'Death Stranding' Animated Movie on the Way from 'Raised by Wolves' Writer
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"Death Stranding" is growing past the video game. Deadline reports that Aaron Guzikowski of "Raised by Wolves" fame has been tapped to write the screenplay for an animated "Death Stranding" feature based on the popular game.
"Death Stranding" will be an adult targeted animated feature, not unlike "Predator: Killer of Killers" and the upcoming "John Wick" anime prequel.
Read More: Pixar's Elio Early Reviews Are All Saying the Same Thing
"I love the world of Death Stranding, it's so creatively freeing, so beautifully dark and yet hopeful; I'm so excited and honored that Hideo Kojima, whose work I've long admired, has invited me to dwell within his creation, to birth new stories into this fertile, mind-bending universe," Guzikowski said.
"Drawing and animation have always been near and dear to my heart, so to finally get to play in this space is a dream come true."
The "Death Stranding" animated movie is completely separate from the previously announced live-action adaptation currently under development by Kojima Production and A24.
Guzikowski's feature is described as an original story set in the universe of "Death Stranding".
"Death Stranding" is a post-apocalyptic game set in a world in which the living and the dead become inexplicably connected after the arrival of so-called Beached Things which cause explosions the size and scope of nuclear attacks among other horrific shocks to the landscape.
The game is known for revolutionizing the potential for drama in video games. "Death Stranding" the game was directed by Hideo Kojima and stars Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Guillermo del Toro.
"Death Stranding 2: On the Beach" is coming out on June 26. It adds Elle Fanning to the already impressive cast and is a new version of the original game.
"As an avid gamer I can say, unequivocally, Death Stranding is the most cinematic, thought-provoking video game I have ever played," said Daniel Dominguez, CCO of Line Mileage, the LA-based animation and post-production company who will be working on the movie.
"Playing it gave me the same emotional rush, visceral punch, and intellectual pleasure I had the first time I watched 'Blade Runner', or 'Ghost in the Shell'," Dominguez continued.
"Adapting it into a form it so naturally evokes is an honor. And for Aaron Guzikowski to lend his talents, whose authorial mind and creative energy humble me... needless to say, this project is a dream come true."
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Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Star-packed, Covid-shaped 'Death Stranding 2' drops this week
Japanese video game legend Hideo Kojima releases "Death Stranding 2: On the Beach" this week, a star-studded PlayStation sequel inspired by the Covid pandemic. Kojima has said the follow-up to the meditative 2019 game, in which "Walking Dead" star Norman Reedus played post-apocalyptic deliveryman Sam Porter Bridges, is "about connection". "The social situation was that everyone was divided" when development began on "Death Stranding" in 2016, Kojima said as he presented the new instalment at Los Angeles' Summer Game Fest on June 8. "I said, let's get connected. Right after that, we had the pandemic, and my fiction became a little reality" as people communed over new digital channels, he added. "Death Stranding 2", which drops Thursday, reflects Kojima's hope that people will rediscover analogue ways of being together following the years of isolation, he said. The first "Death Stranding" was a hybrid between a hiking simulator and a classic action game. It was set in a gloomy, fantastical science-fiction universe where characters are aged by the rain and carry foetuses that warn them of dangerous ghostly creatures nearby. Reedus's character Bridges had the job of reconnecting the last outposts of civilisation in a devastated United States following a disaster. This time Bridges's adventures will bring him to Mexico and Australia, in a story that 61-year-old Kojima -- creator of the equally fantastical "Metal Gear" stealth action saga -- said was completely rewritten in light of Covid-19. "I already had the DS2 idea but I had to scratch that off because I experienced the pandemic. So I rewrote," he said. "It's a new connection... I put that in the game system and I want everyone to experience that," Kojima added. French actor Lea Seydoux -- a star of films like James Bond adventure "No Time to Die" or Quentin Tarantino's World War II romp "Inglourious Basterds" -- returns in 3D form alongside Reedus. But new big-name talent is also along for the ride, including American actor Elle Fanning and the likeness of "Mad Max" director George Miller. French singer Woodkid composed the score for the new episode. Kojima Productions, the eponymous studio the developer founded in 2015 after leaving Japanese giant Konami, said in March this year that the first "Death Stranding" had more than 20 million players. And the franchise is broadening out to other media, with a feature film in development with American studio A24 as well as an animated film. Kojima is already turning his bottomless energy to other projects, including a horror game, "OD", co-written with American director Jordan Peele ("Get Out", "Nope") and developed in partnership with Microsoft. He is also returning to the world of spy games in the vein of "Metal Gear" with a new espionage title, "PHYSINT". kf/tgb/lth Sign in to access your portfolio
