On November 8, game designer Hideo Kojima released his newest video game, Death Stranding. Kojima is most popularly known for his stealth-action series “Metal Gear Solid” and more recently Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. While Death Stranding is one of the top-grossing games across the world, it has faced fierce criticism by gamers in the US. Kojima attributes this to Americans lacking “artistic sensibility.”
In an interview with IGN in mid-November, Kojima addressed the wide-ranging reviews globally. “I must say that the game has received some enthusiastic reviews, above all in Europe and Japan. Here in the US, instead, we’ve had stronger criticisms," he said. "Perhaps it’s a game that’s difficult to understand for a certain type of critic and some of the public. Americans are some of the biggest first-person shooter fans and Death Stranding isn’t that.”
If it has caused so much criticism here in the US, then why has the music industry wholeheartedly embraced the vibe and the emotion that the game invokes? If you follow any of the top songs on Spotify, you may have noticed Major Lazer’s newest release featuring Khalid, “Trigger.” What you may not have noticed is that it’s a part of the original soundtrack from the game. Receiving roughly 42 million listens on Spotify, it has appeared on a number of Spotify’s pop playlists, and even hit the “Top 50 Viral US” playlist.
While Major Lazer and Khalid are probably the most noteworthy artists to appear, The Neighbourhood and CHVRCHES also produced original music for the game. Jesse Rutherford, lead singer of The Neighbourhood, told Variance Magazine, "We’re very flattered to be chosen by Kojima to be a part of this project. This is the first time we’ve ever had our music in a video game and it’s gonna be a trip hearing it while playing Death Stranding."
The feature song of the game’s soundtrack, however, was CHVRCHES’s song “Death Stranding.” Like The Neighbourhood, CHVRCHES was also excited to work with Kojima on Death Stranding. “We were really excited about the opportunity to work with Kojima because we have been fans of his work for a long time,” the band said in a statement. “The concept of Death Stranding is so unique and really felt to us like it was challenging people to care about the world they create — in the game and otherwise.”
Considering that Kojima’s Death Stranding is featuring music from perennial “big-hitters” like Khalid, Major Lazer, and CHVRCHES, it is clear that Kojima is aware of musical trends. He has also revealed that Conan O’Brien and other prominent directors such as Guillermo del Toro, director of “The Shape of Water,” will be making a cameo appearance, and the game even features Monster Energy drink cans. You can find the entire album wherever you listen to your music.
Riley Prescott and Michael Hughes contributed to this article.