Among the many strengths of Hideo Kojima as a game maker is his willingness to fully embrace the hardware of the era. In the case ofDeath Stranding, this translates to utilizing features like theDualShock 4’s motion controls as a surrogate for Sam Porter Bridge’s own hands, with players rocking the controller in real life to soothe BB out of a tantrum, for instance. It will be interesting to see how future Kojima games handle this hardware-centric design philosophy, especially as games likeDeath Stranding 2become available on more than just PlayStation consoles.
Kojima has made use of motion controls, haptics, and 3D audio in novel ways, but perhaps the most iconic instance of this holistic design approach can be seen in the firstMetal Gear Solidon the PlayStation 1: the famous Psycho Mantis fight. True to his name, Psycho Mantis toys with Snake’s mind, and these manipulations manifest as fourth-wall-breaking maneuvers like forcing the player to switch their controller to the player 2 slot and reading their memory card to produce curated jeers and teasing from Mantis. The ubiquity of wireless controllers makes the first tactic essentially impossible in the modern age, but the latter may be able to be replicated in a unique way on contemporary devices, perhaps inDeath Stranding 2or other Kojima games down the road.
How Death Stranding 2 (or Other Kojima Games) Can Modernize Psycho Mantis’ Memory Card Reading
Trophies and Achievements Are Akin to Modern Memory Cards
With the advent of trends like cloud saving and purely digital gaming, memory cards and their equivalents, with the exception of SD cards on certain devices, have essentially fallen by the wayside. Of course, these systems still save users’ data, making it theoretically possible for a futureKojima game to repeat Psycho Mantis' memorable tricks, though this would of course be somewhat predictable and runs the risk of retreading old ground.
A more exciting technique could, however, hinge on trophies and achievements, which are nearly inescapable in modern games. Perhaps a character like Higgs or some other enigmatic antagonist could reach past the fourth wall through these means, drawing upon a player’s gaming history and ironically praising them for platinuming certain games or obtaining hard-to-earn achievements. Conversely, this character could berate players for not earning all the achievements in a certain game, or missing out on particularly easy ones. This might be tricky to implement on devices like theSwitch 2, which may not feature an achievements feature, but it’s not even clear whether future Kojima games will be brought to this platform.
Such an instance of fourth-wall-breaking wouldn’t have to be during a boss fight, ascharacters like Deadman in the firstDeath Strandingbreak the fourth wall in non-antagonistic ways.
Why Focusing On Achievements Could Be a Fun Way for Kojima Games to Break the Fourth Wall
The Psycho Mantis fight inMetal Gear Solidpersists in the gaming zeitgeist mostly because of its fourth-wall-breaking elements. There’s something about an antagonist reaching out directly to the player that makes them particularly intimidating and frightening, as it immediately asserts them as being somehow omniscient. It eliminates the comfortable boundary between the player and the narrative conflict, dragging them in and making them feel less safely detached.
It’s an effective intimidation tactic that more games should make use of. This goes double for Kojima games likeDeath Stranding, which establish themselves as cerebral and mystical stories conveyed through unconventional means. Kojima Productions is clearly not shying away from unconventional techniques, and withDeath Stranding 2possibly coming to Xboxand PC, reading achievements would be a unique, non-platform-specific way to discomfort a new generation of players.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
WHERE TO PLAY
Embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam—with companions by his side—sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected? Step by step, legendary game creator Hideo Kojima changes the world once again.
