There Just Shouldn’t Be a Death Stranding 3 Without Kojima

We live in a day and age where any blockbuster video game that does well warrants a sequel or something. One-offs are generally restricted to indie games, but even those, if they’re beloved enough, turn into something more. Death Stranding was no exception, although it can be argued that its sequel was a necessary part of visionary Hideo Kojima’s original idea. The story seems to have wrapped itself up, although that was true at the end of the first game as well. Will there be a third? Kojima says there certainly could be, and that he has some ideas of where it might go. But he also says he won’t be the one to make it, which should end the project right there.

Hideo Kojima Should Not Hand Off His Magnum Opus

Hideo Kojima has worked on so many video games. He’s the visionary behind the Metal Gear series, but he’s also worked on Policenauts, Snatcher, Silent Hill P.T., and now Death Stranding as well. It can be argued that, while he has spent the most time with Metal Gear (leading eight titles in that franchise), Death Stranding is his magnum opus. It is the result of all his creativity and experiences, and they’re pretty great games. Death Stranding 2 has some steep competition, but it’s certainly going to be a Game of the Year contender.

The natural question is to wonder what’s next for both Kojima and Sam Porter Bridges. Kojima said recently in an interview with Video Game Chronicle that there are ideas for a third game to make it a trilogy, but he refuses to make it.

“If I use this Plate Gate concept, I could make endless sequels,” he revealed. “I, of course, don’t have any plans to do that, but I already have a concept for another sequel. I am not going to make it myself, but if I passed it on to someone else, they could probably make it.”

This seems to imply that Kojima is astonishingly fine with someone else coming in to take over his series, which is another thing entirely. Whether he’s good with another creative mind running the show or not doesn’t matter because that shouldn’t happen at all. For better or worse (generally better), Death Stranding is Hideo Kojima. It’s the culmination of his work, and it’s the result of all his creative idiosyncrasies. No one else could’ve made these games.

No One Else Could Possibly Carry Death Stranding Forward

This is a good thing. Ordinarily, it’s not ideal to have something that no one else can do, at least from a studio perspective. Can you imagine if only Shigeru Miyamoto could’ve ever done Mario? The franchise would simply go away when he stopped, or if something had happened between Nintendo and Miyamoto. But when it comes to Death Stranding, this is a good thing. No one could take over for Hideo Kojima, but that’s what makes the series so unique and fresh.

All the weird, inexplicable parts of the two games (and there are a ton) make them special. There’s no other video game where these story beats and mechanics could come together, and yet they do in a beautiful way. Another creative, no matter who it is, just won’t have the same power. This is not to say that Kojima is some unrivaled creative genius in a world full of simpletons; it’s just to highlight how singular the Death Stranding series is.

Had Kojima set out to make a studio-friendly series that he wouldn’t have to continue overseeing for the tens of sequels they might one day want to make, neither game would’ve had the same impact. From a storytelling perspective, they would’ve lacked bite, and say what you want about the gameplay (it is admittedly sometimes a walking simulator), it fits really well with the story being told. There are just too many layers here for someone else to manage it.

The idea could’ve been carried forth by some other video game designer, but now that Kojima’s fingerprints are literally all over it, handing it off to someone would be utterly foolish. A third game just couldn’t possibly live up to the first two, so let’s just let it be what it is. It’s good that there is enough love and respect from players and the creator to warrant a third game, but not everything has to turn into a sprawling franchise. If Kojima doesn’t want to helm that, then no one should.

What do you think? Could someone take over and do Death Stranding 3 justice? Let us know down below!

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