Staff E3 Favorites – JT’s Pick – Death Stranding
A new trailer was just enough to keep my mouth wet.
I know, I know. Everyone is clamouring for Mr. Kojima to unveil what kind of game Death Stranding really is, but isn’t that the excitement and mystery of it all?
There are a few things we do know. First off, Hideo Kojima is undoubtedly an iconic game designer and director. His games have always paired top tier gameplay with a cinematic scope with which only few can compete. I have little doubt that what he is composing will be anything less than great, especially with all the tools Sony can provide. Without Konami’s chains he has free reign to fully realize what creatively inspires him. All of these signs point to a “take my money” situation.
In some ways this will be the first “AAA indie game” (just made that up, lol), meaning that his namesake alone is giving Sony the full confidence to let him put together whatever he wants with a AAA production budget. In some ways, Naughty Dog has this type of arrangement, however, they already have a couple intellectual properties established on which they are iterating.
With regard to the actual game, we have seen several of what seems like the main characters, we have a visual on the general tone and setting, we know it’s using Guerrilla Games’ engine from Horizon: Zero Dawn, and this latest trailer displayed some gameplay without showing how the game actually plays. This is why I am giving it my game of show.
It takes a lot of balls to show a game three E3’s in a row and keep so much a secret. Each showing pulls back the curtain just a little bit more. This is a guy asking for our trust, and there is no reason not to give it. The Metal Gear series has pushed the medium forward in so many ways. I remember Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty being the most versatile and cinematic action game I’ve ever seen. The gameplay just felt on a different level than everything else that came before it. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain’s sandbox gameplay design gave way to some of the best moments in gaming history. He has a knack for making the game feel like an extension of reality while keeping some fantastical absurdity.
I find no reason to not be excited for Death Stranding because what was shown looked interesting and well thought out. I’ve got my timer counting down for next year’s E3 so I can get another glimpse and hopefully a 2020 release (keyword is hopefully).
