Kojima Has A Big Fan In Remedy's Sam Lake

Sam Lake, the writer and director behind games like Alan Wake and Quantum Break along with the upcoming Control, feels a kinship with Hideo Kojima. He expressed admiration for Kojima and games that allow for unique authorial voices in a recent interview with GameSpot.

"I love it, that we have auteurs and the possibility of just trusting your own vision and going with it," he said. "Kojima is brilliant, I feel. I still don't know what [Death Stranding] is really about, but I'm really interested to see where he's taking it. The more that there are creative visions, and strong visions, and opportunities for creative people to express themselves, the more benefit it is to the whole games industry. It's an opportunity to be inspired and try out new things."

In film, auteur theory refers to directors that control all aspects of a finished work, usually to the point of developing a recognizable style or connected themes. That's certainly true for both Lake and Kojima, who have taken their film influences into the video game realm.

Lake has established a style of stories with heady dream-like qualities and supernatural elements, which puts him in good company with the gonzo storytelling of Metal Gear Solid's Hideo Kojima. Kojima's next game, as Lake referenced, is Death Stranding. It's become known for its bizarre trailers that leave viewers intrigued with the mystery, but possibly confused regarding what kind of game it actually is.

For more on the one of these two upcoming games that we do understand, check out our impressions of Control from E3 2018.