yeah, you know what? I'm glad I got so close to the statue. That was insane to me. Shatter it. Put it away. I'm glad I spent $250 on this. Bam. Fuck.

Just sounds of me vacuuming it up. Now it's wet because I'm crying. Oh my god. Never been this tense on this show. Have you ever, I mean I guess you have in the past, maybe for other games as well, I've never purchased a, like a collector's edition of a video game that has a bunch of stuff

that comes with it. I've done it for Death Stranding 1. I did it for Disco Elysium for the Switch, which had the most phenomenal collector's package with like a huge art book with all of this behind the scenes stuff. And then also it had like a deck of cards, it had like, it was really, I mean it's a same size box.

Like these things are all coming in these, as Nick described it, child size coffin boxes. Beyond that, I'm not sure. Those are the two major ones for me. I bought the Baldur's Gate 3 one, still in box, and I also got the Diablo 3, like the biggest collector's edition. I played so much Diablo 2,

that's still probably the most hours I put into an individual video game. I was so hyped for Diablo 3 at launch, obviously it had its flawed launch, but I bought that one intending to keep it in box as well. For me, so often, the reason I don't get the collector's edition is because I don't want a statue of something from the game.

I want something from the game. And that's why the Death Stranding one was so exciting to me, because it was like, oh, it's a life-size BB and a briefcase that Sam carries, and the tape that he uses to seal stuff. All that was like, oh, this is for me. Square Enix sells jewelry from Final Fantasy games. And I've always wished that the Final Fantasy Collector's Edition

would include a version where you could have the stuff that they wear inside the game, like the jewelry. I got close to buying the Alan Wake 2 one because I love Alan Wake 2 so much, but then I just kind of, I just have so much stupid stuff that I was like, I can't justify having this little lamp and then when my wife and I eventually moved to a new place justifying taking this little thing

with me, but I do regret not buying it actually. I got a, like yeah, same as you. I only have like so much space in our apartment and I definitely do not need this. But again, I just like, I don't know, I love Death Stranding. If I'm gonna like- And this is really cool.

This is really cool. I'm also realizing now that I'm remembering that I didn't drive today, so I guess I'll be going home on the bus just holding this. Oh great, the scary guy on the bus is scarier. So did you bring that box with you on the bus? Uh, train.

Train? Yeah, yeah, but I'll probably just Uber home. Well, you'll probably just put it back in the box though too, right? Oh yeah, you can just put it back in the box. Yeah. Yeah, okay. You're gonna leave gonna lose here for Rochelle to clean up So I mean death stranding to we should talk about it yeah, yes, too I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought the thing no no no it was I derailed the death stranding to talk with the no No, no, no part of it. This was part of it.

This needed to happen. Yeah, this was the upsetting preamble. Yeah, this is our Death Stranding. I'm playing this game. I'm booting it up. And I think I got the least time of any of us because I'm not yet past the prologue into the second biome. So that's where I'm not yet past the prologue into the second biome.

So that's where I'm at. But I will say that in my sub four hours of gameplay, it was crazy how immediately this game locked me back in. And I think part of what's so effective about the very beginning of this, which again, we're kind of in first impressions mode, so that's what I can speak to right now as of this recording,

is the first game is a famously slow start. And there are friends who have tried to get into Death Stranding, some with success, others that hasn't taken hold, where you just kind of, it's like trying to get someone into like the wire, you know, it's like, yeah, it takes a little bit to get its hooks in you But once you're in you're you're fucking in Death Stranding one has so much preamble so many cinematics so much

Exposition and such a slow trickle of new features that it just for a while It just feels like you're kind of like like walking around Clumsily and and it's not necessarily, that's part of the charm of the game, but it's not necessarily something that's going to feel like an addictive gameplay loop. Whereas Death Stranding 2 just kind of like cuts through a lot of the bullshit and just gets you right in the middle of the action.

But then there's also the element of the first one being the only other game that's like that before, right? So like you're not really used to playing a game this way. They did have to explain a lot more stuff. Yeah. And for me, that's one of my favorite parts of Death Stranding 1 was the sheer drop-off of knowledge that you experience in that game.

From the moment you start, everything is so completely unfamiliar. And I'm hoping that, again, with only a few, like I've gotten into the second biome, I think it's episode three, because it's broken up into episodes, and the first episode is called Sam. So I'm in episode three, and still it is very familiar.

Like there isn't a ton of new concepts, and I'm absolutely trusting that there's going to be new, crazy bullshit that this game pulls off that it teaches us, because right now, it's just like, oh, yeah, the Chiral printers and the way the Dooms work and the way the BTs work. It's a really great refresher course, that sort of, like, Sam Prologue, where you're like,

oh, right, this is how this works, this is what the beach is, and as a sort of tonnage of sci-fi concepts, I was surprised how many of them did stick with me. Like I don't remember all the relationships of like the political bodies, but like how the world works, and the fact that the world beyond death is timeless,

and so they're using it as a processor to run computers through it, is such a great fucking hook. Yeah. That stuff's great, but also, yeah, the stuff like timefall and void outs and things like that. I'm like, oh yeah, that's all that stuff I... Now that just occup that stuff I,

now that just occupies my brain, those types of things. Then in this game, there's a, I can't remember what it's called in the game now currently, but there's a similar to active time lore in Final Fantasy 16. There's a glossary of terms that you can just go to at any time, which is extremely helpful. I think that that glossary of terms was in Death Stranding, but it was like in the emails or whatever.

You would get emails about all of these concepts, and now it's just like when somebody is speaking, there's an icon that pops up in the top right corner of your screen, and you can hold down the pause button, I think, and it brings you straight to a glossary that investigates those terms. I fucking love glossaries. As the person who went back to playing Welcome Tour,

I'm like, every single one of those glossaries, I'm like, oh, thank God. Give me paragraphs. I love the glossary, and I should look up what it's called, but I do think it's really cool. I will say I found it a little intrusive because it's basically always there,

at least in the early going. I'm sure it dissipates over the course of the game. Or maybe not, maybe you're just constantly being tossed new vocabulary that you have to dig in on. So it kind of took me a couple of hours to train myself to not instinctively do it for absolutely everything that comes up. Because you can do it like a half dozen times per cut scene. I had the same issue because I was like pausing effectively

in the middle of cut scenes. And the way I remedied it is I wait until the, like a chunk of stuff has happened and then I press the glossary button or access it through the ring menu. And then I'll go through all the stuff that has new exclamation points next to it and read up on all of the stuff we just learned.

