Death Stranding 2’s positive reviewsearned it a score of 90 on OpenCritic, making it one of the best games of 2025 with exactly half of the year still to go. That led to a slew of jokes about Hideo Kojima being upset about people liking his game too much, but turns out the Kojima Productions boss is actually okay with everyone loving his new game.
Kojima made a couple of comments during the build to the launch of Death Stranding 2 suggesting he wouldn’t be happy if everyone loved the sequel and if its review scores were too high. TheMetal Gear Solidcreator felt so strongly about this that, when those given an early look at the game unanimously professed their love for what they’d been shown,Kojima went back in there and changed the game.
Hideo Kojima Is Happy We All Love Death Stranding 2
Better A Well-Loved 90 Than An 80 That Has To Grow On You
Citing that people “liked it too much” and that he wanted his work to be more polarizing, now that Death Stranding 2 is in the hands of more people, Kojima has changed his tune. Speaking on stage during the London leg of the Death Stranding 2 world tour, when asked how he feels about the impressive review scores for the Death Stranding follow-up, Kojima replied via interpreter, “Well, it was [well] evaluated. I’m happy with the scores, thank you,” (viaGamesRadar).
Kojima followed up by asking who in attendance had been playing the game during its opening weekend. Being at a Death Stranding 2 event, naturally, pretty much everyone reacted with a cheer. However, one person was able to boast that they were playing Death Stranding 2 at that exact moment, and Kojima noticed them.
Pointing them out, the attendee was continuing the second part of their Death Stranding journey on aPlayStation Portal. A heck of an advert for the handheldPS5accessory if that was the case, and it was working well, not to mention the WiFi it was connected to. My guess is, while they might have been playing it, it won’t have been the best way to experience the game.
Even though Death Stranding 2 scored a 90, that doesn’t mean it is void of the Kojima magic that has set his games apart in the past. I think it just means we’re more accustomed to it. While Kojima’s games have been popular for decades, we’ve reached a point where almost everyone is now familiar with his work and what he can do. When people play Death Stranding 2, they’re marveling at what Kojima has pulled off this time instead of sitting there confused, wondering who on earth thought all of this up.
