Stranger Than Heaven director Mikinobu Abe hopes the game's multi-era narrative and its mixed-heritage protagonist will resonate with players and those who have experienced discrimination.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Abe explained how Stranger Than Heaven's story, which spans 50 years across five distinct eras and cities in Japan, is not a concept he's ever experienced in a video game before, and believes it's "not just entertainment."

"I would say experiencing one man's life as a narrative and as a gameplay experience is something that I have personally never played before as a video game medium. I think that aspect of the game could be something that’s not just entertainment," Abe said.

The director continued to discuss the main character, Makoto Daito, who is of Japanese-American descent, and how his mixed heritage background and the racism he experiences when he first arrives in Japan are aspects of the story that he hopes players engage with.

Abe also said that while RGG Studios was developing the narrative for Makoto, it "felt it was really natural that music would be a big part of this character," and was one of the things that would help break the barriers of the racism he experiences.

"Once he comes to Japan, he faces a lot of discrimination, and people won't even talk to him just because of his race and language," he said. "So, music was the only thing for him that would break those barriers and help him communicate with people. That was really natural for us to put into the narrative.

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