Hideo Kojima parted ways around nine years ago with Konami following the release of Metal Gear Solid V. The creator couldn’t stand to work with the Japanese publisher after years of being treated poorly. His first solo game was Death Stranding, which released back in 2019. These two universes could be more related than fans know.
The iconic artist Yoji Shinkawa is the Lead Character Designer at Kojima Productions and has been a collaborator of Hideo Kojima’s for decades. He has worked on the design for character in both the MGS universe and Death Stranding, which means that some details are very similar across both games. The artist has a unique style that is really loved by fans of both franchises.
These connections between Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding are pretty insane
Metal Gear Solid is one of the most praised videogame franchises ever created. Hideo Kojima created this saga, with the first Metal Gear Solid making the stealth genre popular, before following that up in the sequels that came after. With spectacular narratives, he presented tactical espionage action in a way that had never been seen before.
Thanks to Konami and this Japanese director’s collaboration, players could enjoy a franchise as innovative and fun as Metal Gear Solid for years. But Kojima then left this IP to make his own new story in the form of Death Stranding. Now it turns out that both games have more similarities than we may have first thought.
The internet discovered one specific character design connection that could hint towards Death Stranding being set in like a future timeline of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance.
Although the cyborg version of Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 4 didn’t bear any resemblance to the cyborg ninja seen in the trailer for DS2, if you look at the chestplate of the character’s design in Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, it bears a striking similarity. Yoji Shinkawa is the character designer of both games, so this kind of thing has room to happen.
Then there is also the fact that both characters are technically cyborg ninjas, albeit in different forms. This points to a whole other connection between the two Kojima games.
Yoji Shinkawa is the creative force behind Kojima’s characters
This reference is probably one of the few connections between MGS and DS, given that these titles from Kojima are very different in terms of their respective themes and characters. However, fans seem to be having fun with the conspiracy theories surrounding this connection. Who knows? Maybe there are even more connections just waiting to be found.
Some of the same protagonists from the first game Death Stranding will return in this sequel, along with new cast members like Elle Fanning. The game will release exclusively for PS5 sometime in 2025. Fans are very hyped about this title, and it will mark Kojima’s second project after his departure from Konami. However, the legendary auteur does have a number of other projects in the pipeline.
What are your thoughts about this reference to Metal Gear in Death Stranding? Let us know in the comments!
