Most reviews acknowledge the divisiveness directly and then defend the game anyway. Kojima makes a delivery sim, casts Norman Reedus, builds in passive multiplayer where strangers leave ladders for each other, and somehow the result is the kind of thing critics use 'masterpiece' on without flinching. The reservations are almost always about pacing — and even those usually end with a 'but stick with it.'
Players talk about a game that takes around ten hours to click and then doesn't let go. A lot of reviews open with 'I bounced off this the first time' and end with 'I'm so glad I came back.' The detractors usually cite the cutscenes and the cargo loop and quit before the back half shows them what the front half was setting up.
The 10-point gap is selection bias in Death Stranding's favor. The players still playing in 2026 are the ones who chose to come back. Critics scored a game built to be argued about; players are scoring one most of them came to on their own terms — which is the way Kojima wanted it played all along.
Data last updated: May 29, 2026