Death Stranding is about ‘creating connections at a different level’

‘We don’t need a game about dividing players between winners and losers’

It’s always a joy to hear Hideo Kojima talk about his passion for movies and games. He’s done just that with an article published today on Glixel in which he delves into Dunkirk, The Great Escape, Metal Gear Solid, Death Stranding, and the ties that bind them all together. The latter project is still frustratingly yet tantalizingly shrouded in mystery, and I’m willing to bet it will be even after it’s released.

Kojima didn’t reveal anything new, exactly, but the article gives us an idea of what the team is striving for with Death Stranding: “a game that maintains the essence and fun unique to the medium, but also offers a completely new type of experience.” Here’s the relevant excerpt:

So, where are post-Metal Gear games headed?

The following is a translated excerpt from Kobo Abe’s short novel The Rope.

“The rope and the stick are two of humankind’s oldest tools. The stick to keep evil at a bay, the rope to bring that which is good closer, both were the first friends conceived by humankind. The rope and stick were wherever humankind was to be found.”

Fifty-five years have passed since the creation of the early video game Spacewar!, but video games are still primarily players with sticks fighting each other. They cannot break the curse of using sticks to keep evil away, or defeating enemies. I want to change this.

It’s time for humankind to take the rope in hand. We are ready for a game not based on competition, but on the rope that will bring good to the player and make connections. We don’t need a game about dividing players between winners and losers, but about creating connections at a different level. My current project, Death Stranding, aims to fulfill this goal.

Every few weeks I check in to see what fans are theorizing about this game. They never stop!

I get that some people want concrete details — trust me, I do too! — but trying to unravel what little information we’re given in trailers and articles like this is half the fun.

Hideo Kojima on War, Video Games and ‘Death Stranding’ [Glixel]