Death Stranding: Hideo Kojima Addresses Walking Simulator Comments

For many folks, the gameplay, story, and just about everything revealed so far about Hideo Kojima‘s upcoming video game Death Stranding has been a bit… confusing. Kojima’s games are known for being a bit strange and surreal, and Death Stranding appears to absolutely be in line with that expectation so far. Every attempt from Kojima to explain the game has only made matters more complex, and it sure feels like a new interview will complicate things further.

While in Tokyo for the most recent Tokyo Game Show, Game Informer visited Kojima Productions‘ studio there for an interview with Kojima. The full interview covers a vast array of material, but it wasn’t until Game Informer asked about how Kojima makes mundane maintenance tasks fun that the creator really got into the weeds, ultimately addressing criticism of the game.

“In the past, even if games are ‘open-world,’ there are limitations where you can’t go further,” Kojima said. “Like, they created valleys where you can’t go. But in this game, you can go anywhere. You set routes, and you want to know what goes on beyond. In this game, I think you will not understand if I just say this, but once you start playing the game, just walking in that world is really fun. What I realized is, when I monitor playtests – even the staff’s – they don’t get it at first. But when they really start playing, just walking is really fun in the space.”

“And now everyone will say, ‘Oh, it’s a walking simulator!’” Kojima continued. “It’s the same as when I first brought out a stealth game. If 100 people play it and 100 people say it’s fun, it means the genre or the game already exists. But this is a new genre – same as stealth the first time, there will be people who don’t get it. It will take time for the real evaluations to come in.”

What do you think of Kojima’s comments? Do you think this will be the start of an entirely new genre of video game? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

Here’s how PlayStation’s official product page for the video game describes it:

“In the near future, mysterious explosions have rocked the planet, setting off a series of supernatural events known as the Death Stranding. With spectral creatures plaguing the landscape, and the planet on the verge of a mass extinction, it’s up to Sam Bridges to journey across the ravaged wasteland and save mankind from impending annihilation.”

Death Stranding is scheduled to release on November 8th for PlayStation 4. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming video game title right here.