Death Stranding’s new trailer is the most bizarre look at the game yet

A new trailer for Death Stranding, the first game from Kojima Productions, debuted during The Game Awards Thursday evening.

The cinematic reintroduces us to Norman Reedus’ character. He awakens in a barren, mysterious land, rain-soaked and confused. He’s not alone, however; he and the rest of the Bridges-branded crew are seen extracting the life out of other men (including their fellow team members) as part of a strange, covert operation.

It only gets more ominous from there. The haunting trailer goes on to tease Reedus and the team’s enemies: several strange, alien lifeforms only barely visible in the footage. We also see a member of the team stabbing himself to death; Norman Reedus’ character floating underwater, alongside his crew mates; and the return of the baby that we first saw in the game’s very first trailer.

“Once there was an explosion, a bang that gave rise to life as we know it,” Reedus’ character says at the end. “Then came the next explosion, an explosion that will be our last.”

It’s ... a lot. But what would you expect? Anyway, you might just want to watch it above.

Hideo Kojima, the much-loved director of the wild Death Stranding, briefly appeared on stage following the trailer’s premiere. He was joined by Norman Reedus, who joked about finding the footage just as esoteric as the rest of us.

Kojima also took to the stage earlier in the ceremony, alongside co-presenter Guillermo del Toro. The director of films like Pan’s Labyrinth and this month’s The Shape of Water announced the nominees and winners for best art direction, which went to Cuphead. Del Toro plays a key role in Death Stranding, as we saw last time Kojima dropped a trailer for the game.

As a close friend of host Geoff Keighley, Kojima has made regular appearances at The Game Awards and Keighley’s previous hosting gigs. At The Game Awards 2016, the director returned to the stage with a Death Stranding trailer after his former employer, Konami, barred him from appearing the year before. Keighley honored his friend during the 2016 ceremony with a special Industry Icon Award, introducing Kojima with an emotional reference to his 2015 no-show.

Death Stranding — which also stars Mads Mikkelson — is in development for PlayStation 4, although a release date remains out of reach.