Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

good, but a step down from the previous game

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025) — ★★★★½ (8.9/10) Kojima expands on the first game's vision without abandoning what made it strange in the first place. The core loop is still there — planning routes, managing cargo, reading terrain, dealing with weather and isolation — but everything feels more refined this time around. Less friction, more tools, more room to actually enjoy the traversal instead of fighting it. The world design is genuinely the standout here. Terrain, weather, distance, an

kojima took some of the criticism about part 1 to heart and made the story a lot more accessible this time around. the gameplay is mostly same-ish, with a few adjustments and cool additions. i'm also somehow in love with everything australia, so this sequel is a definite improvement in pretty much every regard. still very niche for a comparatively big production, but it deserves success.

I think this is a slight improvement on the first game. The story is just as weird, and there are parts of the game where it feels like little to no story is progressing for hours, but regardless of that weirdness, the cinematic presentation is still brilliant, and the gameplay is just as fun if not funner than the first game. It's also visually gorgeous with a great soundtrack. This series is difficult to explain, but it's something you need to try to realize why it's so good.

On one hand, I believe that DS2 can cure depression. Playing this gave me a lot of joy in a difficult time of my life, and I am grateful it exists. On the other hand, DS2 has the exact same problems with its writing as the first one. I was tempted to give this a full score until the ending sequences, which, withouth spoiling what actually happens, goes down the usual Kojima path of pure nonsense that requires outside help to understand. Almost GOTY, but alas. Game is addictive as hell, though.