Death Stranding
E3 2018 Games that Nailed Facial and Motion Capture
Hideo Kojima is known for two things: plots that are batshit insane and plots that aim for the emotional centers of their audiences. Normally, you would think those wouldn’t play together well, but from what we’ve seen of Death Stranding, the insanity and the feels jell together perfectly thanks to the facial animation and motion capture.
Not only does Death Stranding look positively photorealistic, but the animations on display in the trailers make the fictional world filled with jar babies and invisible oil ghosts seem almost grounded. When Sam (but we all are going to call him Norman Reedus) saw the hand prints of an approaching oil ghost, you could feel his fear thanks to his subtle facial expressions, and don’t tell me you didn’t wince when he pulled off that bloody toenail. He gritted his teeth and gingerly touched the toenail before ripping it off; it all sold a bloody and visceral reaction that made Sam seem real. Also, one look at Lea Seydoux’s face and you could just tell that, no matter how brave she tried to look, she was ready to run when faced with the ghosts. That’s not an easy emotion to convey, but Death Stranding does so masterfully.
