“tomorrow is in your hands.”

May 29, 2019 9:35 AM

Death Stranding [YouTube][Release Date Trailer] [Death Stranding Trailers #1-4]

“People have created “Walls” and become accustomed to living in isolation. “Death Stranding” is a completely new type of action game, where the goal of the player is to reconnect isolated cities and a fragmented society. It is created so that all elements, including the story and gameplay, are bound together by the theme of the “Strand” or connection. As Sam Porter Bridges, you will attempt to bridge the divides in society, and in doing create new bonds or “Strands” with other players around the globe. Through your experience playing the game, I hope you’ll come to understand the true importance of forging connections with others.”

Kojima Productions offered a new look at Death Stranding today, as well as a release date. The PlayStation 4-exclusive open-world action game will be released on Nov. 8, 2019. [via: Polygon][Previously.]
posted by Fizz (51 comments total)

This might be the game that makes me buy a PS4. It's so weird and wonderful.

That being said, I wish someone would just hand over a camera to Kojima because it often feels like what he really wants to do is to direct/film.

Metal Gear Solid V was an amazing game but a very awkward and weird story. I appreciate that Kojima has elevated video games and made it feel so very cinematic, but I kind of just want him to step behind a camera and direct a film or a mini-series where he's given an infinite budget.

This will be an interesting experiment either way and I look forward to it.
posted by Fizz at 9:41 AM on May 29, 2019 [5 favorites]

GeorgeTakei-imitation: Oh my !

This looks very good, definitely on-par with my all-time-PS4 favorite "to-date", Horizon Zero Dawn.
posted by jkaczor at 9:45 AM on May 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

And the award for protagonist with the most obviously symbolic name goes to...
posted by howfar at 9:48 AM on May 29, 2019

Finally a game where I get to play as a gruff white man!
posted by Automocar at 9:48 AM on May 29, 2019 [22 favorites]

Hopefully it is as weird as advertised.
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:49 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

I’ve been following the slow trickle of Death Stranding news for years and I’m honestly a little surprised to see such a concise plot summary. Thus far it’s just looked like a fever dream.
posted by a hat out of hell at 9:49 AM on May 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

That is one photorealistic Mads at the end, there.
posted by codacorolla at 9:50 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

Between Mads and Norman Reedus, I am 100% behind this particular visit to the Uncanny Valley.
posted by hanov3r at 9:54 AM on May 29, 2019 [3 favorites]

Wait, so his name literally is Sam Porter Bridges? I’d been assuming it was a very terse way of introducing himself, as in “[My name is] Sam, [I am a] Porter, [I work for] Bridges.”
posted by skycrashesdown at 9:58 AM on May 29, 2019

I'm a Google-avoider, wondering if the video is available elsewhere? I'm not creating a YT account just to watch a trailer, but I'd love to see it. Or of course I could just wait until November, since there is no way I'm not buying this!
posted by Gamecat at 9:59 AM on May 29, 2019

@Gamecat, here is a link to Playstation's blog post about the trailer, it has a built in player so maybe that will let you avoid Google and watch the trailer that way.
posted by Fizz at 10:03 AM on May 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

Oh, Fizz, you have my gratitude forever, that worked a treat :D
posted by Gamecat at 10:08 AM on May 29, 2019

Portable, expandable ladders.
Yes. We need this in video games. Fuck you Skyrim mountains!
posted by thatwhichfalls at 10:16 AM on May 29, 2019 [5 favorites]

Portable, expandable ladders.

The thing is, in this universe you only get to have expandable ladders if you carry a weird tiny embryo-bridge baby. Kind of a weird trade-off.
posted by Fizz at 10:17 AM on May 29, 2019 [7 favorites]

That was... fully bonkers. I'm not saying no, mind you, I'm saying. . . What?

You don't want to read the YouTube comments, so let me just post the best one here:

Sony: What is this game about?
Kojima: Yes!
posted by The Bellman at 10:41 AM on May 29, 2019 [21 favorites]

I really don't know what to say about this except to mention Kojima's storytelling reminds me so much of listening to a young kid rattle off stream of consciousness. I've watched all the trailers and I have no idea what's going on. Near as I can tell, the antagonists include:
a) Ghost Nazis
b) the thing that killed Tasha Yar
c) NASA Hazmat team from "ET"
d) President of the United States (Kojima, after all...)

So, like, "X-Files" meets "Look Who's Talking?"
posted by backseatpilot at 10:49 AM on May 29, 2019 [4 favorites]

> Fizz: This might be the game that makes me buy a PS4. It's so weird and wonderful.

Conversely, this might be the game that gets me to dive into watching streams. I think you are right that Kojima really wants to make a movie, so I might as well watch someone else play and not get frustrated at my lack of leet skillz.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:53 AM on May 29, 2019 [4 favorites]

i was nervous that the game itself might be released before e3 thus depriving me of vital e3 memes
posted by poffin boffin at 11:13 AM on May 29, 2019

I'm confused, where does this game fit into the Horizon Zero Dawn timeline?
posted by LeDiva at 11:17 AM on May 29, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'm confused, where does this game fit into the Horizon Zero Dawn timeline?

