Summary
- Kojima's games feature lengthy cutscenes, emphasizing storytelling over gameplay.
- Deep thematic core in Kojima's games explores complex themes under the guise of over-the-top presentation.
- Kojima adds bizarre humor, breaks the fourth wall, excels in stealth gameplay, and weaves complex stories.
Hideo Kojima has become one of the most beloved and well-known designers in the video game industry, with many gamers being familiar with his personal style. While most of Kojima's games may play differently from one another and feature vastly different stories, there are always a few key features, mechanics, and additions that make it clear right from the get-go that the main brain behind it all was Kojima himself.
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Even as far back as his debut in the industry with Metal Gear, Kojima has always had a distinct way of making his games, allowing them to be over the top while still resonating on a deeper level with players around the world. Now that Death Stranding 2 is finally released, it seems like a perfect opportunity to reflect on what exactly makes Kojima's games so fun, enjoyable, and unique when compared to other developers.
6 Lengthy Cutscenes
Kojima's Love For Movies Is Made Very Clear Through His Cutscenes
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has played his games that Kojima is a massive movie buff. In most games, cutscenes will be used to provide a quick exposition dump or simply to act as an intermission between gameplay segments, but in Kojima games, it can sometimes feel like the cutscenes are the main priority, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. For example, the final cutscene in MGS4 that wraps up the game goes on for a staggering 71 minutes, allowing players to learn what each of the characters got up to after Snake's mission finally ended.
While this is the most extreme example of how lengthy Kojima's cutscenes can get, many of them are still quite a bit longer than those seen in the average game. However, this is intentional as it allows the developer to dig deep into the story and characters, pulling players into the world by giving them more than enough time to familiarize themselves with everything that's going on around them.
5 Thematic Depth
There's A Deep Thematic Core To All Of Kojima's Games
On the surface, Kojima games can sometimes seem a little goofy or over the top in their presentation, but this is a clever way to hide a rich thematic underlayer that is often at the core of these stories. For example, the first four Metal Gear Solid games all featured their own central themes which were explored in great depth throughout their respective games, so while Metal Gear Solid 2 was all about being able to find truth in a post-modern world full of digital information, the third game is related to how countries and political groups can change alliances depending on the times.
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This trend continued with Death Stranding, which involved a plethora of intriguing ideas that the game taps into, with the most obvious being the importance of human connection, especially in the modern age. Anytime Hideo Kojima releases a new title, it's guaranteed that there's always going to be something fascinating at the center of the story, which acts as the thematic foundation for the game's plot.
4 Bizarre Humor
Pooping In Dumpsters And Mario Puns Are Kojima's Kind Of Humor
Though many of Kojima's games will have very serious and pretty dark stories, they are always complemented by some frankly bizarre humor, which helps to lighten up the mood every now and again. There have been a plethora of moments seen in Kojima's games which are so bizarre that it's hard not to burst out laughing any time they appear. One notable running gag from the Metal Gear Solid franchise, for example, is Johnny, a naive soldier who seemingly can't stop making a mess in his pants anytime he shows up to interact with Snake.
Death Stranding also includes scenes like these to ensure the overall vibe of the game never becomes too bleak or distressing, such as the "Mario and Princess Beach" quote, which quickly went on to become a popular meme. Kojima may get pretty ambitious with his stories, but he still knows how to make the player laugh every so often with his own quirky sense of humor.
3 Fourth Wall Breaks
These Games Are Always Finding Clever Ways To Wink At The Camera
No longtime Metal Gear Solid fan will ever be able to forget the moment in the first game where Psycho Mantis begins reading the player's memory card. This was just the beginning of Kojima's fourth wall-breaking antics, as he would continue to wink at the camera with every game he has released since. In Metal Gear Solid 4, Snake and Otacon at one point have a full-blown discussion about how games with multiple discs are no longer a thing thanks to Blu-ray, as if they're speaking directly to the player themselves.
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In the fifth mainline entry, Kojima himself would even appear as a captive who can be rescued, before staring straight at the camera and asking, "What took you so long?" There are also many examples of these scenes in Death Stranding, with the inclusion of the Monster Energy drinks being perhaps the most obvious, and while some can find these real-life nods a little immersion-breaking, others have come to appreciate them as part of the experience.
2 Top Notch Stealth Gameplay
Tactical Espionage Is Kojima's Wheelhouse
Unlike many other developers, Kojima often prefers putting the player on the back foot for much of a playthrough. As a result, sneaking around environments and picking off enemies one by one rather than going in guns blazing is the way that many of Kojima's games are meant to be played. While Kojima's stealth roots began in the original Metal Gear game, he would go on to improve and refine the mechanics in Metal Gear Solid, where being spotted by even a single enemy can quickly lead to disaster.
Many fans agree that Metal Gear Solid 5 is really where he perfected this style of gameplay, with the amount of creative freedom being granted to the player making each and every encounter a ton of fun to take on. Even Death Stranding, which features much less combat than in previous Kojima games, still includes fun and intense stealth sections, which have only been made even more engaging with Death Stranding 2. To put it simply, when he's at his best, nobody can pull off stealth quite like Kojima.
1 Complex Stories
Strap In For A Wild Ride, As These Stories Take All Kinds Of Twists And Turns
As mentioned previously, Kojima has been in love with movies ever since he was young, so it makes sense that his games feature such long, rich, and complex stories. A lot of games these days will often try to strip back their plot in order to make the game more accessible to a wider audience, but Kojima doesn't exactly roll this way. Instead, he is more focused on creating a big and ambitious storyline that can resonate and connect with the people who agreed to follow it, resulting in some of the most memorable stories in gaming.
There's often a lot of strange terminology and references that are thrown out over the course of his games, but these help to establish these worlds as something completely different from our own. Of course, these stories are also packed full of plot twists and sudden turns, which keep players guessing from beginning to end. All of this to say, anyone who is eager to jump into a fun but also impactful story needs look no further than the games created by legendary developer Hideo Kojima.
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