For the past few weeks, I’ve been playing video games on a device that looks like it came out of one. The newly released ROG Flow Z13-KJP is a limited-edition Asus computer created in collaboration with Kojima Productions. Functionally, it’s not so different from the regular Flow Z13, a sort of laptop-tablet hybrid with a detachable keyboard. The most visible difference, though, is its design. It is unmistakably the work of Kojima Productions, a studio that’s invested in making science-fiction feel like reality.
Is it worth spending $3700 on a statement gaming PC? Probably not unless you’re a Kojima superfan, but the Flow Z13-KJP is great at what it does. It’s a versatile piece of gaming tech that reflects Kojima Productions’ design philosophies in the flashy fashion you’d expect from the brains behind Death Stranding.
The ROG Flow Z13 is an unusual, but neat concept: It’s a gaming laptop made even more portable. The Kojima collaboration doesn’t change that. The core of it is a tablet with a 13.4-inch 180Hz touchscreen and a sturdy, built-in kickstand. You’ll need to use that if you plan on using the machine, because the detachable keyboard isn’t meant to support it like a normal laptop. Instead, it just looks like a tablet cover when it’s closed. It’s a bit annoying if you actually like placing a laptop on your lap, but the trade-off is that you get a pretty sleek device that’s easy to transport.
It’s more powerful than you’re likely picturing when you hear the word “tablet.” It packs an AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 processor and a Radeon 8060S for its graphics card, which go a long way. On the more intensive end of the spectrum, I’ve been able to run Nioh 3 on it at low graphics settings while hitting 60 frames per second. There are still stutters and lots of asset pop-in, but it’s impressive considering the game’s scope. I’ve also been impressed with the trial version of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection that’s currently available on Steam. It’s a bit of a nightmare on my Steam Deck OLED, but it runs smoothly on the Z13. I can consistently hit 60fps on the highest setting with some occasional stutters.
It still does have its limits compared to proper gaming laptops. I experienced lots more stuttering and framerate collapses in Romeo is a Dead Man (though you can chalk some of that up to that game’s poor PC optimization). But even with some compromises, the Flow Z13-KJP has quickly become a go-to PC gaming device for me, just because it’s so easy to move around and set up on any surface.
None of that is what makes this collaboration special, though. When approached about the collaboration, Kojima Productions was given creative freedom to riff on a few different Asus devices. In an email interview, a representative from Kojima Productions explained that the studio chose the Z13 as a base for its flexibility.
“We thought the detachable keyboard, the kickstand, and the air vents were elements that we could play around with, incorporating features and designs that we don’t usually see on other computers,” a representative wrote. “We wanted to create something that is never-before-seen, something that doesn’t look like a PC at first glance.”
Compared to designing a real-life computer, game designing could be considered somewhat freer.
It certainly doesn’t look like one — or at least not like one that exists in our world. The underside of it is pure sci-fi, covered in accents and black lines that make it look like a computer as it would exist in Death Stranding. The keyboard isn’t perfectly rectangular, but rather juts out at the edges in a way that catches the eye, even if it’s a little impractical. It even comes with a carrying case that looks like a piece of cargo Sam Porter Bridges carries in that game. (Annoyingly, there’s no space for the Z13-KJP’s charger, as the device itself fits snugly inside.) It’s the product of the same creative freedom you find in the studio’s games, though translating that to a real-life product came with restrictions.
“The designing process was somewhat similar to when we are creating games,” Kojima Productions wrote. “When we have an idea that we want to implement into a game, we talk to our engineers, and we sometimes hear back that it’s not possible. We need to find a solution, or we may need to change the idea a little bit to make the implementation possible. During the designing process of this PC, we had dozens of those kinds of conversations, be it the air-vent design and the quantity of holes, laser etching size, or printing size of the logo, etc. Compared to designing a real-life computer, game designing could be considered somewhat freer.”
There’s a playfulness to the Z13-KJP’s out-there design that’s representative of the studios’ ethos. On the top of the tablet, you’ll find the phrase “For Ludens who dare” on a thin gold plate. It’s a bit of a nonsense mashup of Asus and Kojima Productions’ mottos, but the important word is “Ludens.” Have you ever seen that astronaut mascot that celebrities are always posing in front of when they visit the studio? That’s Ludens. He gets his name from Homo Ludens, a 1938 book by cultural historian Johan Huizinga that dissects the act of play as the “essence of human activity and the source of culture.” Ludens isn’t so much a cool mascot as he is a stand-in for the studio’s design ethos at large.
“When we think about exploring out into space or reaching uncharted territories, the most important factor we should keep in mind is to ‘play’,” Kojima Productions wrote. “When we play, we use our brain in the process of creativity, and that is the experience we want to provide. The visual design of our symbol Ludens is based on the concept of ‘bringing play to uncharted territories using cutting-edge technology.’ The suit and equipment were designed to withstand exploration of the unknown lands—such as outer space and harsh natural environments.”
That’s where the Z13-KJP gets high-concept in typical Kojima fashion: “This PC was designed as something that belongs to Ludens, a gadget that Ludens carries when venturing into the unexplored.” Though it took a lot of iterations to both the device and its case to make something that both looked the part and still worked as a PC, the team was able to incorporate pieces of Ludens’ suit (which they have dubbed the “Extra-Vehicular Creative Activity suit”) into the design to represent that idea. Ludens is even the first thing you see every time you boot the machine up, as Kojima Production’s logo replaces your typical ROG splash screen.
Why go through so many hoops to make a machine like this instead of slapping a few decals on a laptop and calling it a day? It comes back to the tech optimism that’s present in the studio’s games. As dystopian as the Death Stranding series is, it’s also about using technology to connect a divided world. (Even if Death Stranding 2 questions the good intentions of that quest.) Believe it or not, that same thinking is baked into the Z13-KJP’s design.
“What Ludens symbolizes is the technologies that support us and take us to the next future,” Kojima Productions wrote. “We want people to live and walk around, carrying Ludens. We want them to engage in creative activities, utilizing Ludens. We envision that, when you wear the Ludens’ creative suit, it’ll encourage you to go out and adventure, and it’ll help you push the boundary a little further. We hope Flow Z13-KJP will do the same.”
Can a gaming PC give us a new lease on life? Wishful thinking. It’s not going to make you forget that computer parts have become prohibitively expensive due to the continued rise of AI, a tech trend that’s starting to feel like the prelude to one of the dystopic futures Kojima makes games about. It’s a cool luxury item and games run great on it, but it’s a computer at the end of the day. It won’t change the world, just how often your carry-on gets flagged by the TSA.
But it’s fascinating to see what makes Kojima Productions such a special video game studio adapted into a real-life product. Maybe, somewhere far in the future, games like Death Stranding could inspire us to push the limits of what’s possible — both in and outside of video games. As long as that future involves cool-looking computers that don’t cost a small fortune because data centers have made the Earth unlivable, I’m cool with that.
