So I know we’re all hyped about Death Stranding and like many of you I was impressed with its star studded cast that was revealed in the release date trailer.
However, I was just reading that Guillermo Del Toro I guess didn’t have time to record dialogue, so they hired a voice actor who sounds like Del Toro to voice his character.
Same for Nicholas Wayne Refn, the director of Drive.
Does anybody know if Norman Reedus is the only star lending his voice to his character?
So. At this point everyone has seen the new trailer that dropped some details about the universe. This post is my interpretation of the trailers and how I think the world which Kojima has created works, and from that try to minimise the "What the actual Fuck". C&C encouraged.
A main mechanic established for concrete from the latest trailer is the existence of a literal afterlife. They did after all say "Plugging in to the other side" when Reedus said about the Bridge Baby. And not only that, but they mention by name Hades, the eponymous God of the Greek underworld. I'm imagining that how the world interacts with it is that it's a bit like the Spirit world from specifically Avatar The Last Airbender, but much harder to get out of as you need a Death Strand to transfer back.
What we might be able to do is infer or suggest how Mad Mikkelsen's character links to the underworld, to which I might suggest that his body in the trailers is used by Hades the God as an avatar for the dude to act in, but that's more me making a judgement by how it looks ("I have a good connection to the other side", as in connections as in "I know people")rather than concrete stuff. Either that or Mad dies and is brought back by some manner of nonsense, which may or may not involve Hades the God.
One of the key things for me from the trailer was the "Stranding" of the title is not to do with sand or any of that (I'm Swedish, strand is beach), and neither is it about abandonment á la "Leaving someone stranded", but literal strands somehow linking the underworld of Hades to the corporeal (real, norman reedus inhabited) world.
This would, in turn, suggest to me that the "Bridge Babies" are quite a good fit as a link to the afterlife as Foetuses (babies) are effectively at the precipice of life and death inherently, creating a natural link between the two places.
The Bridge company seems to have made Bank from
My understanding of how the bridge babies might work is that when your corporeal body dies, your soul transfers to the afterlife, which you then seemingly bum around in if the trailer is anything to go by, and then once you've done the requisite tasks in-game to get transferred back, the baby and its strand connecting it to the afterlife is something that your soul/underworld self can tug on and get pulled back to the corporeal world.
The "BTs". I'll be honest when I say that I'm still kind of at a loss for these, they may be some analogy for greek nymphs or some sort of stonking great monster which inhabits the underworld, alternatively they may be something which Kojima completely made up because Massive Walking Tension Device. They play quite an important role in the setting apparently, seeming as they seem to be a main factor as to why the world is in an apocalypse scenario.
The link between rain and the underworld seems to be that when rain meets the ground, especially mud, the barrier between the underworld and corporeal world is thin/nonexistent, so the spirits & residents of Hades can pull you in and kill you because of course they do.
Thoughts? I realise it's half grasping at straws but everyone is confused at the moment so I figured it's better than nothing.
After watching the new trailer I am hyped for this crazy looking game.
I thought it would be fun to come up with alternate titles based off what we've seen so far. Here's the list I created
Reedus! Fetus! Revolution
Tony Hawk's Norman Reedus' pro babysitting
Reedus and the fetus a buddy cop game
Norman Reedus' rubber baby buggy bumpers battle royale chapter 1: the valise of vengeance
Norman Reedus' Super Portfolio Punch Out
Norman Reedus' Infant Insanity and attache case combat simulator
Norman Reedus' baby punching and briefcase brawl bonanza and ladders
3 Norman Reedus' and a baby
Here are my ideas for Death Stranding:
Here are some of the things I’ve seen
-The rain is called Time Fall (may be one word)
-We see it age people to the brink of death in a previous trailer -We see at least one person (Mama?) tethered to what looks like a shadow lifting upwards
-Mads is talking to a baby in a container (may a s Bridge Baby)
-BB sounds a lot like baby
-Norman’s last name is Bridges, just like the in-game company
-It’s obviously not a baby who has been born, it still has an umbilical cord
-There is no USA anymore
-United Cities of America (UCA)
-Impending extinction event
-Groups are trying to stop it
-Groups are trying to survive despite it coming
-Groups have embraced it
-Homo Demens (Latin for ‘Man Insane/Mad’) is called a cult
-BT means Beached Things
-BTs relentlessly hunt the living
-BTs leave hand prints
-Mads shows up in WW1 and Vietnam
I’m sure there’s more.
Here’s my Idea of what happened or is happening
Mads wanted to create a way for everyone to connect with each other (much like the internet) maybe to reconnect with someone he lost. But it ended in catastrophe and somehow created a place where death and life exist next to and to some extent with each other. They’ve become tethered together. I say death but I really think it’s more along the lines of ‘not alive’. I think that the Beached Things are stuck between living and not living. Beached in this in between. It would explain why we leave footprints and they leave hand prints. Their hands are on the world of the living while their feet are aimed towards death.* So I’m thinking that these beings aren’t trying to pull you down, they’re trying to pull themselves back up. They’re probably still tethered to a body. It would also explain (political views aside) using fetal babies as bridges as a connection to those who aren’t yet alive. We saw Reedus fall through a body of water with copious sea life post death in one of the trailers where he’s sinking down way too fast. I think the Homo Demens may basically be a new evolution of mankind related to this. We don’t see a lot of religious cult like stuff, we see a new ‘species’ that was born from this connection to the tear in our worlds and our time with abilities we don't understand and the leader crying the black ink stuff. They have powers we don’t understand and come from somewhere we don’t understand and because humanity is so separated, this new species havs little opposition. Reedus may also be a clone baby. If the umbilical cords used in the Bridge Babies are synthetic it could explain the scar and lack of belly button on Reedus’s stomach in the first trailer.
This is the best sense I could make of what we know.
So the new trailer came out and holy fuck I'm stoked. Aside from Mads being resplendent as he always is, the names of the characters stands out to me. Here are some of my (dumb) theories about them!
BB: Bridge Baby: A literal baby that allows player to form a connection to the 'other side'. Other side literally means where dead people are? Spooky.
BT: Following BB's name, BT could mean Bridge... Terrors (cuz they scary)? Tears(cuz they tear up connections)? Tendrils (cuz of those umbilical cords)? Tragedy(they seemed to happen whenever BTs are around)? idk man
Homo Demens: Well, dick sucking jokes aside, maybe a play on word on Homo Sapiens? They see themselves as the next evolution of man who utilise the power of those scary spooky ghosts (Bet they're called Demens, Ha!) The trailer called them terrorists, Militant Separatist Group, so they'll probably be the bastards that wants to stop us from building connections. Assholes :(
Edge Knot City: Knot: a fastening of ropes (or maybe in this case, between those cable that makes connections?) Edge makes me think of the very last town before an endless wild frontier. The trailer mention something about safeguarding the independence of the city, so lost of conflict is probably gonna happen there.
UCA: United Connection of America? United Continent of America?
Also fun fact: during the tittle card that introduces the cast, everyone except for Cliff and Die-Hardman is crying! Poor babies T_T
Anyways, I dont fucking know what's going on, but I'm stoked and I'm ready to throw my money at Kojima. Mads looks so fucking awesome here, especially when he's in singing lullaby mode, scientist mode, naked swamp mode, crying evil goo mode, soldier mode, and smoking mode. God bless Kojima Productions.
Am I the only one who isn’t super thrilled with the collector’s edition?
If there was an artbook or a map or a statue of norman reedus or mads I would have gone for it. I’ve bought other collector’s editions and my statues usually just sit there anyway. The metal cases look good on the shelf but that’s it. What would I even do with a giant baby statue?
What are your thoughts? Do you like what’s in it? Did you preorder already?
So, my reaction to this game way back when was a much longer rant. I felt like putting it here because I liked how I worded it, but below you will find an updated rant that is much shorter, and a TL,DR all the way at the bottom.
...
So, to begin:
Maybe it's the Metal Gear fan in me howling, but I still don't "get" why everyone is hyped for this one. I think... I think I just, or rather have hated Kojima's storytelling/directing since Phantom Pain.
As much as I loved Guns of the Patriots I won't defend it as a brilliantly-written game that wasn't trying to close all the loose ends, contained a worthless VR training mode, and plenty of useless content like an oil barrel for Snake to never use after the same level it was introduced in. The final battle with Vamp was disappointing, Naomi and Ocelot's motivations and actions made little sense to me, and overall, it was the sort of highfalutin storytelling that I soaked up as a teenager, but am highly allergic to as an adult.
