It’s okay to agree or disagree with Death Stranding reviews

Death Stranding reviews are extremely mixed and people aren’t sure about the biggest game of the year. But why does that have to ruin it for you?

The Death Stranding embargo ended on November 1 which meant the internet was flooded with opinions over what is one of the biggest games of the year — or at the very least the most intriguing. Kojima Productions has been teasing this bizarre and unique game for years. Players will finally have their hands on it starting November 8.

However, recent reviews of the highly anticipated game have been severely mixed. The biggest video game media outlet, IGN, gave the game a 6.8 out of 10 while ScreenRant gave it a perfect score. These are severely different reviews, which is natural in the world of entertainment. Everyone comes away with different impressions of a game and whether a game is good or not is relative to the person playing it, so why the arguing back and forth?

The purpose of reviews and how to navigate buying a mixed game

Reviews are used to inform the consumer on whether a game is worth their interest or not. They are not marketing ploys trying to get you to buy the game. Reviews are used to inform the reader of what is housed within the upcoming games.

We all have a game that doesn’t have great reviews across the board but love it anyway. Watch Dogs is certainly mine. I preordered the collector’s edition and started playing day one. I loved it and it wasn’t until later on when I found out reviews were not the best. It didn’t matter to me though because I still loved the game.

In other words, reviews should never dictate your decision on a video game. Each reviewer has their own taste in games. Furthermore, it seems Death Stranding is going to vary in reception because of its uniqueness. It may take some time to acquire the taste, but that is not a bad thing.

If you are genuinely interested in Death Stranding then buy the game in a returnable format. That means buy it physically in case you end up not liking it. Digital orders are non-refundable so keep that in mind.

It’s okay if Death Stranding is bad

You do not have to like the biggest game of the year. You may also not even see Death Stranding as the biggest game of the year. In fact, statistically, it probably isn’t with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare selling better than any other CoD game in this generation. Kojima is known for many of his games, but you don’t have to be a fan. Not to mention, his games are an acquired taste.

That said, you don’t have stake your claim so aggressively across the internet. There are a ton of bad games that have huge followings. Take Fallot 76 for example. It did not receive good reviews at launch and has progressively gotten worse with the announcement of a $100 a year subscription service. The game still has a community even though these horrible features have plagued them.

In your eyes, Death Stranding may be a bad game. However, it will certainly have a dedicated community regardless of reviews.

It’s also okay if Death Stranding is good

On the flip side, you may think Death Stranding is a great or even a masterpiece. If so, then play it to your heart’s content. For many Kojima fans, Death Stranding will be a great game for you. It certainly has his fingerprints all over the game. This game is very unique from anything else we have seen so that may be a reason you love it so much.

Play Death Stranding as much as you like, but like those who may think it is bad, don’t tromp around the internet defiling others’ opinions. Video games range in a number of different qualities, but everyone’s scale is calibrated differently. If you believe Death Stranding is good then that’s just another game added to your ever-growing game library.

Review Death Stranding yourself

The answer is simple: review Death Stranding by your own standards. As I said, reviews are relative. The people who review video games are not right or wrong. They are doing their job in giving the reader a place to be informed over the games their interested in. Play games all over the spectrum of good and bad. Take each review with a grain of salt because it sounds like Death Stranding is a game you may or may not love.