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
Death Stranding 2 Review: Still Weird, but Way More Playable
When Death Stranding came out in 2019, I did what a lot of people apparently did: Played it for an hour, thought it was a bit weird, and didn't pick it up again until years later (in my case, 2022). So when a sequel to the game was announced, I wondered what Hideo Kojima could possibly do in a follow-up to his strangest game yet. After playing Death Stranding 2 for 40-plus hours, he did quite a bit. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach should have been called Death Stranding 2: Quality of Life, because that's what this game is. From top to bottom, Kojima Productions made so many improvements to the original, making a weird delivery-sim game that is quite relaxing. Those improvements may not be enough to attract people who avoided the original, yet the players coming back are going to find a sense of calmness that you could assume Kojima wanted to deliver with his game. In the sequel, players are back in the role of Sam Porter, performed once again by Norman Reedus, who has found a place in Mexico to live his life with Lou, the former Bridge Baby who spent her first years in a pod. Fragile, Sam's somewhat love interest and fellow delivery person, seeks out Sam to do some deliveries to re-establish the chiral network within the country. As he's away, something terrible happens to Fragile and Lou, and without spoiling it, months pass, and Sam's services are called upon again. This time, he must travel to Australia and reconnect the entire country, just like he did with America in the first game. Watch this: Unboxing the Death Stranding 2 PS5 Controller 00:45 Safe to say, if you never played Death Stranding, none of that made any sense, and that's on par with everyone's experience who played the game initially. The whole world of Death Stranding is less about realism and more about vibes. Beached things, voidouts, chiralium, cryptobiotes and so much of this game's world doesn't make a lick of sense if you try to think of it regarding the science of the real world, but when you get to the basic theme of the game, which is reaching out to other people and forming strong bonds with each other, then everything does make a certain sense. There are people who want the world to heal by coming together, while there are others who want to destroy those bonds. Welcome to Death Stranding. Make it make sense That whole spiel about Death Stranding 2's story is the gist of it, yet there are new and old characters to meet and more of the world to learn about. That brings to one of the biggest quality of life (QoL) improvements to the game: Corpus. Lots of games have their own in-game encyclopedia, but it's apparent that Kojima Productions knew how confusing the game's story could get. So to help navigate that, the Corpus gets updated all the time, and there will be an on-screen notification about the new info as soon as it's mentioned, and you can jump right into understanding what was said. Not only does it make Death Stranding 2 easier to understand, it also helps when you did what I and a lot of others did with the original and started it only to never come back to it years later. Now, as soon as you load a save and come back to the game, it will bring up the Corpus to give you a rundown of where you are in the story. Again, this seems like not a big deal in most games, but the thing that sets apart Death Stranding is this weird world -- where, for instance, babies are extracted from their brain-dead mothers and put in pods that are meant to emulate a womb so that they can be used as a warning system to detect dead souls made up of antimatter that are stranded in the world of the living and can make this pool of tar to capture people thus causing an explosion being enough to decimate a city when they come in contact. It's quite a feat to implement a feature to help a player understand that concept, which is what Corpus helps with. Higgs is back. Kojima Productions/Screenshot by CNET Understanding the story is key because it just makes the core of the game so enthralling. Delivering packages is what players will be doing for the majority of their time. There is some battling with human separatists who control bases scattered across the regions and BTs that will show up whenever it rains, but you can go for hours and hours without dealing with either. Instead, you can just continue to deliver packages. When it comes to delivering packages, there are the main missions where the various mission givers tell Sam where to go and what to take. More often than not, the package has some weight to it that Sam can carry on his backpack, and he just needs to get the package to its destination without being destroyed. Other parameters may switch things up, such as delivering within a time limit, taking it slow with a delicate package, or hauling one that's very heavy because it's a whole human being wrapped in what looks to be a body bag. A few of these main missions also require taking a package away from the separatists or making your way through areas filled with BTs, meaning there will likely be a fight. Like with the story, the game's central delivery experience received a wealth of quality-of-life improvements. The biggest is that vehicles are unlocked very early in the game. In the original, players had to deal with doing deliveries on foot for hours before getting the first reverse trike to help them travel around the world quickly. Now players get access to one within