Death Stranding 2 characters smoke and play guitar for a reason — Kojima explains Cliff and Fryl’s behavior

Hideo Kojima shared that in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach he wanted to convey the individuality of the characters — and told how he succeeded.

During promotional tour Death Stranding Hideo Kojima said that he changed some of the game’s characters to emphasize the habits of actors in real life. According to the developer, this allows making the characters more alive, natural, and better «fit» into the game’s universe.

Kojima admitted that when he sees an actor at work or off set, he is ready to change details for the sake of a more atmospheric environment. This happened, for example, with Lea Seydoux, the actress who plays the character Fredgie. In the first game, the character didn’t smoke, but after Kojima saw Seidou with a cigarette in the movie, he decided to add this detail to the character. Although she had given up the habit, during a dinner together, Kojima saw the actress taking a smoke break. The creator assumed that she had returned to smoking after having to imitate it on set, which only reinforced his decision.

Similarly, Mads Mikkelsen’s character Cliff changed during the first game. According to Kojima, the actor looks impressive with a cigarette, so it became an integral part of the character’s image. These little things were not written in the original script, but were later included in the final version.

Hideo Kojima shared the story of how he sometimes changes a character to match the personality of the person who is playing the role.

He gave the example of Fragile, played by Léa Seydoux. Fragile doesn’t smoke in the first game, but when he saw another movie she was in, he… pic.twitter.com/AO1Nd3aESv

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) June 28, 2025

Another example is the character Giggs in Death Stranding 2. During the pandemic, Kojima was watching the YouTube channel of voice actor Troy Baker. He learned that Baker plays electric guitar and decided to add this feature to the game. Since then, Giggs in the sequel also plays this instrument — not only for deeper personalization, but also as an additional touch to the image.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release was released on June 26 on PS5. Players have already found one of the rare Easter greetings — birthday greetings. Earlier, it was also reported that the soundtrack in the sequel adapts to the user’s actions — it changes depending on the environment, rhythm, and course of events.

Source: Games Radar