New trailer unveiled for Hideo Kojima’s weird ass game Death Stranding

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

I wrote a draft of this article that was all "oh my God, what the f*ck is this?" and "looks like what David Lynch would direct after binging-watching anime high on bath salts and depression". But I won't. I think the images in the trailer are beautiful and thought-provoking, and a marvel to look at. And while I can't suss out what they mean, exactly, that doesn't mean they don't have power and resonance. Sure, it could be that I'm a dummy who can't decipher dream logic and subtext, or that Kojima is overly pretentious and is mashing pretty images shallowly with no deeper meaning, but either way I'm intrigued. 

Here's the trailer to see for yourself:

This is actually the second trailer, as a teaser was already revealed at E3 last year which featured a naked Norman Reedus (cue swooning). For those who don't know, this project came out of the ashes of the ambitious SILENT HILLS, which was to be co-directed by Kojima and monster master Guillermo Del Toro, as well as starring the aforementioned Reedus. It was to have a revolutionary game engine, with unheard of interactivity for the series, and amazing almost photoreal graphics. That is, until Konami cancelled it due to budget constraints. And, also, they were frankly just tired of Kojima's shit (going over budget, over schedule, and being a generally hard-to-work with control freak. Though, knowing that Konami cancelled SILENT HILLS to make f*cking Pachinko machines puts me squarely on his side).

So this explains the weird tentacle monsters, dark tone, and the presence of Guillermo Del Toro (as an actor instead of director, but still) and Norman Reedus. Mads Mikkelsen is just a nice, welcomed bonus. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that any of this craziness will be playable anytime soon. The game is still in the very, very early stages of development, with Kojima having just recently settled on an engine, and is still recruiting staff for key roles in his new Kojima Productions studio. Let's hope this game makes it out intact (remember, SILENT HILLS had a preview demo too). *Fingers crossed*.

So what do you guys think? You excited? Or are you, like Konami, also tired of Kojima's shit?