Hideo Kojima has always walked the line between cringe and creative, but whichever side he occupies, the fact that gaming still has auteurs should be celebrated. Death Stranding 2‘s TGS presentation was decidedly a mix of the two, showing off no gameplay in favor of a puppet dance routine.
Kojima has always been tight-lipped about his projects in progress, going all the way back to Metal Gear Solid 2‘s Raiden bait and switch, so to hear that he’d be giving a full-length stage presentation to tell all about Death Stranding 2: On The Beach was nothing short of revelatory for many fans, myself included.
In true Kojima fashion, however, that’s not quite what happened. While Kojima reaffirmed the game’s slated release window of 2025 and promised to reveal a more specific release date next year, that was all the news we heard as far as the game itself goes. Rather, most of the presentation was dedicated to showing off DS2‘s new-and-improved photo mode, of all things, centering around an extended montage of the game’s three heroines posing around the ship that appears to serve as your central hub.
Also revealed were the names of several prominent characters, including Rainy, Tomorrow, Dollman (yes, really), and Tarman (yes, really). Sometimes, I feel ashamed for thinking this man is a genius. Kojima Productions also revealed a $1700 jacket in collaboration with high-end techwear brand Acronym, presumably just to further Kojima’s quest to be the best-dressed game dev in existence.
Finally, as if to apologize for the lack of plot details or gameplay showcases, Kojima unveiled his coup de grace: a music video starring DS2 character Dollman, who is a ten-inch-tall puppet animated at 24 frames per second. Dollman gives an extended dance performance to DS2 protagonist Sam (Norman Reedus, likely wondering how his life choices led him to this) set to an original song by Japanese pop star Daichi Miura. It seems to be set up as an in-game cutscene, meaning that at some point in the final game, Sam will likely be pulled aside to witness this in between saving the world and delivering packages. Hopefully some of that pop star budget will go into the actual gameplay.
In any case, I want to play this now. Alas, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is set for 2025, with a PS5 Pro version likely coming not long after. A PC version is not currently on the cards.
