Most testers hated the first Death Stranding: only 40% gave a positive review

Even if you have mixed emotions about Hideo Kojima's games, you can't help but give him credit for his courage and willingness to go all-in. Death Stranding is the type of game that, in an extremely conservative business, would never have received a significant budget from Sony if it weren't for Kojima's reputation. Still, it's safe to assume that someone at Sony was nervous to learn that they were funding a delivery simulator with minimal action, especially given the early reviews of Death Stranding from testers.

Here's What We Know

In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Kojima revealed a startling truth: most of the playtesters were openly dissatisfied with the game.

"I did a lot of monitoring tests on the first Death Stranding. I found out that four out of ten people love the game, and six say it's a terrible game," Kojima admitted.

60% of the testers hated the game, but Kojima said that the 40% approval rate was "a good balance". He also added: "I don't want to make games like this. I'm not interested in appealing to the mass market or selling millions of copies. That's not what I want to do."

He also seems disappointed that the same Death Stranding 2 playtesters are much more positive, to the point where he wishes "it was a little more controversial".

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach will be released on 26 June exclusively for PlayStation 5.

As a reminder, Kojima is preparing a "testament of ideas": the author of Death Stranding has a drive with ideas for future games that Kojima Productions can use after his death.

Source: GamesRadar