a few missions. Later in the game, Sam will ride around in the DHV Magellan, an airship that travels through the tar currents of the world (just go with it) to transport immediately to any of the locations you have already delivered to. This makes going back to previous cities and bunkers, especially to deliver some packages found along the way, much easier to do. The ship, however, does suffer from a serious case of Conveniently Broken Device trope (think of those episodes of Star Trek where the teleporters could solve a problem, but they happen to not be working). You'll find the Magellan never seems to be available when you need to travel all the way back to a previous location, which is fair, as this would take some of the fun from the game. The transportation options don't stop at the ship. Not far into the game, there will be an option for Beach Jumps using Fragile's umbrella. These spots are found all across Australia, but unlike traveling on the Magellan, these jumps will just take Sam and not his vehicle. Another new addition is the monorail, which can carry Sam and a lot of packages from one location to another. Similar to how players can build highways to travel on, the monorail is a system that needs to be built in segments. There are a few places with the monorail already in place, but players can extend it farther. Combat also had some subtle improvements. Sam feels very at home with the different weapons available, and while you can take down human enemies with stealth, it's just as quick and easy to mow them down with an assault rifle. Later in the game, robots will be the more common enemies that will take more damage to deal with, but Sam is still very capable of putting them down. Everyone's favorite BB, Lou. Kojima Productions/Screenshot by CNET Big, beautiful and weird The first Death Stranding was already incredible to look at, and the sequel bumps up the visual fidelity across the board from the character models to the particle effects when in combat. Thanks to the quality of life improvements to the game, there's more time to appreciate the game world. This time around, there's a lot more color to the world. It's still not vibrant, considering this is supposed to be Australia after some ghosts started appearing and destroying big parts of the land, but there's a bit more variety in biospheres than in the first game. In particular, the snowy mountain range where you'll spend most of the last third of the game is just beautiful in how serene it is. Granted, during parts of your journey in those mountains, you'll be bombarded with snow squalls that will completely blind you, requiring the use of the Odradek scanner to get the layout of the land so you know when the edge of the mountain is approaching. As is the case with any Kojima game, the cutscenes are the real eye-candy. The cast of characters has expanded in the sequel with Elle Fanning (A Complete Unknown, The Girl from Plainville) playing the mysterious young woman named Tomorrow, Shioli Katusna (Deadpool 2, Invasion) who plays a pregnant woman named Rainy who can control and reverse the effects of Timefall, and famed Australian film director of the Mad Max franchise, George Miller, as Tarman, the navigator of the Magellan. Every person gives a great performance, although it is noticeable that for the lead character, Norman Reedus doesn't talk much in these cutscenes. Some new and old faces in Death Stranding 2. Kojima Productions One person who does talk quite a bit and is worth pointing out is Dollman, played by actor Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen) but modeled after Turkish-German film director Fatih Akin. This living doll acts as a guide for Sam, providing useful tips and background for the players, but it also represents a staple in Kojima games of having weird supporting characters. And trust me, there is a lot of weird in Death Stranding 2. Some of the moments had me wondering just what the hell I was playing, and I can't wait to see streamers and YouTubers reach these parts in their Let's Play because the reaction content and the memes are going to be tremendous. Kojima really went deep into that part of his brain that concocts these strange yet charming and kind of badass moments within his games. Completing the main story in Death Stranding 2 takes about 40 hours if you rush through all the main missions, but to get all of that weirdness that only someone like Kojima can come up with, you'll need to spend double that to complete the sub-missions available. These quests will have Sam travel to practically every inch of Australia, delivering items from headache pills to people. Some of the missions will unlock new items while also learning more about the mission givers. There are scientists, musicians, animal caretakers and even a pizza chef. There's so much to do in Death Stranding 2, and what makes this such an enjoyable game is how it's become so accessible. Now, will this be enough to attract every gamer to what is essentially a post-apocalyptic delivery sim game? Probably not, but if you had a twinge of interest in the original Death Stranding but found it a bit too awkward or maybe complicated with its mechanics, then Death Stranding 2 is going to suck you right in and will have you spending hours enjoying a peaceful journey of just delivering packages. Death Stranding 2 is a PS5 exclusive and comes out on Thursday for $70. Those who buy the digital deluxe edition of the game for $80 will receive in-game content and early access to the game that starts on Tuesday.
