Last night, Hideo Kojima and Norman Reedus took to the stage in New York to talk a bit more about their upcoming game Death Stranding. It has been awhile since we have received news on this game, but I find that their closing statement just as interesting as their game details revealing ones. But let’s start with what we have all been waiting for: game detail reveals.
Kicking off the loose lips discussion, Kojima shared, "It's an open-world action game, but it's really something new. There are so many things happening in the real world - in America, in Europe - everything is actually connected by the internet, but in a way we're not connected in the real world these days.
I'm putting that as a metaphor in the game. The player will have to reconnect the world in the game. You're very alone, there's solitude, but you're trying to connect. The story and the gameplay, the key word is 'connection.' There are so many things in-between, of course, but the key is connection."
As if that wasn’t enough details revealed on the importance of connecting in Death Stranding, he continued stating, "I also threw in a really new idea. You're connecting the game, and everyone is playing it together, and you'll be connected, everyone will be connected together as well. I can't say anything because Sony will be very unhappy. I don't want to be disconnected from Sony."
I honestly do not believe that he is explaining an actual online game where players will run into each other like you would an MMO or small multi-player lobby though. I feel this explanation has more depth and secret to it than he is revealing giving us the classic Kojima situation of providing more questions than answers. He is the one, after all, who created the incredible various meta situations throughout the Metal Gear Solid franchise.
After Kojima had his turn, Reedus clarified, "It's a different way of thinking. I have a teenage son, I've played some games where you just kill everybody. It's not like that. There's violent elements to it, but it's just a different thing." This pretty much confirms that it is not some usual online set up that we, the players, are used to seeing.
The next line confirmed something that many Kojima fans have been wondering. "In Death Stranding I'm going to put every aspect of Norman in there. There's a lot of cutscenes, and there's a lot of long cutscenes. You'll see Norman as Sam in the game, and see his acting in the cutscenes, and you'll enjoy that." So get your popcorn buckets ready. This game will have a movie mixed in.
Now here is where the big reveal is. Along from everything that the game will have, there is going to be a Secret Area. Here is how Kojima explains this location: "One more thing, I can't say where, but if you go somewhere in the game, you won't be controlling Norman or Sam, you'll be just controlling a camera. You'll see Sam/Norman, and you can kind of move the camera to see around, and when you look at him he might do something like wink at you. So you're actually playing as Norman Reedus as Sam, and in the drama part Sam will act to hit your emotions, but when you go into this special area you'll definitely love Norman. You'll be a Norman fan."
The connection between Kojima and Reedus is prevalent throughout the Death Stranding reveal as the two compliment each other and highlight each other in a positive light in between these statements. When it comes to actually working together, Reedus stated, "It's super collaborative. He would be a great film director as well. You're following his vision and everything is for real. Even I'm sitting here listening to you talk and the making of the connections and the putting together of the game, it comes from such an honest source. He's an honest artist."
In which, Kojima added, "During the recording sessions, Norman gives a lot of ideas to me. Everyone thinks I'm a perfectionist, but no. I like a lot of things live. I want to really do a collaboration. Doing this with Hollywood actors, this was the first time for me, and it was so stimulating for me. I had a lot of ideas flooding out."
This entire reveal session explains so little and so much at the same time. There are obviously more questions about what they could mean and they certainly know how to keep everybody wanting to know more. Unfortunately, there was no trailer or gameplay footage revealed for us to see, however they did leave with a promise to reveal something within a month or so. While we all know that Sony has backed out of E3 2019, this little hint might mean that they still have plans to reveal some big news around the time of the annual gaming news event.
What theories and ideas do you have about Death Stranding? What new gaming elements will Kojima create for us to experience and play through?