Death Stranding was easily one of 2019's most highly anticipated games. As the first post-Konami game from Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, expectations were high for Death Stranding, but it failed to resonate with some critics. Kojima has once again addressed Death Stranding's mixed reviews, offering a similar explanation as to why some critics gave the game a low review score.
Speaking to The New York Times Magazine, Kojima touched on how many of the negative Death Stranding review scores came from America. "In America, they're used to shooters, so they don't gulp it down. It's OK; everyone can evaluate what they want." Kojima also added that some of the Metal Gear Solid fans did not like the way that Death Stranding handled stealth at first, but they eventually "came around."
In that same spirit, Hideo Kojima thinks that there's a chance Death Stranding will be looked back on more fondly in the future compared to how it was received at launch. "In three to five years, we will see what people will say," Kojima said to The New York Times.
This isn't the first time that Kojima has blamed America's love of shooter games for the low Death Stranding review scores. Back in November, he said, "...in America there are a lot of FPS fans, maybe those fans are saying this is like a different game and are not rating it very high." From these comments, Kojima clearly thinks that the Death Stranding low review scores are because Americans prefer shooter games, but the theory doesn't necessarily hold up to scrutiny.
Kojima's comments ignore the fact that there are a great deal of non-shooter games that score well with American reviewers. Games like Gone Home and Journey have earned rave reviews from American critics despite not being shooters and having virtually no "action" to speak of. And when one looks at Death Stranding reviews, the negative scores aren't complaining about a lack of action. In fact, most of the negative reviews seem to be complaining about frustrating controls and the game's bizarre narrative as opposed to a lack of shooting.
Regardless of why some critics gave Death Stranding low review scores, it will be interesting to see if Kojima's next game triggers a similar response. It's been teased that Kojima is making a horror game, and considering how popular PT was, it seems like a horror title will be a safer bet than the more experimental Death Stranding.
Death Stranding is out now on PS4, with a PC release coming on June 2.
Source: The New York Times Magazine (via GameSpot)