8 Video Games That Are Just Not That Deep

8. Death Stranding

Hideo Kojima has proven himself to be majorly ahead of the curve in the past, considering how Metal Gear Solid 2 basically warned us all about the concerning rise of fake news, algorithms, and AI.

And so there's been a tendency for Kojima's fans to read a little too generously into just about everything he's released ever since, including his first post-Metal Gear Solid IP, Death Stranding.

While the game undeniably benefitted from releasing shortly before the pandemic, where its themes of loneliness and connection proved unexpectedly resonant, the more you think about the story, characters, and themes in either of the Death Stranding games, the wobblier and less-persuasive it all gets.

Some will keep digging for hidden profundities off the back of its creator's best work, but at its core Death Stranding is a fundamentally silly post-apocalyptic AAA delivery simulator that's awash in some of Kojima's clumsiest and most surface-level storytelling.

As ever, just because a game prattles on at great length, that doesn't mean it's saying anything of great substance. Speaking of which...