Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima made a guest appearance at Summer Game Fest. The distinguished game developer talked candidly with Geoff Keighley about how he develops games, and how his creative process has been affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As the conversation started winding down, it seemed likely that Kojima wouldn't have anything to announce at the moment. However, in a twist of fate, the creator blurted out "one more thing" before the scene cut to the PlayStation Studios logo.
What followed was a new trailer for Death Stranding, but it wasn't running on the PS4 or PC, the platforms on which it was previously released. Rather, it was footage captured on PS5. Suffice to say, the newly announced Death Stranding: Directors Cut looks fantastic, and it'll be interesting to see what it adds to the game. However, what stood out the most about the newest Death Stranding trailer wasn't its looks, but rather its overt references to Kojima's critically-acclaimed Metal Gear saga.
Death Stranding And Metal Gear: Thinking Inside The Box
Death Stranding: Directors Cut's teaser trailer depicts Sam Porter Bridges navigating through narrow hallways infested with fleshy growths, before arriving at a more open area populated with enemies. While evaluating how to proceed past them, he discovers a cardboard box full of oranges and empties it out. Could this be how he gets past his foes? Sam contemplates this question while examining the box, even going as far as to jump inside of it to test its fit. However, he ultimately decides to forgo the box in favor of an alternative solution.
Metal Gear fans' hearts surely skipped a beat upon seeing this trailer, because it has perhaps the most obvious reference to Metal Gear that Kojima has made since leaving Konami following Metal Gear Solid 5. For the uninitiated, one of Metal Gear's wackier, albeit iconic elements is that its main characters can use cardboard boxes to sneak around enemies. It's one of the series' many quirky elements that make it stand out from other pieces of military spy fiction, which tend to take things way more seriously.
Additionally, the fact that oranges fall out of the box featured in Death Stranding's trailer appears to be a reference to one of the cardboard boxes featured in Metal Gear Solid 2. During the game's tanker chapter, players can find a box labeled "The Orange," which has been referenced in games like Metal Gear Survive, and even Team Fortress 2. It looks like Death Stranding: Director's Cut is the latest game to join that list, but it remains to be seen if the final game will let players actually use the box, or if — in classic Kojima fashion — it was just included as a fun joke for the trailer.
Metal Gear's Influence On Death Stranding: Director's Cut
Aside from the box, Death Stranding: Director's Cut's trailer showcases some more subtle similarities to Kojima's prior works. For starters, the score simply sounds like it belongs in a Metal Gear game; if thrown into MGS2's plant chapter or while exploring MGS3's jungle landscape, it would feel right at home. It gives off a tense vibe, and that feeling is accentuated by the tight hallways Sam has to navigate through — a common element of the earlier Metal Gear titles.
Finally, the very premise of Sam, who by all accounts seems to be very underequipped in this trailer, having to sneak by heavily armed guards is also reminiscent of how early Metal Gear games typically forced players to start the game with virtually no equipment and tasked them with procuring all weapons on site.
The reveal trailer for Death Stranding: Director's Cut is practically overflowing with Metal Gear influences, but it's not quite clear if this means whatever content this new version introduces will too. However, there is one thing Metal Gear fans can be sure of: It's evident that Kojima hasn't forgotten about his magnum opus series, and if the trailer is any indication, he seems to still harbor a soft spot for Metal Gear.
Death Stranding is available on PS4 and Windows with a Director's Cut in development for PS5.