Like many of Hideo Kojima’s games, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is full of fun references to both the man himself and his self-named studio, but according to him, they were all personally added.
In a translated interview with Gamespark, Kojima said jokingly, “I put all of these things in. Even if I said to the staff, ‘Please put them in,’ they would say, ‘Huh?’ and pretend not to know.” Going even a step further, Kojima inserted his own likeness into the game in the form of a constellation in the night sky, adding, “Some people might be a little put off (laughs).”
However, it wasn’t just adding himself to the game that Kojima had some insights about. While speaking with IGN Japan, the Metal Gear creator commented on why so few Japanese actors appear in his games despite the studio being based in Tokyo. On this, Kojima said it was something of a technical issue, saying, “It’s hard to make Asians look like their real CG counterparts.”
Kojima went on to say, “Women and young people in particular have such beautiful, smooth skin. Asians, and not just Japanese people, are known for their beautiful, smooth skin, so it ends up looking like CG.” However, when asked about the casting of Shioli Kutsuna as Rainy, Kojima said, “Kutsuna grew up in Australia, can speak English, and when I met her, I found her to be a nice person, so we decided to work together.”
Kojima added, “I’ve tried to use Japanese people in the past, but it’s hard to make them look like their real-life counterparts. He added that using people with more detailed facial features often looks better in game, but added, “However, this time I used new technology, and I’m quite satisfied with the results. Well, I’d like to do even better next time.”
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has no shortage of fun little references. Alongside of some hats bearing the company’s logo, while explaining the plot of Moby Dick, Dollman will reference how the diversity of Ahab’s crew reminds him of Kojima Studios. Players can also find a fun reference to the singer Daichi Miura, which will also net them a PlayStation trophy.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has received near-universal critical acclaim. In my review of the game, I said it “takes its predecessor’s foundation and builds a bigger, better game on top—keeping everything that worked, and improving what didn’t 10-fold.”