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
18 Tips to Help you Keep Your Balance in Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2, the follow-up to Hideo Kojima's 2020 surreal post-apocalyptic survival game Death Stranding expands on the first game with some meaningful quality of life upgrades, as well as earlier access to some of its more useful tools. However, Death Stranding 2 is still a very unique game with a lot of quirky elements gamers will have to wrap their heads around as they spend the next 50+ hours walking across Australia, the setting for the sequel. After spending around 20 hours with the game, here are 18 tips you should remember before starting -- a lot of advice for a game with a ton of quirks. The recap video found on the main menu Sean Booker Watch the recap video From the main menu you can select to catch yourself up on what happened in the first game with their Recap video. Strangely enough, this video doesn't actually spoil much of the story beats from the first game. Moreso, it paints a broad picture of the main quest Sam went on and some of the characters he worked with. In fact, almost everything in the video is told to the player in the first five hours of Death Stranding 1. So if you're playing this before finishing the first game and are worried about having it ruined for you, it's actually pretty safe to watch. Crouch has changed inputs One of the most important actions Sam will need to perform is crouching. There are plenty of moments of stealth in the game and this time around they've changed the button command. Instead of the circle button in DS1 you'll now need to hit R1 to crouch. Unboxing the Death Stranding 2 PS5 Controller Unboxing the Death Stranding 2 PS5 Controller Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:45 Loaded : 77.99% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:45 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Unboxing the Death Stranding 2 PS5 Controller Play more aggressively from the start One of my favorite aspects of DS2 is that its beginning portion is nowhere near as slow as the first game's. In fact, you get access to a gun and a vehicle within the first couple of missions. This means you can move much faster, carry more cargo, and don't have to avoid/hide from enemies as much. Feel free to play more aggressively from the get go this time around. Cutscene management This is a Kojima game which means there are a lot of cutscenes and they will be very long. It's important to know whether you can pause them instead of just fearing an accidental skip. Thankfully, hitting the menu button will pause the cinematics. Additionally, there's even a timeline that will pop up when paused to show you how much of the cutscene still has left to play so you can gauge how long you'll be watching vs. playing. It's also worth noting that you can skip the Qpid connection cut scene every time it happens. You'll see it dozens of times and no useful information is conveyed. You'll probably take an hour or two off your total game time by not watching these on repeat. Auto-Arrange Cargo is found in the bottom right corner of the cargo management screen Sean Booker Auto-arrange cargo If there is one tip you remember from our list, make it this one. When you are in the cargo management screen, after you've loaded whatever inventory onto Sam you want, you can hold triangle to automatically arrange it. There's also a controller shortcut: hold up on the d-pad, then to the right, and then press triangle. This moves the load off of just one location – such as his back – and spreads appropriate cargo evenly around. For example, it'll move grenades into the grenade pouches, a weapon on the tool rack, and even some small boxes onto his shoulder harnesses. It makes maneuvering Sam much easier and will ease your trek greatly. Hide in tall grass One of the reasons you won't want your back stack so tall is that it makes you more visible. This is also true when crouching and hiding in tall grass. Even though Sam himself might be hidden from the vegetation, if your cargo is poking out then enemies will still be able to spot you. Keep this in mind when organizing your gear and loading things in tall orientations. The Corpus can be access in the pause menu. Sean Booker Read the Corpus for world lore Death Stranding loves to throw out the most insane proper nouns and expects you to know and accept them. Luckily, the game features an internal glossary called the Corpus that will define these terms and give you additional context. It can also be brought up mid-conversation while someone is talking borderline nonsense to you about rain that makes everything age faster, for example. Your vehicle's battery is shown in the bottom left hand corner when driving Sean Booker Conserve vehicle batteries You'll be driving a lot in Death Stranding 2 and, considering you get them so early, probably more often than the first game. Vehicles let you carry more cargo and traverse the region much quicker. However, you need to keep an eye on how much battery your bike or car has. This is especially important when pressing L3 to use the faster, boosted speed. Boosting uses up more battery than regular so if