That's smart. Yeah, I mean, my memory of the active time lore system, that's what it was called. Yeah, you had to like go to a person to get it. No, but my memory of it was it was a little bit less of an, like it was a little bit less of like, we're going to a completely different, maybe I'm misremembering it, but we're going to a completely different You know Maybe I'm misremembering it, but we're going to completely different screen like we're gonna complete like it felt just like a little bit

Less disruptive a little bit less intrusive. Yes It was just like you you kind of just knew it was there if you knew right it wasn't like a thing that was like I Feel like in this game at least in this portion of the game currently, is that like, that's always going off, and then also like, when there's a mechanic that maybe you're not doing or something, or like should be doing, a big sort of like, not menu, but sort of like reminder will pop up on screen and be like, hey, if you wanna run, you press in the L3 trigger

to run or whatever. Yeah. Yeah, I still think the game that had the best version you press in the L3 trigger to run or whatever. I still think the game that had the best version of that, this sort of a glossary vocabulary sheet is Pentament. And that was kind of more of like a hyperlink sort of system, but obviously a very different sort of game, different sort of presentation. But that one was like, it was so easy to get context

on absolutely everything, and it never felt like it was so easy to get context on absolutely everything. And it never felt like it was interrupting your gameplay or the story. I don't know if you guys encountered the game over screen yet. No, I did. I did as well. Because I'm, you know, I'm playing, playing on a hard mode. Right. And, and got executed by the first big BT because I was like, I don't remember how to do any of this shit. And it's really it throws you into a boss battle very early in the

game but one of the options on the continue screen is pretend you won yes so you can skip yeah I wrote that down as well I thought that was so funny it's great cuz like when we went to the the premiere yeah he was talking about how there's all this like stuff in it like that's like so that because he wants people to play the game and like finish the game and see the story so I think that was like something that maybe he alluded to like is being in the game but then also he was saying that while there's more combat-type scenarios, that he really wanted to emphasize that it was still just a delivery game.

Yeah. That's the main thing. Right. And I think that's... It's funny because I've now experienced both things, I think, about in equal measure, I think. Combat and delivery? Yeah. There does seem to, the combat certainly

is more front-loaded in this game than it was in Death Stranding 1. Like you're mixing up pretty early. And then also there is, I mean, like I do like the, I love stealth and I do feel like the Death Stranding stealth not as, was not as robust as what was present in Metal Gear Solid as a franchise, obviously. But I think it's pretty good and it's pretty satisfying that Death Stranding Stealth was not as robust as what was present in Metal Gear Solid as a franchise, obviously, but I think it's pretty good

and it's pretty satisfying in Death Stranding 2. Yeah, Stealth as an option is really robust. And I will say, and I don't think this is a spoiler, is it the, Otterac? Yeah. Can be upgraded to give you even more Metal Gear-esque capabilities while traversing space. And additionally, there are the,

like virtual reality missions you can take that are essentially training courses that teach you how the stealth works in Death Stranding and how you have to manipulate, how you have to traverse when light is present or when it isn't present and all of that stuff is like as an Introductory course is making me think that the stealth elements are going to get more and more Complicated because those are you those are your like table of contents on how stealth works Yes

I I double dipped on Metal Gear Solid for PlayStation 1 because I bought Metal Gear Solid then also bought very solid the VR missions And I loved the VR missions maybe more than the base of Metal Gear Solid and then also bought Metal Gear Solid the VR missions and I loved the VR missions Maybe more than the base Metal Gear Solid 1 game I think they obviously brought the VR missions back for Death Stranding Director's Cut and I thought those were a lot of fun but I love them in Death Stranding 2 and it's also just like such a an elegant way to Tutorialize things just like hey, this is a a straight up virtual experience so you can experiment with some things that you can use in the game world. Yeah, and like I feel like sometimes in games

when they have like a thing for something like that, it's not as fun as playing the game. No, these are fun. They're super fun. They're super great. Yeah, I was like, I just cleared the six that you have available to you at the start. It feels like every time a new concept is introduced

and you got those VR missions, it's like, oh yeah, that's the first priority. Let's mess around with this. It's also, the combat is so satisfying in part because of the built-in slow motion pops that happen when you defeat an enemy that allow you to reposition your own weaponry towards the next target.

Like there's a really great speed cadence and like hiccup feeling to the combat that makes it like you want to do it. Yeah, and I think from in contrast to the first game, in the first game you had lethal and non-lethal rounds, right? And so if you use lethal rounds on living people in Death Stranding 1, you have to then dispose of their body because then there's a dead body on...

Their corpse will cause a void out. Exactly, and that's a friction point, like that's tough. Like that's like, you don't want to necessarily be doing all that all the time. In this game,'re just all holocorps off to the Consider I do this like in the middle of doing something now. I have to go take this body somewhere And you know of course if you're just utilizing those many zip lines in and roads and stuff It's probably not that difficult, but you know early game. There's not that much right infrastructure currently that difficult but you know early game there's not that much right infrastructure currently in

This I think it's a very in Death Stranding 2 it's very very savvy that there's an in-world Reason for now you can just go in fucking blast and whatever you want because all the all the rounds are just non-lethal Just do it if you want I guess It's great. I'm trying to remember how was introduced because I think in Death Stranding, you get the non-lethal rounds first, and then you later get lethal rounds, but you're like, cautioning against using them. I actually got through, I mean, almost all of Death Stranding 1 without using lethal rounds.

I just like, I would just default to non-lethal rounds because they found it, it was usually enough to render a character, or render an enemy unconscious to get through an area. And like you were saying, dealing with the aftermath of killing them. I mean, hey, maybe that's the thing the game was trying to teach you.

Maybe that was like a moral the game was trying to convey. I did accidentally kill something in this game. I ran over an animal. In Stranding 2? In Stranding 2. Oh my god. Wow. I ran over an animal while driving,

like, the tricycle car thing. Wow. And it docked me 100 likes. Oh my God. And it made Lou upset. I'm sure. I'm not somebody who enjoys stealth combat, right? Yeah.

But the rope, which is one of your- The strand, yeah. The strand that you can use in order to take down enemies if you surprise them is such a crunchy, good feeling. Feels great. That it feels like a combat move. Like the sound of it and the whip smack of all of the action on screen makes me want to do it.

And so I'm motivated both to just walk in guns blazing, walk in with a sniper rifle or whatever, or walk in and be like, can I get this guy? Can I get this fucking dude? It's really satisfying. And the additional element, a President Death Stranding one, but I really like it of you can hold your breath.

Yes. So fun. And it's, again, it just, it like adds some tension to it and makes it all the more satisfying when you actually pull it off. And again, that mechanic is, again, it is very early, so I don't feel like we're in spoiler country at all. You do get a sniper rifle pretty early in the game

and you have to hold your breath in order to fire the trigger and that's so fucking good. It's really good. It's so good. Yeah, I mean, it's, I don't know, just the choice of like your breathing being an element of the character, your interaction, I don't know, I love being able to, I love it just being that granular.

