Kojima Productions‘ Death Stranding is an enigma. First revealed at E3 2016 during Sony’s press conference, the opening trailer starred Norman Reedus holding a baby in a deserted water wasteland, staring at five floating objects in the sky. Since then, Hideo Kojima fans have been speculating where the game is headed and what its gameplay will entail. But we know one thing for certain from Kojima: Death Stranding will feature open-world and co-op play, as IGN reports.
Discussing the upcoming game during Sony’s press conference for this week’s Tokyo Game Show, Kojima explored a couple of the features and plot tidbits that players can expect to see once Death Stranding comes out. For one, the genre will be action. There will be a story to explore and enjoy, alongside an open-world “with a degree of freedom” for the player to experience. Kojima Productions is also interested in expanding online connectivity beyond traditional conceptions of online open-world multiplayer. What that will be, however, has yet to be understood.
Kojima also reiterated that Death Stranding‘s title is a reference to “stranding,” a practice in which sea creatures such as whales and dolphins become stranded on beaches. The emphasis here is on dead animals that become stranded on land. Kojima insists that this concept of stranding is being used as a metaphor to describe an as-of-yet unknown entity becoming stranded in our world from another.
Along with encouraging players to explore the world, Death Stranding will also release with 4K and HDR support: No doubt on account of the PlayStation 4 Pro, which was revealed last week at Sony’s PlayStation Meeting.
Kojima states that an engine has been chosen for the production so development can begin proper. But it’s clear that the ideas and basic foundation of Death Stranding have already been well developed. As mysterious as they may be.
At the end of the presser, Kojima also noted that more information will be coming out about Death Stranding at the Tokyo Game Show on September 18th. Stay tuned for more news about one of Kojima’s quirkiest projects yet.