Then we get to Metal Gear Peace Walker. I won't talk about that one.
Metal Gear Solid 5 might have been the most entertaining Metal Gear gameplay-wise but I hated its story, or lack thereof, and while Konami might have been to blame for some of it, I was never convinced that Kojima's style of writing wasn't the reason the narrative disappointed me. Had he finished the game to his specifications - it still would have been an underwhelming plot with underwhelming characters (cept Kaz, he's lovely).
All of that to say - I really fell out of love with Kojima as a writer, but his ideas are usually fascinating to look at. And, sure, a baby in a jar, floating squid people, naked Norman Reedus. It's all great for memes and "da fuq, dis game gun b good."
So then - this game?
Really, what about this game grabbed you specifically? I thought it was the babies in the liquid for me, but honestly the more and more cryptic this game's marketing is the less and less I like it. I remember when GOP and Snake Eater did entire trailers that weren't truly part of the final game. Sons of Liberty did the Snake-Raiden switch which seemed fresh at the time - but at least I didn't feel like the game was just one big ball of "f-ck expectations." It wasn't being cryptic and weird for the sake of being cryptic and weird.
So my problem is:
This game does. I feel like no matter what I try to speculate about this game it's going to be wrong because it's so weird and David Lynch-like there's just no real understanding it. I'm looking at a video right now that sums up Death Stranding as "Brilliantly Artistic." I would definitely question that. And, yet, everyone else seems to really be digging this game.
I was told once "wait for an actual gameplay trailer." That trailer came. Still felt too cryptic and weird. Then I was told "wait for more." More came. Still feels cryptic and weird.
I was a little intrigued by the "stick and rope" analogy Kojima initially described the gameplay with, but now it just looks like a fusion of Phantom Pain and Ghostbusters. So, that was disappointing.
I guess this shouldn't be surprising because I don't care for games like FNAF where half the story is hidden in tiny little corners, the creator is constantly trolling, and most of the known plot is from fans making thousands of videos scrutinizing every detail. Not a fan of games like Bendy or Dark Souls either where the details are intentionally tiny. I like Twin Peaks but I hate Twin Peaks the Return because it's just this big, allegedly artistic, seemingly nihilistic ball of "what the actual f-ck is happening?" and loses the occasional heart-warming goofiness of the original.
So, something like Death Stranding, weird, vague, written by a man known for inventive twists and pathos - maybe it was never going to grab me.
TL,DR:
The f-ck is this game? This game is way too weird. What is Kojima on and can I have some?
What is Death Stranding? How do we define it, how would you currently describe it to someone?
The best I can say about Death Stranding right now is, "It... it seems to be a horror game..."
A) "...about a post-apocalyptic earth where humans are carrying around mechanical, amniotic devices, and seem to be in conflict with some kind of supernatural force that currently walks the earth."
B) "...in which you control an astronaut or a scientist who seems to be coming down from acid." All we know is Norman Reedus is in it and there's weird District 9-sh't going on - that's enough for some people to be hooked."
NOW NORMAN REEDUS HAS ONE IN DEATH STRANDING?? TOO FAR
CANT WAIT FOR THIS STUPID TREND TO GET A PILLOW OVER ITS FACE UNTIL IT STOPS MOVING
Ok, so here goes nothing: I guess the poetic theme here is about the struggle to move forward to the future, and how the past will always hold us back. But in order to not let them weigh us down, we'd have to embrace our connection with the past (the baby). Not sure how tho, try to make peace with the past maybe?
I also sense some political commentaries here. Notice how the "past" soldiers that mads mikkelsen commands were covered in black goo that lits up when in contact with fire? I guess it represents America's biggest "luggage" that holds them down from moving forward: oil.
The soldiers represents those who died serving their country, yet their sacrifices were in vain because they really fought for America's lust for oil, thus becoming part of the "past" that haunts us from moving forward. Why America you ask? Because the organization that norman reedus works for (BRIDGES) is (presumably) from America, thus establishing the context for the message that kojima wants to convey.
There are probably a lot more behind the trailer that haven't been covered here, like the hidden message (that probably exists) behind what mads mikkelsen sang during the first minute. But yeah, I'm stoked
P.S: I also commented this on the trailer that playstation uploaded on youtube, so in case some of you found that comment and thought that I was plagiarizing that post- that was me
I love Norman Reedus as an actor, but I don't want to play another grizzled mumbling antihero male trope. I have become spoiled by choice (of playing girls in games).
Also seconding the other threads re: creepiness factor and not liking piloting actors around as opposed to newly invented characters who vaguely resemble their voice actor (see: Horizon).
Apparently Lea Seydoux’s character gets taken hostage and licked (🤢) in the trailer too. I’m sorry but male “auteurs” whether they’re working in gaming or movies or anywhere else can’t fucking write women in a way that isn’t sooooooo creepy and gross and I’m so sick of it.
The main enemy of the game is the black sludge. This sludge came into being after a post apocalyptic event called the death stranding.
It seems that the sludge is made of some kind of biomass nanotechnology/primordial hive mind that is based on the memories of life. It consumes living and dead creatures and becomes an entity fuelled by their hate, suffering and pain over countless millennia of war and raw natural primordial hate.
It also seems to have some connection to time and space. It has the ability to accelerate time and make a living being live out it's life in seconds. It grows old and dies within seconds. Once it's dead it gets consumed. Kojima is trying to make a connection between the creation of time, space and consciousness of life.
The black sludge is the great aggregator. The opposite of the big bang, which resulted in the universe and life itself, the black sludge or the death stranding is an event that is aggregating and destroying everything.
What stands in their way are water bears. Water bears have been some of the most hardy living beings in existence, and it seems that they are immune to the effects of the DS or BTs. They also seem to have mutated to grow to size and consuming them gives you that immunity for some time.
The couriers (working for the organization known as bridges) are guides, mercenaries and couriers that are helping the last remnants of humanity fight the stranding. They deliver critical supplies and equipment and accompany scientists on critical missions for research against the enemy.
These couriers are special in the way that bridges as an organization also seems to hold the knowledge of all these scientists, their experiments and remnants of humanity so it can be preserved and studied by survivors to help progress the fight against the death stranding. They are important men, their memories are important in the fight against the death stranding.
The babies are clones of the couriers and connected to them using this technology. The black sludge knows these men are important and does not kill them by ageing them, and instead pulls them straight into the sludge into it's world of Hades where it holds the accumulated memories of the dead. Why? To what ends? we don't know. Perhaps it uses all that to restart the universe and another big bang happens. You can see that whenever it consumes someone with knowledge(a scientist in one of the trailers) it triggers an explosion. Perhaps once it has collected all life and it's consciousness, it will trigger another big bang.
Whenever Norman Reedus, hereby mentioned as sam, dies, he is able to survive in the world of Hades and sees the memories and consciousness of the dead in that dimension ( a throne world of death and suffering if you may) The sludge is a metaphysical paracausal entity from a world where the dead creatures' consciousness exists and replays all the wars and suffering. It's basically purgatory/hell/the underworld(hades' realm :|).
The technology of the babies comes from the water bears. The babies are clones and as soon as the carrier dies, they carry over all their memories, use the same time acceleration that the sludge uses and grow into a fully grown courier of the same age as their time of death, but they also hold the memories the courier sees in the world of hades before dying.
Using what they see inside they are able to help the scientists and surviving factions fight the death stranding.
From a gameplay perspective we will have to go collect a baby clone from a bridges base once we die. Or we get sent back to a bridges base on death (and after seeing visions or small gameplay levels in the world of Hades) and continue playing as the new fully grown clone of Sam (and a new baby in his pack)
The death stranding sludge also resurrects notorious and evil men to fight as minions and necromancers (technomancers) against humanity. Cliff (mads mikelssen) is one of them. They raise dead soldiers from that pool of consciousness to fight for them. They are key in the death stranding's plan to capture these couriers and use their knowledge to find the last remnants of humanity and defeat life itself.
It seems that perhaps, the last remaining humans are the only creatures who seem to have found atleast some sort of technology or solution to be able to resist and hide from the death stranding.
I’m just gonna say it right now because I can see this game is going to be overrated and hyped up too much. I watched some gameplay and it just looks boring. The only reason the game is going to sell is because of the names Norman Reedus and Hideo Kojima.
