After losing his rights to make another "Metal Gear Solid" game from Konami, creator Hideo Kojima has turned to easter eggs in his upcoming game "Death Stranding."
With the release of the debut trailer for "Death Stranding," some eagle-eyed fans have noticed something familiar, a silhouette of a famous "Metal Gear Solid" character seems to have been included in the trailer. This was the boss and villain Psycho Mantis from 1998's first "Metal Gear Solid" game. Since then, Psycho Mantis has recurred in several iterations of the franchise.
Fans of the "Metal Gear Solid" franchise have then claimed that the said silhouette they spotted in the debut trailer is none other than Psycho Mantis. This could mean that he will be in the game as well, at least as an easter egg or in secret.
That said, this notion of "Death Stranding" having a "Metal Gear Solid" character remains a speculation, and it may still be likely that Kojima is moving on to greener pastures. The said silhouette also seems to be too vague and perhaps would require hardcore devotion from some fans in order to be fully recognized and passed off as Psycho Mantis.
It is also possible that the said silhouette is another character entirely and just looks to be wearing the same attire as Psycho Mantis, which is often a black leather straight jacket and gas mask. This is somewhat more likely since there are a lot of supernatural characters featured in "Death Stranding" that also use Psycho Mantis' mode of transport, levitation.
It can be recalled that Kojima will not be making any new "Metal Gear Solid" games after he left the publishing company Konami who now owns the rights to the franchise. This could mean that he will not be able to include any character from the franchise but can still reference or pay homage to them. At most, he could make imitations for them and name them differently.
Whether Psycho Mantis really is in "Death Stranding" or not will be found out once the game gets released, which does not have a definite date yet.