your destination is quite far away, consider driving slower or make sure you'll have access to a generator at some point (which can be made using a PCC). It's also worth noting that driving through water will consume more power too so plan your routes accordingly. The APAS Enhancements screen Sean Booker Swap APAS enhancements One of the new features in DS2 is the APAS system which acts like a skill tree for Sam. You'll be able to unlock perks such as better balance, more accurate weapon aiming, etc. A great perk to this system is you can swap out your unlocked skills for free and you should do so. Each mission in DS2 will have different types of obstacles and threats. One might be more focused on combat while another sets you to traverse over a rocky mountain. Equip and unequip the skills that fit your playstyle and will suit you the best before heading out. Don't stress about materials Materials are used when fabricating new gear of objects in the environment. I've found that I didn't need to go out of my way and grind to find materials since a lot of missions rewarded me when plenty. Unless you're trying to pave super long roads or a ton of bridges and railways, you'll probably be fine progressing with the default amount the game rewards you. Storing materials It's also worth noting that when you pick up materials out in the world, they won't go to your total collection unless you deposit them. Get them off your back as soon as possible since they're usually quite heavy and pose no benefits from being on your person. You can see how many materials you have and what each item will cost to fabricator or recycle Sean Booker Recycle used equipment Several pieces of equipment have a one time use, such as blood bags. Once they've empty they'll just sit in your inventory and take up space and weigh you down with no benefit. Make sure to recycle these since you'll also get some crafting materials back. Sleep to restock ammo The best way to restock ammo for your weapons is by sleeping in your private quarters. This will automatically fill up your guns for free. It also charges all your gears' and vehicle batteries and restores stamina. Start fights at night Attacking an enemy camp is easier at night since it allows you to hide more easily in the dark. However, keep in mind the suit you're wearing. Each suit will have a different level of camouflage based on your environment. If you're in a sandy area, pick a more yellow-colored suit for example. Using other players' vehicles One of the best features in Death Stranding is interacting with objects built and placed by other players. This can range from ladders left beside a steep cliff to even vehicles stored in various locations. Instead of spending your own crafting materials, just use one someone else has donated online. The only downside is that you can't customize someone else's vehicle with weapons or accessories you've unlocked. If you want to do that you either need to build your own or find someone else who donated one with those upgrades. Constantly scan with the Odradek scanner The Odradek is arguably the best tool Sam will have when making deliveries. Its primary use is to scan the terrain, and it will pinpoint what packages, materials, items and structures are nearby. If it's too dark to see, it will give you a grid letting you know the terrain around you, and it will show how deep a stream of water is so you can avoid crossing areas where it's red, causing Sam to get carried away. Also, when entering hostile territory, it will show where the enemies are patrolling. Pick up items when driving Whether it's on the trike or the carrier, Sam can pick up packages, materials, items and chiral crystals (those golden hands coming up from the ground). You want to try to get as many of these for different reasons. When you're heading to a delivery location, you'll also find other packages meant for that same location. The more packages you deliver to one place, the more stars you get, which unlocks schematics, music and equipment. Materials and chiral crystals are also great to pick up as they can be used to upgrade structures such as metal and chiral crystals used to add another highway section when donated to a paver. When surrounded by BTs, just run Fights with BTs -- the invisible and deadly enemies returning from the first game -- is not easy, but these battles can be avoided. It's pretty obvious when you're about to deal with BTs, as the whole game will pause while the Odradek goes crazy. You'll soon see floating ghosts, referred to as Gazers, around you. Get too close and a tar pit will form around you with figures trying to pull you down. Fall down and you'll be forced into a fight with a giant BT that will take up your time and resources, and it could result in a giant explosion called a voidout that ruins the packages you had with you, damages equipment and destroys your vehicle. The better alternative is to just run as fast as you can or boost your vehicles. Keep away from the Gazers and if you're in the tar, just keep trying to run. With these 18 tips you'll be very well suited to take on the harsh environments of Death Stranding 2. Death Stranding 2 launches on PlayStation 5 on June 26.