It's obviously a prequel, right? :-)
posted by Fizz at 11:25 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have to admit, I feel kind of disappointed now that the game's premise is less mysterious. Not that it's a bad premise, but it was fun to be confused about it.

I'm still weirded out by video game characters that look so much like recognizable actors. I have no idea why.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:49 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

And the award for protagonist with the most obviously symbolic name goes to...

Close... but I still think the best one for that was: "Hiro Protagonist"
posted by jkaczor at 12:26 PM on May 29, 2019 [17 favorites]

I wasn't expecting the protagonist to be anything other than a white guy given the people involved, so I had already written this off. Sad to have that confirmed, though. You know my policy.

The rumours I'm hearing about the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel have it being a tentpole title for the PS5 so that's at least a year or two out.

tired
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:36 PM on May 29, 2019

I'm confused, where does this game fit into the Horizon Zero Dawn timeline?

yes what parts of this dystopia can be blamed on ted fucking faro
posted by poffin boffin at 12:51 PM on May 29, 2019 [12 favorites]

It's still weird but it seems to have gone from like a 13 out of 10 to maybe a 9.5 out of 10 on weirdness compared to some of the earlier trailers.

They're good bridge-babies, Samael.

Guess I'm gonna hafta get a PS4 now.
posted by glonous keming at 12:51 PM on May 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

Or you can wait for the inevitable "definitive edition" on PS5. ;)
posted by tobascodagama at 12:57 PM on May 29, 2019

PS5 is at least 3 years out. Console generations are long these days.
posted by Automocar at 2:15 PM on May 29, 2019

“[My name is] Sam, [I am a] Porter, [I work for] Bridges.”

At the end he turns into a Surface to Air Missile to save us all from aliens. You heard it here first.
posted by biffa at 2:47 PM on May 29, 2019 [4 favorites]

PS5 is at least 3 years out. Console generations are long these days.

Not that I believe all gaming rumors because lord know there's a lot of bullshit floating around, I feel like the next generation of consoles is not going to be as significant as the last few we've had. Mostly because of how fractured consoles are: PS4, PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro, etc.

I also just have a sense Sony is going to release the PS5 faster because they want to beat Microsoft to that spot.
posted by Fizz at 3:02 PM on May 29, 2019

PS5 is at least 3 years out.

The rumors and analysts are saying fall 2020. They've already announced broad hardware -- 8-core zen2 + navi GPU, very fast ssd storage -- but not clock speeds. They've even been demonstrating their ssd's ability to reduce load screens and stutters while terrain streams in, which implies some kinda pcie or better solution.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:06 PM on May 29, 2019 [3 favorites]

You know how when you're young and you think about the kind of car you want to drive and it's usually something sleek with good acceleration and a decent stereo, but when you become an old fart you are happy to have something comfortable and reliable with good climate control? I feel like I've reached that point with video games where I don't give a shit anymore about the graphics or combat gameplay, I just want an inventory management system that doesn't make me tear out my hair.
posted by um at 5:16 PM on May 29, 2019 [8 favorites]

I really don't know what to say about this except to mention Kojima's storytelling reminds me so much of listening to a young kid rattle off stream of consciousness. I've watched all the trailers and I have no idea what's going on.


Count me as another what-the-fuck-is-even-going-on-er, along with backseatpilot.

I watched all the trailers and they seem to be depicting invisible monsters, strange soldiers, bottle babies and odd scenarios full of dread, nowhere remotely alluded to in the lofty verbiage of “bridging the divides in society”.

At multiple points, I found myself confusedly asking “Is that what he’s really seeing, or is he dreaming? Or is this just symbolic? Or is it intentionally surreal? Or am I just having a stroke?”
posted by darkstar at 8:19 PM on May 29, 2019

Finally a game where I get to play as a gruff white man!

Am I the only person who thinks the protagonist is ambigously asian? Like not obviously asain and not obviously white but generic enough for the majority of the targeted videogame demographic?
posted by iamnotangry at 8:57 PM on May 29, 2019

I imagine the foetus in a bottle thing will make the game appealing to pro-lifers.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 9:07 PM on May 29, 2019

Am I the only person who thinks the protagonist is ambigously asian?

Pretty sure Norman Reedus is just a plain-ol' whiteboy, and all the major game characters seem to be using the voice actors' faces.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:18 PM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

I imagine the foetus in a bottle thing will make the game appealing to pro-lifers.

