Death Stranding is going to be part of a new genre of gaming called strand games, according to Kojima

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Kojima has revealed what genre he believes Death Stranding belongs to

Credit: Kojima Productions

Death Stranding is one enigmatic game. So far, so obvious, but with the recent announcement of the Death Stranding release date and the Death Stranding trailer finally being out in the open, you might have thought that you now have a rough idea of what the game is. 

But, according to Hideo Kojima on Twitter, we shouldn't make assumptions about Death Stranding's genre, since it's "not a stealth game. Could move subjectively but not a FPS shooting game either. By incorporating with the concept of connection (strand), it's a totally brand new genre called action game/strand game (social strand system)." 

That's pretty darn cryptic, mainly because I think it's anyone's guess what a social strand game is. However, judging by what Kojima has said in the past, it sounds like he's envisioning a game where interacting with different players is part of the core Death Stranding experience. 

PlayStation's page for the game mentions that asynchronous multiplayer is going to be a key part of the title, as you have to "Help other travellers without ever crossing paths via asynchronous online gameplay. Send supplies, share safe houses and walk in the footsteps of fellow couriers to reunite civilization". 

That makes it sound like you'll be indirectly helping out other players however you can, as a kind of ghostly friendly NPC. Or something. Whatever it ends up being, that asynchronous multiplayer is likely what makes Death Stranding a "strand game", so you can bet that your interactions with other players are going to be important not only to the gameplay, but to the story as well. Just prepare to expect the unexpected, ok?

We have tons more of information about Death Stranding, so here's the posters and new story synopsis that got released following its release date trailer, or look below to see what's happening this week in the world of games, TV, and movies!

Zoe Delahunty-Light
Zoe Delahunty-Light
Former GamesRadar+ Staff

While here at GamesRadar, Zoe was a features writer and video presenter for us. She's since flown the coop and gone on to work at Eurogamer where she's a video producer, and also runs her own Twitch and YouTube channels. She specialises in huge open-world games, true crime, and lore deep-dives.