With Sony’s recent commitment to backwards compatibility it only makes sense. Sony’s early marketing for the PS3 involved babys and black liquid, a heavy theme in Death Stranding. In the game Sam Porter Bridges is using his connection to the past (his old consoles) to rebuild the future and stop Sony from making the mistake of using the cell processor in the PS3 so that the PS5 can play all eras of Playstation. Kojima is trying to save gaming.
(In all seriousness I’m super hyped.)
I dare say this, acknowledging that Todd and his team do look at Reddit from time to time. The silence is deafening! How on earth, in the age of social media and instant news, has BGS managed to keep quiet for so long about their new IP? I've no doubt they're as excited about it as we are. Yet, not even a drip of a drop of a leak has come forth. It's actually quite impressive to be honest. To remain disciplined and to keep their composure and not let anything spill before it's time. I certainly couldn't do that.
But here's the thing. I remember reading a post on here a while back regarding the year 2015 and it's releases: Kojima: Metal Gear Solid V. CDPR: Witcher 3 and BGS: Fallout 4 all being released in the same year and in that order. All their new products seem to have lined up again in similar fashion this time around, at least the first two. And the common direction, not just from these developers, but from other AAA developers as well (Cloud Imperium's: StarCitizen/Squadron 42, Obsidian's Outer Worlds, EA's Anthem and Microsoft's Halo), is Sci-fi.
It is very clear. Sci-fi is the genre to take us from the 19's into the 20's. Kojima has just kicked things off with the Death Stranding trailer with Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen showing a release of November 2019. CDPR will announce their release date for Cyberpunk 2077 at this year's E3 and it's very likely it will be after Kojima's game, following 2015's sequence. Bethesda Game Studio's has the largest stage area of E3 this year. I'd say it's in their best interests to at least update fans of their progress in Starfield. Should they continue in radio silence until next year or the year after, it is not unlikely that millions of gamers' reactions will be... 'meh'.
That's not an exaggeration. The competition is real and BGS are always ambitious/tiring (depending on how you view it). Next gen has allowed multiple developers to take the gloves off and innovate. People can't be loyal to what they don't know. It is not Starfield 2. When you're talking about the really young gamers, they must chose their games one at a time for a period of time until the parent can afford another. Older gamers can try the whole host of what's available. But again, it's not unlikely that we'd have completely exhausted the Sci-fi genre after all the choice that's out there. Personally I've no doubt in BGS and their product. Timing is the issue. I don't know if their reputation of revealing games months before release has come due to coincidence and they just superstitiously follow it like tradition, or if it's a calculated marketing strategy.
I can tell you this. The competition can have an important say on the success of your product. I will wait for it, because I've waited for it way before it's first reveal and I desire anything resembling my Fallout 4 experience in space. I just pray it doesn't get left behind and it ends up becoming a niche and an acquired taste instead of a blockbuster hit. Starfield has been confirmed as being playable and I'm convinced that due to how ambitious BGS are, that they could steal the Sci-fi genre and never give it back if they show something off. It does 0 dis-service and they only gain. I know F76 has got a lot of flack and I'm sure it's not nice for all those who worked on it to hear that their hard work hasn't been well received. But it's very clear that it wasn't given as much time as their normal titles. It was a new experiment for them and they'll be better for it I'm sure. It is their prerogative to continue work on it and continue to make content and expansions for it. But by-God, I starve for more info on Starfield. Since late 2016, after the 2nd Trademark was filed, I've been starving ever since and refreshing this sub-reddit is probably skewing the viewing statistics.
So the Dutch PlayStation site contains a lot of Death Stranding information that isn't available on the English site. I decided to translate it through Google Translate and here's the result:
Travel between life and death
Save civilization in a desolate world that is plagued by supernatural dangers.
Life and death
Experience an adventure you've never seen before - from the legendary game designer Hideo Kojima. Play as the everyday Sam Bridges as he faces a deadly and mysterious world where death is lurking everywhere.
Death Stranding is a unique and unforgettable game with a star cast, including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Lindsay Wagner, Léa Seydoux and Guillermo del Toro.
What is Death Stranding?
The legendary game maker Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) presents a groundbreaking action adventure. Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux and Lindsay Wagner play the lead roles in this new open world game for PS4.
In the near future, the entire world will be plagued by mysterious explosions and supernatural events called the Dead Stranding. Strange, deadly creatures appear everywhere and humanity is about to die out. Sam Porter Bridges travels through the destroyed no man's land to secure the future of humanity.
Survive unique challenges
Make sure you are armed and complete your missions to reunite a broken nation. Hold yourself under the weight of your cargo as you protect your things from bandits and try to evade frightening Stranded Things. Many people depend on you. Don't disappoint them.
Explore the world
The Decima engine generates a lifelike landscape that has been totally transformed by the Dead Stranding. Obstacles block your path and force you to find other routes, while supernatural elements change your environment.
Death is not the end
Dying means no 'game over' in Death Stranding. You then end up in a strange world and you have to find your own way back to the land of the living. Also be careful during battles. Killing your enemy is almost never the best solution. After all, every death has consequences.
Help other players
Help other travelers without meeting each other via asynchronous online gameplay. Send stuff, share safehouses and follow the routes of other couriers to restore civilization.
"I'll show you the real thing soon, I promise. A whole wide world will be yours to explore. You'll be able to go wherever you want, even the moon."
Seems like you could interpret this as he's talking to the player directly about the game. Remember what Kojima said about Homo Ludens and about how you won't play as Norman Reedus, you will BE him.
DEATH STRANDING RELEASE DATE REVEAL TRAILER TRANSCRIPT
This is intended to be used for analysis of the dialogue - it also might help you catch something you might've missed! If you're curious about things like how to spell "Homo Demens" and the like, I transcribed the dialogue from the official captions on the trailer.
Camera plunges down someone's throat, like in previous trailers. BB is seen at the bottom, before giving a thumbs up, but BB doesn't wink this time. BB's mouth opens and the camera plunges into their mouth, before there is a "blink cut" that takes us into BB's perspective.
CLIFF: BB, don't worry. It's okay. I'll always be with you. CLIFF (Singing a lullaby to BB): See the sunset, the day is ending, let that yawn out, there's no pretending…
Blink cut to a photo of 3 people on a wooden desk - The left-most figure is pregnant, and her face is obscured by age (perhaps from timefall hitting the photo), the middle appears to be President Briget (though I am not 100% sure), and on the right is Sam. An old-looking hand with liver spots pulls back from the photo.
Blink cut to Sam riding a futuristic motorcycle through a rocky, grassy landscape. Birds are flying in the same direction as he is moving. He pulls to a stop at the edge of a small cliff.
PRESIDENT (voiceover): Together, you can help us reconnect. You can make America whole.
SAM (v/o): No, America's finished.
Cut to the president's office, where a woman, presumably the president of Bridges (or perhaps the United States, or both, it's unclear), is talking with Sam. She's lying in a hospital bed, connected by numerous cables to the ceiling. The logo of "BRIDGES" can be seen on the floor.
PRESIDENT: Sam, if we don't all come together again, humanity will not survive.
Blink cut to Sam on the motorcycle again, looking up at an impending stormfront that is rapidly rolling in. One of the birds falls next to Sam, and immediately withers and dies.
SAM (v/o): We don't need a country. Not anymore.
Blink cut back to the office.
PRESIDENT: We do. Alone, we have no future.
Blink cut back to a close-up of Sam in the rain.
SAM (v/o): Bridget, you're the president of jack shit.
Sam accelerates. Blink cut to SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS.
Blink cut to sam descending on a large circular platform that reads BRIDGES on it. Around the edges of the elevator platform is the words CAUTION: DO NOT ENTER, but the letters are positioned in a very bizarre fashion, with some being reversed and some being the right way forward.
Blink cut to DEVELOPED BY KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS.
Blink cut to Sam tying what appear to be thick dog tags (I'm sure others have already analyzed what these are) around his neck. He's wearing his handcuff bracelet with the blue light, and a gray tank-top.
Blink cut to A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME.
Blink cut to Sam, now in full rain gear, adjusting his bracelet/cuff. The music credit appears in the bottom left - "Path," by Apocalyptica.
Blink cut to Sam adjusting his boots, then another quick cut to him standing in front of an opening door with the BRIDGES logo on it. Inside the next room is the motorcycle, which is being scanned/repaired/altered/cleaned/prepped (not sure which) by mechanical arms holding a band that glows with blue energy. The door begins to shut, and Sam walks away from it.
Blink to Sam navigating a grassy mountainous landscape, carrying a pack of gear on his back.
