Kojima suggests some American critics ‘misunderstood’ Death Stranding

Hideo Kojima has again addressed Death Stranding’s mixed critical reception, this time suggesting that American reviewers may have found the game difficult to understand compared to critics in some other regions.

Death Stranding’s Metascore currently sits at 83 on aggregation site Metacritic, with its 83 review scores ranging from 35/100 to full marks. At the time of publication, the game’s user score is 7.1.

In a new interview with Italian site TGCom24, game designer Kojima suggested that American publications had shown “stronger criticism” to his latest title, possibly in reference to IGN’s 6.8 review and 7/10 scores from USGamer and Game Informer.

In comparison, Kojima claimed that Death Stranding had received the “enthusiastic reviews” from Europe and Japan.

Kojima said: “I have to say that the game received enthusiastic reviews, especially in Europe and Japan. Here in United States, on the other side, we had stronger criticism.

“Maybe this is a game that is difficult to understand for a certain type of critic or audience. Americans are big fans of first-person shooters and Death Stranding is not, it is flying higher.

“I always try to create new things and disputes and discussions are fine, but it must be said that the Italians or the French have a different artistic sensibility that allows them to appreciate this kind of very original products.”

Analysis reveals that the lowest Death Stranding review scores on Metacritic are actually from European and Australian publications such as VG247 (3/5), Digital Spy (3/5), Ausgamers (6/10) and VGC (3/5). IGN’s 6.8 review was also covered by its Australian office.

US publications Gamespot, Washington Post and EGM all gave Death Stranding 9 or 10 out of 10 review scores. Some analysis has suggested that the average Death Stranding metascore doesn’t differ greatly across North America, Europe and Asia.

In a separate interview this month, Kojima claimed he expected “positive and negative reactions” to Death Stranding because of the game’s unique design.

“This happens when you try to do something new, even in movies or games,” Kojima told PlayStation Access. “If people are faced with something they haven’t experienced before, it can be challenging. It was the same when I first did a stealth title.

“But I am hoping with the support I get from fans, that positivity will spread out. And that in five years or 10 years people will look back at Death Stranding as a new standard. Then I’ll try and create something new again.”

Death Stranding released on Friday, November 8. It’s available to buy now from retailers including Best Buy, Walmart, ShopTo and Game.

VGC’s Death Stranding review was published ahead of release.

A PC version of Death Stranding will release in summer 2020. Publisher 505 has confirmed that Death Stranding PC will release for both Steam and the Epic Games Store.

VGC analysis has revealed that of the some 120 core developers who worked on the game at Kojima Productions, more than half also worked on Kojima’s final Konami title, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.