Death Stranding enters ‘critical phase’ – still nowhere near finished

Gamer beats every SoulsBorne game back-to-back without taking a hit

It’s still not clear what Death Stranding is, let alone when it’s out, but according to Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima he’s playing the game ‘every day’ even though its separate parts have not yet been connected up into a single game.

A tweet in Japanese translates roughly as follows: ‘DS [Death Stranding] is not in the stage of difficulty adjustment and debugging yet but is being put together from its different parts into one game. While I am playing the game directly on the actual PS4 machine, I connected the parts, corrected the operation feeling, the direction, the specifications, the problems, and the process of stripping the flesh and changing things. Critical phase.’

The game not yet existing as a single experience suggests that it’s still at least a year away, perhaps more knowing Kojima’s perfectionist attitude.

DSはまだ難度調整やデバック段階ではなく、ツールや開発機上で出来たバラバラのパーツをひとつのゲームに組み上げていっているところ。PS4の実機で毎日、実際に僕がゲームを直接プレイしながら、パーツを繋げ、操作感や演出、仕様、不具合を修正、肉付けと削ぎ落としをしている過程。重要なフェーズ? pic.twitter.com/h30KIec9q0

— 小島秀夫 (@Kojima_Hideo) March 24, 2019

It is interesting though that he specifically mentions the PlayStation 4, despite rumours that the game is so far off it may end up as a PlayStation 5 title.

Indeed, it’s possible that any and all Sony published titles that are not out yet – such as The Last Of Us Part II and Ghost Of Tsushima – may end up being cross-generational games, that appear on both formats.

When Sony might confirm or deny that is unclear but it’s possible Kojima’s tweet is a prelude to Sony’s Nintendo Direct-esque broadcast planned for tonight at 9pm.

Although at this point the most burning question is still what exactly the game is, with the surreal previews so far only hinting vaguely at some sort of open world stealth adventure and… parcel delivery simulator?

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