Blink to A NEW HISTORY BEGINS…
Blink to Sam walking through the remains of a dilapidated building, now wearing sunglasses and a black cap.
Blink to Sam back in what is presumably Bridges HQ. He's out of his gear, and the dog tags can be seen floating up out of the palm of his hand. The handprints on his body from the other trailers can be seen.
Blink to Sam in gear running up a snow-covered mountain.
Blink to TO RECONNECT A FRACTURED SOCIETY
Blink to Sam in a grassy landscape with snowy mountains in the distance. He navigates a radial inventory menu which contains a climbing spike, some rope, a gun, a ladder, and a slot that contains an "X."Sam selects a ladder, the description of which reads: A portable ladder that folds out to a length of 10m. It can be used to climb slopes and cross rivers. Hold L2 to put the ladder on standby, and R2 to place it in position.
The inventory menu disappears, and Sam places the ladder in front of him. An inventory count can be seen as he places it, reading "Ladder: 0000001," meaning the player can most likely carry multiple ladders.*
The ladder automatically extends and falls back against the rock face in front of Sam, and he begins to climb. Blink to Sam on the ladder.
Blink to Sam accessing his inventory again. The items in it are largely the same, but there is a red icon that looks like a fire extinguisher, and a blue icon of indeterminate origin. Sam selects the climbing anchor item, which reads, "A pole that is driven into the ground to create an anchor point for a rope. It allows for the ascent and descent of steep slopes and cliffs. The maximum length of ropes attached to anchors is 30m. Hold L2 to put the laanchordder on standby, and R2 to place it in position. The anchor appears to function similarly to the ladder, and Sam places it down.
Sam is given the option to dismantle or release the rope as it blink cuts to him climbing down into a canyon.
Blink cut to Fragile on her knees, being held at gunpoint with her hands behind her head. She's wearing a bracelet with a small nugget of gold on it similar to Higgs' mask.
VOICE (v/o, male): It's all to safeguard the continued independence of Edge Knot City.
Blink to the masked figure holding the gun.
VOICE (v/o): They want the UCA to leave them be.
Blink to a shot that moves from Fragile to Higgs.
SAM (v/o): Who're these assholes again?
VOICE (v/o): Homo Demens. Militant separatist group.
Higgs raises a pointed finger to the sky, and an arc of electricity strikes it. He strikes a luxurious t-pose and rain begins to fall.
SAM (v/o): I've heard of 'em. Buncha terrorists who go around towns killing people and leaving craters.
Blink cuts to different angles of the scene, then to a close-up of Higgs wearing the mask. He takes it off, revealing another mask underneath.
VOICE (v/o): Right. Nothing's off-limits for them. Not even engineering void-outs.
Blink to another angle.
VOICE (v/o): There are extremists like the Demens everywhere...
Higgs disappears with a flash of orange, to reappear directly in front of Fragile. Blink to an angle of Higgs leaning in, now fully maskless, and he licks her face. Ew.
VOICE (v/o): ...plotting in the shadows.
Blink to THOSE WHO RESIST THE FUTURE…
Blink to Sam running through a landscape. Some sort of orange "ping" crosses the environment and passes over him, and he crouches down. A smaller pink emanates from one of the crates on his back, leaving behind an orange afterimage.
Blink to some kind of truck driving up and approaching Sam as he hides in tall grass/weeds. Three men with electric harpoons hop out, joined by a fourth that was already there. Sam begins to run.
Blink to Sam running, being chased by the men. They appear to be in hazmat suits of some sort. They attack him by throwing and swinging the electric harpoons at him, and as Sam dodges, a piece of equipment falls off his pack. He swipes it up and continues evading.
Blink to Sam engaging in some fierce melee combat with his attackers. The punches and kicks sound heavy and powerful, and he pulls a case off of one of the enemies and KO's another with it.
Blink to Sam on his motorcycle, driving to escape the truck, which is now in pursuit. The tires of the motorcycle are seen splitting into two and reforming back into one, hinting at some advanced environmental capabilities.
Blink to enemies running forward, then one gives a hand signal and stops.
VOICE (v/o): Good thing it was raining. Even they know better than to mess with BTs.
Enemies run back.
SAM (v/o): I can't spot BTs…
Blink to Sam in a dark room hooking a BB-tank up to his body.
SAM (v/o): ...Just sense 'em.
VOICE (v/o): That's why we came prepared.
SAM (v/o): A Bridge baby, huh.
VOICE (v/o): Makes me feel like shit every time.
SAM (v/o): Well, you are plugging into the other side. Freaks me out too.
*Multiple blinks to the same scene, and the camera zooms in on BB's face.
Blink to THOSE WHO STAY CONNECTED TO THE PAST
Blink to Sam in a mossy forest. His shoulder-scanner detects something, and he crouches. Ghostly silhouettes are seen apparating into thin air in front of him. The shoulder-scanner initiates a blue ping that highlights the figures. Sam creeps forward and covers his mouth. Sam's footprints are visibly glowing behind him.
Blink to Sam getting spotted, and running from the apparitions. Black oil spreads from the ground and latches onto his feet, and oily figures begin to pull Sam down as orange handprints follow him.
Blink to rapid cuts of Sam's perspective, with him panting and struggling. The perspective rushes across the ground, and when it stops, a mysterious black, oily creature jumps down in front of him.
Blink to THOSE BOUND TO HADES
Blink to a first-person perspective in a warzone. The scanner can be seen in the top-left, doing its thing as the fight goes on. Ashen soldiers can be seen fading in and out of reality. There are sandbags, trenches, wagons, tanks, charred trees, explosions, smoke, and fire. A tank materializes out of the ash and flame in front of the camera.
Blink to THOSE WHO CANNOT BREAK THE CONNECTION…
Blink to skeletal WWI soldiers trudging through oil in a trench, then to Cliff rising from the oil, naked. He has a glowing cross on his stomach, almost like a scar. It's similar to the one Sam had in the first DS trailer.
Blink to Sam taking cover behind a tank like the one in the Guillermo trailer, then Sam continuing to sneak through the warzone, avoiding the ashen soldiers.
Blink to Sam in a trench, gunning down a WWI soldier with a futuristic assault rifle. He shoots the soldier's skull off, and it bursts into flames.
Blink to THOSE WHO STRUGGLE TO STAY CONNECTED
Blink to a mess of barbed wire hung up in a trench, with piles of burning bodies on the ground. The wire converges on the center like spider-webs, and broken baby dolls can be seen hanging from it. In the center is Cliff, hanging from the wire almost like a crucifixion. Cut to one of the creepy doll's faces. Its one open eye is twitching shut,and numerous nails have been driven into its skull.
Blink to Sam being pulled up in the air by an unknown force, no longer in the warzone.
Blink to Heartman sitting down, examining a computer display attached to his own bracelet-cuff.
Blink to Sam pulling the tags off his neck, which are visibly floating.
Blink to Sam floating in a white nothingness. His skin is a pale blue, and a dream-catcher is around his neck.
Blink to Sam, Deadman, and Die-hardman standing around a corpse wrapped in white bandages like a mummy. Presumably in Bridges HQ.
Blink to Mama raising her hands in front of one of the apparitions (BTs?), shooing it away(?).
Blink to Amelie hugging over Sam's shoulder. Her lips are moving, but there's no sound.
Blink to Sam standing over what looks like a cremation chamber, burning one of the wrapped-up bodies.
Blink to what looks like a dark cave with a hole in the ceiling through which light streams through. A BT(?) is coming down through it, and a hand comes up to try to shield itself from what's coming - which is seen in the next cut. A woman trapped in rubble, about to be exposed to Timefall (not sure if she's been seen anywhere else).
Blink to Norman placing his tags into some sort of electronic device, where they float. Various mathematical formulas can be seen coming from them on a holographic display.
Norman wearing glasses in front of a BB-container-container thing. It's hard to see, but the words "ACTIVATION… BABY RECOVERY SYSTEM" are visible at the top.
Blink to Mama pulling her hands back, drawing ethereal dust down.
Blink to Amelie turning to face the camera. A piece of paper is in her hands. A massive ship of some sort can be seen in the background, slowly approaching.
Blink to Heartman being dragged across the ground by an unseen force, away from a crowd of people walking away from him into a bright light. The location is similar to the first DS trailer.
Blink to Fragile standing in a reddened, rocky landscape, turning to face the camera.
Blink to Sam in front of a Bridges logo, strapping a mummy to his back and turning to the camera.
