The character based on the actor Norman Reedus in Death Stranding.

Creepy new video game by legendary Japanese designer will feature Hollywood heavyweights

Legendary creator Hideo Kojima and film director Guillermo del Toro collaborate on Sony game starring Norman Reedus of The Walking Dead and James Bond bad guy Mads Mikkelsen

Business Insider

Published: 8:04pm, 8 Dec, 2016

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What is Death Stranding, beyond a bizarre name for a gorgeous and creepy-looking new video game? Your guess is as good as ours.

Here’s what we do know. The game is being created by Metal Gear series creative lead Hideo Kojima, a legendary character in the video game business.

It stars Norman Reedus, of The Walking Dead fame. He’s the main character. Mads Mikkelsen, a Danish actor best known as the bad guy from Casino Royale, appears to be the antagonist.

The game is a collaboration between Kojima and famed film director Guillermo del Toro. It’s being funded by Sony, which means the game is coming to the PlayStation 4 only.

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Kojima and del Toro were working on a project together – a reboot of the Silent Hill franchise, from Japanese publisher Konami – when Kojima and Konami had a falling out. He was ousted from Konami and from the helm of the franchise he created (Metal Gear).

Death Stranding is a new version of Kojima’s collaboration with del Toro and Reedus, with an entirely new franchise and funding from Sony. Kojima’s an independent contractor with his own independent game studio, Kojima Productions, and this is the studio’s first project.

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What the game is actually about is unclear. In the most recent trailer, a character who seems to be based on del Toro carries a baby in a glass jar; he and the baby appear to be human, while everyone else shown appears to be some form of monster. A tank rolls by with slithering tentacles, followed by an army of skeleton soldiers in war fatigues. Propeller planes fly overhead, followed by trails of black tentacles. It’s pretty gross!

The game was first teased earlier in 2016 at the video game industry’s annual trade show, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles. A second, longer trailer debuted on December 1 at The Game Awards, a now-annual video game award show. Kojima accepted an award for “Industry Icon” – a stand-in for the award he was supposed to receive in 2015.

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After accepting the award, Kojima took a cue from the late Apple chief executive Steve Jobs –“One more thing,” he announced with a smile. “I brought an early gift for the audience. Please enjoy.”

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