During Tokyo Game Show, Hideo Kojima treated Death Stranding fans to a 30-minute presentation on what you can do in main character Sam’s bedroom, plus new details on how you can customize the bedroom and Sam’s wardrobe.
The demo starts off with Kojima leading the audience through some basic motions. We as players aren’t actually controlling Sam in this moment. We’re more of a disembodied camera that Sam is aware of, in classic fourth wall-breaking Kojima style. The camera pans down to linger on Sam’s crotch, and Sam quickly shields his crotch from sight, in what might be a nod to Metal Gear Solid, where a similar animation happens if the player camera lingers on Meryl’s body.
You can also check out 59 things we learned from Death Stranding’s other long gameplay demo during TGS.
Stare at Sam’s junk for too long and he’ll punch the camera. Also, the camera is apparently BB, the weird baby in a jar that Sam carries around in every bit of Death Stranding
footage we’ve seen, so this basically means that Sam punches a baby.
Sam is covered in filth (one assumes from a mission), so Kojima then guides Sam over to the bathroom mirror and washes Sam’s face clean. Sam is able to blow a raspberry into the mirror, which also takes selfies for funny images. The player can also turn Sam around in the mirror to check out what his hair looks like.
The player can use the toilet in Sam’s room, although any adults-only imagery is hidden behind an ad for Ride with Norman Reedus, an AMC travel show starring Reedus himself.
Sam’s room is at least one location you can customize a multitude of features, including Sam’s look. The demo first starts with Sam’s weapon loadout, but quickly moves to his backpack. The backpack appears to work much like the Resident Evil grid system, where you’re meant to account for the physical space that each item takes up, playing a careful game of Tetris with differently-shaped items. Sam attaches a couple of brown compartments, an envelope, and some sort of energy pack.
Check out the Death Stranding “Briefing” trailer that divulges new story info, but be wary of possible spoilers:
Kojima then moves on to Sam’s wardrobe. We get a good look at the goggles and sunglasses that Sam can wear, both of which can have their color changed. Kojima ends up a white and brown-gold mix for Sam’s glasses, and makes Sam’s hat a bright red.
Sam’s wardrobe isn’t the only thing you can color. Sam will also be able to customize the color of the walls in his room, with a fairly large selection of colors. Just like in Metal Gear Solid V, Kojima’s favorite music will also play a role in setting the mood. Kojima showed off a music playlist that Sam can turn on in his room, including artists like Low Roar, Silent Poets, and Gen Hoshino.
Sam can also blitz through a six-pack of beers he’s got sitting on his table. It wasn’t confirmed, but it appears that Monster Energy may also be something Sam can drink.
The demo closes off with a brief bit of footage of Sam traversing Death Stranding’s overworld, and finally relaxing at a hot spring with BB.
Check out the Gamescom 2019 trailer for Death Stranding:
IGN is working on getting an English translation of the demo for additional context. Everything we’ve got here is just what we’ve inferred from the Japanese voiceover version of the demo, so stay tuned for more info on Death Stranding, or listen to Podcast Beyond discuss why we’re so excited for Kojima’s next game.
Death Stranding is out on November 8 this year.
Joseph Knoop is a writer for IGN.
