Hideo Kojima has his own theory on why Death Stranding is getting a mixed reception.
In an interview with TGCom (via GamesRadar), Kojima explained that he believed that Death Stranding is getting a more critical reception in the United States than in Europe and Japan because "Americans are great fans of first-person shooters and Death Stranding is not [a first-person shooter]".
"Perhaps it is a difficult game to understand for a certain type of critic and audience," he continued.
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A mixed reception?
Here at TechRadar, we gave Death Stranding a five star rating – making it the first game of the year to earn that accolade. However, the critical response to Kojima's epic has been a mixed bag, with the game sitting at a metacritic score of 83 (at time of writing).
Kojima went on to suggest that some appreciate the artistic nature of Death Stranding more than others.
"I always try to create new things and disputes and discussions are fine," Kojima told TGCom. "But it must be said that the Italians or the French have a different artistic sensibility that allows them to appreciate this kind of very original products, they are not in video games but also in the cinema."
Death Stranding may be quite convoluted in many aspects but Kojima still believes that the game has one key point that should appeal to all those who play it.
"I hope these players can somehow wake up more kindly, better people," he expalined. "This is the key message that Death Stranding wants to bring: be more kind."
Death Stranding is available on PlayStation 4 now.