As its name suggests, Kojima Productions’ upcoming open-world action-adventure game Death Stranding revolves around the theme of “strands,” the ties connecting people, worlds, etc. Recent glimpses at Death Stranding’s gameplay have begun showing some of what that entails, but overall, it’s been hard to pin down what it means exactly. That’s why director Hideo Kojima thinks a sequel or two may be necessary to fully explore this theme.
It’s no surprise that a game where characters strap artificial wombs to their chests to see dead people is pretty different from the usual fare. It’s different enough in Kojima’s eyes that it apparently makes up an entirely new genre of “strand games.” In a recent interview, he elaborated on this, basically saying that Death Stranding is playing with game concepts so new many creators and players aren’t even aware of them.
The only way to ensure that changes, he said, is by reiterating on these concepts past Death Stranding itself. “The most difficult part is, when you create something new, you have to create a sequel and then a third version or it [will] not remain as a genre,” he explained. “When this game comes out there will be a lot of pros and cons, and [these elements could become the essence of the core part], but I think it's better that I keep it going in a sequel.”
That won’t be an easy thing to do. Kojima has admitted that even he doesn’t fully understand Death Stranding on account of its new concepts. More than that, however, is the challenge of finding the time. Kojima Productions has other projects to see to besides Death Stranding, and with those demands, Kojima stated that tackling several projects at once is “really tough for me physically.” As such, there are no concrete plans for more Death Stranding just yet.
Going back to the theme of “strands,” he explained that a lot of what makes up Death Stranding is based on “omoiyari,” a Japanese term that roughly translates to creating compassion towards others. How exactly wasn’t specified, but Kojima has given hints of what omoiyari-based gameplay could look like. Being a game about connecting, Death Stranding won’t force players to fight enemies, and the recent gameplay shown has further suggested that taking the non-lethal route will be encouraged more often than not.
Death Stranding will launch on November 8 for the PlayStation 4.
Source: GameSpot