Hideo Kojima Addresses Criticism That Death Stranding Is but a Walking Simulator
The Tokyo Game Show has officially come to an end and although Death Stranding is nearing its release in just a couple of months Hideo Kojima was there actively promoting his upcoming title. He showcased a lengthy gameplay video that has received criticism that Death Stranding is simply a walking simulator. Unsurprisingly, Kojima is having none of it, and has hit back at the critique.
Undoubtedly there is still a lot that’s unknown about Death Stranding, and everything that has been revealed has all been a little confusing. Of course, this is something to be expected from Kojima as his games are known to be a little weird. When asked how he makes the mundane tasks we’ve seen in gameplay reveals feel like less of a responsibility and instead just plain fun he dove straight in and addressed the criticism about the game being a walking simulator. Here’s what he had to say, “Previously, in design, you had to create the rule because you couldn’t do the realism, right? In our everyday lives, there are so many mechanisms we have to work through, as you say, and we have to take the balance of what we do, how we maintain ourselves, and how we live. So I wanted to free the game design concept that we had to live by because we didn’t have the technology to do so in the past. We always created a rule, like the life bar is like this, and one hit takes away this much health. I wanted to add the real essence in Death Stranding.”
Kojima wanted to capture a level of realism that is often unexplored within video games. He hoped to create a new genre, much like he’s been able to do with past games, with a world even more open than ‘open world’ titles, ready to be explored. He stated, “But the other thing about it is that you can go anywhere in the world. It’s open-world. In the past, even if games are “open-world,” there are limitations where you can’t go further. 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 play tests – 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.” Kojima continued, “And now everyone will say, ‘Oh, it’s a walking simulator!’ 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.”
Death Stranding is set to be released on November 8th exclusively for the PS4. What do you think about the criticism about the game? Do you agree or do you stand in support of what Kojima is trying to create? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to keep it locked for updates!