What just happened? A video surfaced sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning that allegedly shows gameplay footage of the next game coming out of Kojima Productions. It appears to be called Overdose and might be a sequel or a spinoff of Death Stranding. However, there is much to be skeptical about, so keep your salt shaker handy.
Let's start by examining the video. The original uploaded by Insider Gaming was taken down but not before others re-uploaded it. We embedded one of those below for your convenience, but there is no telling how long it will persist online. If it's broken, a simple YouTube search should yield more results.
In the two-minute 30-second clip, we see what seems to be a Twitch streamer's or a game tester's face in a picture-in-picture overlay. On the main screen, the playable character looks like Margaret Qualley, who portrayed Mama in Death Stranding. So the game could be related to Kojima's debut title, or the studio is reusing talent. The latter is not an unreasonable assumption considering Norman Reedus is reportedly still working with Hideo on a Death Stranding sequel.
The Qualley character is exploring a dark environment with a flashlight, indicating that the game falls into the survival horror genre. The player in the PiP screen looks tense, which somewhat reinforces that conclusion.
Considering these facts alone, one could reasonably assume that the footage is authentic and from Kojima Productions. That the game is going to be a survival horror title either related to Death Stranding or simply starring Margaret Qualley. However, the presentation of the material raises too many questions to make that it cut and dry.
Typically leaked footage is just that — a clip of recorded gameplay or cinematics. In this case, the clip was played back and videoed with another camera, then played on a phone and recorded by some shirtless guy. So it was a recording of a recording of a recording. The first two third-party captures can sort of make sense, but beyond that, why not just pass around the original file or the recording of the original? Is something being hiding by progressively degrading the footage by re-recording?
Also, the player in the PiP appears to be wearing a bad wig. What's up with that?
The huge red flag is the "Game Over" screen. It's mostly normal until it fades out and is replaced by "A Hideo Kojima game. OVERDOSE." That name already appeared in a previous leak in June. In fact, Tom Henderson of Try Hard, verbally described the same footage, so it is seemingly video confirmation of his report. However, the shameless self-promotion on the game-over screen seems a little much. Almost as if a hoaxer wanted to be sure the footage got tied to Kojima Productions.
That said, it seems like an awful lot of work just to pull off a hoax. The trickster would have to create a short section of a fake game in Unreal or another engine using Margaret Qualley's likeness. Then simulate playing or streaming it. Then record it off a screen twice — once shirtless for some reason. Then disseminate it. It seems over the top for a hoax with ultimately minimal payoff.
Then again, some people have way too much time on their hands these days. What do you think? Is this a legit leak from Kojima Productions, or is someone pulling a fast one? Let us know in the comments.
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: Barryavil .Sh*t"
