Death Stranding and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima wants his latest game to be an anti-war game. Seemingly inspired by Christopher Nolan’s recent masterpiece Dunkirk, Kojima shared his feelings about Death Stranding and war in a recent guest article on Rolling Stone.
In the article, Kojima praises movies like Dunkirk and The Great Escape because, while they are still movies about war and set in a war, the heroes aren’t directly fighting any enemies. The true heroes are the ones who protect life instead of take it.
“[Dunkirk] successfully depicts another facet of war, in which evacuation equates to victory,” he wrote. “Through the movie, we learn that the 400,000 soldiers that evacuated before conflict could transpire are war heroes.
Later in the article, Kojima quotes a passage from Kobo Abe's short novel, The Rope. The passage mentions how humans have always had two tools: a stick to keep things away and a rope to pull things closer. Using this analogy, Kojima says most games are sticks, with players fighting real or AI opponents. His goal is to make Death Stranding a rope game.
“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,” said Kojima. “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.”
This is a lofty goal, and one Kojima is calling an “entirely new experience.” He also says because Death Stranding is a video game, it can go even further than any of the movies he cited as inspiration.
“What's more, the interactive nature of video games means that this new experience will be deeper than movies or other media could hope to offer,” Kojima said.
All of this sounds great, but it also comes across a little off. Kojima, in his talks about anti-war and anti-fighting notions in games, praises his own Metal Gear line of games. While it’s true the series is known for stealth gameplay and avoiding direct confrontation with enemies, it still very much involves players injuring and killing many, many people. Seeing as how just about nothing is known in regards to what Death Stranding will actually be like, it’s unclear how Kojima plans to mix up gameplay to create this new experience he is aiming for.
So what do you think? Are you excited to learn more about Death Stranding when Kojima is ready to share information? In what ways do you think Death Stranding will be a new experience? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