Do you have the feeling, because like, you know, sometimes you play a lot of Grand Theft Auto or whatever the fuck, and you're like, oh, you see a cop car in reality, and you're like, oh, there's a shotgun inside. You kind of get that chilled in your brain. I feel like with Death Stranding, I would end up being like,

I could fucking kill this guy with a suitcase. You know? You're standing in Jamba Juice being like, I'm gonna strangle him with a rope from behind. You never know. Yeah, I don't have that problem, Nick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. As much as I love violence, I don't walk around after I play video games going, I don't have that problem, Nick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. As much as I love violence,

I don't walk around after I play video games going, I could kill. And then, for where I'm sitting. Yeah. Like, closer to him physically? Closer. I was less alarmed than what I thought he was going to say. Who was, have you ever tried it?

The game is funny. Yes. It is funny in like a wacky way, like a really over the top absurdist wacky way. Yeah, Kojima comes out at the beginning of the game and he's like, blblblblblblblblbl. But then there's also- Classic gag. There's also, because Sam is so on our side

with how absurd everything is, like he's so like, what, sure, whatever. Like part of what makes him a great protagonist, both Norman Reedus as the manifestation of Sam and Sam as a character, is people will talk to him and he'll be like, I don't know what you're talking about. And like very early in the game, you encounter a new kind of enemy and Sam just says,

who the hell are those guys? Yeah. Yeah. And later on he's like, what's their deal? Yeah, what's their deal? What do they want? Yeah. These little spider creatures is where he says that, right?

Or is it later? No, it's later. Different guys. Different guys, yeah, different guys. It's red guys. There's something too that he said that I feel like It's not It's not a spoiler because we all know this character exists, but the interaction I think is a spoiler for I think I won't say this is tough. All right. I'll tell you later. Okay

We'll stay we'll stay super spoiler here because the game just came just came out. Because I'm in chapter three as well. And so the game is funny. Yes. Because I mean, also, it's also not. Yeah. Because it's extreme. There's some stuff in it that you're just like, Jesus Christ, pretty early on.

Very early. And then in chapter three, you sort of, in rapid succession, meet three insane characters. Right. I've heard about this, yeah. You're sort of just like, okay, what the? Well, sure, like great. So we're still doing this bullshit.

Great, I love it. Well, one of those characters, I think, is Doll Man, right? So Doll Man is in the trailers. It's not a surprise. It is a, in the World of Death Stranding, there is the ha and the ka, and they're like ancient Egyptian terms of like the physical being and the soul that inhabits it.

Yeah. And in Death Stranding, a person's spirit sort of infuses, possesses a very small doll that looks like a ventriloquist dummy. Yeah. And is animated, I think on threes or something? sort of infuses, possesses a very small doll that looks like a ventriloquist dummy. And is animated, I think, on threes or something? Like he's got like claymation animation compared to everybody's extremely smooth, fluid,

120, 60 frames per second, whatever. Yeah. Do you wanna, I mean, I know it's a thing we talked about in Get Animated, but do you wanna clarify what you mean by animated in threes? Oh, so when you're looking at Death Stranding on a 60 hertz capable television, the animation of the characters

is refreshing 60 times per second. When Doll Man is animated, only him in a world that is otherwise like smooth as silk, he's animated like maybe seven times per second. Like he's very choppy and it is very funny to look at. But also, he's introduced to Sam and Sam effectively is like, okay.

And he sort of functions as, like, Mimir does in God of War. Yeah. Jimi Cricket. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Just kind of gives you a little, like, hey, check this out. Like, all right, we can try this or something. Or he's also, like, he said something kind of when you first walk out with him, and I

was like, that was beautiful. That was so nice. I'm really sorry. He's already, he's already, he's obviously in the little guy category. Yeah, for sure. And he's pretty good. And you can customize his outfit.

Yeah, you can change the color of his clothes. I've not progressed to Doll Man yet in my play, but I'm very excited to get to him and get to know him. Like, just because you were just talking about frame rate. So I'm playing on a poverty PS5, I get just like the base level, never upgraded to the, you know, the pro, but I think it's running pretty well.

Like, I put it in performance mode, I don't know, I think, and again, it's the power, we were talking about with Wind Waker, it's like the power of good art direction. Like, I just love the world and the aesthetic of Death Stranding, and I think it's rendered quite beautifully.

Yeah. It's also hard to visually demonstrate the difference between the base PS5 and the PS5 Pro. Like it is not a selling point of the PS5 Pro that stuff looks astonishingly better. Yeah. The only difference that I've read between the PS5 and the PS5 Pro is that you are effectively running quality and performance mode simultaneously

Got it. when you run performance mode. But on the base PS5, if you run it on performance mode, it's pretty visually identical. Yeah. I'm really looking forward to this coming to PC, I guess is why, because this is, again, I mean, I guess I've already double dipped on this thing, but I'm I will triple dip

Yeah as the port authority when this when this comes over to my main platform Yeah, I mean look I bought death stranding directors cut on Sale on my steam deck thinking that was gonna play through it again. Yeah, I didn't you know Life happens when you're busy making other plans and all that and I didn't get to replay it all the way through again But it's it's there for me wave all that to say I'll buy it on Steam Deck or I'll buy it on switch to if it makes it over to switch to it's kind of even possible That it would ever get to yeah To port yeah, I'll get death stranding directors cut on switch to if they if they do that it's just it's astonishingly gorgeous I've been playing

with the photo mode a lot which is not something I typically do but the things you can make Sam do is kind of fun like you can make a like a sticking out tongue face right and so I like to make him do that in like inappropriate situations. Hey Matt, what was the button you pressed for photo mode? Because I accidentally skipped past when it said photo mode. Oh, it's, um, it's, so on the dual sense controller, the touch pad, there's two things that you can press in. On the right corner, that is the one that can

make him talk and say I'm Sam and all that and then the left corner is photo oh wow I keep wanting to push in the two sticks because that's photo mode and other ones and I wish it was that instead I want the map to be the left press on the touchpad I've only used the touchpad to give likes. And I entered photo mode once and I was like, how the fuck did I do this? And I've tried long pressing every button on the controller because there's a lot of long press to activate other modes of interaction.

It makes me feel like what Kojima wants is a controller with like twice as many buttons. He wants more buttons for sure. But thank you for letting me know how to enter photo mode. I will say I was trying to stealth behind a guy and then I accidentally hit the I'm Sam button. It's like. It turned around, what the hell?

