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Ever since Sony revealed “Death Stranding” to the world in 2016 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the gaming community was both excited and thoroughly confused. Now, with its release on Friday, Nov. 8, players and critics are still unsure if the game is brilliant, or merely the overzealous passion project of a developer with no one to tell him no.

The game features voice talents such as Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”), Léa Seydoux (“Blue is the Warmest Colour”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Doctor Strange”), among others.

 The trailer, the world’s first introduction to the game, presented photorealistic visuals, made possible by photogrammetry and motion capture. The short teaser showed Reedus lying naked on a black beach, covered in handprints. He reaches out as the camera pans over to a fetus lying next to him. He embraces the fetus before it disappears, leaving Reedus’ hands covered in a black liquid. Moments later, black handprints trail off his leg and onto the beach. He then stands up and looks off into the sea.

The strange visuals, coupled with the eerie, melancholic sounds of the band Low Roar, made for a confusing trailer. The public remained excited, however, mostly due to the creative mind behind the game: Hideo Kojima.

Kojima, famous for creating the Metal Gear Solid franchise, famously left his longtime employment at Konami due to creative differences in 2015. He would go on to found his own company, Kojima Productions, to develop “Death Stranding.”

The final product was a game with an extremely complex and convoluted story. The story, which takes place in an unspecified future, shows a world that has been left in shambles by an event called “The Death Stranding.” Rainfall has been transformed into “timefall,” rain that rapidly ages whatever it touches. When people die, unless they are cremated in a timely manner, they cause “voidouts” – massive terraforming explosions – and then become “BTs,” ghostly entities that attack the living.

The player takes control of Sam Porter Bridges, a transporter carrying cargo across the former United States, when most are unwilling to brave the dangers. Equipped with a “BB,” a small fetus in a tank that can “hook up” to a person and detect BTs, the player must transport cargo from Washington D.C. to the west, while forming connections with each delivery, attempting to unite the world once again using a program called the “Chiral Network.” One point of contention going into “Death Stranding” was when Hideo Kojima described this game as the first of a new genre of storytelling: “strand.”

“By incorporating the concept of connection (strand), it’s a totally brand new genre called action game/strand game (social strand system),” Kojima said in a Twitter post in June.

Comments like this have made many concerned that the game was no more than a self-indulgent passion project by Kojima. The stars of the game are actors that Kojima is friends with or greatly admires, and the game features music from artists that he is fond of, such as Low Roar and Bring Me the Horizon. There is also a strange focus on Monster energy drinks, which are an essential survival tool in the game to replenish stamina. This form of product placement has been met with much criticism.

Whether it can be considered a new genre or not, the game does present strong themes of unity and human interaction, especially with its online mechanic, in which tools that other players used in their game remain to help you in your game.

Despite these controversies and criticisms, the game still manages to grip the player thanks to the brilliant performances of its actors, the most notable coming from Mikkelsen’s character, Cliff. Introduced to the player in short flashbacks at first, whenever Sam connects to his BB, Cliff slowly reveals his heart-wrenching backstory.

“Death Stranding” is a controversial and debate-worthy game, but will compel players with its breathtaking visuals and stellar performances. While it may not be for everyone, it is certainly a game worth checking out. The game is currently available exclusively on PlayStation 4, but will be coming to PC in 2020.