History YMMV / DeathStranding

* CryForTheDevil: [[spoiler: Higgs. He’s a legitimately nasty and sadistic villain that puts you through a lot of crap while wanting to end the world and yet, due to his journal entries titled “An Unknown Man’s Journal”, reading how committed he was to bringing the world together before he snapped due to his fellow porters dying and going necro, and hearing about his DarkandTroubledPast, it’s really no wonder he ended up the way he did.]]

** Heartman's tendency to give Sam [[MemeticHandGesture likes]] and his excitement when he meets Sam for the first time is certainly endearing.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: A downplayed example in the sense that the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Director's Cut]]'' is considered by many fans of the game to be [[PolishedPort the definitive version]], but even they will note that if you didn't like the game before, the ''Director's Cut'' won't change your mind.

* TierInducedScrappy: Of the three equippable exo-skeletons, the speed skeleton is usually considered the worst by a large margin. The power skeleton dramatically increases your carrying capacity and is extremely useful in the early game. It somewhat falls off by the time you enter into the mountains, but it can still be useful for other deliveries where the floating carriers and vehicles are bogged down by uneven terrain. The all-terrain skeleton is overall the best, increasing your carrying capacity by a sixty pounds (which is nothing to sneeze at), giving you excellent balance and mobility in difficult terrain, and drains battery extremely slowly. It's also unique among the skeletons in allowing you to equip gear to your hips still, making it easy to order your cargo in an aerodynamic way and allows for easier balancing of your load. To contrast this, the speed skeleton increases your running speed and at level 2 increases your jumping ability. While it also allows for the hip gear slots to remain open, it's doesn't increase your carrying capacity and burns through battery like it's nothing. This ultimately restricts it to use against [=MULEs=], but even then your vehicles can outrun them and you have tons of other options to deal with them. The only possible reason one would want to use it is raiding their encampments, since sprints makes Sam liable to trip if he's uneven terrain. It lags behind the power and all-terrain skeletons as a result, and will likely see little use outside of specific areas that require fast mobility, and even then it's beaten out by the trike in speed.

* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: Sam and Amelie are supposed to be siblings [[spoiler:(though [[NotBloodSiblings not related by blood]])]], but when Amelie was introduced, many viewers mistook her for Sam's estranged ''wife''. It doesn't help that Sam later sardonically compares their dynamic to [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario and Princess Peach]]. Amelie and Fragile's chilly interactions on the Beach, and Kojima's own comments, also make it feel like they're fighting over Sam in a ''love triangle''. To top it all off, it turns out [[spoiler:Amelie and Bridget -- Sam's ''adoptive mother'' -- are one and the same]], further complicating things.

* CryForTheDevil: [[spoiler: Higgs. He’s a legitimately nasty and sadistic villain that puts you through a lot of crap while wanting to end the world and yet, due to his journal entries titled “An Unknown Man’s Journal”, seeing what how committed he was to bringing the world together before he snapped, and hearing about his DarkandTroubledPast, it’s really no wonder he ended up the way he did.]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** After the "An Asexual World" journal entry received [[UnfortunateImplications criticism]] for falling into common [[CriticalResearchFailure stereotypes and misconceptions]] of UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} (the entry is an in-universe scientific article theorizing that people have become disinterested in sex and emotional connections because of the current shape of the world), the Director's Cut added a footnote scrutinizing the article and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall noting that the theory it presents is controversial and discriminatory just like it was received in real life]].
** The Director's Cut provides several changes to alleviate gameplay-related woes as well. Most notably, it adds a navigation tutorial for the initial journey to and from the Capital Knot City incinerator, a jack-of-all-trades Support Skeleton to act as a crutch in the early parts of the game, and the ability to select fast travel points using the map itself rather than from a long list of distribution centers and safehouses.

** Creator/HideoKojima stated that the theme of the game was making connections, and the game is not at all subtle about slamming the player over the head with a truckload of cargo worth of symbolism in the form of the multitude of rope and hand imagery. This seems to have been deliberate on Kojima's part, given his previous lamentations about how ''Franchise/MetalGear'''s themes about how WarIsHell and the dangers of nuclear weapons [[MisaimedFandomwent over the heads of a lot of gamers who]] [[RuleOfCool just liked the cool futuristic weaponry]].

** Creator/HideoKojima stated that the theme of the game was making connections, and the game is not at all subtle about slamming the player over the head with a truckload of cargo worth of symbolism in the form of the multitude of rope and hand imagery.

