I genuinely think Death Stranding is one of the most accomplished interactive works in evoking an potent emotional resonance from the player by engaging them in deceptively simple concepts, and does this routinely through the symbiotic nature between narrative, play, and presentation. Almost if not every game system, tool, device, structure, vehicle, and so on, is not just interwoven into the narrative, but meaningfully integrated into the moment-to-moment experience in such a way that they don't feel compartmentalised to cutscenes but instead an extension of your ability to interact with a virtual world.
This is further supplemented by the core gameplay loop being one that is passive. All the fluff of combat and stealth and whatever else are just sprinklings on what is ultimately a game about getting from A to B to C. It is, in the literal sense, a "walking simulator" in that every game system informs the act of traversal and journey. There's maybe not a single game in existence that devotes so much delicate attention and detail to the
experience of navigating the world, where the ground beneath you feels genuinely, and you feel your presence with every step. This isn't a "hold forward and zone out" kind of game, but one where the challenge of moving between habitats demands your attention and engagement. There's a deep, intimate connectivity between your avatar and the world.
And given how the game so masterfully intertwines traditional gameplay concepts into this basic act of journeying, the immaculate production brings everything together to result an experience that is magical. For example, the early game first stretch to Port Knot city, the game building up its introduction to gameplay systems, and finally tasking you on long, challenging stretch of complex topography culminating in claustrophobic, BT dense rocky path, timefall rain rapidly deteriorating your essential cargo, is one of the greatest moments in video games for me precisely for the moment that you make it through and for the final stretch the rain clears, the sun shines, you have a gorgeous vista of the base, and Asylums for the Feeling kicks in as you make a passive descent down the mountainside.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKEZ47j6dP8
The game is loaded with so many of these moments of gameplay, music, visuals, challenge, and narrative coming together organically in a real time, interactive experience, that you can't help but be genuinely, deeply moved by what's happening on screen.
And that's why Death Stranding is one of the greatest games ever made.