Pixel Sundays: Hideo Kojima and the Strange Odyssey of Death Stranding

10 November 2024 at 15:30 in Gaming News with no comments

Today is all about the Death Stranding series. Hideo Kojima sends you on an unforgettable journey through a destroyed world in Death Stranding, redefining the boundaries of video games.

Summary

Today, we want to explore the philosophy and unique mechanics of Death Stranding. We will discuss the unique gameplay mechanics, like delivering packages, as well as a particularly interesting asynchronous multiplayer feature.

The Vision behind Death Stranding

From the beginning, Death Stranding was never seen as just a simple video game. The game’s creator, Hideo Kojima, infused his visionary ideas and his unique influences into the game, making it as popular as it is today. In this game, there is not just a story; societal themes such as isolation, connection, and the importance of community are continually addressed.

Death Stranding

Naturally, Kojima also drew a lot of inspiration from external sources for his game. A central role in this was played by films like 2001: A Space Odyssey. Other works by famous filmmakers like David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn also had a big influence on the atmosphere and style of Death Stranding. The world is also full of surreal and often unsettling elements. While you cannot always recognize these elements directly from the films, you can see where the inspirations came from. This has created an unparalleled atmosphere in the game.

Moreover, Kojima has also brought his years of experience in game development into this game. Death Stranding was released in 2019, while his first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987. He consciously decided to incorporate many symbols into the game, blending philosophical and spiritual themes. This encourages the player to rethink the topic of unity and communication. The gameplay was intentionally made slow-paced, giving players plenty of time to acclimate to the atmosphere and truly feel it.

Death Stranding

As the main theme of his game, Hideo Kojima came up with something very special. The central concept of the game is human connection despite isolation. This kind of theme is always challenging to implement in games, but Kojima succeeded brilliantly with Death Stranding, particularly with a multiplayer feature, which we will discuss in more detail later. The game itself also conveys this message. You play as Sam Porter Bridges and take on the task of reuniting the broken world through a network of connections or, symbolically, bridges.

Gameplay Mechanics that Define Death Stranding

Now, let us finally come to the special multiplayer feature that I have mentioned before – the Social Strand System. The Social Strand System connects players’ worlds. In the game, players can build ladders, bridges, ropes, generators, and even entire shelters. These aren’t just available in your world; they are also available in other players’ worlds. This can make their journey easier. Messages can also be left in the form of signs to provide tips, and yes, they are often better than those found in Souls games.

Death Stranding

Lost cargo, whether accidentally or intentionally left behind, can also be picked up and delivered by other players. Both players then receive likes for this. These likes promote positive interaction between players, even though they do not know each other. Roads can also be built in Death Stranding, but they are very costly. This is where the Social Strand System comes into play again. Players can contribute materials together, making it much faster to build roads than doing it alone. Even in boss fights, players can get help from others. The players appear in the form of ghosts and can drop ammunition and other useful items.

Moving away from the Social Strand System, let us look at the solo gameplay. The main focus of the game is the delivery system in the open world of the game. As mentioned, you play as Sam Porter Bridges, and you must carry out delivery missions in this role. In many games, such missions are seen as boring side missions, but in Death Stranding, it is the core of the game and is far from boring.

Death Stranding

The terrain is often very uneven, which can cause many problems. You must plan your routes well, pay attention to the balance of your cargo, and overcome environmental hazards along the way. Your delivery could fall from your back to the ground, and with some bad luck, even fall into a river or something similar. This makes each delivery an exciting endeavor. Each of the deliveries symbolizes the reconstruction of society, fitting perfectly into the central theme of the game.

Themes in Death Stranding

Even though we have already talked broadly about the themes in Death Stranding, this topic deserves a bit more attention. Kojima tried to incorporate many critical themes into his game, which are often avoided in other games. One such theme is loneliness. This is well symbolized by the main character of the game. Sam walks alone on his delivery missions, making every social interaction special.

Death Stranding

Despite this empty world, there is a kind of feeling of community thanks to other players, even though they are in a different world. Everyone who makes your journey easier is part of something bigger. Every bridge built by other players can save you a huge detour and a lot of time. This, along with the likes, strengthens the sense of community, as players are inclined to help others and even receive feedback if someone delivers their lost cargo.

The Soundtrack and its Impact

The soundtrack of Death Stranding plays a crucial role in creating its unique atmosphere. The music enhances both the immersion and the emotional depth of the game. The music once again attempts to underscore the main themes of the game, namely loneliness, resilience, and connection. Artists like Low Roar and Silent Poets add additional emotional depth to the barren landscape.

Death Stranding

The music in Death Stranding is more than just background music. It serves as a narrative element that aims to amplify the emotions in every scene. Songs like “I’ll Keep Coming” and “Don’t Be So Serious” by Low Roar amplify moments of loneliness while simultaneously conveying Sam’s determination and vulnerability. These songs often play while walking long distances in the game, quickly becoming memorable and evoking a certain sense of connection.

A Divided Opinion

Upon the release of Death Stranding, opinions about the game were very divided. Some celebrated it as one of the most innovative and best games of the year, while others found it too slow and monotonous. This divided opinion really just shows the different expectations of the game and Kojima himself. Death Stranding won the award for Best PC Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2020.

The fans of the game praised its unique atmosphere, the deep narrative, and the unconventional game mechanics. Many considered the game to be an almost artistic experience, which dared to integrate new themes into a video game, such as loneliness and connection.

Death Stranding

Critics criticized the often rather slow and somewhat repetitive gameplay, which has very little in common with a traditional action-adventure game. Many found the delivery mechanics not captivating and thought the game dragged on. This is also an understandable opinion, but it was chosen deliberately to emphasize the emptiness of the world.

Many fans also had different expectations of Kojima. A few years earlier, he had achieved huge success with Metal Gear Solid V, and fans were naturally expecting something similar again. However, these two games, Metal Gear Solid V and Death Stranding, are fundamentally different and cannot really be compared. This surely shocked and alienated some players. However, over time, reviews have turned very positive. The Director’s Cut of Death Stranding has over 22,000 reviews on Steam, with 92% of them being positive.

The Legacy of Death Stranding and the Future of the Franchise

Since its release in 2019, Death Stranding has left a lasting impression on the gaming world. Hideo Kojima’s unique approach, combining science fiction elements with deep storytelling and innovative gameplay, won over many fans. The Social Strand System also quickly gained popularity with fans, as this asynchronous multiplayer interaction was something entirely new. Even in this isolated world, it creates a connection between players. Recently, Death Stranding became available on Xbox, allowing even more players to experience Death Stranding.

In December 2022, Death Stranding 2 was officially announced, exciting all the fans of the first game. The title of the sequel is Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and, according to the PlayStation Store, is set to be released in 2025. During the Tokyo Game Show 2024, new characters and gameplay elements were revealed. Among the characters, we still have familiar ones like Sam Porter Bridges and Fragile, but new characters like Tomorrow and Rainy were also introduced.

One of the new features is a flashback feature. This will allow you to follow the complex plot of the first part. It is not absolutely necessary to have played the first part to understand the story, but it is, of course, also useful to refresh your old knowledge. There is also an extended photo mode in which different characters can be photographed in different poses.

Death Stranding

Kojima Productions has also taken over the full branding rights for this game. As a result, there will be no more influence from Sony, allowing Kojima to implement his vision in this game even better. We can expect new innovative gameplay mechanics from Death Stranding 2, as well as an evolution of the Social Strand System.

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By Kilian Kilian

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