Hideo Kojima is perhaps one of the most iconic names in the video game industry. because of him, we have the Metal gear Solid games and their spin-offs, the canceled PT, and his recently released game, Death Stranding.

However, he wasn't always known in the industry like all the greats in the industry were. During the time before Metal gear Solid, he was developing other games for Konami, back when it was still releasing video games.

One of these games is Policenauts, a game that helped Kojima become known for his world-building and cinematic video games.

Policenauts History, Gameplay

Policenauts is an adventure game developed and designed by Hideo Kojima and published by Konami in Japan in 1994 for the PC-9821, per the Konami Wiki. The game eventually made its way to the PlayStation in 1996, but it remained in Japan.

Kojima wanted to have the game released to the international market, but an English localization of the game got canceled due to the technical problems associated with it. It was only in 2009 that Kojima's fans created a fan translation that was ever truly released outside of Japan.

The game tells the story of one Jonathan Ingram, a private investigator, and retired policenaut, who was hired by his former wife to find her new husband, who suddenly disappeared. During his investigations, he learns about the fate of his former colleagues and what is happening behind the scenes for humanity to counteract the effects of being in space for extended periods.

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There's not much to say about Policenauts' gameplay. For starters, the game is very linear and is more of an interactive movie of sorts. Players need to click on things and the screen and exhaust all conversation options to progress the game, per Gamespot's GameFAQs.

However, there are some instances where the game breaks this monotony, like solving a puzzle to diffuse a bomb and plenty of shootout sequences.

Regardless of Policenauts' gameplay, its main draw for gamers is its story, characters, and presentation - a characteristic that would eventually make its way to Kojima's later game, like the Metal Gear Solid games.

Critical Reception and Possible Sequel?

Critics and gamers received Policenauts well, with the game garnering positive feedback from both groups. IMDb gave the game a user score of 8.4 based on 144 user-generated reviews, while Eurogamers rated the game with an 8/10 for its "gentle interactive storytelling and Miami Vice-style soundtrack."

Kojima revealed in a recent tweet that he was considering making a sequel for Policenauts, wherein one of the main villains of the game comes back alive for revenge, but it never happened even though he completed the "planning, setting, story, storyboard, and commands, in 1990.

The famed game developer finished all of this before production was delayed following his transfer to another department. It's no small wonder then, that Kojima misses this game even after years away from his alma mater.

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