The politics of Trump and Brexit inspired the creator of this year's biggest PlayStation exclusive
- "Death Stranding" producer Hideo Kojima said his new game is about building connections between people in an era defined by the isolationist politics of the Trump administration and Brexit.
- In an interview with BBC's Newsbeat, Kojima said he wants "Death Stranding" to remind people of the value of caring for each other.
- "Death Stranding" will be released for PlayStation 4 on November 8, and is the first release from Kojima's independent studio.
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Video games have been celebrated for their ability to connect players from around the world, but the producer of this year's biggest PlayStation game believes his latest game could help those players learn the value of caring for each other too.
Hideo Kojima is the creator of "Death Stranding," an ambitious new game coming to PlayStation 4 on November 8. Kojima's independent studio Kojima Productions has been working on the game for more than three years and it features Hollywood stars like Norman Reedus and Troy Baker.
"Death Stranding" is no typical action foray - it stars Reedus's character as a delivery man traveling to connect the last surviving cities in a post-apocalyptic version of America. In an interview with BBC's Newsbeat, Kojima said the survival game was designed as a commentary on the isolationist politics of US President Donald Trump and the Brexit Movement in the United Kingdom.
"President Trump right now is building a wall," Kojima told Newsbeat. "Then you have Brexit, where the UK is trying to leave the EU, and it feels like there are lots of walls and people thinking only about themselves in the world.
"In Death Stranding we're using bridges to represent connection - there are options to use them or break them," he continued. "It's about making people think about the meaning of connection."
Players explore a vast wasteland in "Death Stranding" and won't encounter each other directly. Instead, they can leave helpful information or resources to make the game easier for players who follow them. "Death Stranding" is built to encourage players to build strong relationships with each other and the characters in the game.
Kojima told Newsbeat the themes in "Death Stranding" are meant to be universal and don't target any specific country's politics. He said he just wants "Death Stranding to help people care about each other in ways that social media and other forms of connection don't encourage."
"Death Stranding" launches on PlayStation 4 on November 8, and will be released for PC in 2020.