Death Stranding: will Hideo Kojima’s mystery project redefine gaming?

It's the most eagerly awaited game of the year - and it stars everyone from Guillermo del Toro to the Bionic Woman. We tell the inside story of the dystopian thriller

Imagine a world where babies are stored in life-support jars, humans are stalked by oily ghosts, and the American president is played by Lindsay Wagner, the helter-skelter-haired star of 1970s cult TV show The Bionic Woman. This is the dystopian milieu of Death Stranding, which will hit shops soon, just in time for the hectic Christmas period. In this epic video game, by far the most controversial of 2019, players must traverse a future America to reconnect its "chiral network" (a posh internet), while dodging mysterious BTs (beached things). For reasons unknown, the living and dead coexist, with the protagonist able to connect to the "other side" via a "jar baby" in an artificial womb. One recent demo focused on such gimmicks as urinating to create mushrooms.

Wagner is not the only star to feature. Acclaimed video game director Hideo Kojima and his team have also created incredible likenesses of The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, who takes on the lead role of delivery man, as well as Mads Mikkelsen and director Guillermo del Toro. Most agreed to perform because they're fans of Kojima's work, especially his multimillion-selling Metal Gear Solid series. Wagner took more persuading, though.