“It’s like freebasing pure Kojima & Shinkawa.”
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid film, has played Death Stranding, and has come away with glowing impressions.
Vogt-Roberts took to Twitter to voice his opinions after playing the game, saying that its world is “next-level immaculate” and that it’s like “freebasing pure Kojima & Shinkawa.” He compares the experience to watching Mad Max: Fury Road in how much the quality of that film surprised people, ultimately saying “YOU. ARE. NOT. READY.”
So @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN let me play DEATH STRANDING The world is next-level immaculate. It’s like freebasing pure Kojima & Shinkawa. Remember when FURY ROAD blew you away but also made you (in the best-most-thankful way) ask “wtf” how does this miracle exist? YOU. ARE. NOT. READY pic.twitter.com/RkVxtZCcbj
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) February 6, 2019
In an interview with Metro, actor Norman Reedus, who serves as the game’s protagonist Sam, said “That guy is such a genius, Hideo Kojima. I’m like, ‘Oh so they’ll be playing me?’ And he’s like, ‘No they are you. We will make them cry as you.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? It’s a video game.’”
“The concept is so far out into the future. Instead of eliminating everyone around you, it’s bringing everyone together,” continued Reedus. “It’s a very positive video game, but scary and depressing at the same time. It’s kind of a new movie. I’ve never seen anything like what we’re doing. The trailers show you an aspect of it, but not a whole picture of what the game will be. That’s like a whole other thing. It’s complicated, it’s a crazy complicated game. I’ve been learning a lot about video games doing it.”
Vogt-Roberts and Reedus are far from the first people outside of Kojima Productions to experience the game. Last month, Kojima showed off two hours of the game privately to employees at Guerilla Games, the developers of Horizon: Zero Dawn and makers of the Decima Engine that Death Stranding runs on. Hermen Hulst, Guerilla’s co-founder, called what he saw “incredible.”
Vogt-Roberts and Kojima have developed a friendship while Vogt-Roberts works on the film version of Kojima’s most well-known property. Vogt-Roberts has said he wants to make his Metal Gear Solid film a risky, “balls-to-the-wall, Kojima-san version” of the series. He as also discussed the characters he wants to include in the film.
Neither Death Stranding nor the Metal Gear Solid film have release dates.
Colin Stevens is a news writer for IGN, and he trusts Death Stranding will be good, even if it ends up being complete nonsense. Follow him on Twitter.
