What Do We Want From Hideo Kojima’s Next Game?

Hideo Kojima is one of the masterminds of the video game industry, and as such, the news that he’s now working on his new game has gotten gamers pretty excited. The man is behind iconic franchises including Metal Gear Solid, as well as the horror genius who gave us P.T, the demo for the cancelled Silent Hill reboot. When it comes to Kojima, anything we get will no doubt be a surprise, but if it were up to us, here’s what we want to see from Hideo Kojima’s next game.

Metal Gear Solid-Like Gameplay

Snake in MGS
Credit: Konami

The Metal Gear Solid series is a phenomenon for many reasons, and the gameplay seen within the Konami series is second to none. The games are widely credited for transforming stealth mechanics in gaming, with protagonist Snake being the first that comes to mind when you think about crawling on your belly to avoid being spotted.

Ever since the early days (Metal Gear itself was released in 1987), the Metal Gear series has delivered out-of-the-box gameplay mechanics that have wowed gamers, cementing the series as a masterclass in how to create dynamic and ever-changing gameplay.

Kojima’s most-recent release, Death Stranding, was heavily criticised for its gameplay, with lots of players calling it “slow,” “repetitive” and “dull,” pretty much the opposite of most of the Metal Gear Solid games.

Whatever Hideo Kojima’s next game is, we’re hoping we see more of the gameplay that made Metal Gear great, and less of the slow-paced action we saw in Death Stranding.

Weird and Wonderful Game Worlds

World of Death Stranding
Credit: Kojima Productions

Although Kojima’s past games tend to be set on planet Earth, they’re by no means the typical setting you’d expect. Death Stranding is, of course, set in a world where “Beached Things” have invaded, leading to cataclysmic destruction and the barren, lonely landscapes we see in the game.

The Metal Gear games, on the other hand, take a much more military approach, focusing on special forces operatives with a few fantastical elements thrown in.

The now-cancelled Silent Hills (for which the much-loved playable horror demo P.T was released), presumably took place in a world much like our own. In typical Silent Hill fashion though, one which can succumb to your deepest fears as reality crumbles before you.

Looking at Kojima’s past hits, it’s clear that the director and creator has a penchant for creating game worlds which are very much like our own, though with a sinister spin. Kojima excels when it comes to subversion, and we very much hope his next game will follow suit with its game worlds.

Bizarre Characters

Quiet in MGS
Credit: Konami

Kojima’s merry band of past characters includes everyone from barely-clothed women like Quiet, to characters like Death Stranding’s Die-Hardman. Whether they’re the bad guys or the good, we’re used to a strong and bizarre cast of characters from anything Kojima puts his hand to.

Even the most seemingly atypical characters of Kojima tend to be…well…an entirely different character to the one we thought we were playing as, and we desperately want this trend to continue in Kojima’s next game!

Incredible Marketing Stunts

YouTube video

The announcement of P.T back at gamescom 2014 is one of my all-time favourite moments, not just in the world of gaming, but in my whole gosh darn life.

P.T was announced with little fanfare, sandwiched between bigger reveals and touted as an indie game from a new studio. A demo of P.T was immediately available via PSN, and in just a few short hours, the complex and zany puzzles held within were cracked by a streamer.

The completion of the demo made global headlines, as it was revealed that P.T wasn’t really a game from a small new dev, but was in fact a Playable Teaser for Silent Hills, a game directed by Kojima, and starring The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and movie director Guillermo del Toro.

Sadly, P.T was soon removed from PSN and Silent Hills was canned. P.T now lives on through YouTube, and if you haven’t played it by now, you probably won’t get to. Still, the P.T-Silent-Hills announcement was a wild ride from start to finish, and it’s a testament to the out-of-the-box thinking of Kojima. More of this for whatever’s next, please!

“What the Eff!” Narrative

Death Stranding Baby
Credit: Kojima Productions

Kojima isn’t just known for his subversive takes in gameplay, but also for his love of cinema. A self-confessed cinephile, Kojima lives and breathes movies, and this is definitely reflected in is storytelling.

Kojima is a dab hand at throwing curveballs to the player, whether that’s turning the whole story on its head with a truth about your playable character, or telling the story through cutscenes which are over an hour in length. There are endless ways in which Kojima serves up a “what the eff!” narrative, and you’re in for one heck of a story experience which surpasses the ordinary when it comes to Hideo Kojima games. Seeing as he’s known for this, it’s hoped we’ll see more of the same with his next project!

HORROR!

Lisa in P.T
Credit: Konami

P.T gave us a taste of just how a horror game could work with Kojima at the helm. P.T was – and still is – my number one horror experience of all time, and despite only being a demo, it’s inspired countless other successes in the genre.

Though the messy split between Konami and Kojima has pretty much put to bed any chances of a Kojima Silent Hill game, there’s still hope that Kojima will return to making spooky scares instead of the action games he’s mostly known for.

My heart might not ever heal from the cancellation of Silent Hills, but we DEFINITELY need to see a Kojima-created horror come to the market. Come on, Kojima. We deserve it.

Compilation image of Kojma games
Credit: Instagram/Kojima//Kojima Productions/Konami

So there you have it, just a few of the things we want to see from Hideo Kojima’s next video game. What would you like to see, and do you agree with our list? Let us know your thoughts with the emojis below!

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Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Kojima//Kojima Productions/Konami