Who is Hideo Kojima, really? The creator and director of the Metal Gear Solid franchise and the 2019 post-apocalyptic sci-fi Death Stranding is hailed as one of the gaming industry's bonafide auteur directors. But however active Kojima is on social media, where he often lets his cinephile flag fly, the life of the man remains mostly unknown.
A new documentary, Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds directed by Glen Milner, doesn't quite tell the life story of its subject. It doesn't spend any real time at all diving into the fallout between Kojima and Konami, the Japanese gaming giant that made its fortunes producing games like the Metal Gear Solid series – nor is there any mention of Silent Hills, Kojima's canceled horror game, that was famously preceded by P.T., the short 'playable teaser' horror venture of 2014. Rather, the documentary spends its hour-long runtime probing Kojima's artistry and personality, revealing an eccentric, self-admitted micromanager whose recurring narrative themes and wistful desire to connect the world take root in a childhood full of curiosity.
