The hotly-anticipated Hideo Kojima game Death Stranding looks like it’s already going to be a trip — if not literally then figuratively. Now, the Metal Gear Solid director is throwing us another curveball of something that’s less of an Easter egg, and more of a treat from one celebrity to another. If you look hard enough in your Death Stranding travels, you may stumble upon… Conan O’Brien giving us an otter suit that lets you swim like an otter?
Yeah, that’s an actual thing now! On his show Wednesday night, he revealed that he not only visited the Kojima Productions studio, but is now an NPC in the new game. He’ll be one of the “preppers,” or NPCs you can visit to deliver goods and receive some in return. And his prize is an otter suit, which lets you float (or swim) on your back through deep-enough bodies of water.
In the clip shown on the show and posted onto YouTube, O’Brien visits the Tokyo office of Kojima Productions, greeted by Hideo Kojima himself. There are jokes about the project’s infamous secrecy, including a segment blurring out Kojima himself. (They do show a coat rack, which O’Brien, appropriately, calls “genius.” You’re absolutely right, Conan. GENIUS!) They also talk about why the heck is Norman Reedus naked so much in these trailers!? And apparently, Reedus wanted to appear more muscular.
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Eventually, Kojima asks if O’Brien wants to be an NPC in the game. And he accepts, because who wouldn’t want to be an NPC in a AAA video game! He’s then taken into the capture room, where they take pictures of O’Brien’s likeness, for better or worse. And at the end, we see a small clip of O’Brien’s role in the game.
On Twitter, Kojima gives us a slightly more extensive chance to peek at the clip provided by Hideo Kojima, Sam Bridges encounters the NPC, The Wondering MC, who tells a couple of corny jokes. While Sam doesn’t laugh (thank god), he does get the otter suit, which is shown later in the clip.
And yes, Sam does float down the river like an otter. On his back and all.
Conan O'Brien appears as a prepper “The Wondering MC” in DS. You get “Sea Otter Suit” when you get connected with him. With this suit, you’ll be able to swim easily in the river, you won’t be drifted away! BB would be happy as well. ????????????☔️????????????????????✋???????? pic.twitter.com/nIsw5JS5t0
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) October 24, 2019
It’s actually kind of endearing, minus the weird hand-waving that Sam does as he floats along. Which looks a little… inappropriate. Or at best, awkward. But I guess an otter’s gotta swim somehow, right…? …yeah no that’s definitely not how otters work. Is it?
Whatever the case, this situation is one more celebrity in the Death Stranding star party. The main character is portrayed by Norman Reedus, and we’ve got the devilishly stunning villain-actor Mads Mikkelsen opposite him. There’s also video game industry veteran Troy Baker and a massive cameo by Guillermo Del Toro, among others.
Death Stranding is coming out in 15 days (14 if you count pre-loading and early release), on Friday, November 8. As Kojima Productions is supported by Sony, it’ll be exclusively on the PlayStation 4 for $59.99.
