A quick look at the new trailer for Kojima's mysterious Death Stranding!!

 

Kojima fans were treated to a sneak peek into the intriguing and as yet mostly undefined next Hideo Kojima production Death Stranding at The Game Awards. The first trailer left fans excitedly scratching their heads as they tried to figure out the significance of the beached sea life, a naked mute Norman Reeedus (with c-section scar) holding a creepy baby on a barren landscape. The baby disappearing heads off in a trail of black ink-like handprints towards a mound of dead fish and we see a clearly tortured Reedus following, while being observed by 5 ghoulish figures high in the sky. It all seemed very ominous and certainly whetted the appetites of fans new and old to see what the mind behind MGS would do with something a little more surrealist and artistic.

 

The idea of it being an action game as previously stated seems pretty cemented now, we seem to see a military force which has bio-mech tanks and whose higher ups seem to control zombie-like soldiers through the chords of black liquid we saw before. We see a bookish man scurrying in fear as military planes zoom overhead, suggesting an occupation and people on the run. There is a large empahsis on symbiosis, decay and the organic world. It definitely looks to be a dystopian tale, a battle against a powerful authoritarian force which appears to feed off organisms or seek to destroy the natural. The streets are littered with dead crabs and bones. Comparative to the first trailer this new populated destroyed city scape seems to suggest we're dealing with two dimensions, the baby held in the second trailer is encased in a medical tube suggesting preservation and the suited man looks protective of it.

 

Whereas Reedus in the first trailer is freed from handcuffs and the baby seems alive and healthy outside of any chamber. Perhaps Reedus will be the "chosen one" trying to save the child or world from these dark forces. Perhaps we will play between these two worlds, especially given the black holes, relativity and anti-matter equations  engraved on Reedus' dog tags. The man from the second trailer also has a handcuff dangling from his wrist, suggesting both men possibly escaped to protect these infants from this invading force?

As it ends we see a truly sinister Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal from the TV series) who is connected through chords to his skeletal soldiers, he makes his helmet disappear suggesting supernatural powers before releasing his forces towards the man. As a dead infant floats through the black liquid beneah his feet he looks down and smiles into the camera, suggesting this menacing figure has a plan and takes joy from the destruction of the human beings. Whatever it all means, this definitely is the most intriguing new game in a while, and I'm sure the internet will be abuzz with theories soon!


What did you make of the new trailer? Leave your theories below!