Hideo Kojima on Death Stranding: “Even Now, I Don’t Understand The Game”

Ever since Hideo Kojima unveiled his first post-Konami project, fans have been wondering exactly what is going on. As details began to arrive along with more and more footage from the game, some questions may have been answered, but even more have popped up. That said, we are only two months away from the release of Death Stranding, and while fans may not have a solid idea of what is happening in the game, it would appear that Hideo Kojima himself is in that same boat, and he’s the one making the adventure.

During a recent talk with Financial Times (via VG24/7), Death Stranding director Hideo Kojima discussed the upcoming title, admitting that even he hasn’t exactly been able to pinpoint what is going on in the experience. “Death Stranding… even now, I don’t understand the game,” Kojima said. “Its world view, gameplay, they are all new. My mission is to create a genre that does not currently exist, and which takes everyone by surprise. There is, naturally, a risk in that…”

Of course, when the director of a video game admits to not understanding what is going on in the title, this is sure to draw the attention of a few fans. Then again, with that director being Kojima, there is a good chance fans will be understanding of his statement. He then went on to note the difference between his generation and those in younger generations, and how he is using that to help create his vision. “There are stories being told [in cinema] that my generation may find surprising but which the gamer generation doesn’t find weird at all,” he said.

“If you take something that looks like a banana and give it the title ‘apple’, that works as art. But it doesn’t apply to games. We are making things that are interactive. A banana has to be edible after you peel the skin. Cars have to be drivable. For games to be interactive and to deliver the enjoyment, there has to be a reality where there are lots of people backstage making it all happen. That is us – a kind of art-driven service industry.”

Death Stranding will release on November 8th for PlayStation 4. For even more on the upcoming title, check out some of our previous coverage as well as the description below:

“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.”