That would be more scary than being taken out silently, I think. I was just in my own home hanging out. A guy came up to me and yelled his own name. Jesus Christ. I wanna say something about making deliveries. Let's go. Just one quick control thing.

If I have any sort of minor hang up with this game, it's just a Kojima quirk of having some weird button mapping. I haven't messed with remapping anything yet. But it's just like things like R1 to Crouch just feels unnatural to me. Yeah, yeah, that should be like circle or something. I always think of that as a face button

or maybe in some games like an L3 or an R3. Yeah. Well, what I think that, the reason I think that's key bound there is that it's also hold breath. And hold breath and pull trigger are on purpose a difficult combination to do. And I think that that's supposed,

if I was going to read into it, pulling a trigger on a sniper rifle while holding your breath should be harder than Pressing your thumb and pulling the trigger. So you have to pull you for the first time ever You have to use your middle finger to pull the trigger because you have to hold down hold your breath with your first finger Yeah, I mean I've definitely I you know dealt with games where I'm using You know r1 with with my index and R2 with my middle. But I will say that I'm sure there is a strong logic behind it and a design defense for it.

I'm more just saying as someone in the early hours of this game, that's one of those things you just have to adjust to. You're talking about deliveries. You wanna talk deliveries. Just to backtrack one second to control, I did buy the Death Stranding 2 controller, and it's pretty nice.

It looked cool. It looked really cool. That's great. I wish it was the edge, because I don't have a DualSense Edge. It's a great controller. And I wish they would do the special edition for the edge. I agree. It's a heavy controller, control edge. I know that it has less battery

And that was like the joke when it came out was like oh the more expensive controller lasts Not quite as long yeah, but man. It is a nice controller to hold. I'll have to get me one of those one day It's a heavy boy Deliveries I deliver you talked about these a, because we've done three episodes about their first Death Stranding. When you get an S rank, is there a better feeling in games? I don't think so. I kind of don't think so.

It's really satisfying, but also a thing this game does is just repeatedly tell you you're a hero. Yes. Thank you so much for bringing that to me. I thought I'd never see this magazine that you found on the wasteland ever again. So last week, I think, Nick, you asked me the question, is there anything that would break your Fortnite addiction? And I went, I don't think there is.

And when I first started playing Stranding, I texted you guys, I think Fortnite has ruined my brain because during the first hour of play, I was like, man, I'd rather be playing Blitz. Like I love fucking Blitz. It's the new mode. My friends are playing right now. Into the second hour of Stranding, I was like, oh fuck, this has its hooks in me again. I just want to fill up all the stars.

I wanna build out the Chiral network. I don't know why the gameplay loop is so satisfying when all you're doing is picking shit up and bringing it somewhere else, but it is so good. I like to see something on my path, like a discarded piece of cargo or something and then be like I'll toss that on my back I don't give a shit I'll take that with me well look at Death Stranding definitely unlocked that the thing I love about a

game like the aforementioned Breath of the Wild is not so much combat but traversal and exploration like that's what what really why I'm really connected to it and I Mean it's great walking around but I also think there's the design team has figured out something at like a primal like lizard brain level of just Like the the incentives that are that are presented for delivering something and delivering it well is just it kind of just feels like a Really like really pure version of gameplay if that makes any sense. It's just it kind of just feels like a really like really pure version of gameplay if that makes any sense. It's like There's there's almost there's very few

It's I mean is abstract because you're you're you're within this world with its own You know rule set and its own lore But it's also like like very direct of like take this item to this location. Is like, that's like a baby activity. You know what I mean? Yes. But it's like so satisfying to achieve. And you're also, the risk or reward that you're playing with on a personal level of like,

I mean, at least for me, the threat of games is how fast do I want to move physically versus how much am I willing to risk what's on my back? And then additionally, oh, there's a thing over there on the map that I've scanned the world for with my Otterac, and I can see that there's a package like 200 feet out of the way. It's nearer to an enemy.

I do wanna pick it up. I know that it's only gonna get me like 15 more likes. So I want to run to that package, which risks damaging everything that I'm currently carrying. And all of that calculation, all of the gymnastics that you're performing in your head is also satisfying. Like it's good to do it.

It feels good. And it also like rewards like caution and patience, like it's like walking on a tightrope, right? It's like there's a, it's a pretty, not simple in terms of what the skill required, but simple in terms of what the activity is, but what's engaging is like how focused you have to be on it and like, yeah, you can't rush it.

Like, I mean, you can attempt to rush it, but at your own peril. But it's also interesting too, because now, with the refined stealth system in this game, if you have too much stuff on your fucking back, they'll see you. I love that, it's so funny. It's so when we get crouching in the tall grass

and have like a gigantic stack on top of you. It's so like you have to then sort of then like either plan ahead or have something that you can then build. Yeah. I did this recently, I was like, oh, I brought a thing that you can build a structure with and I then put stuff in storage so that I can go stealth

and then I went back and I got the stuff that I put away. Yeah, once you get PCCs again, I'm like, oh yeah, right, you can build, like, yeah. Obviously, I'm already stumbling upon users, built structures, which is a big part of the, what's fun about this game, and a big part of what's engaging about it, but it was like,

oh yeah, I can build stuff in the wild, and that's just like, again, opens up a huge part of it. This seemed new to me. I mean, it's just been a while since I've played Death Stranding 1. On the field now, you can see the little signs of people that are just leaving signs, or warnings or things like that.

Let me tell you, I'm liking all those signs. I'm liking every single one that I get. I love doing it, it's very fun, because the sound is good too. When somebody likes something you've left behind, you have a small window to like back. Yes, I put, I mean, I put like just a thumbs up sign somewhere and then people are like,

I was like, man, this made me happy. When you use somebody's ladder or something, or you use somebody's climbing rope, that's always great. And I could be wrong, this one does seem new to me. And before you go to it, just in case you're a listener and you haven't played Death Stranding, the way that it works is you can build structures in your game, they will appear in other people's games

randomly, the more people who use those structures or like those structures, the more worlds in which those structures will appear. So if you place a bridge well, then it is more likely to be instanced into many, many other versions of everybody else's game. Whereas if you place a bridge poorly, nobody's gonna cross it, nobody's gonna like it,

and it's not gonna show up. It's a multiplayer game by way of a single player game. All your interactions with other users are indirect. They're playing their own version. But yeah, it can be populated. Your world can be populated with their items and structures and vice versa. Yeah, I mean, just going back to the first game,

