LogFAQs > #936646630

Round 1 Overwatch vs. Death Stranding

Moltars Analysis

Well this is interesting. Overwatch isnt really a GameFAQs type of game, and yet it seems to have somewhat of an audience here. D.Va made it into the last Character Battle and actually won a match! Death Stranding...I dont even know. It definitely has its fans, but also definitely has detractors. Its the definition of a divisive game (or piece of art depending on who you ask).

My struggle here is trying to decide how high the ceiling is for Death Stranding. Itll have a high floor and shouldnt get killed here, because the people that liked it really liked it and arent going to abandon it here. Overwatch has its fans, but will also pick up Death Stranding anti-votes, but I could also see Overwatch getting some anti-votes itself because some people dont like its fans and oh god this is confusing.

Overall, Overwatch is the safe pick, and you know me, I like to play it safe. Plus, MGS/Kojima have been on a downturn at GameFAQs, so even those fanboys arent really around to prop up Death Stranding. Overwatch is going to be weak, but I cant see Death Stranding having the strength to beat it.

Moltars Bracket: Overwatch

Moltars Prediction: Overwatch 53%

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transiences Analysis

I have no idea, and nor does anybody else. Death Stranding is a real strange thing, a game with a lot of buzz that completely flopped and then kinda didn't? Critics trashed it for being a complete mess narratively and for not having a lot to it but there was a certain kind of fan that just loved building stupid stuff and smashing that like button and balancing that stupid goddamn pizza. It was unique and a lot of people were paying attention to it. It's not anything close to Metal Gear, but it's not as much of a bomb as it might seem.

Overwatch has a fanbase here but it's hard to identify how big it is. Its character focus lends itself to fandom here as compared to other competitive multiplayer shooters. Overwatch is hard to gauge and Death Stranding is a literal black box. I've got Overwatch here, but the more I think about it, the more I think we might just stick to our roots and vote for the single player Kojima game with a dude named Die-Hardman.

transience's prediction: Overwatch with 54.66%

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Leonharts Analysis

This is a weird match. Overwatch isnt really our jam, but its not outright pathetic in terms of strength like other games of its oeuvre. It did decently in 2016 GOTY (a very weak field but still), and one of its characters actually managed to win a match in 2018. I think Death Stranding is really more the type of game this site goes for, or at least that was true at one point. Its a spiritual successor to Metal Gears plot thickness and occasional absurdity. It did fine in 2019 GOTY, but its got such a divisive reception. I could see this being a match where it comes down to which game gets more heavily anti-voted.

But Im going to roll with Death Stranding here. Its only worth one point either way, and I think its a worthwhile upset to take. Plus, this is the game for our time. It could get a quarantine boost! Besides, this is the game of and for my profession, so I have to support it!

Leonharts Vote: Death Stranding

Leonharts Prediction: Death Stranding with 54.01%

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Kleenexs Analysis

Multiplayer gaming going up in smoke on this site has really thrown me for a look with this match, but not really though. Overwatch is definitely not a GameFAQs game, but it was fucking huge back when it came out. The fervor around it has absolutely cooled off over the past couple years, but a lot of people still play a lot of Overwatch. Death Stranding, on the other hand, was widely seen as a monster disappointment. I dont hear people talk about it too much anymore (which is perhaps the most damning thing of all), but boy did this thing fall flat on its face.

I still feel relatively good about Overwatch here, though. Its not going to be a strong game by any means, but I still think the tenor around the game is mostly positive, whereas I dont think you can say that about Death Stranding. Its possible Im completely misreading the reaction around that game, but I have a hard time justifying an upset today.

Kleenexs Prediction: Overwatch with 55.75%

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Guests Analysis - MechanicalWall

This is one of those matches where the winner feels super obvious, but the second you click on it in your bracket you get hit by a million niggling doubts.

OBVIOUSLY Overwatch wins, yah? Death Stranding has become one of the biggest punchlines of this gen of consoles! Not only did it not live up to the insane hype built around it, it ended up being the sort of game most people on this site didn't even want to play: a walking simulator in the truest sense of the term. If I'm not mistaken, it's the single most recent game in the bracket, so unlike, say, FFXV, that disappointment is still fresh in a lot of people's minds, making it prime antivote fodder in an apathy contest.

On the other side you have Overwatch, a highly acclaimed Blizzard multiplayer shooter that sold like hotcakes, did OK in its GotY poll (finished ahead of DOOM, natch), and recently got a Switch port that introduced it to a new audience. The game looked like it was on the cusp on single-handedly ushering in a generation of 'hero shooters' before PUBG and battle royales stole its thunder (why is PUBG not in this bracket?)

But, uh, note the phrase 'Blizzard multiplayer shooter'. Shooters already don't do amazing on GFAQs, and Overwatch doesn't even have a single-player mode (unless they added one in while I wasn't looking). While I don't know how much people still care about the Blizzard/China debacle, that stuff certainly hurt their brand and might ALSO make Overwatch antivote fodder. Not to mention it was already fading from relevancy after PUBG and Fortnite took all the kiddies away. Meanwhile, Death Stranding at least has a respectable pedigree and might get some auteur points from people who appreciate it being a pretty bold and unique title to put out for a AAA company.

Bah this is already too much thought being put into a single point match. For all the niggling doubts that I have about Overwatch, I have even bigger doubts about Death Stranding. Overwatch choking would not surprise me, but I'm going with my in