Although Death Stranding already has a long list of A-list Hollywood celebrities attached to it, developer Hideo Kojima recently added another star to the list: late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien. The first celebrity attached to Death Stranding was The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, who appeared in the first teaser for the game when Kojima introduced it at E3 2016. Since then, Kojima has unveiled that Death Stranding would feature a veritable who's who of Hollywood talent, including Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo del Toro, Margaret Qualley, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Troy Baker, and Lindsay Wagner.
Kojima fans are scrambling to get their hands on the game, which releases in November. The hype is so real that when the game's start menu recently leaked online, gamers were already offering up their praises to it. Death Stranding is, after all, the first game Kojima has created since his controversial departure from Konami, and thanks to all the developer's social media teases, it's probably one of the most anticipated games of 2019. Kojima has something to say with Death Stranding, and it will likely become a game-changer in the video game industry.
Death Stranding's star-studded cast list doesn't hurt it either. In addition to all of the above, Kojima tweeted that one more celebrity will appear during gameplay: late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien. O'Brien will appear in the game as a character with an otter suit: players who connect with him will get access to that suit, which allows them to comfortably swim in rivers, without the currents taking them away. Kojima posted a video from the game, a bizarre scene where the game's main protagonist meets O'Brien:
Although the plot of Death Stranding still seems like an enigma wrapped in a mystery, Kojima continues to stress the importance of connection within the title. He has stated that Death Stranding is not a stealth game, but also not a first-person shooter. Instead, he refers to the concept of connection/strand, and calls the game's genre "action game/strand game (social strand system)." It's become evident that Death Stranding is hard to define, but there's no denying that Kojima has created something very different.
Death Stranding is an example of how the video gaming industry is finally growing up and embracing its role as a viable entertainment medium. With big-name Hollywood talent and a concept that goes beyond what gaming has done before, Death Stranding is will likely inspire other developers to go bigger with their projects, if not a little weirder. Death Stranding is undoubtedly the result of thinking outside the box.
Source: Hideo Kojima/Twitter