amok: As I said, the game can indeed be played offline, yes. However, there are certain features that are ultimately not possible in the offline version because they rely on a community working on them (such as the road networks I mentioned). So while offline play is possible, some components will be missing or unavailable. If someone wants the "full experience", they will need to go online. And considering how many people here already complain about needing to go online just once just to unlock a pointless cosmetic item, I can only imagine the reaction if important parts of the game were accessible online only.
BanditKeith2: cosmetic factor differs as its a CDPR/Gog own game with some drm link
Also before trying to bring up the hitman debacle that games problem was a mess as alot of core gameplay was locked behind drm stuff
While Death Stranding not much seems to be missed save for that road factor
Also No mans Sky does the drm-free with online drm about as good as one can get that could be a model how Death Stranding can use
The road network was just the first example that came to mind, but there are other features missing as well. Essentially, the entire Chiral Network is online-only. There are also communal projects beyond roads, such as shared buildings. On top of that, you have things like shared stashes, dropped loot, and so on, which are only available in the online version. If people are fine with those features being ‘locked’ behind online play, then I have no problem with it either.
I’m not saying the game isn’t playable offline, it definitely is, and I would even recommend playing through it offline at least once if you haven’t already. However, doing so does change several aspects of the experience, and it essentially becomes a kind of ‘hardcore mode’ with missing features. As I mentioned, Kojima always intended the game to be played online, since society and collaboration are at the heart of what the game is about.
(And it’s not just Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 I have seen people complain about. For example, there were complaints about the badges in Battletech, ship paint in X4, the cosmetic shop in Coromon, and so on and so on. From what I’ve seen here on GOG, as soon as any aspect of a game is locked behind online-only features, people will complain.)