8 Dumb Video Games That Made You Feel Like A GENIUS

7. Death Stranding

Like just about every game produced by Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding is an exercise in stupid-smart - a game with deep, philosophical ideas and impeccable gameplay design, wrapped around a fundamentally nonsensical story doled out through coma-inducing reams of word-salad exposition.

There's also something innately absurd about spending a AAA development budget on what's effectively the world's most advanced delivery simulator, which for just about any other developer might seem like a massive commercial risk.

But once you get over the ridiculousness of its central gameplay loop and accept the inane nature of its storytelling, Death Stranding is a game that'll make you feel like a master of efficiency.

Once you've summitted a mountain with a 20-foot stack of perfectly balanced wares, and done so without falling over once, you'll think yourself quite the logistical deity.

It is a game that begs you to think - to plan your route, organise your loadout, and examine terrain - even if you might ultimately only be delivering a piping hot pizza to someone.

Some of the trickier delivery challenges in both Death Stranding games will test your patience and quick-thinking to their limits. 

You might stop and wonder why the hell you're playing such a silly game, but the act of training your brain to optimise everything you do might even creep into your non-gaming life.