On Saturday, legendary video game developer Hideo Kojima showed off some early Death Stranding concept art via Twitter. He also shared the game’s original title, which isn’t much different from what its title ended up being.
According to the post, Death Stranding’s original title was “Dead Stranding.” Also, this is concept art from when Kojima had no idea what the game would look like in its final form. You can check out the concept art below, which was created by Yoji Shinkawa, who is the Metal Gear Solid creator’s character designer.
デススト企画初期のしんちゃんの落書きをiPhoneから発掘。まだ書面での企画もなく、ウォリアーズ空間の事をしんちゃんに口頭で話しただけの頃。当初はDEAD STRANDINGとも呼んでいた。 pic.twitter.com/VgWvY6Qy4g
— 小島秀夫 (@Kojima_Hideo) January 4, 2020
When translated to English, the caption of the tweet reads: “Recovered some of Shinkawa’s old artwork on my iPhone from the beginning of the Death Stranding project. Without any planning, he drew these space warriors while we were still only talking. Initially, it was also called DEAD STRANDING.”
Death Stranding was, for the most part, loved by the critics. However, fan reviews have been quite mixed. Some enjoy the world and type of game that Hideo Kojima was able to create, while others have slammed it for being a lengthy walking simulator with an empty and lifeless open world.
One thing about the game that has been universally praised is its cutscenes, which has always been Kojima’s strong suit. But, while the story might have enough to hook the average player, Death Stranding’s gameplay seems to be an acquired taste. Some love it, and some don’t.
The bulk of the negative fan reviews have come from American fans, as players outside of the United States seem to love Hideo Kojima’s latest project. When asked about this during an interview, Kojima speculated why US-based players might find the game so polarizing, saying that they might not understand the game because “it’s not a first-person shooter.”
As of right now, it’s unclear if Death Stranding will receive a sequel. If you follow Kojima on Twitter, he’s hinted at making a horror game next. Before leaving Konami, the legendary video game developer was working on a horror title called PT, which was canned and pulled from the PlayStation Store shortly after his departure from the company.
It’s also unclear if Death Stranding will get any post-launch DLC in 2020, or if the game will be left as-is. But, even without additional DLC expansions, Hideo Kojima’s latest creation is packed full of content that’ll keep players busy for several hours, although you shouldn’t expect to be as action-packed as the MGS series.
