"Happiness, more or less, it's just a change in me, something in my liberty", you know the Verve song where a man express his profound love for living. Well, I'm glad to have lived long enough, not to just afford to play such a game, but have the time in my hand to do so.
I started reminiscing about my time with Death Stranding six years ago, agitating walk through the rough grounds and higher elevated cliffs, getting my packages without damaging them especially with the bandits around, figuring out the basic stuff like throwing cargo I don't need at them, avoiding the B.Ts that mind you I couldn't for the life of me see, but only Odradek could.
What was evolutionary at the time, seemed simpler for the next game. We got better at playing one, and the developers thought "alright, we're giving you way more things, enjoy Australia and the sandbox". I never realized I actually needed it, just from how serene the whole experience was.
- Cast into the wilderness
My early start in the game involved the simple stuff, just deliver the packages, help build the roads to get around the rough terrain that the tri-cruiser has a hard time driving through, and take out the bandit camp. They actually don't stop telling you to clear the camps.
The things I wished I could do, after exhausting hours of work, started to slowly make their discovery. Turns out I can mine resources needed, but I need a crapton of Chiralium, where do I farm all that? Can't hop to base, and withdraw the allocated from every facility. Outside the obvious small tar pits, the other source were the B.Ts. I needed roads, so this was pinned later on.
Throughout the journey, I have plenty of time when and how to engage with the story, as I'm rather busy trying to cross unreachable places. It's the developers forcing you to make use of the tools on your hands, like the Odradek scanner. Have you tried crossing the water without one? Oh boy.
It's fascinating that one point connects to a mining facility, an animal shelter through a few cliffs, two distribution centers that is super close to another bandit camp, and just this passage that has acts as a bandit token bridge for a main base being close to the one and only, Mamoru Oshi's Pizza joint. The one prepper spot I've been wanting to go, here, is where he teaches me to full lethal.
This was a point where everything felt business as usual, with the arduous work of getting cargo across while connecting spot to another to the Chiral Network. Nothing stood out for me, until I found out Heartman has an assistant who vomits. My next stop was this Vtuber wearing a bunny outfit. It's never explained how that works here, but I stopped after getting this hat.
A powerful hat, that embodies the mind and will of Pekora. When everything gets tough? Shout "Peko". Snatching a package using a gun from 50m far? Peko spirit. Landing a flying kick? Otsupeko! Peko this, Peko that. Wait, what was I supposed to be doing? Oh right, another bandit camp, and just when I felt dreadful going through these guys, they up and steal my truck by having the people just swallow it whole and throwing its cargo out. I got so pissed afterward, I almost killed them and changed my mind about the place having a voidout. But then, I found something for the Pizza man.
When life gives you lost lemons, you deliver it back. Then you trek through red desert sand to get to a maternity clinic with mothers holding assault rifles, but with the Death Stranding holding their baby captive after 7 months, guns are the least effective way of solving their problems.
- Australian isn't for beginners
I thought I was playing a game, but there was this sense of pride delivering the packages weighting 50-80KGs. Sometimes using the truck isn't enough, but without it just feels invigorating too. Oh, I thought the B.Ts are less scary here, but that was because I'm usually good at not getting caught by one. But this next delivery had a timer, and I ran fast as possible.
Wearing skeletons boosted me past them, it helped that I increased my ratings with the preppers that provided me the upgraded ones. Guess what the cargo was, though? Pizza. Delivering pizza through a B.T infested area, to a guy who lives just behind one of the distribution centers. One connected to Pavers, and one being cozy on the mountain tops.
The pathways are filled with rough terrain, steep cliffs, boulders, angry mobs holding sticks and guns, ghost people from the beach, and if you thought that all was bad, wait till you get to the mountains. Unprepared, crawling and climbing to connect to the stations. The DHV Magellan dealing with tar congestion within the ship. At least I got my Chiral crystals. Felt like I climbed half of Mount Everest. Once the smog wears off, the view from up top is majestic.
I went back to the pizza after all was done, finding out his base the whole time was being run by those ghost mechs, and Mamoru Oshi held captive. There's more left for me to do, connecting Australia by 70% has opened to new possibilities.
Death can take me when it's really earned the right. The Beach will have to wait, the monsters patiently so to ambush me at my worst moment. I have yet to cause a voidout. Thankfully not so.
Sam is a tour de force, he had to sneak into a ghost mech fabrication facility, and take their weapons manufacturing down. Only to have a fight with Higgs, and somehow win again. I also remembered the cheatcode for lethal engagement, those bandits are B.T fodder now.
Above screenshots and GIFs are from personal recordings only
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