It’s only a few months until PSX 2017 and the question on everyone’s lips is: will Death Stranding debut at the show. Here’s what we know so far.
When Kojima Productions announced that Death Stranding would be their debut project at E3 2016, few expected the game to ever see the light of day. Now, after months of anticipation (and no appearance at E3 2017) things are finally looking good for Death Stranding. Just recently, Hideo Kojima shared some exciting news via his twitter account:
“Today I was able to see the good result of testing DS. I think I will have a good sleep tonight.”
Also, Kojima Productions attended SIGGRAPH 2017 alongside game developers Guerrilla Games to jointly discuss the latest computer graphics and development techniques. During their presentation, titled Decima Engine: Advances in Lighting and AA, Guerrilla Games’ principal tech developer Giliam de Carpentier and Kojima Productions’ Kohei Ishiyama showcased the impressive fog system that’s being designed and developed for Death Stranding.
While the presentation didn’t share any in-game details, it at least provided fans with a glimpse into the photo-realistic rendering techniques that will be used in Death Stranding. More importantly, it makes us hopeful that more will be revealed at PSX 2017 later this year.
However, keep in mind that no storyline has yet been revealed, so we could be in for a long, long wait.
What is Death Stranding about?
In short, we don’t know. The trailer for Death Stranding opens with a quote from Auguries of Innocence by William Bake: “To see a world in a grain of sand. And a heaven in a wildflower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / and eternity in an hour.”
We are then taken to a beach, strewn with the carcasses of crabs. The camera then pans to reveal the protagonist, played by Norman Reedus. He is lying on the ground, naked, with a broken handcuff around one wrist and just beyond him seems to be a newborn baby. He reaches for the baby and sits upright when, suddenly, the baby disappears.
When he looks at his hands they are covered in black oil, while the handprints of a child appear to be crawling away from him, further down the beach. He gets to his feet and we see a huge scar across his stomach and the entirety of the beach, covered with dead whales and other ocean creatures. The camera then floats up to the sky and we are drawn to five ominous figures floating in the air. The end.
What it all means is unclear ꟷ all we know is that the trailer is deeply unsettling.
The poem by William Blake is widely considered to a be a warning to mankind about the consequences of mistreating the natural world, so our only conclusion would be that the protagonist (Norman Reedus) has woken up in some apocalyptic world ꟷ but not the kind that’s overrun with zombies, no. This is a different kind of wasteland and it would seem to be the doing of mankind. If this notion rings true, then it would at least explain the dead whales and oil covered hands.
A second trailer was released soon afterwards, this time featuring Guillermo Del Toro and Mads Mikkelsen as characters in the game. Mikkelsen appeared as the antagonist, while Del Toro appeared to be hiding a baby (we assume it’s a different baby). How the two characters fit into the bigger picture is yet to be revealed but already we can see that a great battle between good and evil is upon us in Death Stranding.
Inside PSX 2017
PSX is coming back to the Anaheim Convention Centre in Anaheim, California, and will take place between 9 and 10 December 2017. The event started in 2014 and has since become one of the most important events on the gaming calendar.
After all, this is where Sony PlayStation make their big announcements, showcase new games to the world and invite fans to get up-close with their favorite game developers.
During last year’s convention, exhibitors included Activision with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Sony Interactive Entertainment with The Last of Us Part II and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and Capcom with Street Fighter V. Another highlight was the Call of Duty World League, which featured six teams from North America and two teams from Europe.
Although no official list of exhibitors have been announced, our eyes will be on Kojima Productions. PSX 2017 is their last opportunity of the year to showcase Death Stranding. If they miss this one, then fans will be greatly disappointed. On the bright side, there are a few other games we hope to see at XSP 2017:
Detroit: Becoming Human by Quantic Dream
This is an upcoming neo-noir thriller video game developed by Quantic Dreams for PS4 and is scheduled for release in 2018. The game revolves around three androids: Kara, Connor and Markus, each of whom will either perish or survive depending on the actions and choices of the player. The game will be on showcase at PSX 2017 SEA.
Gran Turismo Sport by Polyphony Digital
The game is scheduled for release on 17 October 2017, so it would be a welcome addition to the conference, where players could test out over 170 different cars (including Porsche) across 19 locations. The graphics alone have received rave reviews and are guaranteed top catapult this series to all-new heights.
Spider-Man by Insomniac Games
This action-adventure is one of next year’s most anticipated releases and will be set in modern day New York. Players will join Peter Parker eight years after becoming Spider-Man and will be able to navigate their surrounding using familiar abilities such as web slinging and wall-crawling as well as newly developed gameplay features, one of which is parkour.
Far Cry 5 by Ubisoft Montreal
Scheduled for release in February next year, Far Cry 5 will see the series travel to Hope County, Montana, where the local preacher, named Joseph Seed, has established a religious congregation called Eden’s Gate. In reality, Seed’s congregation is a militaristic doomsday cult. The player takes on the role of sheriff’s deputy, who is sent to arrest Seed.
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