* NeverLiveItDown: Even with the initial hype before and during the game's release, IGN has been getting some mixed reception from fans and viewers ever since their [[EightPointEight 6.8 rating]] for ''Death Stranding'' was published. After that, some incidents followed which added more fuel to the fire:
** Any further videos published by IGN on Website/YouTube will have viewers questioning why IGN still decided to make content for a game ''after'' they gave it a 6.8 score. Some claim that IGN is merely hopping on the bandwagon brought about by hype.
** Then there was a typo on a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7P3JJ-A2p8 video]]'s thumbnail that, due to the all-caps banner, wrote the acronym [=BTs=] as "BTS". Cue some jokes about a certain [[Music/{{BTS}} Korean band]]. The thumbnail was changed into "A BT", but fans still had the old one [[https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1632505-death-stranding here]].

* EightPointEight:
** Of the game's first batch of reviews, [=IGN=]'s (6.8 score) was probably the one that stuck out the most, and thus the one that drew the most ire of fans. This despite the fact that it wasn't even the lowest-scored of the first post-embargo day reviews, with a few others showing much harsher tone like Stevivor's (3.5 score).
*** Funny enough, this is the only IGN video on Youtube to have an equal amount of likes and dislikes, further amplifying the polarizing nature of the game.
** [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]], an admitted long-time ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' fan, is very open about finding little to enjoy in the game during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hy87yKfXn0 their review]]. They make a comparison to ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' since both games have, in their opinion, an obsession with "detail" and "realism" at the expense of actually being fun and engaging to play.[[note]]Unsurprisingly, Jim also has their own 8.8 entry on that game's YMMV page.[[/note]] Jim's usual viewership generally agreed with the review (with some begrudgingly accepting that the game simply wasn't Jim's style); elsewhere on the Internet Jim was accused of AccentuatingTheNegative, despite pointing out that the review was nothing personal against Kojima Productions and that they were in fact glad that Kojima was able to put out a game that was true to his artistic vision.
--->'''Jim:''' ''Death Stranding'' is boring, and when it isn't boring, it's '''fucking irritating''', so... can't really recommend it. [[FourPointScale Seven out of ten]].
** Fans were a little leery of ''Famitsu''[='=]s [[https://screenrant.com/death-stranding-famitsu-review-score-perfect-japan-conflict-interest/ perfect 40/40 score]] when it was discovered that the man who wrote the review, Hirokazu Hamamura, made a cameo in the game as an NPC. He also has a history of getting himself into conflict of interest-related issues involving Kojima as he also gave ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' a 40/40 after appearing in an advertising campaign for it.

* UnfortunateImplications: ''Death Stranding'' [[https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/615496-death-stranding-criticized-for-calling-asexuality-a-sexless-lifestyle has been]] [[https://gaymingmag.com/2019/11/death-stranding-doesnt-know-how-to-respect-queer-sexualities/ criticized]] for the interview log titled "An Asexual World", which gives an offensive and inaccurate description of UsefulNotes/{{asexuality}}. The in-game document describes asexuality as a "sexless lifestyle" (implying that it is a personal choice), insinuates that asexuals are "incapable of feeling desire or attraction" and "reticent to form emotional connections with others" (ignoring the existence of non-sexual love), suggests that the Death Stranding is responsible for more people turning asexual, and blames asexuals for the world's low birth rate. Presumably, the intent was to draw parallels with Japan's rapidly falling birth rate, but equating asexuality with celibacy is a harmful misconception (asexuals do not feel sexual attraction, while celibate people may, but choose not to act upon it), with the harm being worsened by the extreme rarity of positive asexual representation in media, meaning that this inaccurate description is likely to be a viewer's first impression of asexuality and demisexuality.
** In the Director's Cut version of the game, this log entry [[AuthorsSavingThrow received an update]] with an additional section at the end addressing these harmful implications [[InUniverse in-universe]] and acknowledging the criticisms that the asexual community had. You can read a screenshot [[https://twitter.com/afillari/status/1441062497239257098 here.]]

** Sam joking to Amelie that their [[RelationshipWritingFumble relationship]] is like "Mario and Princess Peach", then Amelie proceeds to make some more philosophical and term-heavy talk before serenely saying that in order to leave the Beach, they have to run on it together like "Mario and Princess [[IncrediblyLamePun 'Beach']]". Cue Sam and Amelie gleefully running across the shore together in slow-motion, with Amelie in high heels.

