Man, death stranding was the game I really really wanted to enjoy, but just couldn't. I was enamoured with the aesthetic and story, but was frustrated by the gameplay so much.

I'd honestly love to see an anime in that world.

What part got to you?

Played it with a friend and we had a blast bulding bridges, and especially ziplines, together with other players.

We got to a point where we essentially had the entire map covered by a zipline network.

The combat needed work, but we found ways to cheese our way through it.

It's been a while, but I recall it kinda felt the gameplay oscillated between high stress and boredom. And the stressful parts I didn't find fun, just stressful. They almost reminded me of Amnesia, and I'm not much of a horror game fan. Not sure if that makes sense.

That would explain the difference in our experiences. I am a horror fan, so those aspect appealed to me greatly.

The game has "BT territories" to pass through which you had to sneak right through packs of BTs. I can totally imagine how that isn't fun for someone who just wants the wanderlust experience.