Death Stranding Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

2. Open-World Horror

Alongside carrying towers of packages and engaging in combat with the pirate-style MULES, are regular encounters with "BTs", or "Beached Things".

While the explanation for these would be spoilers, in-game they show up inside the "Timefall" rainstorms that blanket portions of the landscape. Sam's shoulder-mounted "Odradek" scanner will start flashing increasingly fast, and it's up to you to avoid them as best as possible, knowing they're invisible and all around you.

The key thing is though, this ostensibly turns Death Stranding into the world's first open-world horror.

Yes, The Evil Within 2 had certain levels that were mini open-worlds, but nobody has attempted what Kojima Productions have achieved here.

The idea of being beset by demons at any point is one hell of a thing, and that's before you factor it into specific missions like venturing into a collapsed city, or racing to dispose an item before time runs out.

Becoming more comfortable with BTs is like your own Ghostbusters-esque story of understanding how to tell where they are and what hurts them most, but as a mechanic and concept, they enrich the world tenfold just by how they're programmed.