Summary
WithDeath Stranding 2: On The Beachfinally on the horizon, many gamers are looking for something similar to help get them through the wait. However, unlike most games, finding something similar toDeath Strandingis really quite difficult considering its unique gameplay style, tone, narrative, and overall setting.
While there is nothing else quite likeDeath Stranding,it is fascinating in itself to look over the gaming medium and see where other titles do have points of connection, while also carving their own unique identity that keeps them all distinct. Nonetheless, there are video games that came both before and after with points of connection that can be felt from various aspects, which should help whet the appetites of those desperate to enjoy some further travel-focused apocalyptic adventure stories who have already played the originalDeath Strandingto…death.
Mad Maxcertainly gets acrossthe inhospitable isolation of its setting. While Max himself travels with just two companions, Chumbucket and the Dinki Di (a dog), even the communities that he comes across are very cut off from one another by the endless sands and the roaming hostiles that inhabit them.
Another similar importance between the two is the focus on traversal itself, here taking the form of the Magnum Opus, Max’s car and the various customization options available to tailor traversal to the players' preferences.
The main point of comparison betweenRed Dead Redemption 2andDeath Stranding really comes through a choice of play style, though it is one that comes naturally to many players of both games. The style in question is meditative playing.
It is very easy to forget about the main storyline for dozens of hours while playingRDR2, even ignoring side quests as well, and simplylose oneself in the world. Likewise, inDeath Stranding, some of the best moments come during the elongated deliveries where nothing major happens, and the game just allows the player to slowly plod their way across the scenery, soaking up the atmosphere.
WhileDays Gonetakes place in a much morearchetypal zombie-based apocalypsesetting thanDeath Stranding,and the only narrative similarity is that the main character spends a significant amount of time traveling between communities and sometimes delivering things, there is something in the road-trip vibe of the two games that connects them.
Maintaining and customizing the motorbike inDays Gonewhile also avoiding the zombie hordes like the plague until the player has built significant confidence and planning skills also bears a similarity to the delivery management and horror of the BT’s inDeath Stranding.
The acquisition of technological tools and forging way-stations to make journeying further and deeper into thewilder territories of the oceanis the essential similarity betweenSubnauticaandDeath Stranding. Minus the ocean.
To have any chance of uncovering what lies in the depths ofSubnautica’swater world, the player must adventure out a little more each time and strategize where and how to use the resources they collect to journey yet deeper. Not only is this a similar loop toDeath Stranding’schiral network, but the two share a similar sci-fi 3D print aesthetic.
Similar to the outset of any player’sDeath Strandingadventure (and frankly the end in most cases),Outer Wildspresents the player with aworld full of questions and a burning desire for answers. Likewise, in both, the road toward said answers is a slow burn as the player is drip-fed, through their own analysis and discoveries, further information about the world they are in and the unfolding situation.
Both also do a marvelous job at bringing in aspects of unusual horror to their adventures, evidenced by the sudden heart-stopping stillness a player will feel when faced with rain inDeath Strandingor the uneasy mist-laden planet Dark Bramble inOuter Wilds.
In a way,Pacific Driveis like a maximalist version of aDeath Strandinghike. It’s all about getting from one point on the map to another, and how this is achieved is entirely up to the player. There are plenty of threats along the way, tons of ways to tinker about with the tools available to (hopefully) make the journey easier, and endless ways the player can slip up — with a cavalcade of unseen consequences can follow.
While there are plenty of differences between the fantasy world ofDragons Dogma 2andDeath Stranding’sSci-Fi apocalypse, one core similarity is that both heavily rely upon the adventurous spirit of the player to make the most of it.
Compared to how much lies within these games, only a fraction of their stories are told plainly to the player, and the joy in them isexperimenting with different paths and optionsavailable and seeing how each player can struggle through and surmount the challenges before them.
It is quite possible thatShadow of the Colossuswas an underlying inspiration for the vision ofDeath Stranding. A vast gorgeous world, a focus on overcoming the landscape itself, and stamina management.
Also, while differing in their physicality and attributes, both feature threatening and truly alien forces wandering the land (in which the player is arguably an invasive species). Furthermore, both are games the likes of which have never been seen before andchanged the landscape of gaming that followed.
