alt="A screenshot of Death Stranding 2. Sam is sat on a road looking out over a foggy, valleyed horizon. His pick-up truck is parked next to him. The image could have been taken anywhere in the game's world, but for me, it was taken somewhere very, very special."
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- <h1>
- this blog post isnt ready yet. if you found it, congrats, i
- like you. we can make out.
- </h1>
+ <h3>This post has minor spoilers for Death Stranding 2.</h3>
<p>
The screenshot above looks pretty generic. Death Stranding 2
is a very beautiful game and its vistas are what make it. But
</p>
<p>
The high-level concept is batshit. You're a disgraced yakuza
- who must transform a mismanaged love hotel into a successful
- 'mascot agency,' that rent out giant mascots to events. Except
- the mascots are sentient, not costumes. And also it's secretly
- a game about leaving a run-down, corrupt and forgotten town
- much better than you found it.
+ (voiced by the same VA who portrays Kiryu!) who must transform
+ a mismanaged love hotel into a successful 'mascot agency,'
+ that rent out giant mascots to events. Except the mascots are
+ sentient, not costumes. And also it's secretly a game about
+ leaving a run-down, corrupt and forgotten town much better
+ than you found it.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Every side quest is about restoring the town in some way.
+ Whether it's cleaning up shrines, smashing through trash bags,
+ or laying vengeful spirits to rest, everything you do makes
+ this town better. It's full of characters who you come to know
+ and understand as you do jobs for them. They lead full lives
+ in this little town, and want it to get better. And it rubs
+ off! You, the player, want to make this town better! You make
+ these connections, offering out the rope to help others climb.
+ It's magical.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Kaizen Gameworks' previous title was the venerable
+ <i>PARADISE KILLER,</i> a murder mystery that you
+ <i>actually have to solve.</i> The case you're solving is the
+ murder of the leaders of a cult, and you're also a member of
+ that cult. Which you'd think wouldn't give much room for
+ maneuveur on making that world better, especially since to
+ craft Paradise, the island it takes place on, thousands of
+ human proles must be sacrificed.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ But even within that restrictive frame, you can make the world
+ a tiny bit better. Fix up vending machines. Venerate wrongly
+ accused subjects. Repair a marriage. Make out with a goat
+ woman. Admittedly, that last one is just good for me.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ And I think that speaks to how Kaizen just <i>get it.</i> The
+ world we live in is dark, darker by the day, but we as people
+ need to fight to make it better, in even the smallest of ways.
+ And Promise Mascot Agency and Paradise Killer understand that.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ As Death Stranding 2 goes on, you meet Tomorrow, a Mysterious
+ Kojima Woman who has the power to accelerate aging of things
+ she touches. When you first meet her, Fragile hands her an
+ apple, and it rots and crumbles in her hand. As you journey
+ across Australia she is taught many things about the world by
+ Rainy, another of your allies - another Mysterious Kojima
+ Woman who, whenever she steps outside, summons timefall rain,
+ which does much the same thing as Tomorrow's aging touch.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Every so often, when you re-enter your base, Tomorrow will be
+ there, with an apple. Each time, it's less aged. She's
+ learning to ripen them. By the end of the game, she can ripen
+ them perfectly, giving Sam a little snack. As you play you
+ discover that Rainy's ability has a wonderful side-effect -
+ wherever she emerges, wherever the DHV Magellan surfaces from
+ the tar, her rain falls, and new plants grow.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ The crew are breathing life back into paradise, and we can do
+ it too. With small actions, we can make the world better. So
+ let's do it.
</p>
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projects / gnargle.github.io.git / commitdiff