After spending extensive time in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, finishing the main goals and trying lots of side tasks, I can say this is the most Kojima that Kojima has ever been. You're not ready for the final hours.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach More Big, Good, Odd Travel
At heart, Death Stranding 2 is a big step up from the first game. It takes all from it and does it bigger and better. You are Sam Porter Bridges again, a guy whose job is to drop off packages.
The Story: Sam's New Job
11 months after Sam linked the United Cities of America to the Chiral Network and stopped the Last Stranding, Sam left the grid with his Bridge Baby, Lou. But his quiet life ends fast when Fragile finds him and pulls him into her new group, Drawbridge. Their job. To link Mexico and Australia and solve the 'plate gates' mystery things that let you teleport between places, all tied to the Death Stranding event. With the risk of another huge Last Stranding, Sam must come back for a new big trip. Weird stuff totally follows.
Refined Play: Better Pacing and Main Play
Right away, you see how much quicker Death Stranding 2 moves than the first one. While the start of Death Stranding 1 could stop some, this next game puts you in the action fast and brings you to the fun play quicker.
The main play is the same: drop off packages, link places (Mexico and Australia now) to the Chiral Network. The fun still comes from the fight of a man against nature. You are a lone guy walking tough land, thinking about package weight, weather, and using your balance to move. Winning over nature issues and risks like timefall rain (which wears out packages) is still key. New in DS2 are acts of nature like sandstorms, strong winds, forest fires, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, and floods, which can hurt or wreck the paths and spots you set up.
Moving Up and the Social Strand System
Moving up means getting tools that make walking easier. You begin with simple things like ladders and ropes, but soon get floating carriers, robot suits, and rides. A big mix of gear and weapons comes up too. Doing optional tasks and making good ties with folks gets you better gear with more uses or less weight.
You help to build up too. Watch spots, rain shelters, power spots, bridges, zip lines, and safe spots can be made. Stuff from drops or from the bad guys' spots helps you fix main roads, making ride way better. New build types like 'mines' let you trade crystals for lots of stuff, going well with new 'monorails' for moving big loads.
The web link system in the game makes the world feel real. When you build things or add stuff, they might show up in other players’ games and the other way round. You might see bridges or other helpful things that someone else put there. This helps everyone work together to fix the world. When you get 'likes' for something you made, it makes you feel good and fits with the game's idea. This makes playing more fun because making deliveries gets easier for you and for others.
More Fighting and Hiding
Death Stranding 2 really steps up the fighting and hiding parts, making them bigger. Guns and enemy camps show up sooner. There's better fighting and more options for hiding, with smarter enemies and different kinds of fights. This feels a bit like another game called Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and that's good.
There are more tools for fights and quiet moves, making it more fun to face enemies. A new kind of sniper rifle that calms enemies, fake covers, and better guns are some of the new things. There are also tougher enemies and awesome boss fights with big creatures and intense one-on-one battles. This adds to the strong action focus in this game.
Guns have a solid feel, and shooting works well. Being able to drop your heavy bags quickly during a fight helps you move or hide better.
Cars, Tools, and Skills
Cars work better and don't get stuck easily. You can now shoot from the car too. There are better tools and a new way to grow your skills using points from deliveries. This lets you improve how you move, fight, or carry things.
Better Game Flow and Control
Small improvements make the game flow better. The controls for making weapons and organizing your stuff are clearer. The 3D map helps you see the land better and plan your way. Created paths show up as light beams in the game, making it easier to find your way.
The best new feature might be a quick way to manage your stuff. You can sort or drop things fast, which lets you switch between delivering, fighting, and hiding smoothly.
Fast Travel: The DHV Mellin
Fast travel is better with the DHV Mellin, which lets you move fast with all your gear. This cuts down boring parts. You can still use an old way to jump places but without your stuff. The new way lets you carry everything, which is super helpful.
Overall, Death Stranding 2 is more together. It fixes things that some people didn't like before. It's not a brand-new type of game, but it's a big step up. It's easier to get into and less annoying.
Amazing Look
Death Stranding 2 looks stunning, building on the beautiful first game. The scenery is amazing with rocks, plants, and details that stand out. There are more kinds of places like deserts and forests.
The game shows time changing smoothly and has great lighting and shadow effects. Weather changes matter more, making the game harder and looking very real. The ground keeps track of where you've walked, adding a touch of reality. Plants move as you walk through them, and other effects like in a storm look great.
