The Death Stranding Ad Campaign Continues to Be Delightfully Bizarre
The advertising campaign for Death Stranding has been a wild one, to say the least. It’s involved creator and director Hideo Kojima and the post-Konami Kojima Productions releasing one delightfully bizarre trailer after another for more than the last three years. The videos have contained contextless scenes that the team has wanted fans to piece together to try and figure out what the main game will entail. It’s been a fun campaign to see in action thanks to how it’s been for AAA game advertising, where trailers usually have to be as concise as possible due to publisher desires to sell as many copies as possible. Kojima’s thankfully allowed to get away with this being strange thanks to his reputation preceding him.
Since the game is due for release in November, the trailer before E3 2019 was the least vague one yet. It provided less subtle hints about what the game’s story will entail, which will feature protagonist Sam Porter Bridges (portrayed by Norman Reedus) and his quest to reconnect a broken world. But it couldn’t be more evident that this will be a strange game, so while the latest previews have been easier to understand, they’re still rife with oddities. I’m glad this trend hasn’t let up.
One trailer from Gamescom this week introduced Mama (portrayed by Margaret Qualley), who has her own story outside the main quest. Her baby was born on the other side instead of in her home world, but they remain connected through the umbilical cord and the ghost baby-like presence. What this actually means is anyone’s guess at the moment, but this “other side” was likely the one shown in detail in the previous trailer, an even darker world that looks heavily influenced by Apocalypse Now. Deadman (portrayed by Guillermo Del Toro, though not voiced by him) was also shown, who explained how the Bridge Baby Pod — BB Pod for short — works. The baby inside is connected to the other world, and Sam will build a connection to them over time. Again, I couldn’t begin to tell you what this means.
In addition to the main cast, there will be several cameos. One will involve Kojima’s best friend forever Geoff Keighley, who will be featured as one of the many Ludens Fans, named after the new Kojima Productions mascot. Director Edgar Wright also revealed that he was scanned for this game, so he’ll likely appear in a similar role. Given the recent trend, it would be a surprise if Kojima himself didn’t appear too.
It wouldn’t be a Kojima game if it didn’t have several odd gameplay quirks, and he along with the development team have been adding more with each new game. Death Stranding, of course, plans to deliver these in spades. The game will allow for Sam to pee on the field. Though his penis won’t be shown (a very important detail you needed to know), the player will receive something special if they have Sam pee in the same spot numerous times. Here some people thought this level of quirkiness peaked with Metal Gear Solid V’s horse pooping. The baby Sam is carrying will also cry at certain points, and the player will have to rock and cradle it to calm them down — almost literally. They’ll do this by rocking the DualShock 4 controller. This sounds wild, but hopefully it doesn’t get too repetitive.
The attention to detail Death Stranding will have is ridiculous, something seen in several videos they’ve provided. My favorite is in video spotlighting Heartman (portrayed by Nicolas Winding Refn, though not voiced by him), where his DVD/Blu-ray section is decipherable in the background. It’s not made up of one long texture like such collections in other games, evident when he takes something off the shelf. This was likely all Kojima’s idea, considering he’s a big movie buff; but I’d be surprised if others on the team weren’t too. There will likely be more of these that the team spent far too much time on.
Death Stranding’s advertising is delightful because it’s unlike any AAA game advertised these days. It’s a benefit that Kojima can get away with thanks to being one of the most well-known creators and directors in the video game industry. If this kind of project was helmed by anyone below that status, it wouldn’t receive anywhere near as much attention by a big publisher (let alone one that’s also a hardware manufacturer) or a large fanbase. I’d like to see more weird games with even weirder advertising campaigns with big budgets, but that’s unlikely to happen with how risk-averse companies are even slightly more unknown names and developers involved. That’s only worsening as budgets continue increasing
What makes this even better is how this almost sounds like a high-budget exploration game in previews. It’s a game about finding communication towers scattered around the United Cities of America, to send the message that hope and love, not force, is the way forward. Prior previews also confirmed that there will be shooting and combat, but the ratio between that and the exploration will remain unknown until the game releases.
We won’t have to wait long: Death Stranding will release worldwide on November 8th for PlayStation 4. There are more characters than those spotlighted in the videos thus far, including more Ludens Fans, so this ad campaign still has more hits to provide.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
