Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025)

Just like I did with the original, took many months off from this only to pick it back up and become addicted. Probably sunk over 8 hours into it over the weekend. It's everything good about the first game made better. Controls are fine-tuned, combat actually feels great, graphics are jaw-dropping, narrative is doled out at a better clip, and Kojima has no issue indulging his most extreme dramatic and comedic whims. Maybe the biggest upgrade is one I rarely see mentioned: DS2 makes it so much easier to "improve" areas you discover. There's a real sense of accomplishment seeing roads and the new monorails you've built up over previously sparse land, with the improvements making traversal over the vast Australian continent quicker and a real delight. No more frustration as you hike over the same patch of landscape for the 8th time in a play session because a major hub is oddly situated away from road building opportunities.

Just impeccable game design from top to bottom. Can't wait to get home to pour even more hours into it.

I discovered my first example of the Australian wildlife in this game! Unfortunately it was by running it over with my bike.

I went back to see what I hit and discovered that you can create a small gravestone to pay your respects to dead animals?! This had me speechless, what a wild feature to include.

Bilby will remain in my heart.

I've played for about 5-6 hours and just did two side-missions. Which rewarded me with a smoke grenade schematic; and a "tranq sniper rifle".

The MGS or "tacticool" vibes are real. But I'm not feeling as invested or intrigued as I was with the original Death Stranding. I'm also in the mood for a game that is less sad or depressing. So I'm putting this one on hold for a bit.

100% accurate depiction of Australia, down to all the chiral creatures crawling around. Those little guys make my day!

Really enjoying my time On The Beach. So far (24 hours) I have many less misgivings with this game than I did with its predeccesor. I don't regularly enjoy stealth gameplay, but I've been enjoying those segments too... even if personally I'd still cut all that in favour of more walking. It's the best part.

My only hangup is... I'm not an acting expert, but to my eye the performances land all over the map in terms of quality; some are excellent (Shioli Kutsuna and Troy Baker steal the show in every one of their scenes); some feel confused and aloof, as if captured in a vaccuum or with little direction; others are okay and just kind of exist. Overall, I would say the performances are better than the first game—additionally, I've found the writing not nearly as stiff and distant, like the writers are learning to relax, let their hair down and explore the space... even if they're clearly still working out the kinks.

I want to try to write a review once I have completed it for my Final Thoughts.

Hi everyone! I'm back and have been enjoying video games again :)

The gameplay feels fantastic, with the new fast travel options making it much easier to traverse the expansive map. Building roads and monorails is also significantly improved—more streamlined and genuinely rewarding once completed.

That said, the story left a bit to be desired. The final plot twist was unfortunately predictable, so when it was finally revealed, it didn’t have the impact it should have. Still, I found myself invested in the narrative and eager to keep going. My biggest gripe was that most of the main missions boiled down to simply "connect to the next city," which felt repetitive and somewhat rushed.

Overall, though, it's a great game. I enjoyed every moment and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who appreciates a slower-paced experience with a compelling—if imperfect—story.

Story: 7 Plot: 8 Intrigue: 9 Graphics: 10 Gameplay: 9 Mechanics: 9 Characters: 10 Soundtrack: 10 Atmosphere: 10 Combat: 10 Pacing: 9 Ending: 8

Overall: 8.5

After A LOT of work, here's my "lore and theme analysis" of Kojima Production latest game. I talk about how the game presents american neocolonialism, the way Kojima changes its opinions about human connections in the COVID-19 era and try to explain weird stuff about BBs, BTs, APAC and more combinations of letters.

Here's the article. It's in spanish but you can use the browser tools to translate it if you're interested in reading it.

Spoiler warning, of course.