I think people who got deep into Death Stranding 1 all had the experience of building zipline networks and roads and just all this infrastructure. But I still just think back with so much, a weird amount of pride of the zipline network I built because one of them got thousands of likes. And it was just like, oh man, that feels genuinely rewarding. Well, it's the same, it's like, it's the same fake thing

that you get when you, when you had like a tweet go off Yeah, sure. back in the day when you're like, oh wow, this got 200,000 likes or something, this is crazy, what the hell? And then like, you know, you're, then you show it to somebody and who's like actually yeah smart and impressive They know it doesn't fucking matter. Yeah, you can't

anyway the two you this MF really wearing crocs in church gets like 17,000 likes like hey, I did something You're like wife went to work all day. Are you sure this? so You know, like wife went to work all day, you know, to be sure of this. So, having this conversation then reminded me of a second thing that I do think is new, which is when somebody walks the path that you walked, did it in the first one say something,

it says something like, you know, such and such player walked your trodden path, and that seems new to me. I don't remember if it was in the first one. Well, I think that it was. Something that is definitely brought to the forefront in Stranding 2 is the more people who use a path, the more the path becomes a permanent feature

of the landscape. Interesting. So if tons of people are using the same shortcut, it gets worn through like a footpath on a grass lawn. And so like it will deform the actual rocks to make that path smoother for everybody who is using it. Okay, so then maybe this one isn't new then, the second one, which is there's like a sign

that you can put down requesting items and weapons. Yeah. Is that new? I don't remember. I don't remember that specifically. I certainly, as far as new features go, I don't remember a skill tree at all. No, no.

That's like a completely new element. I mean, it is kind of, I'm like, I'm kind of exhausted with skill trees in general in these sorts of games, but this one is like, it's a pretty light touch. And in terms of like, you know, it's not so overbearing and like becomes just like, oh, the focus of my gameplay is just trying to go through

and to progress through my skill tree. It's immediately satisfying. Yes. Like in the opening minutes, I was like, how is anything gonna come out this year that I'm gonna like more than this? I just like don't know. It also made me tear up once already,

and it was via a music drop. Oh, sure. And as, for people who played Death Stranding, Low Roar was like the the audio, the aural focal point of the game's sound. And in between this game and that game, the singer of low roar passed away. And I was like, oh man, when I think about Death Stranding,

I think about that first musical drop where that needle drop of Don't Be So Serious and how much of a vibe that was. So when this game in the first couple of hours drops a different low roar track, I just fully teared up. Cause I was like, oh man, this score meant a year or two for me of like listening to it. I even transferred the entire soundtrack to MiniDisc and was listening to it on MiniDisc for a while.

So when that song popped up, I just felt like, again, that six-year passage of time being so intense. Yeah. And, yeah, I don't know that I've ever gotten teary from a needle drop in a video game before, but boy oh boy did it do it. Yeah, I clocked that as well, and was just like, just thinking about how much time we spent playing the game and just listening to that music. Going on walks during the pandemic,

listening to that music, you know? But the music in this game too, going on walks, like during the pandemic listening to that music. You know? But the music in this game too, by the way, is fucking fantastic. It's phenomenal so far. Yeah, the scoring Ludwig Forssell and Woodkid as well, collaborating in various capacities. And yes, just a bunch of other, like a soundtrack with a bunch of discreet songs

from a number of artists that just pop in at various points. They talked during the premiere event that Matt and I went to about how the score responds to your gameplay. If you are following the path that is directly toward your goal, you'll have more layers of the song that are playing simultaneously. You'll have the drums, you'll have the violins, you'll have the chorus. And if you deviate from that path, maybe it'll settle into just strings.

Like, it'll pull out just that track of your, like, 16-layer audio track. The place where I noticed it, like, having been told, I was like, oh, yeah, it's this thing. The place I noticed it was combat. Like, having a musical, like, having a score where, like, I shoot a guy, and there's, like, a... Dun- a da-da-da-da-dum, and then I hide and it goes back

into quiet mode on the music. I was like, oh, he's achieved the feeling of watching a movie that has a score that is scored to the action, but from backwards. And I'm pretty sure that other games have done this previously, but the specificity and the intensity of it in Stranding 2 is great. I also like the specific cinematic camera moments that you'll get in it too,

because it's like, you don't need it. You don't need it, but it just kind of fucking rocks. It makes it seem so fun and cool. Well, the first time you do it, one of my favorite things in a film is like, usually when the composer's name comes up in the opening credits, there would be some flourish in the score

that gives you just like a wink almost. And that's me. Yeah, and in this, when you're given the chance, the choice to do aerial camera mode, and effectively like IMAX cinematic mode, the camera pulls out in that introductory moment, and that's when you see Kojima's name across the screen. That's fucking great.

It rocks, it's really, really great. The one thing from the previous game that I still do not like very much is BT. You're scared of them? I'm scared of them and I don't like it. They're actually, they're pretty scary actually. I mean, you're not supposed to like them. I don't like them.

I don't like having to deal with it at all. I kind of, like, I don't need them in the game to enjoy the game. If they weren't in there, I would still be like, this game is still really good. Wasn't there a moment in Stranding 1 where a BT gave you a like and it was really? But I think in that I mean that starts happening I feel like that happens Just starts happening more as the as you get into the late game. Yeah, I don't know if it's maybe it was a one-time thing

But I feel like that's a thing you you reach a point where BTs just start liking Things that you've that you've done. I can't remember what it was a one-time thing, but I feel like that's a thing. You reach a point where BTs just start liking things that you've done. I can't remember what it was exactly. I do think, though, that this game sets you up to handle them more effectively sooner. Yes. So while I've encountered them and died in the same spot that you did on normal.

They're not as challenging, but it can depend on your loadout. You can not have enough. You should have seen me when I had the chance to add. Extra ammo? Pockets, yeah, to my fucking, so I could have more grenades and stuff cause like

cause grenades are the quickest way to dispose of them, but they take three and each grenade pack has five and I'm like I'm not carrying enough I'm not carrying enough of these but you can upgrade your backpack, Nick pretty rapidly into the game where you can add extra pouches

and I liked it because it reminds me of the Resident Evil 4 briefcase. Like you visually have to align things on the Velcro portion of your backpack and prioritize what it is that you want to carry on the outside of your backpack, not in your actual cargo. Yeah, and you're prepared with this first

by you can design your backpack and put patches But if you have a patch somewhere you can't put like a utility thing there So you have to then I had to like strip all the personality off of my backpack No, I mean this was that this was a thing that was in Death Stranding 1 and yeah I I do absolutely like making those choices of of how to arrange things How to Tetris it yeah, and and sometimes you got that thing where you got like that maddening one occupied square You're like god damn it. I can't just can't quite jam everything in here. Yeah, you put a patch I had put because like one of the patches some of the there's like little pictures are like one of them's like

You know bridges or whatever But they have like blood types and I was like I'm gonna put my blood type on my backpack There's like little pictures, or like one of them's like, you know, bridges or whatever. But they have like blood types, and I was like, I'm gonna put my blood type on my backpack. That's kind of fun, and I had to take it off. I had to look at it, I like forgot what it was, I had to like look what it, like I had to look it up. I'm sorry, man. That must have been painful for you.