The way people look and move is top class, building on the already great work from the first game. Faces and body movements catch small details and emotions.
Some Small Issues
Even though it looks great, there are small issues. Shadows near plants can look patchy, and some reflections aren't clear. The detail in some places isn't as good as in others. The lighting at different times can also seem weird, but that might be on purpose for the game's story.
Game Play and Tech
Death Stranding 2 works very smooth. I saw few slow-downs or bugs. Played on PlayStation 5 Pro, it kept a steady, locked 60 frames per second in its fast mode. The base PlayStation 5 looks to run well too.
The game has two look modes on the consoles: Quality (30 FPS) and Fast (60+ FPS, at 120Hz on good screens). Fast mode on the base PS5 is around 1440p but looks less clear and more blurry than Quality mode. On PS5 Pro, Fast mode is cleaner, with less blur and better views of far stuff, more like Quality mode. The look of the ground is better on the Pro. For my pick, fast mode on the Pro is best as it's smooth and looks almost as good as Quality mode.
Load times are fast all over, with quick shifts and smooth in-game loading, showing off the PS5's SSD. HDR is on, set by system options, and shows nice darks and lights if your screen is set right.
Overall, the tech quality is top-notch. Cojima Production's games always look great for their run quality, and DS2 is no break from this. While the Pro has small look boosts, the base game feels great on both PS5s.
Sound and Voices
Sound in Death Stranding 2 is key as the looks. Sound work, voice work, and music all work well together. Sounds of the world are real rain, wind, and your steps feel like they’re there. The feel grows in BT run-ins, with the clicking, thinning music, and loud beats of Sam's heart and quick breaths.
Fight sounds are good, and the music use is great, with a mix of new and known tunes that come on at big times in the game, making calm breaks that really draw you in. You can add songs to Sam's player too. The sound work is top-notch, one of the best.
The voice work is strong. Norman Reedus is back as Sam, good and now shows more depth, like a tired dad wanting to fix stuff. Others from a weird hermit to the nice odd 'Doll Man' (a live doll aiding Sam) are all well-done, showing off the star cast.
The Wild Ride and Stories
The main loop of plan, pack, walk, panic, and deliver is still there, but faster and more fun. It's got a "just one more go" feel. The crazy bits of hauling tons of stuff over hard lands, making it, only to go back, are pure Death Stranding.
Big bits include sneaking past enemy spots with a big pack, using new tools like throwing Doll Man to check ahead, getting caught, running for cover, only to see your cart break, stuff flying and key gear breaking. Then picking it all back up, moving to base looking like a "living Christmas tree of too much stuff and sadness," only to see Sam rest, shower, read, and look at a doll all night. It's wild, fun, sad, and so Death Stranding.
The game lets you feel its style way quicker than the first one. It gives you ways to face challenges hidden, fast, or fight and it all works well together.
Pros, Cons and Rating
Pros:
- Much better flow than the first game.
- Better fight and hide play, with more tools.
- Better UI and easy-to-use features, like handling cargo.
- Better and easy fast travel ways.
- Big and varied open places with changing weather and day times.
- Great looks and face making with Decima tech.
- Strong work and fast loads on PS5/PS5 Pro.
- Great sound work, feel-good audio, and top music use.
- Deep and odd tale by Kojima, with cool roles.
- Good game growth and fun online sharing.
- Keeps the fun walk and run play, stays true to itself.
Cons:
- You need to know the tale from the first game (bad quick recap in-game).
- Kojima's way of telling tales may not catch all.
- Small visual issues.
- Menus can still feel hard at times.
- Some moves in fight or walking can be slow or odd.
- AI can be too quick to react.
Rating
Rating: 9 / 10
Final Words
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is, in short, a big and better form of what the first game did, and keeps the tale going. The many changes make it a lot better, smooth, and whole. It's still not for all the main job of moving stuff over hard land is still key but the needed fixes help make this odd and new way more open.
I had a lot of fun and was into it all the time. If you were not sure about the first game, this one may make you think "wow." There's still nothing like Death Stranding in games, and I'm glad for makers like Hideo Kojima who try new things in big games with a small team feel. Death Stranding 2 is a trip worth it, a show of skill, and shows how good Kojima's team is.