* RelationshipWritingFumble:
** Sam and Amelie are supposed to be siblings [[spoiler:(though [[NotBloodSiblings not related by blood]])]], but when Amelie was introduced, many viewers mistook her for Sam's estranged ''wife''. It doesn't help that Sam later sardonically compares their dynamic to [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario and Princess Peach]]. Amelie and Fragile's chilly interactions on the Beach, and Kojima's own comments, also make it feel like they're fighting over Sam in a ''love triangle''. To top it all off, it turns out [[spoiler:Amelie and Bridget -- Sam's ''adoptive mother'' -- are one and the same]], further complicating things.
** There are also a number of players who initially thought that the Chiral Artist was the Junk Dealer's ''daughter'' and not his missing, presumed-dead girlfriend. The introductory scenes the player sees of her dancing while playing with a toy may have contributed to this impression.

* UncannyValley: Although the motion capture work on this game [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome is stunning]], the sudden shift in Sam's grief-stricken facial expression ''directly to neutral'' in the first trailer comes across as ''extremely'' unsettling. The effect is likely deliberate, given the surreal and haunting nature of the trailer and the game as a whole.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Even taking into account the general weirdness and total lack of context, Sam clutching the baby tight to his chest like it's the most important thing in the world is an incredibly moving image, and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Low Roar's "I'll Keep Coming"]] playing on top makes it a very beautiful moment. It's a pure, almost primal feeling of [[EpilepticTrees (fatherly?)]] love and devotion.

** After the "An Asexual World" journal entry received [[UnfortunateImplications criticism]] for falling into common [[CriticalResearchFailure stereotypes and misconceptions]] of UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} (the entry is an in-universe scientific article theorizing that people have become disinterested in sex and emotional connections because of the current shape of the world), the Director's Cut added a footnote scrutinizing the article and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall noting that the theory is presents is controversial and discriminatory just like it was received in real life]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the "An Asexual World" journal entry received [[UnfortunateImplications criticism]] for falling into common [[CriticalResearchFailure stereotypes and misconceptions]] of UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} (the entry is an in-universe scientific article theorizing that people have become disinterested in sex and emotional connections because of the current shape of the world), the Director's Cut added a footnote scrutinizing the article and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall noting that the theory is presents is controversial and discriminatory just like it was received in real life]].

** The extreme connection between Mama and Lockne is already...odd (for instance, how they refer to the baby as ''theirs'', when Mama is actually Lockne's surrogate), but things get even weirder when they combine their souls, giving Lockne MismatchedEyes. Then Lockne caresses her own face as a way to "hug" Mama...

* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the "An Asexual World" journal entry received [[UnfortunateImplications criticism]] for falling into common [[CriticalResearchFailure stereotypes and misconceptions]] of UsefulNotes/{{asexual}ity (the entry is an in-universe scientific article theorizing that people have become disinterested in sex and emotional connections because of the current shape of the world), the Director's Cut added a footnote scrutinizing the article and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall noting that the theory is presents is controversial and discriminatory just like it was received in real life]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the "An Asexual World" journal entry received [[UnfortunateImplications criticism]] for falling into common [[CriticalResearchFailure stereotypes and misconceptions]] of {{asexual}}ity (the entry is an in-universe scientific article theorizing that people have become disinterested in sex and emotional connections because of the current shape of the world), the Director's Cut added a footnote scrutinizing the article and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall noting that the theory is presents is controversial and discriminatory just like it was received in real life]].

* UnfortunateImplications: ''Death Stranding'' [[https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/615496-death-stranding-criticized-for-calling-asexuality-a-sexless-lifestyle has been]] [[https://gaymingmag.com/2019/11/death-stranding-doesnt-know-how-to-respect-queer-sexualities/ criticized]] for the interview log titled "An Asexual World", which gives an offensive and inaccurate description of {{asexuality}}. The in-game document describes asexuality as a "sexless lifestyle" (implying that it is a personal choice), insinuates that asexuals are "incapable of feeling desire or attraction" and "reticent to form emotional connections with others" (ignoring the existence of non-sexual love), suggests that the Death Stranding is responsible for more people turning asexual, and blames asexuals for the world's low birth rate. Presumably, the intent was to draw parallels with Japan's rapidly falling birth rate, but equating asexuality with celibacy is a harmful misconception (asexuals do not feel sexual attraction, while celibate people may, but choose not to act upon it), with the harm being worsened by the extreme rarity of positive asexual representation in media, meaning that this inaccurate description is likely to be a viewer's first impression of asexuality and demisexuality.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the "An Asexual World" journal entry received [[UnfortunateImplications criticism]] for falling into common [[CriticalResearchFailure stereotypes and misconceptions]] of {{asexual}}ity (the entry is an in-universe scientific article theorizing that people have become disinterested in sex and emotional connections because of the current shape of the world), the Director's Cut added a footnote scrutinizing the article