Hideo Kojima has made a name for himself as quite an inspired game director. In the lead up to his newest title,
Death Stranding, many had no idea what to expect as it featured such strange elements — like a baby that can sense ghosts. There was quite a bit of discussion and speculation to do with
Death Stranding before its launch and the game has now proven to be quite a success.
That's apparently why Kojima chooses to make weird games — because the strange visuals and elements stick with a viewer or player more so than something standard would. During a recent BAFTA panel (transcribed by
Metal Gear Informer), Kojima explained the following:
“I think simplicity is good, but it gets consumed very quickly. It’s like food: anything that’s really digestible, it just goes out. […] And it doesn’t remain in the body. But something that’s awkward, that is not really digestible, it remains in your body. And you don’t know what it is," the game director began.
And human has this intellectual feeling that kind of lingers: what is this? Like for instance a movie, if that lingers in you, you watch it again over and over, or you talk with your friends about them, what was that about? Or maybe take time to rewatch again, or rethink of it again. And you kind of start to understand the real meaning. And it begins to be a real body, your blood and meat. And it remains in your body fluid, and not just comes out. And I want to create that kind of thing.
Kojima then explained that he grew up watching movies that featured weird content and they stuck with him. He wants to replicate that for others with his games —
and movies.
“I grew up watching movies or things like that, so I just do that in games. Everyone says it’s complicated, but I think everyone should just keep it and maybe nourish it for five or ten years, and maybe they will start to understand. And I really want to create those kind of things.”
Sam Bridges must brave a world utterly transformed by the Death Stranding. Carrying the stranded remnants of the future in his hands, Sam embarks on a journey to reunite the shattered world one step at a time. What is the mystery of the Death Stranding? What will Sam discover on the road ahead? A genre defining gameplay experience holds these answers and more.
Death Stranding is currently available for the PlayStation 4 — and will become available for the PC in Summer 2020.