WATCH: Mystery ‘Death Stranding’ teaser invites a closer look

A half-minute teaser for “Death Stranding”, the mysterious PlayStation 4 game with a host of international film and television talents involved, increases anticipation for a full trailer sometime this week.

‘Death Stranding’ teaser Create The Rope obscures its content behind a hand-shaped template. Image: Twitter/@hideo_kojima_en

Just as the PlayStation 4’s tentpole release schedule is shrouded in mystery, so is the form and content of one of its key titles, “Death Stranding”.

#deathstranding pic.twitter.com/5b470xUPnR

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) May 26, 2019

It is the next move from “Metal Gear Solid” franchise creator and director Hideo Kojima who, having left “Metal Gear” house Konami, is now developing “Death Stranding” in partnership with Sony’s PlayStation division.

Also on board are “The Walking Dead” actor Norman Reedus, accompanied by Mads Mikkelsen (TV series “Hannibal”), Léa Seydoux (James Bond film “Spectre”) and film director Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”), among others.

Previous trailers suggest the game is about passing between this planet and a second, watery world.

Kojima has highlighted the importance of sticks and ropes as thematic concepts, lending further significance to this teaser’s title, “Create The Rope”.

Whatever takes place over the course of its 30-second duration must be seen through a handprint-shaped spy hole, the rest of the image otherwise obscured by waves of dark liquid.

“Death Stranding” was one of just four games that PlayStation presented during its unusual, walkable press keynote at last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 2018).

“Marvel’s Spider-Man” was released later that year to critical acclaim and more recently has been used by Sony to demonstrate a step-up in speed between the PlayStation 4 and the console’s currently unnamed, undated successor.

The other three PlayStation 4 titles were “Death Stranding”, post-apocalyptic and nearly post-human action adventure “The Last of Us Part 2”, and samurai-era “Ghost of Tsushima”, all of which remain undated.

Sony is notable by its absence from E3 2019, yet nevertheless appears to have a profile-raising plan in place for “Death Stranding” if not its other two PlayStation 4 tentpoles as well.

That was implied by an industry analyst, Niko Partners’ Daniel Ahmad, in a May 25 post to the ResetEra message board: he suggested that discussions about PlayStation’s internal game studios be subtitled “Trailer Next Week”. RGA/JB

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