*Character introductions, in which all characters aside from Die-Hardman, Deadman, and Cliff are visibly shedding tears. Amelie is crying blood, and Higgs' tears are black. *
Norman Reedus as Sam
Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff
Léa Seydoux as Fragile
Margaret Qualley as Mama
Guillermo del Toro as Deadman
Nicolas Winding Refn as Heartman
Tommie Earl Jenkins as Die-Hardman
Troy Baker as Higgs
Lindsay Wagner as Amelie
Blink to a huge black creature, obscured by smoke, taking a step.
Blink to CHARACTER AND MECHANICAL DESIGN BY YOJI SHINKAWA
Blink to Higgs firing a gun at Sam, whose scanner blocks the shots. Higgs is carrying Amelie over his shoulder.
Blink to SCENARIO, GAME DESIGN, PRODUCTION, AND DIRECTION: HIDEO KOJIMA
Blink to Amelie and Sam touching hands through a pane of glass.
Blink to Sam and Fragile leaning against each other in what appears to be a moment of sadness.
Blink to the inside of Sam's stomach, where the baby usually is - except this time it's one of the horrific dolls from earlier.
Blink to Sam, with pale-blue skin, in a rocky gray wasteland. He falls to his knees, and in one hand he holds a revolver.
*OICE (v/o): Sam, we want you to go west and finish what Amelie started.
SAM (v/o): Rebuilding America isn't gonna get rid of the BTs. Long as they're still around, there's no escaping it.
Sam puts the gun to his head.
VOICE 2 (v/o, woman's voice): But at least we'll have hope.
Blink to DEATH STRANDING logo
CLIFF (I think? Someone correct me if I'm wrong, it might be Higgs. IDK their voice well enough) (v/o): You see, I've come to understand the truth of the Death Stranding.
Blink to a pool of oil. Cliff rises out of it, wearing modern military gear.
CLIFF (v/o): It's so hard to form connections when you can't shake hands. Fortunately, I've got a good connection to the other side.
Cliff holds up a cigarette, and a helicopter is heard overhead. The tip of the cigarette ignites, and he takes a drag. As he does, the oil gradually disappears from his face. The camera pulls back, and other soldiers are seen rising around him, similar to the Guillermo trailer. He takes another drag, and flicks his cig into the pool, which ignites. It doesn't bother Cliff or his soldiers. He signals his soldiers forward, and they go, raising their weapons.
VOICE (v/o): Covering the world in cable didn't bring an end to war and suffering.
Blink to release date (get hyped!).
VOICE (v/o): Don't act surprised when it call comes apart if you try to do it again.
Blink to Amelie standing in the rain, from a POV shot of Sam.
AMELIE (presumably, v/o): Humans aren't made for living alone. They're supposed to come together -- to help one another.
A hand hand rises from the oil that makes up the ground before falling back in, and he can be heard panting. Blink to a face (I honestly can't tell who, no lie. Is that Sam?) sinking into the oil.
AMELIE (presumably, v/o): And if we as a people can't do that -- if we can't reconnect…
Cut to TOMORROW IS IN YOUR HANDS
AMELIE (presumably, v/o): That's what we need right now -- not to stand apart, but to come together.
Blink to Cliff wearing glasses. We're back in BB's perspective, just like the beginning.
CLIFF: I'll show you the real thing soon. I promise.
A book can be seen at the bottom of the screen in his hand. I can't make out the title, help would be appreciated.
He takes off his glasses and places his hand on the side of BB's tank.
CLIFF: The whole wide world will be yours to explore.
Blink to the outside of the tank. A heart-shaped bubble can be seen floating up from BB's face to the top of the tank.
CLIFF: You'll be able to go wherever you want -- even the moon.
BB puts their hand up against the tank.
Blink to Kojima's website, then the logo of the studio.
It looks like we are going to get the usual intro of baby throat, which will then transition into some sort of long exposition from mads character, this will fill in some gaps while we see some prior apocalypse events, such as Sams photo, the Bridges Oval office, with a sort of nursing bed, we see someone later all wrinkly and possibly dying talking to someone. We will see Sam traversing the world on a bike, with some crows (maybe ravens, bike is called a raven) all travelling in the same direction. Timefall is present and seems to knock down one of the birds, possibly killing it, we cannot see just yet. Most important part of what we are seeing (that I believe) is the image of some sort of blue mechanical ring, I suspect this will be the machine that causes some sort of cataclysm.
My hot take, this is a parallel universe, a universe where Bridges exists instead of the United States. Norman Reedus exists in this world but is named Sam (something) possibly bridges. We are the ludens from the other Parallel universe who are manipulating this world, so we will literally be Norman, except he's Sam in this world.
Here’s Why I’ve Convinced Myself a PS4 Demo for Death Stranding is Being Released Tomorrow -
Via DualShockers By Logan Moore
Perhaps my tin foil hat is just on a bit too tight, but I think we could actually be getting a demo for Death Stranding on our own PS4s tomorrow.
If you’ve been following the gaming news cycle this week, then you’re already well aware that we’re expecting some pretty big news regarding Hideo Kojima’s upcoming release of Death Strandingtomorrow on May 29. As of this moment, we don’t really know what to expect (other than likely a new trailer) but whatever is in store seems to be much more prominent than what we’ve heard or seen of the game in the past. Kojima Productions, Sony, and Kojima himself are all really hyping this deluge of new information up quite a bit.
While I sat around today thinking of what could possibly be arriving tomorrow for Death Stranding, an idea popped into my head that I since haven’t been able to shake: what if we’re getting a demo for the game tomorrow? Yes, I mean a demo that you’ll be able to actively download and then play on your own PS4 at home. Does it sound downright crazy? Absolutely. But I also think it makes a lot of sense given a few different circumstances.
Obviously, outrageous hypothesizing is nothing new when it comes to a Kojima game and Death Stranding might be the worst offender of all of the famed director’s work when it comes to wild theories. Still, I think my demo idea could be spot on for a few different reasons and here’s why.
Kojima’s Most Recent Teaser Tweet Might be Literal
What got me started on this whole idea of a demo releasing for Death Stranding tomorrow in the first place came with Kojima’s most recent tweet. This is the third time he has released a new teaser video this week for whatever May 29th’s announcement is going to be, but the tagline in this video really stood out to me. The video that Kojima tweeted out contains the message “Tomorrow is in your hands” which could mean a multitude of things, but I took it quite literally.
Perhaps this is just another obscure tagline that somehow is related to Death Stranding seemingly like the phrases “Help us reconnect” and “Create the rope” were in earlier videos Kojima tweeted out this week. Or, maybe, tomorrow Death Stranding actually will be in our hands. Of course, there’s no possible way that the full game would release tomorrow as it’s still in development, but a demo being releasing would make more sense.
There’s a Precedent for Demos with Kojima’s Games
Death Stranding isn’t Hideo Kojima’s first rodeo and the director has shown multiple times in the past that he enjoys releasing demos to the general public before the full release of his games come about. This has been seen most recently with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, the prologue episode of sorts to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Even before MGSV, Kojima also released a demo for Silent Hills, prior to the game being canceled, which was in the form of the now iconic and legendary PT.
Even further back, Metal Gear Solid 2 also had a memorable and sought-after demo which came in the form of a portion of the game’s opening Tanker mission. This slice of MGS2 came packed in as a separate disc on copies of Zone of the Enders back in 2001 and at the time, was a pretty unconventional way of dolling out a sneak peek of an upcoming title.
While this past history doesn’t necessarily affirm that the same will happen here with Death Stranding, all of these mentioned instances at the very least show that Kojima has toyed around with the idea of letting loose a pre-release demo.
Death Stranding’s Idea of Interconnectivity Starts Here
If you’ve been following the development cycle of Death Stranding closely, you’re probably aware of some of the larger themes that Kojima has talked about that are associated with the game. One of those themes that he has touched on time-and-time again has been that of everything being connected. Kojima has said that this idea will extend both to the story and gameplay of Death Stranding but has never really gone on to further explain what he’s talking about. Actor Norman Reedus himself has also mirrored some of these sentiments in the past stating that the game is about “bringing everyone together.”
While it’s hard to know exactly what Kojima could mean with this idea, I’m wondering if that larger thought of us all being connected could somehow start to take shape in a demo for Death Stranding. Stick with me here as I do some downright insane guesswork, but what if a demo for the game somehow collected player data that could then be included in the final release? I’m not sure exactly what that would look like, but then again, I don’t know how Kojima comes up with some of these ideas in the first place.
