Playing 'Death Stranding,' Even In Isolation, You're Not Alone
In Hideo Kojima's famously strange new game, you're often alone, trekking across deserted post-apocalyptic America. But you're also not alone, as you find clues and connections left by other players.
If you were looking for a good reason to escape reality, the last six weeks of global COVID meltdown definitely fit the bill. And while pretending your dog is a sports hero or your family a famous work of art work for some, for many people only video games offer the much needed ticket out of their heads. Looking for that kind of release a week after the lockdowns began, I started playing Death Stranding, the new game by famed director Hideo Kojima. What I found there, however, was so much better than escape.
Remarkably strange and complex, Kojima's game is an extended meditation on death, solitude and connection. More than just another big-studio video turns out to be a work of art perfectly synchronized to our new pandemic life.
