Didn't see that coming.
Having arrived late to the whole Death Stranding party, by the way of a year or two, I was able to enjoy quite a peaceful and personal relationship with the game free of the flying expectations of the release date, firing both from those who understood and appreciated the game and those who couldn't make the connection between their idea of entertainment and the content of this gameplay. As such it seems strange to me, almost entirely alien, in fact, to be hearing current news about the state of this property as though it is a thing that is breathing and with space to grow. Because, and forgive me for saying this, I really didn't think this game had the sort of legs to make it into a franchise. Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy the game, just take a look at my review on it, I'm practically glowing in my opinions; but that respect and familiarity just tips me further into the camp of; "sequel? Really?"
And to let you know what I'm taking about I must rush to say that there has been no official announcement nor a pretty transparent tease by way of Kojima, before you go scouring his Twitter feed like a 1940's gumshoe. This 'reveal', as it were, is actually something of a leak by way of that most reliable of unsolicited industry secret drops; an interview with a celebrity actor. Actor's get a bad rap, being expected to be the icons of society required to uphold and maintain the perfect balance of conduct, intelligence and countenance to prove an ideal role model for society. One actor slaps a comedian on stage and pearl-clutching satellite mothers gasp about how terrible a sight this is for their impressionable young children. Why exactly are actors meant to be paragons of societal virtues? They're not trained professionals who study politics, humanities or the sciences; they're performers who study how to pretend to be someone else for a time. We shouldn't put them on such a pedestal just to be a height from which to cast them down when they fall short. And neither should we be surprised when Norman Reedus accidentally mentions, during an interview question about the motion capture that went into Death Stranding, that "we just started on the second one."
Now to compound on the point I just made about how we look at actors, and call back to my view on the George R.R Martin's opinion about Elden Ring from a while back; he might just be wrong. Norman isn't the creative director on this project, when he first joined he himself admitted he didn't know what was going on at first and it took him half a year to know what the game was even about. So Norman Reedus could very well be taking part in one of those rumoured Death Stranding movies that we can assume are on the docket now that Kojima has expressed his interest to expand his studio in such avenues. However as far as I know Mr Reedus does now have an understanding of the game he helped make, and even has developed a friendship with Kojima, so I think it's fair to say that he would either know whether or not this was a game, or Kojima would have a hard time pulling the wool over his eyes on it. Then again I really can see Kojima playing pranks on people like that so it's fair game.
But assuming the Mr Reedus does have his facts straight, and apparently didn't sign an NDA for a game he's already started making; (Or worse, has signed the NDA and just accidentally breeched it. I hope it's just a clerical error, I don't want him getting into trouble over this.) we have ourselves a sequel I never expected to be made. I know people wanted it. I know so many asked for it. But when I took a look at the incredible experience that Death Stranding was, its personable story about rebuilding the world by establishing connection and bringing community to the lost, I have to wonder whether the game itself wanted or asked for a sequel. Beyond its action and events and the world of Death Stranding itself, that game had something to say and it has been said. Where can that message even go next?
For those who forgot, Death Stranding proposes a world where a cataclysmic event know as the 'Death Stranding' has fundamentally altered the makeup of reality. The effects of the Death Stranding are numerous, esoteric and, strangely, often allegorically symbolic of the themes of the game. (Funny that.) What is presented as a dim and dismal post-world which actively tries to kill its inhabitants even more than a radioactive wasteland, becomes a backdrop for a story about connecting the disparate dots of America so that a fractured society can become whole again and people can rediscover the value and love of having others around them. Even the BTs, with their umbilical cords reaching beyond the shroud of this world and the power to cause an antimatter explosion at a single touch, are reaching out with their hands to touch and connect with something, anything, from beyond death itself.
To drop some 'endgame spoilers' on you, the end of the game doesn't appear to naturally lend itself to a sequel either. With the breadth of the story being dedicated to trying to understand the nature of the Death Stranding and then trying to stop the final mass extinction event that it foretold. The climax of that narrative resulted in the mystery of the Death Stranding being, seemingly, fully unravelled and the end of humanity getting delayed, perhaps indefinitely. America is reconnected through the courier effort of Sam Bridges and the man himself decides to leave his job behind in order to go rogue with his brand new adopted daughter Louise, saved from the executioner's furnace at the end of the game. Not only is the state of the world effectively 'solved' by the credits, but our man is no longer in action and actively ready for retirement. Yet here is Norman Reedus effectively saying that The Great Deliverer has another slew of packages just waiting for him.
When I considered the Death Stranding sequel, I originally pictured an entirely different protagonist dealing with their version of the Death Stranding's effects that thematically tie in with a new concept so as to maintain the nakedly ideological heart of this property without it become a thoughtless action series. But apparently that's out the window with Sam being a definite returning lead. I suppose we could have this series expand to other countries as Sam tries to build a bridge to the rest of the world, but let's be honest here: Kojima is a clear Americanophile who delights in miring his stories in the American ideas of freedom and governance in land ordained theirs. Even when he was putting America to task in the Metal Gear series, it was in a gloves-on sort of way that never challenged the state of the country as it is. (At least not directly, maybe through allegory.) So in that case, maybe I want just a brand new sci-fi angle to be revealed of the Death Stranding that warrants another exploratory adventure, perhaps in the hotter south western states of the Bald Eagle's land.
I guess this all means that Kojima Production's flagship series is going to be the Death Stranding Sci-fi and not an easier-to-write-for action series that can be endlessly stapled onto for all eternity with vague engine updates every once and a while. (Ubisoft would find that concept frankly abhorrent.) I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from a mind that begs to be challenged like Kojima's, and though this likely means a kibosh on the rumoured Death Stranding movie and/or TV show that people were nattering about, it is an opportunity for one of the most creative titles of the past generation to totally reinvent itself in order to controversially divide the gaming community once more. I hope we'll one day see something different out of KP, but even if we don't for the immediate future I'm not going to kick my feet and pretend this isn't a totally fine state of affairs either.
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