Even though a demo for fans could be seen as just that, a demo, maybe for Kojima and the rest of the team at Kojima Productions allowing fans to play the game early would provide valuable information that would allow them to, “Create the rope.” I acknowledge that this is the craziest of all my points laid out in this article, but you have to be a little crazy when trying to guess what Kojima is up to.
Death Stranding May Not Come Until 2020 but Kojima Doesn’t Want Fans to Wait
By far the biggest question surrounding Death Stranding for many has been, “When is the game releasing?” While Sony and Kojima Productions still haven’t said a word about the release window other than stating that it’s coming to PS4, I still personally believe that it’s not going to arrive until 2020. I continue to believe this mainly because if the game was due out this year, I feel like we would’ve heard as much already.
Kojima himself also acknowledged earlier this year that development on Death Stranding is taking a little longer than he expected, so perhaps this means he feels bad about the game taking more time than he thought it would.
As such, with the game potentially not arriving until next year and a little bit later than originally hoped, maybe Kojima and company feel the need to give fans something to tide them over until the full product ends up arriving. How better to do that than by releasing a new, free demo? It would be pretty wild to just drop a demo for one of the most anticipated releases of the next few years out of nowhere, but the reasoning for doing so could make sense given these circumstances.
So what do you think? Am I out of my mind or does this actually all make sense? Let me know down in the comments. Either way, we’ll learn for ourselves in probably less than 24-hours at this point just what is happening with Death Stranding. Still, if I do end up being right, you heard it from me first.
Sorry if someone has posted something similar to this. I gave the subreddit a quick search and didn’t see anything but I highly doubt I’m the first to think of something along these lines.
I think that Death Stranding will heavily incorporate the idea of “indirect multiplayer” through streaming and other forms of player socialization. (Kojima’s already talked about this before, through his vision of how P.T. was supposed to be solved in an ARG-like community manner.) I think throughout a play through, some kind of code/coordinates will be available (or required) for other players to utilize.
-SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME FROM HERE ON-
I think it will become necessary to utilize these codes/coordinates to jump in to other people’s timelines/realities in order to obtain an item or talk to a dead character, similar to how it was necessary for the Avengers to do so to obtain the destroyed Infinity Stones. Basically: “oops I accidentally got Guillermo Del Toro killed before he gave me an access code, better hop online and find someone else’s world where he’s still alive.”
Then the whole Avengers time travel idea of “someone else’s past is now your future” becomes true as well. We move forward (through our own linear timeline) by weaving in and out of other people’s pasts. In doing so, you also create new variations of these “pasts”, that others can weave through as well.
-SPOILERS FOR 9 HOURS, 9 PERSONS, 9 DOORS FROM HERE ON-
How I visualize this to work from a video game perspective is similar to how it’s handled in 999. In 999 there’s many different branching paths, timelines, and endings. At one point, let’s call it Path A, you die because you don’t know the necessary password to proceed (disarming a bomb I think? Or to open a door? Let’s just say bomb) In a different path, Path B, you discover the password for the bomb but in this timeline you never encounter it at all. Now if you were to jump back to Path A, to the point where you need to disarm the bomb, the game recognizes that you’ve encountered the necessary information and creates a new branch of the timeline, where you disarm the bomb and survive/progress forward. (EDIT: in case anyone was wondering, the game incorporates the player’s “ability” to pass information across timelines, into its’ sci-fi plot.)
TLDR: Norman Reedus will Avengers: Endgame his way to a true ending, in a 999 manner.
Anyways, that was longer than I thought and a bit of a ramble, but if you made it this far, thanks for reading!
I'm with everybody else on how great season 9 was. It was refreshing to breathe new life into old characters who had flat arcs under Gimple. Daryl in particular really became a leader, and Norman Reedus got to stretch his acting muscles. Everyone did. The new characters did a great job. It was a great season.
But season 9 did feel kind of...empty. With so many great characters already dead, Andrew Lincoln's decision to leave left a big hole in the show. And as great a job as the cast did, it always did feel a little lonely at the top.
Frankly it reminded me of when Steve Carrell left The Office. The next two seasons were great as usual, but still missing that central character to root for.
So I'm curious...and this is purely a topic of discussion, I'm in no way advocating that they actually go through with this, but it might be a fun thing to talk and think about!
If TWD was going to retcon a death, as in resurrect a character we previously thought to be dead, which character would be the most plausible and believable to bring back?
I remember i saw a bunch of trailers drop from E3 last like June, and my two favorites were Just Cause 4 and this one. since then i haven’t done any looking into, nor have i heard anything about it. my guess most of the attention is in a cult following for Hideo Kojima, and that the game is mainly for fans of his work. it seems super interesting though, i love the dystopian nature of it, and the togetherness that norman reedus spoke about. also his involvement i’m not sure of, is there a reason the protagonist is designed after the main TWD actor? any general summarizing information would be helpful, i wanna get into this game it seems awesome
I love Norman Reedus, he is actually one of my favorite actors, but I can't deny that the state of the show has really declined since season 7 or 8. I know it wasn't because Lincoln left but now that he has it can be a reason why Leto can step in. It fits his vibe and the type of roles he takes. I would love to see the Daryl + Leto interaction, I'd imagine it'd be something super steller and magical and awesome. Not to mention I'd think Leto and Reedus would get along with one another pretty well
Tonight i was dreaming the Next Assassin's Creed gamd, in my dream the name was Eagle, the map was bigger than Odyssey and you could already fast travel to Italy for example, also you were a guy with the face of Norman Reedus, and i was travelling with a ship when a cutscene started some pirate got up on my ship and i had to choose what to say, my choose was a Lie but the pirate checked the arm of the protagonist and didnt find nothing and he knew i lied after this...i remember i was able to throw bucket full of water on my ship after taking fire arrows then i woke up.
I don't think John can die in TDF. Or at least not without it severely fucking up the timeline. Wouldn't a version of him still exist in the future? How would he send a T-800 unit back from the future to protect himself in T2 if he's destined to die as a young boy? If he gets merked immediately after walking out of the steel mill then then he literally cannot send back Reese or Uncle Bob, thus John Connor would never exist. So how could he die at the steel mill or break Sarah out of hospital in the first place if he never existed? His entire existence is a paradox of sorts. Fucking time travel man.
Unless he just vanishes he has to still be alive somewhere at some point in the timeline or else the entire continuity as we know it would be effectively erased. if anybody could help clear this shit up it would be much appreciated.
edit: it seems that I was wrong, appreciate the replies clearing it all up fellas. This topic melts my fucking brain. I Just really want that hard R-rated Jim Cameron-esque future war movie with Norman Reedus playing JC as the protagonist. No bullshit, just straight up dark gritty visceral combat against an unstoppable killer AI who will rest at nothing to annihilate the entire human race. For that alone I hope to god he doesn't die in TDF, but a man can dream, right?
If you don’t like mobile formatting, sorry. Having gotten that outta the way, let us begin.
“The fear of the blood tends to create fear for the flesh.” SH1.
Many of us hate Konami for what they did with Silent Hills. And I get that. It could have been something amazing, something horrifying, something deeply personal and beautiful all at the same time. Kojima created something electrifying with PT and it took the horror gaming community by storm.
When PT first came out it was a curiosity. No one knew what to make of it. It took a couple of weeks before someone was able to get to the end, when it pans out of Norman Reedus’s pov and seeing Kojima’s and Del Torro’s names. I remember the excitement we had when we first got PT, and the bitter disappointment when it was taken away. Sadly, we will never know, and I’m ok with that.
I’m not here to bash Konami. I’m here to thank them for the most iconic horror IP of all time. This is for the company that gave me so much entertainment. The company who honestly had the stones to give us mature themes in a tactful, honest way. Loss, betrayal, abuse, and the shattering of childhood, just to name a few.
Let me just share a few moments with you. I’ll only hit the first three games, but don’t let that fool you. Each and every game in the series brings something to the table. Each of them I am grateful to have played. Even the one I hated, I’m glad I played it.
Oh, and a word of warning. Spoilers ahead, mateys. Don’t click the links if you’ve not played the games.
Would you rather give pain or receive it?
And let’s not forget the soundtracks. Akira Yamaoka will forever have a hallowed place in my music. Haunting, and powerful, beautiful and mesmerizing, . I’ve gotten a copy of every soundtrack, and I love them all.
