Acclaimed video game director and creator Hideo Kojima knows what he wants his next project to be. He recently tweeted he wants to create the scariest horror game. A known cinephile, he’s watching the most terrifying movies he can find in order to spark ideas.
As to make the scariest horror game, I’ll watch the scary movies in order to awaken my horror soul. THE EYE is the Thai horror movie I rent when making PT but was too scary to finish watching. The package is scary so I rented the disc only. Will I be able to finish watching? pic.twitter.com/BVwPruUAvt
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) November 22, 2019
“Awaken my horror soul” is a nice way to put watching a movie so terrifying, you couldn’t finish it the first time. With Death Stranding now complete, there’s no reason Kojima shouldn’t be able to make what he wants to. Sure, his production company still answers to Sony. But he was given an exorbitant amount of creative freedom with his last project. Plus, fantastic sales and that Game of the Year nomination certainly don’t hurt matters.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Kojima is looking to movies for inspiration. Death Stranding is more cinematic than many games, as is his Metal Gear series. But he also recently expressed interest in moving towards filmmaking.
It also shouldn’t surprise anyone that Horror is the next genre Kojima wants to take on. In 2014, he began developing a new entry in the Silent Hill franchise. A playable teaser, or P.T., even launched on the PS Store to high acclaim. But with Kojima and publisher Konami’s falling out, the project was canceled in 2015. This upset pretty much everyone given how genuinely horrifying the teaser was. But elements would remain for Death Stranding, such as Guillermo Del Toro’s involvement and Norman Reedus in the lead role.
While it isn’t really a scary game, Death Stranding does feature some moments of terror. These moments usually revolve around the Beached Things, or BTs, which are ghost-like enemies that seek to devour humans. These, along with the skin-crawling P.T., prove Kojima could make an excellent horror game. Hopefully, he gets the chance to this time.
