Highlights

  • Kojima's games are not predictable imitations and Death Stranding showcased the developer's emergent and eclectic nature.
  • The lack of information in OD's announcement was both brilliant and inadequate, as it didn't give a clear idea of what to expect but stirred intrigue.
  • If OD echoes Death Stranding's silliness and absurd moments, such as urinating mechanics and a Monster Energy product placement, it may be difficult to take it seriously in achieving its goals as a horror title.

Kojima Productions and Jordan Peele’s OD had an eccentric announcement and it’s not likely that its marketing up until launch will be any more comprehensible or less baffling. In an industry where some games are predictably cookie-cutter imitations of others, Kojima’s games are certainly not and Death Stranding demonstrated precisely how emergent and eclectic the developer could become when given an opportunity.

OD sharing little to nothing was as brilliant as it was inadequate because it didn’t give any taste of what to expect, and whether gamers are allured or deterred by Kojima’s oddities will probably shape their anticipation for the game. Knowing that OD is a horror game may be enough reason to get excited about it, but Kojima might have a more difficult time peppering in the same absurdist motifs and gimmicks as Death Stranding was able to if he actually wants to maintain a sense of horror.

OD logo behind Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer characters
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OD Has to Choose Right Away if It’s Going to Be Scary or Silly

Death Stranding’s Silliness is Hard to Overlook

There’s a lot to love about Death Stranding that’s sincere and dramatic. That said, Death Stranding will probably be remembered for its hysterical and arduous courier traversal mechanics and all the unbelievably absurd events and interactions between them.

Chief among these absurd moments is the fact that players can urinate for a variety of effects, including urinating in the same place as other players and growing mushrooms—whose spots are tiny thumbs-up emojis—that all players can see and ‘like.’ Urinating in a toilet, however, grants players an EX grenade no. 1, while other EX grenades are composed of Sam Porter Bridges’ other bodily excretions.

This alone is enough to condemn Death Stranding as a silly game, let alone the various leisurely activities players can enjoy in Sam’s bedchambers or its ludicrously explicit Monster Energy product placement. This may all still allow for deep immersion in Death Stranding’s UCA for many players, and yet it can be quite difficult to take these moments seriously as mechanics in the grand scheme of what the game is trying to achieve.

Death Stranding lays a foundation where its silliness and existentialism pair decently well, but OD might not have that same luxury when it comes to telling a horror story.

OD Could Be Silly So Long as It Doesn’t Eclipse Its Horror

Horror games have surely been able to lean on weird nonsense before, but Kojima’s brand of weirdness could upset a crucial balance in OD. Alan Wake 2 was the latest horror game to feature a large helping of surrealist humor, for example.

But, while Alan Wake 2’s live-action dance number was one of the most popular moments of the sequel, it arguably diminished all the tension and dread that its phenomenal opening had laid out. It’s hard to say if Death Stranding ever wanted to be a purely serious game with intentions of only leaving players feeling existentially dubious, though it gets away with all of its charming and ridiculous moments because its genre is never nailed down.

OD already pigeonholes itself by being referred to as a horror game in this instance because players will be going into it with certain expectations, whereas Death Stranding could be blissfully and ignorantly experienced. It will be interesting to see how much of Death Stranding trickles into OD, but with Peele on board it seems safe to assume that any bewildering bits of humor and levity thrown in should be met with extreme bouts of psychological horror.