The foggy streets. The monsters. The whispers. And the memories. Walking down the dark corridors, afraid to see what was beyond that last corner. What was the thing I couldn’t see in the cell? Why did mirror stopped mirroring me? What is following me? And why won’t it show itself?
That is why Silent Hill stands above and beyond all other games. I got lucky. I got to play the most haunting, cerebral horror I’ve ever seen. I got to explore themes no one had ever thought to put in a video game before. Team Silent did it and did it well. And I wouldn’t have any of that without Konami.
So if anyone at Konami sees this, I want you to know, you have my thanks. And if anyone from Team Silent sees this, you guys made something amazing. You caught lightning in a bottle. Thank you.
It would be so cool and fun if Norman would wants to discover the game with the fans , and talk about he's feeling on the game and how some specific scene was shoot in mo-cap at a specific cutscene with some extra anecdotes. Not everyday but from time to time like Stefanie Joosten did with Mgs V. Am i alone to think that it would be cool to ask him on he's twitter or instagram to do it? Nowadays it can happen with twitch it's really simple to setup a ps4 twitch app! And Norman's son is a gamer so he could discover it with him!
https://imgur.com/uSBMNgS
https://imgur.com/kzcL1lH
https://imgur.com/FCAqH1E
https://imgur.com/wpOUXJC
https://imgur.com/28dOpBA
https://imgur.com/0Rn0083
https://imgur.com/tEvs1vR
https://imgur.com/4fqvDXU
Nah just playin'. Just a Character I made in Dark Souls 3. There is not really much in the way of armour that resembles a space suit so i just went for big bulky looking armour. I guess looks more like those alternate colour Ludens I've seen on a post on here. He only uses various spears but there's nothing really like the flag he has in that promo footage either. I think i got the face reasonably accurate to Norman Reedus though what do you guys think?
I'm excited for some new news hopefully soon!
(the pictures are pretty bad quality 'coz I couldnt be bothered using the ps4s screenshot function and just opted to take a picture of my tv)
Hi all, unfortunately having to part with all of my collection. Moving and don't have room in my new place.
If the Pop is in the photo but not listed it has already been sold. Please PM with zip code for total incl. shipping :)
Here is my proof: http://imgur.com/gallery/tqGEbE6
[The Goonies](https://imgur.com/vOURsBz)
- Sloth w/ Superman Shirt Excl. to San Diego Comic Con: $320
- Mouth: $55
- Mikey: $45
[Game of Thrones](https://imgur.com/a/HC29Uc9)
- Margaery Tyrell: $60
- Jon Snow Muddy Castle Black Excl. Hot Topic: $50
- Melisandre: $22
- Jaime Lannister Gold Hand Excl. Hot Topic: $60
- Jon Snow Castle Black Muddy Excl. Hot Topic: $50
- Petyr Baelish Excl. Hot Topic: $50
- The Mountain: $30
- Cersei Lannister: $47
- Jorah Mormont: $43
- Oberyn Martell: $21
[Disney](https://imgur.com/a/aWnHyuh)
- Donald Duck: $100
- Elvis Stitch Excl. Hot Topic: $70
- Sally Day of the Dead: $65
- Russell: $50
- Sally w/ Rose Excl. Hot Topic: $45
- Maleficent & Evil Queen: $42
- Eve: $34
- Minnie Mouse: $10
- Pumpkin King Glow in The Dark Excl. Hot Topic: $24
- Stitch: $26
- Lumiere: $20
- Lumiere Excl. Hot Topic: $28
- Jasmine /w classes Excl. Hot Topic: $15
- Cheshire Cat Faded Excl. Hot Topic: $34
[Breaking Bad](https://imgur.com/a/YW5UCHH)
- Heisenberg signed by Bryan Cranston : $150
- Walter White Yellow Haz-Mat: $35
- Blue Crystal Heisenberg Excl. to Summer Funko Con: $150
- Jesse Pinkman signed by Aaron Paul: $100
- Walter White Green Haz-Mat Excl. to Entertainment Earth: $50
- Mike Ehrmentraut $45
- Jesse Pinkman: $18
- Jesse Pinkman Yellow Haz-mat: $33
- Gus Fring Dead: $30
- Hank Schrader: $17
- Saul Goodman: $18
[Nightmare on Elm Street:](https://imgur.com/m3w06RF)
- Freddy Kruger signed by Robert Englund: $100
[The Walking Dead](https://imgur.com/a/4c6IbJL)
- Giant Daryl Dixon signed by Norman Reedus: $150
- Prison Guard Walker Bloody Excl. SDCC 2013: $75
- Prison Guard Walker: $22
- Riot Gear Glenn Rhee: $18
- Glenn: $37
- Rick Grimes Prison Yard: $16
- Teddy Bear Girl: $31
- Carol Peletier Bloody Excl. Hot Topic: $
- Carol Peletier: $19
- RV Walker: $17
- Well Walker: $20
- Tank Zombie: $29
- Penny: $30
- Maggie: $37
- Merle Dixon: $25
- Woodbury Walker: $34
- Bicycle Girl: $22
- Michonne’s Pet 1: $32
- Michonne’s Pet 2: $23
- Injured Daryl: $6
[Collectors Corps] (https://imgur.com/a/FDxwBsl)
- Spider-man Miles Morales: $15
- Hulkbuster: $25
[Captain America Civil War] (https://imgur.com/a/R1R9hBR)
- Agent 13: $7
- Black Widow: $10
- Captain America Excl. Gamestop: $12
[Marvel] (https://imgur.com/a/uB8zehz)
- Deadpool’s Chimichanga Truck Excl. 2015 Summer Con: $50
- Deadpool’s Chimichanga Truck Excl. NYCC: $85
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Relatively soon a new Death Stranding trailer will be out and everyone will be praising Hideo Kojima, the actors, Hideo Kojima, the action, the posters, the graphics and Hideo Kojima.
I’m making this post hoping to remind people of some of the negative aspects from the marketing of the game and the atrocious way Kojima and some of his associates have handled the teasing of this product, I’m also hoping of course, there is still room here for criticism around a game that despite all things I still anticipate and will play. Still, wouldn’t be surprised if the post gets down-voted to hell or outright nuked to oblivion, which is fine, still a good exercise to let off some steam.
A recent post called “Very hard to remain optimistic about Kojima's Death Stranding” called my attention because it mentioned 2 points of criticism that are worth addressing. The first one basically goes like: It’s been a very long time, we don’t know what the game is about, Kojima just teases and only cares about appearing cool.
My response to this is: It’s OK to not know what the game is about. The way the trailers have been presented causes some intrigue and the world, designs, characters represent a level of originality you hardly see in the game industry these days. The problem here is not the content and story exposition, it is, you guessed it: Hideo Kojima and the way he teases Death Stranding. When u/Nortte, the author of the post says Kojima cares about appearing cool, well, simply put, he is 100% correct. Hideo Kojima is one of the few game directors, if not the only one that can also be considered to be a “celebrity”. For decades he’s made good games, caught the attention of a large international audience who appreciate his work, made sure his name is all over his games and the most relevant of all points: He’s been called a genius by everyone around him.
Kojima has owned his celebrity status and has used it to make Hollywood connections to the point where he chooses to use the likeness and recognition value of Hollywood actors to sell and empower the product (and also to hire his childhood crush from a 70’s TV series to also use her likeness) in a media where you can utilize technology to create and mold characters’ appearance to your liking. You can call that a “creative decision” all you want and some of the actors like Mikkelsen and Seydoux are pretty good but if the level of Hideo’s creativity when making characters is: I want my character to look like my friend Norman Reedus, well, what does it tell you about Kojima these days…
More to the point, the problem with Kojima’s celebrity status is that he seems to think it’s as important or more to sell his name and become more recognizable in other media and other VIP’s minds than to sell his game. The most up-voted response in Nortte’s post states: “It's been 8 months without new footage”. You know what happened during that time? He went to a film festival to talk about himself and not show anything related to the game. Wait, he did showed the game, presumably the first 2 hours to some friends in other countries, behind close doors but not to his audience for some reason (after deeply thinking about it I realized the reason is that he wants people to tweet what a brilliant game DS is and what a genius Kojima is). During these long drought periods of time (well known to the people in this sub) Hideo often finds himself traveling all around the world, giving interviews where he doesn’t say anything, going to film festivals and award ceremonies where he doesn’t show anything, he visits other studios and cool places where he takes pictures with other developers/celebrities and then proceeds to show them the game. He tweets a lot about food and the movies he loves and he advertises his actors by marketing their movies, which in some cases are terrible and probably not even to his liking. But that’s who he is, the cool, famous videogame guy.