It was, it was pretty easy. I have a little card in my wallet. I also put my blood type on my backpack. Why not? Why not? I put the Bridges logo because I was like, I want a retro backpack. Yeah, I put the Kojima like Luden thing on it. I put a bunch of stuff. I put a bunch of, you should have seen the patches on my backpack. It was going crazy. I like that one of the baseball caps you're given pretty early in the game is also Kojima productions. We've got to talk about the fucking

baseball cap for just one second. All right, let's talk about the baseball cap. As you can wear, you could either experience the game and in immersive way by just leaving Sam as like a default, like how he looks. Or you can give him a hat and sunglasses and you can turn the hat backwards and basically just be playing the Norman Reedus game instead Look how he always looks all the time, which is cool as hell. It's really funny, but at the at the

premier thing Kojima pointed out that you could Turn the hat backwards and it got a big pop from the eye Extremely funny because it because there were hat and glasses in Death Stranding 1, but yeah, you can do that. And I can't remember if you could pop the glasses in Death Stranding 1, but you can do that in Death Stranding 2. But I mean, I just like the hat that says, why me?

Yeah, I like that. I like wearing his sunglasses and the cap. I will never, ever, ever play this game wearing a cap forwards, absolutely not. There is a slight benefit to and the cap I will never ever ever play this game wearing a cap forwards absolutely not there is a slight benefit to wearing the cap also it has slightly better stamina increase a gameplay mechanic I haven't figured out how it works yet because it's early enough in the game is that Sam gets sunburned oh yeah you know that he's gotten sunburned. Oh, yeah. And you know that he's gotten sunburned

because when you're in your private room, which is like your sort of reset point in these games, when you're in your private room and you go to sleep and you wake up the next day, it'll give you a status update on your sunburn, which is never introduced by any character. It's never like, hey, look out, Sam, you might get sunburned out there, so be careful.

You just know that your sunburn is healed. And that's how you know that you had a sunburn. Interesting, yeah. And there's not a way to put on sunscreen. There's not a mechanic for that. You can still piss and shit, though. Yeah. But you don't see it, and you don't get to pick anymore.

Well, well. They've nerfed pissing and shitting in this game Unplayable well can't you piss out in the in the field you can't piss out in the field still I I haven't tried it yet, but I remember my bladders empty was the first thing I wanted to do But if you pee on the tar doesn doesn't that also hurt the things? It does, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think they've included you taking a dump while an ad for Norman Reedus' motorcycle show plays anymore.

No, that's not in there anymore. But he drinks this tea now. He doesn't drink energy drinks anymore. He drinks like a sparkling canned green tea and I want it. I wanna try it. It looks good. I like the porter beer.

I wanna try the porter beer. Oh yeah. Yeah, that's a thing they should just make. Yeah. But you know. I'm really enjoying my limited time with the game. I'm very excited to dig into it a lot more this weekend. I think it's, I mean, what a fucking video game.

I like, you know, it could always lose me later on, but I just don't think it will because I love Death Stranding the more, more the more I played it and Death Stranding 2 just feels like an iterated upon improved version. There are outlets that have had the game for some time and have completed the game

And I mean it's getting like nines and tens like across the board which is not to say that It's gonna keep us necessarily right like you could always differ from the review consensus But but given that the first one got like yeah eight point fives and some seven, which playing it, I was like, how is that possible? How could you not get this game? Well, it was so singular that I think there was going to be a backlash because it was just like, people were just like, what is this?

What am I playing here? But I'm sorry, please finish your point. But the fact that it has retained all of those elements with some quality of life upgrades and people are now reviewing it as nines and tens across the board. Makes me really excited to get into the late game and find out where the story goes.

When's the last time this happened, where there was kind of like a muted or mixed response to a first entry, but then over time, people all kinda came around on it, and then when the second entry comes out, people were like, oh wait, yeah, this is fucking great. Demon's Souls. Yeah, that's a, yes, yes, that's a great poll.

Like nobody gave a shit about Demon's Souls. Demon's Souls to Dark Souls, because Dark Souls is universally well regarded, but yeah, maybe that is it. I wanna get back to it so bad. I know, I can't believe we're gonna do this fucking podcast. I know, I love it so, so much, and I did change, I changed my ringtones.

They offered ring, they have like ringtones on like the Kojima Productions website. Wow. That are some of the, not the sounds that I want. Oh. But it's the sounds from your ship, the Magellan, and it's really good sound. Brr, brr, brr.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So now my phone sounds more insane. Can't wait to get to the ship because this is like, you know, again, I'm still in the prologue, but it's it's given me Mass Effect vibes from from what I've heard. The ship is good. Yeah, ship is great. Yeah. I have to bring this up because we're talking about we talked about likes, you know, and how and how good that feels, how good it is to get a like, yeah, it. From other players in the game, from other characters and things like that.

And giving likes feels good as well. Sam's got this new ring. And he wears, it's like it's- It's like an aura ring. It's like an aura ring, but it's also like his phone kind of, right? Where it's like, it's his communicator and he can see where you're going

and manage all your stuff. It's your pause menu as well. So every time you press pause, Sam puts his thumb up and it's basically giving you, the player, a thumbs up while you're going into the pause menu. And I just gotta say, I feel like a million bucks every time I press pause.

It's pretty good. I love it. I love it. It also happens so fast Yeah. That it almost feels vestigial. Yeah. Like it's not like he brings his thumb up in the camera and then you enter the pause.

It's like the way that like, if you were recording a video, the moment right before you hit pause in a video on your phone. Yeah. Like that same gesture is how fast he brings up his thumb so that you can hit the pause menu. And it's kind of blurry even.

It's great. It's just, I don't know, seeing a cool guy do a big thumbs up was better than that. Imagine if he gave you a thumbs down. That would be tough. That would feel really bad, and then I probably wouldn't even like the game anymore, if I'm being honest, if he was mean to me like that.

It just happens one time with no explanation. I can't wait for the game to wish me happy birthday. I'm so excited. Yeah, first thing you do is put in your birthday. That's right. You know it's coming. At some point. My birthday is in August.

I guess I may get it while I'm playing the game. Wow, there you go. I should have put that day. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Like today's my birthday, actually. What's a little lie? I know you're lying. Thumbs down. Psycho Mantis comes into the game. Well, Death Stranding 2 on the beach, first impressions.

