Essays 04 November 2019, 20:00

The Breathtaking Keanu Reeves and Co. - Top Movie Stars and Celebrities in Video Games

Keanu Reeves, who charmed the viewers during E3, was not the first actor to perform in the games. Or the last one. In Death Stranding we will meet at least a few stars in the lead roles. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and others – Death Stranding

Genre: Adventure game (we think)

Developer: Kojima Productions

Platforms: PS4

Release: 8.11.2019

When Kojima makes a game... it's hard to know how to feel about it. In terms of gameplay, none of them has failed, and each contributed something to the industry; the first Metal Gear actually created a new subgenre of stealth games. And now Kojima is back with another groundbreaking project – Death Stranding. The visionary Japanese creator again announced he will defy formulaic game mechanics in his new game.

There will be some really big names dancing in the Kojima theatre of post-apocalyptic psychedelia. The main character, Sam, will be played by Norman Reedus, famous from The Walking Dead series. He is a courier that rotates between the footholds of humanity in a disaster-ravaged America. According to announcements, this is not a very optimistic vision of life and the United States. His quest will be given by "Deadman," a guy portrayed by Guillermo del Toro (the director of Pan's Labirynth, Hellboy – the better one – and Pacific Rim – also the better one).

The hellishly capable director, who helped Kojima in the production, isn't the last noteworthy figure. There's also the mysterious Fragile, performed by a young actress Lea Seydoux (The Beautiful Person). We saw her helping Sam in the trailers, but her characters is very enigmatic. Another really recognizable – and slightly demonic – face in the game will be Mads Mikkelsen. He will portray Cliff, a mysterious antagonist.

There's even a conspiracy theory that Death Stranding is actually a secret sequel to Metal Gear. And it sort of makes sense, as he is a similar character to Sorrow, one of the bosses from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. On one hand, conspiracy theories are mostly BS, on the other, it is a game from Kojima, and if we finally end up hearing "Keep you waitin', huh?" here, no one should be surprised.

Metal Gear Solid Zero

Developing the idea: there are indeed some elements of Death Stranding that refer to Snake Eater. There are scenes of a hellish version of WW2. The BB that Sam is carrying makes a gesture similar to Ocelot Revolver. The courier, after dying, gets to a realm of souls, similar to the one through which Sorrow, one of the bosses in Metal Gear Solid 3, dragged Naked Snake. And Cliff looks a lot like Sorrow. On top of that, there's a slew of smaller nods towards the fans of the franchise, which makes some fans of Kojima – the ones disenchanted by his parting with Konami – believe that the game is indeed the secret sequel to Metal Gear Solid Zero, which is somewhat connected to The Boss, another heroine from Metal Gear Solid 3. Some even say that this whole affair of Konami vs. Kojima is a bluff. If that were the case, we'd be watching the biggest gambit in video game history. It's more likely, though, that Kojima has forged a unique style over the years, and is simply using his hallmark moves in the game that probably nothing more than a spiritual heir to Metal Gear. I could lend some credibility to that.

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Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and others – Death Stranding