In Death Stranding you will find a lot of mechanics that have annoyed you before: the world is open, large and empty; there are stamina meters; enforced sneaking sections; there is nothing but fetch quests; and combat is pretty simple. But it works. All these mechanics are polished to the point of shining, and they somehow all mesh together to be a lot of fun. And you are rewards for your efforts. The online and building mechanics make it so that you go from struggling to complete a single delivery at the start to zipping around America dropping off cargo in minutes by the end game – if you are properly prepared. And combat is the same – Sam isn't a solider, and it feels like it. But with skill and preparation there is (almost) nothing in the game you can't defeat – especially if you have done the work to get the multi-fire rocket launcher and are carrying two or three of them. Also, defeating one of the bosses by tying him up repeatedly and kicking the **** out of him is satisfying.