There was no need for me to say that. We just did it. We just did. Hey, you know what? In case you were fucking confused, you little dipshit, that's what we just did, okay? Calm down, sweetie. That was just what you just listened to, okay?

Sometimes you take a tone with the listener that I don't approve of. I just need to keep everybody in check. I feel immense gratitude that anybody's listening to the show. That was just what you just listened to, okay? Sometimes you take a tone with the listener that I don't approve of. I just need to keep everybody in check. I feel immense gratitude that anybody's listening to the show. No, me too, but you know, there's gotta be one dipshit that's a little confused.

What was that? What was I just listening to? You know, let me say this to that idiot. It's okay, baby. Shh. Shh. It's okay. It's okay.

We love you. Yuck. Daddy loves you. it's okay. We love you. Yuck. Daddy loves you. That's worse. That upset ranch, she's covered her mouth. Yeah, Nick calling himself daddy was pretty tough. All right, that was our first impressions of Death Stranding 2 on the beach.

What the fuck? Daddy loves you. It's time for the question block. Ding! All right, this first one is from Silent Martyr. Hey, Silent Martyr. Silent Martyr writes, if you guys had to pick a game to learn a speed run of, what would it be and why?

I have an immediate answer for this. Go for it. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. There's a speed run mode in the OnePlus 2 remake that they did a couple years ago highly anticipating it in the three plus four That's coming out soon And you can do it and I've tried I've like I know the warehouse the first level the warehouse level like the back of my fucking Hand I know exactly what I'm supposed to do do I can do I can complete all the tasks All the tasks in that level in like 40 seconds, which is not fast actually you get two minutes

Then some of the ones that I've seen are Staggering it's unbelievable. Yeah, if I can get it lower than 40 someday I'll hopefully record it like the screen recording will be one of my great achievements of my life. That's great but I like to try to get my Score lower than 40 when I can I have two answers one that is my That is a my video game answer. Yeah, which is Sonic 2 I think it would be really fun to be a speed runner at Sonic 2. But my second answer is Gran Turismo.

Because I'm like, if you became good enough at Gran Turismo speed running, like if you could master those tracks and come in faster than anybody in the world, could that translate to real life skill? I mean, it did, didn't it? Like in that movie. Yeah. That's based on the guy that did that. But like, so if you actually became a speed runner

at Gran Turismo, would that make you a good driver? Could you then become a race car driver? I don't know. Nick, what's yours? It's a great question. If we're talking, you know, doing a bunch of skips and just breaking the shit out of the game, I mean, I love watching the Baldur's Gate 3, like four minute speed runs where they just have all like all these insane skips that involve placing like explosive barrels and specific, you know,

like points in the world to skip large swaths of progression and just get immediately to the nether brain. skip large swaths of progression and just get immediately to the nether brain. Those are so awesome to see. And that's my favorite game, so it'd be fun to mess around with those. But if we're talking about playing it kind of straight up, I shouldn't say no skip. We're talking about a glitchless run. I think I'd probably just go OG Super Mario Brothers, like the very first Super Mario Brothers, because I know Super Mario 64

has a thriving speed run community, but like Super Mario Brothers was a game that, when I was a kid, me and my friends would speed run without realizing that's what we were doing. Like that was like before there was like a vocat, like that was a term that people were saying, it at least was common in the zeitgeist. And so I like like, yeah, just just the idea of like trying to get

through that game as quickly as possible with warps or without warps. And it's also a game I know really well. And it's also a sort of progression that's extraordinarily linear. So it's really easy to, you know, wrap your head around from a speedrun perspective. Cool answers. Great question. Great question. This next one is from LoggerBee. And LoggerBee writes, Hi Logger. What's up LoggerBee? With all the new DLC coming out years after initial release,

what traits would bring you back for a DLC? So like, think about like Elden Ring and Shadow of the Urn Tree That was like a pretty that was like what like a year and a half or something. It was like a while at least This Kirby one that's coming out for switch to that. I'm very excited about Like it's a pretty significant chunk of time in between release and then the base game. So wait, so is this a, like, what would bring me back to a game that I maybe didn't love or? I guess what's worth it to go back

when they add DLCs so late. To me, it's something like Kirby, where there's not just cosmetics or a new level or something. It seems like there's like a whole new story that they're adding to the game as well. Yeah, I feel like I need like substantial new content, not just like another character

that I can play the same game again with, you know? Yeah. I would return to a lot of games if you could purchase a speed slider. And I'm not joking. So that I could set movement speed at my ideal speed for that game. Like if I could move through blueprints

at 45% faster, like physically in the game. There are a lot of games that I would probably return to just to be able to play them with slightly faster movement. That'd be an interesting one. Like fucking Mario Odyssey at Sonic speed? Bawk, that would be great. Sonic Frontier speed? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, also like, you can date characters you couldn't date before. I'm always into romance in games. It is true. If they just added more romance. I was just like, you know, hey, there wasn't dating in Metaphor Re-Fantasio originally, but like now you can date. And I was like, all right. They added it?

No, I mean, like, if they added that in the DLC. I'd be like, I wasn't excited about it or anything. No, but like it's like, yeah. Like if they had like, hey, we, there is actually an additional epilogue or there's like a whole new, you know, that those areas are pretty substantial. So there was a, it would be enough if there was a whole new area, say in metaphor, refontasia, there's like basically a whole new town where you had to go and you know that set period of time to try to solve their

problems. And like if there was one more of those that would be enough but then if they also added dating, you know, I might play more of the game I used to get like during the Batman Arkham days like in particular like Arkham City had some great story DLC that I really, really loved, but then they also would add sort of new modes, kind of. They do sort of like, not a horde mode, but like a time-based, wave-based fighting arena mode. And I'm like, I don't need this. I don't like this.

I always want more story. That's like the number one thing. So like with something like Shadow of the Erd Tree, I'm like, oh, it's just like a whole new area. They basically just made, I mean, that is just pretty much a whole new game is the thing. That's Elden Ring 2. There was a version of that

that could have just been a straight up sequel. That's like, so it's obviously the most labor and time and resource intensive to build out entirely new environments, have new story, have new gameplay mechanics, all that sort of stuff, which is why a lot of times it's just, it's just remixed existing elements. This next one's from Michael P.

Hi Michael. What's up Michael P. In the movie Yesterday, a man gets hit by a car and wakes up in a world where the Beatles never happened, only he remembers anything about them. What video game property slash series would you feel the saddest about if it was erased from history and only you remembered it? My answer is Kingdom Hearts because there's no way I would be able to do what he does in the movie yesterday Which is pretend he's the Beatles now and become very successful. I could not from scratch make Kingdom Hearts 2

Disaster that movie is insane. Yeah, just a crazy. No, I haven't seen it, but it's a crazy bad I've seen it. I've seen everything about ranch you seen yesterday. No, I've never seen it Danny Boyle, right? It's a Danny Boyle movie. It's fucking, it's an unhinged film. Yeah. He's a little kooky. Oh, I love Danny Boyle. I absolutely love 28 Years Later.

