Hideo Kojima is “happy” with the critical reception of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and has spurred on fans to fight back against war and climate change.
Speaking at the London leg of the Death Stranding 2 World Tour that Eurogamer attended, Kojima was asked by host Geoff Keighley for his final thoughts on the evening’s events, which included performances from Caroline Polachek and Chvrches.
“We have a lot of things right now,” said Kojima. “We have war, we have climate change, we have a lot of earthquakes, we had the pandemic, we have a lot of things. And we have maybe a dark future a little bit. But today, if we gather like this and if we are going to be connected, we can fight and battle all these things.”
Kojima dedicated the evening – also attended by actors Norman Reedus and Léa Seydoux – to the memory of Low Roar lead singer Ryan Karazija, who passed away in 2022 due to complications of pneumonia. Low Roar’s music was a key part of the first game’s identity and Kojima had wanted to use more of the band’s music in the sequel.
“When I was creating Death Stranding 2, I wanted to contact him and there was Covid so he couldn’t come to Japan to perform so I was trying to write an email,” explained Kojima. “But then I got this sad message that Ryan passed away and that was so tragic when I first heard that. I also heard from his relatives that he does have some new songs and I decided to put in his new songs in Death Stranding 2.
“So I think he’s watching us somewhere. In Death Stranding 2 there’s this line ‘death is not the end, it does not separate us’. I still feel connection with Ryan so I’m going to cherish this relationship with Ryan. And I hope everyone will feel that way too.”
Singer Caroline Polachek, meanwhile, performed the game’s title song On The Beach for the first time at the event.
“I am always terrified the first time I perform songs, but I’ve gotta say I’ve never sung a song that feels more like playing a video game than that song,” she said. “It has so many rollercoaster dips in it.”
Kojima was introduced to Polachek’s music by the team at KindaFunny, which eventually led to the pair collaborating on the song. “If I hadn’t received that CD, this connection would never have happened,” said Kojima.
Polachek explained more about the writing process for On The Beach. “I often keep special songs in a treasure chest for when they have the right moment, and this was one of them,” she said.
“Hideo explained to me the concept of Death Stranding 2 and I was so taken by the ethical conflict in the story and also how far that carries back into Death Stranding 1 as well. This idea of: is extinction a good idea, is it a bad idea? And how provocative that is, actually. One of the things that’s special about this song is the verses are really evil and looming and then the chorus is so innocent and has this feeling of being saved. And I really liked the match between the song and these ideas. He sends me a synopsis of the game and I take it away and study it. And about a month later we had the song.”
The lyrics to On The Beach are a riddle, though the singer didn’t want to give it away. “In this case I wanted to pick up the gauntlet that Hideo threw down, which is how many strands of the game can you put into the song but in a way people won’t necessarily be able to read until they’ve played it,” she said.
Polachek also admitted she was “so nervous” to send Kojima her first recording of the song, and Chvrches later mirrored this sentiment after their performance of the title track from the first game. This was the first performance from Chvrches in two years, with the band confirming they’ve been back in the studio for six months writing a new album.
In a previous interview, Kojima stated he’s not interested in “appealing to the mass market” and, despite playtests of Death Stranding 2 proving popular, he wished it “was a bit more controversial”.
The reaction would suggest otherwise. While sales figures haven’t been released, Death Stranding 2 did top the UK physical charts last week. And with such a strong critical reaction, it’s no wonder Kojima is feeling “very happy”.
“A busier, louder, and more emotionally resplendent take on this singular hiking sim,” reads our Death Stranding 2 review.
