I poke a lot of fun at the marketing for Death Stranding, because despite all that we’ve seen from the game at this point, no one really has a damn clue what this game is going to be. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, in and of itself, but the game has remained a vague, somewhat formless, entity even after its grand unveiling. One person you may be surprised to hear shares that same feeling is the game’s creator and director, Hideo Kojima.
Speaking with Financial Times, Kojima admitted that he wasn’t entirely sure how to classify Death Stranding, something that many have struggled with since the game’s announcement. He set out to create a new genre of game, and because of that even he’s at a loss for what box the game fits into. He also acknowledges that there’s big risk in this, especially if it doesn’t connect with the intended audience.
“Death Stranding… even now, I don’t understand the game,” said Kojima. “Its world view, gameplay, they are all new. My mission is to create a genre that does not currently exist, and which takes everyone by surprise. There is, naturally, a risk in that…”
Kojima has clumsily tried to explain what “Social Strand System” is in the past, but has never quite been able to pin it down. We’ll also get a lot of gameplay content at this year’s TGS across two separate panels, but I won’t be surprised at all if we walk out of there with little more understanding of what Death Stranding is than we do now.
Whatever Death Stranding will be, at the very least it’s looking to be something totally different. When a creator can’t even give you an answer to the game he’s making, you know we’re going into uncharted waters. The game launches November 8th on PlayStation 4.