Honestly can’t tell if serious or not (and who can blame me after trying to understand the trailer itself) but the fact that, at least my guess anyway, the baby is likely consumed upon being eaten by the Poltergeist-ET-slime masters probably won’t sit ever so well with certain populations.

vOv
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:44 PM on May 29, 2019

This is the first time I've seen the uncanny valley really work to a game's credit.
posted by es_de_bah at 11:24 PM on May 29, 2019

all the major game characters seem to be using the voice actors' faces

With the fascinating exception of Lindsay Wagner, who appears to be using her face from about 40 years ago. I hope there is some narrative reason for that or if it is just another example of the way older women are not welcomed in entertainment.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:55 AM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Wagner is the president in the hospital bed, which is still not exactly welcoming to women over 19 but I guess they let her have wrinkles soooooooo?

Anyway, I only meant that the major characters are using digitized versions of their voice actors' faces, so if Reedus isn't ambiguously Asian neither is his character, or at least not very plausibly.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:23 AM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also, the brunette scientist character (obviously her name didn't stick) is shown first in a photograph looking a lot older than she does later in the trailer, isn't she? So I think either the story spans a long period of time or time travel is involved or it's just the premature aging effect of the rain that we saw in a previous trailer or maybe all three.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:32 AM on May 30, 2019

Or cloning, or reincarnation. Or AI simulation. Or a ghost. All options are on the table.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 8:03 AM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

That sure was some images in a sequence.

I am pretty sure I won't be playing this - I don't play AAA games that make me be a dude any more - but I think I am looking forwards to years of people trying to figure out what the hell this is about.
posted by egypturnash at 9:02 AM on May 30, 2019

Would you play an AAA game if you could be the dude?
posted by biffa at 9:28 AM on May 30, 2019

I have to admit I don't get the whole "Kojima is so impenetrable" thing. He had a female character who doesn't talk and named her "Quiet". A guy in constant pain all the time named "The Pain". The Sniper lady who likes Wolves is "Sniper Wolf". Etc., etc.

His games are weird, delightfully so, and his plots are pretty convoluted, but his themes are all pretty straight-forward and surface-level. The reason his cutscenes are so long is because he explains in excruciating detail exactly what you're supposed to pick up from what he's throwing down. With flashbacks to show you all the parts where he foreshadowed the twists. And yet people still loudly proclaim that they don't get it. Well, I don't get that.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:32 AM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

(Actually, on second look, the woman in the photo I thought was an older "Mama" -- i.e., the brunette scientist/techie -- is actually a middle-aged Lindsay Wagner, as opposed to the elderly one we see on her deathbed or the young one we see in the red dress.)
posted by tobascodagama at 9:47 AM on May 30, 2019

I have to admit I don't get the whole "Kojima is so impenetrable" thing. He had a female character who doesn't talk and named her "Quiet". A guy in constant pain all the time named "The Pain". The Sniper lady who likes Wolves is "Sniper Wolf". Etc., etc.

Hmmm. Do you think the character Die-Hardman will be easy to kill or....? Also, seriously? "Die-Hardman"? And not voiced by Bruce Willis? I would like a refund. Unless it's German for "The Hardman" in which case carry on.
posted by mhum at 10:56 AM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have to admit I don't get the whole "Kojima is so impenetrable" thing.

Can you explain Son's of Liberty to me then? I get the part where Liquid Snake is Solid Snake's evil clone, but somewhere around the reveal that Raiden was brainwashed by Solidus Snake I lose track of the thread. Are the son's of liberty actually AI's made from the founders of the US or what?
posted by iamnotangry at 11:40 AM on May 30, 2019

I mean, asking me to explain specific plot points to a game that I haven't played in 20 years is a bit much, but what I can tell you about MGS2 is that it's a games about memes, about controlling people on both an individual (the fake Colonel that orders Raiden around) and mass-population level (the stuff Solidus talks about in the end) by the filtering and modifying the information that reaches them.

It doesn't matter what the literal code of the GW AI looks like, it just matters that it implemented society-wide control over information. That the AI and the Sons of Liberty are named after the Founding Fathers serves a thematic purpose in showing how influential ideas change over time and stay with us. The Founders themselves are all dead and buried, but the idea of them is invoked all the time to sway people to vote or act in one way or another. The memetic version of The Founding Fathers has just as much control over our actual real-world society as GW does in the fictional one of MGS2.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:09 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Ah ok, we are talking about different things.

I totally agree that the themes are simple and obvious. Kojima doesn't really do subtlety. But I would say they are complex for a video game, especially an old one.

What I find confusing is who did what to who, and who those people are, and why they did it, and then who they really are and why they really did it, and do any of them really exist, or do you even and what is anything anyway?
posted by iamnotangry at 11:20 PM on May 30, 2019

That matters about as much as who killed the driver in The Big Sleep, is my real point.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:31 AM on May 31, 2019

Lindsay Wagner? Like Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner?

In a Kojima joint, this might be the most unexpected thing of all.....
posted by lumpenprole at 12:28 PM on May 31, 2019