This game is devisive to say the least: either you adore it or you hate it apparently.
I'm in the first category. Death Stranding enters my top 5 easily! What a game! I stayed shocked for two weeks after finishing the story and finally managed to cry only after that period, it was like a sort of mourning. It touched my heart and "soul" (sic) like few games have.

The gameplay is not centered around combat and i loooved that, it's still there, there's still adversity (a lot actually) but it's better avoided and killing is really not advised. Instead the game lets you contemplate and meditate on its heavy themes (exctinction threat, death, life, birth, loneliness, work, connection, love and hate, all very human and "deep" subjects) while keeping you busy with a gameplay loop that is innovative, fun, tense or relaxing depending on the moment.

Like always with Hideo Kojima, the game is a declaration of love to games, cinema and music. Kojima and his team uses that passion for cinema and music and its inventivity and knowledge to create a piece of art. The graphics and environments are superb, the cinematics contains the best motion capture and acting I've seen in a game. But it doesn't take itself too seriously neither and there is quite a bit of humour in there and a lot of very fun gameplay. It really is a mix that few games manage to do and Death Stranding delivers in every area.

It's heavy with symbolism, if you love and "get" symbolism, you'll love the story, if you like questionning and reflecting on big life subjects, you'll love the story, if you like a mix of heaviness and lightness, strong emotional up and downs, you'll love the story. If you think that reflecting and meditating on life is a waste of time, if you don't like the idea of a gameplay loop that doesn't involve combat as it's center mechanic then pass, you won't like what's in there. Me, i get it, i even need it, i'm a contemplative emotional and overthinking person and need that level of engagement. This game captured the zeitgeist like few artworks manage to.

Technically the director's cut is quasi-flawless, everything ties together superbly. The soundtrack is fantastic and i discovered Low Roar and Woodkid thanks to it.

A fantastic experience, thank you Hideo Kojima and all the people that worked on this game, thank you so much, it was .... special, very much so. Now I can let it go for a while and hopefully my heart can feel a bit lighter as I do so until i come back to it or to death stranding 2.