I have to see it. I think it's like- I liked it too. He's a fascinating director. I love that he's always trying new stuff. I love train spotting. I even think T2 train spotting is pretty effective. Love a movie like Sunshine. Did he direct Steve Jobs?

Yes. Yeah, I love Steve Jobs. Great. I mean, he's a fantastic director, a true auteur, who makes bizarre choices sometimes. And that's part of what's fun about him. But yesterday is- But calling a separate movie T2 is so funny.

Yesterday is insane. And I mean, I guess I shouldn't spoil the ending, but- I do know what it is, because I looked it up because I was like, I'm not watching this, this seems crazy. And then it's crazier than I thought. It feels like this movie is gonna go towards like, okay, at some point we're gonna go back to,

he's gonna come back to our reality. He's gonna make that choice or he's gonna wake up from a dream or whatever. And like, he's gonna come back to our reality, he's gonna make that choice, or he's gonna wake up from a dream or whatever, and he's gonna be like, hey, all this success that I'm having is completely unearned, and although I am sharing their music with the world, by me claiming credit for it, that's a weird thing. None of that happens, he's just like,

oh yeah, this guy's a big hit musician now. He just wins. He's like, famous guy is a big hit musician Guy cool What is trying to say it also I mean the ending is so crazy Well, there's a scene where he goes and meets an old John Lennon. Yeah old John Lennon just is like a is like a you know like kind of a Hermit who like lives in a beach and like creates art or whatever or whatever exactly or what it is. But then he's just he's basically like, like indirectly because he doesn't understand that he lives in a different reality, lives in an alternate timeline, but indirectly kind

of like, it seems like he's thanking this guy because he gets to be alive. I was like, what? But doesn't it end to where then like it sort of like happens again, like he mentioned something about like Harry Potter and nobody knows what it is and It's sort of like not again Like the most successful man on earth is the Beatles and also Harry Potter Is it they're also a line about how Oasis doesn't exist because the Beatles didn't exist. That's a fun That's actually a good joke in the movie

So my answer is Kingdom Hearts, what is it? Hearts. What would you guys be sad about? I would be so bummed if Street Fighter didn't exist. Ooh, good one. Because so many of my core memories of my childhood are playing Street Fighter, and the sort of energy of that moment, sort of internationally. And if that just didn't exist, I'd be like bummed.

That would be mine. And also, I couldn't make Street Fighter. I could describe it. I'd be like, that's two people fighting. That's easier to describe to somebody who knows how to make video games than somebody trying to explain the totality of the Kingdom Hearts series.

Right. My answer is not a game, but a guy. Wario. If Wario didn't exist, but Mario still existed, that would drive you mad, because it also means Waluigi doesn't exist. And also, it's just such a great, it's like the evil Spock of our age.

It's such a great shorthand for describing the villainous version of something that's virtuous Yeah, and so a world with no no Wario sounds like a nightmare You say I'm a wario. I'm gonna win and no one would know what you're talking about. Yeah, and then there's no is wrong with you Absolutely no friction for Mario whatsoever. So yeah Wario is my answer I guess if you make me pick a game honey pop to double date, okay That's this week's get playeded. Our producer is Rachelle Chan. Ranch yard underscore underscore sard.

Ranch, you streaming anything these days? Yes, I am playing Silent Hill 2. How's that going? It's going slowly, but I really like it. Let's go! My boyfriend! In my restless dreams. Well, you were playing some Bellatro too, weren't you? I don't know if you were streaming it

But no, I was playing that on the plane here. And Yeah, I it's off my phone now Our music is by Ben Prenty Ben Prenty music comm our art is by Doug reggae design Doug reggae comm get played merch at kinship goods comm link in the description Also check out get animate our sister show on patreon Matt. What are we watching this week? We're finishing up current Ligon The end of the Gurren Lagann and I'm not sad because I watched it. I'm sad because it's over. I loved it. Gurren Lagann as it stands right now, one of my favorite shows I've ever watched. It's a triumph and I think it lands the plane successfully. Absolutely.

Or you know, maybe it doesn't. You got to tune into the Patreon to find out. I think it's a, I think I can spoil that. I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it's a, I think it lands the plane successfully. Absolutely. Or you know, maybe it doesn't. You've got to tune into the Patreon to find out. I think it's a, I think I can spoil that I really was satisfied with it and I'm really, really glad that I watched the show in totality and I'm really happy that people have been

checking out our series and chiming in with us over at Get Animated. So check that out at patreon.com slash get played. And hey, you know what got played this week? the last six years of our lives That was a hate gum podcast Hi there, my name is Allison Williams If you know who I am at all, it would probably be thanks to my job as an actress on shows like Girls and in movies like Megan. Recently when I was having a moment of gratitude for my group chat,

I thought I wish everyone could have these geniuses at their fingertips like I do. Well, now you do. Hi, hi, it's Hope. Hey, babe, it's Jamie. Welcome to our podcast, Landlines, where we share our life-sustaining and shame-extinguishing friendship. Landlines, where we share our life-sustaining and shame extinguishing friendship. We have known each other and we've been friends for a very long time. Hope was my first best friend, but it wasn't mutual. I mean, I asked, I distinctly remember calling her on the phone and asking if she'd sit next to me on the bus and she said maybe. At least she didn't say no. She was maybe a meaner.

She wasn't sure. Maybe he was like discerning. When I was pregnant, I started this group chat to prepare and crowdsource. And it's been such a delight to troubleshoot with our friend group. And we just had this thought, should we invite other people into our group chat?

I'm a therapist. I'm a trained early childhood educator. And I'm, well, you know, whatever I am. I guess someone who has the vibe of having it all together. And still the three of us find it hard to be moms, partners, friends, family members, professional women, and just, you know, adults. The stuff we're talking about,

whatever the recent fight was with our partner or the parenting concern we have or a funny thing with our kids, or it's like, what's going on with my body? I feel like I have like a family of squirrels living in my lower abdomen. Like I feel affirmed. I feel normalized. I feel like I'm not going fucking crazy. And I had to talk it out with you guys with different perspectives and different identities that you're juggling. Totally. Lifelong friendship has been our lifeline. We sincerely hope our conversation makes you feel less alone in whatever you're going through.

So subscribe to Landlines on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are out now on Headcom. Love you!