This brings me to the second point in Nortte’s post, the freedom Hideo got with this game in response to his reputation. It’s not a bad reputation mind you, but let me ask you this, what other game developer behaves like this? Do you think because Kojima achieved this level of notoriety he is entitled to a sort of… Elitist behaviour? I know that word sounds bad but, do you think that, because he has been successful in the past and he’s famous he is entitled to do anything, get as much freedom as he wishes, take as much time as he wants and not really care about the audience perception of his game after 8 or more months of not giving them anything, it’s not as if his games are 100% perfect and nobody criticized elements of them in the past. Do you really think he doesn’t owe you anything and he’s just so very generous because he’s shown like 5 trailers in 3 years?
OK. The first 2 trailers were made before the game development even started, therefore he wasn’t showing a game, he was teasing an idea. Since he wasn’t showcasing an existent game, I’ll just guess Kojima’s intentions with the first 2 trailers and also what I think his thought process was behind the next trailers.
Trailer 1: LOOK AT ME - I’M BACK! And Norman from Walking Dead is still working with me guys!
Trailer 2: We hired Mads Mikkelsen!
Trailer 3: We just rendered this cutscene from the beginning of the game, all I can show for now.
Trailer 4 (you actually get to see they have been developing a videogame, which is good), the structure is: Cutscene, GAMEPLAY WITH WALKING ANIMATIONS, we hired Lea, another cutscene, DEATH ANIMATION. Brah, I finally got Lindsey Wagner.
Trailer/Thing with Troy Baker that can barely be called a trailer: We just rendered this cutscene, all I can show for now.
My point with this is, just like what happened back in good ol’ MGSV times Hideo follows a very particular pattern when presenting his game where, ultimately he seems to care more about what the media’s perception of his game is, what it is said about him at the time more than the experience the audience will receive, this is a behavior that is found more in known, famous artists (celebrities) than unknown artists (say… 98% of other game directors, independent filmmakers) The pattern goes like this:
Chapter I: For years, everyone around Kojima has been telling him he’s brilliant for what he’s done in his career. He creates a concept he is very proud of. Because everyone in his life has been telling him he’s a genius, he feels the immediate need to show it to the world disregarding how early it is. The first trailer is usually cryptic and in some cases brilliant, he excites people, creates discussion.
Chapter II: Some time has passed, he realizes hype is wearing off, needs to show something, still very early in development, shows another cryptic trailer, an early game cutscene usually because there isn’t much in the way of gameplay. Still, he revives the hype.
Chapter III: Still early in development, but months, maybe years have passed. He creates trailers based on the material he just completed, in the case of MGSV he makes E3 2013 trailer which is a masterpiece of editing, in the case of Death Stranding he makes trailer 4, which is a confusing mess made to demonstrate gameplay mechanics exist (2 years after game announcement)
Chapter IV: Overblown exposition. Later into development Kojima has more material and more cutscenes to show and HE NEEDS to show them constantly because he wants people to know what a brilliant creator he is and he also wants to make up for a long period of time where nothing was shown (like now). He wastes time editing more trailers because he thinks some part goes well with a song he was listening to that morning and he also goes all around showing extended gameplay sections and giving interviews about his “process”.
Chapter V: Usually fans are exhausted by the amount of information they have been getting during the last period of development (the exact opposite of what you are feeling right now), IGN, Gamespot, Gameinformer, they have all played the game and the amount of articles, merchandise, gameplay videos is overwhelming. Game is released, you still get the game, because what the hell, after all this time... But you know that magic of not knowing, the theorizing, the mystery, it’s all gone, killed during those last couple of months. It is now a machine and Kojima let some terrible, careless game journalists beat the game before you. You!, who spent multiple years trying to understand what the necklace pattern was about, everyone knows now because he explained it on an article. Because of this preferential treatment towards journalists the game gets perfect and almost perfect scores. He receives some criticism from some people in the internet, he reads them, but doesn’t care, he gets called a genius by his friends, the cycle begins again.
Don't worry there is a lot coming your way but what is happening right now, the frustrating amount of time where nothing has been shown to the fans while he goes around visiting Tribeca and some European studio, the marketing of toys, figures, T-Shirts of a game that hasn’t come out yet, of a company that, has yet to release it’s first game is not only proof of the elitism I mentioned before but also proof of a disconnection with his audience. The lore and mythology of Hideo Kojima’s greatness has given him the entitlement and power to sell you merchandise of logos and characters that you don’t know yet, don’t understand what they mean or represent yet, things you have no connection to yet, but sure, you buy them because you just trust him, they look cool so that’s good enough, so let me ask this question again: What other game director behaves like this?
Tell me, right now, what is the purpose of Kojima teasing the turned down posters and the credit screen of a trailer instead of you know… Releasing the bloody trailer and the poster?, right now after 8 months, I’m not talking about Sony not giving him permission, even though he should have it with all that “freedom”. I’m talking about the act of posting this. Is he that paramount? Where he needs to tease for teasers, like those dumb mini-trailers for Hollywood trailers where they let you know the trailer will come out in 2 days?… Is he doing this for your benefit or for his twitter likes benefit?
Oh, and speaking of selling things, Marketing & Communications of Kojima Productions super star Aki Saito is simply an unbelievable triumph and success at his job. He created a big twitter following by doing nothing, or rather by emulating Hideo Kojima’s internet persona and he’s done nothing to call attention towards this game. Don’t blame Sony for not letting the man post things other than poor videos where he says a line from the game. Blame him for doing exactly that. That is what the chief of marketing is doing: Posting boring, snapchat quality videos that only appeal to a niche, teeny audience. Is he letting the fans do all the work? He could be doing some strange, hidden viral marketing, playing around with music, images, codes, being creative. Remember when the Archllect guy made everyone think one of his pictures would lead to DS info? Then he released a picture for people to decode and then he said it had nothing to do with the game but it was just inspired by it?. Remember when some guy made a fake leak with bloody MG: Survive and there where people kind of exited as to what they were seeing. Some guy posted, yet to be proved faked at the best of my knowledge, audio sample leaks that actually sounded kinda legit. Youtube videos connecting T.P themes with Death Stranding have done more for the marketing of this game than Saito’s “work”. Amazing fan art from the community has been better marketing for the game than Saito’s “work”, why is the best marketing for Death Stranding coming from people that are not being paid to do marketing for Death Stranding?
Oh, but it's not like they haven't put an effort to take advantage of the relentless passion and intelligence shown by the fans, it's us, you know, it's up to us."the game already began" and we are connected, so we are doing this thing here? Get it? 4th wall???
And I’m talking marketing for the fan community of a few thousand people who are loyal to Kojima and are still paying some attention. What is the general perception of Death Stranding?, Tell me, to normal people or at least random gamers? This is a game that needs to sell millions of copies and it does not have “Metal Gear Solid” in the title. The perception of the game is a series of strange videos on youtube you get intrigued by but then forger after a day because you didn’t get any connection to any of the nonsense anyone in the trailers were saying and you simply do not understand what is happening. You get stimulated for a couple of seconds by the fact the game has celebrities you recognize doing weird stuff but then again, you don’t know what this is, you can’t pinpoint what genre it is. Now you know you’ll be able to walk around carrying some boxes though…
OK, it looks cool but if you want it, you don’t know where to buy it, how to get it or when. Death Stranding is like number 3. On a Top 10 list of upcoming PS4 games, it’s just behind last year’s Spider-Man and you still don’t get a release year. It’s on the level of those unreal engine demos where cool, strange, somehow creative and awesome things happen for a couple of minutes but it’s not a real game, it’s nothing, it’s the video you share and then move on with your life and because of the lack of info, you simply let it go. That’s it. People who were here day 1 may have forgotten the game exists, what it’s name was. What is the marketing team of Kojima productions doing to change that perception?
That’s what I got at this point, a rant and questions about Hideo Kojima for whomever cares to answer, I was also writing this because of the negative response and dismissal posts like Nortte’s get, most people are quick to do 2 things here: Like every one of Kojima's Tweets and make up excuses for some of the things I just described and that’s why I resort to the word “apologetics” in the title, which is a term mostly used to describe the defense of religious practices against any sort of objection, you could also apply it to another idea, a “cult of personality” which I think may fit better in this case.
TL;DR version: Our salvation lies in the Father's sins,
Beyond the truth, let me suffer now! - #whereisthegame
