Men would rather travel across an entire continent with a truckload of cargo than go to therapy. At least, that’s what I took away from Hideo Kojima’s follow-up to one of gaming’s strangest titles.
It’s hard to review Death Stranding 2: On the Beach without understanding Hideo Kojima himself. His games are famously known for their polarizing blend of gameplay and cinematics. We’ve seen years of discourse surrounding his Metal Gear Solid series, and now Death Stranding carries that torch forward.
After clocking in at 60 hours of total playtime since Kojima Productions sent the review code to us on June 23, I finally rolled through the game’s credits. There's a lot to unpack in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and I knew I couldn’t rush it. I took everything slow, talking to preppers, delivering cargo, and helping build a massive road network for other players to travel through.
The Death Stranding series has always been an acquired taste, and this sequel continues to challenge new (and old) players in both the best and worst ways.
In this review, I’ll walk through my experiences with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, covering the good and the bad.
A New Frontier
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach picks up six months after the first game. Sam and Lou have retreated from the world and are living peaceful lives as a family. But after tragedy strikes, Sam sets out once again, walking the earth in a mission to reconnect a broken world.
As a sequel, the opening hours left me torn. While the intro was strong, most of Mexico didn’t really stand out. It felt like I was playing the same game from 2019: hauling cargo, delivering packages, and caring for the baby strapped to my chest.
That changed once I reached Australia, the second major location in the game.
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+ 7Australia is the true heart of Death Stranding 2. Everything I knew from Sam’s time with the UCA was gone, replaced by a fresh landscape, new mechanics, and far deadlier enemies.
The continent is a marvel, showcasing just how powerful Sony’s Decima Engine really is. From barren dunes and arid deserts to snow-covered peaks, the visuals and art direction remain consistently stunning. Pair that with Kojima’s signature needle drops, and you get an atmosphere that hits harder when a track from WOODKID, Low Roar, or Magnolian starts playing as you push forward.
The "Walking Simulator" Experience
What pulled me back in was, ironically, the delivery system. I spent countless hours in the original game doing just that, and this sequel perfects the same gameplay loop. I thought I had moved on from hauling cargo across four kilometers of rugged terrain, but I hadn’t.
There’s just something oddly therapeutic about the dopamine rush from completing a perfect delivery, especially after hiking through a blizzard for hours. Kojima has somehow weaponized neurotransmitters, turning package delivery into an addictive loop.
click to enlarge + 7What Death Stranding 2 does remarkably well is give players a wide range of freedom when it comes to deliveries. Kojima lays out every tool you’ll need on a silver platter, and it’s up to the player to strategize. Some prefer walking, others rely on roads, or the new Monorail system. Everyone plays differently, and the game gives you the agency to make that your own.
Despite being known as a walking simulator, Death Stranding 2 fully embraces and elevates its weird genre. With the new construction tools, an expansive Monorail system, and a persistent sense of community, it never feels lonely, just vast and rewarding.
The Rope and the Stick
The Social Strand System still confounds me. I never quite understood who was doing what or how this bridge was constructed in the middle of nowhere. These were the same questions I had in the first game, and they remain unanswered here. Sometimes, the abundance of player-made icons clutters the world, burying the more interesting content beneath noise.
Still, this subtle online mechanic makes the game feel less isolating. The structures, which are often made for selfish reasons, still benefit others who follow the same path. That’s always been the quiet brilliance of Kojima’s Strand concept.
click to enlarge + 7Combat has also seen a major upgrade. The first game had subtle horror elements with its stealthy BT encounters and sparse human combat. This time, the game ramps it up with cinematic, kaiju-like set pieces and much more human opposition. It feels reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, as if Kojima is finally realizing his “ideal” game.
Death Stranding 2 leans much more into action. When it goes loud, it delivers. There’s a healthy balance to its action and hiking moments, which is far better than what we had from the original.
click to enlarge + 7Difficulty is also a slight issue for me. As someone who’s looking for a challenge in a Kojima game, Death Stranding 2 is relatively easy, even on the hardest difficulty. I often found myself having a hard time navigating through grueling terrain rather than clearing an enemy encampment. As a Metal Gear fan, I can’t say the stealth here was my favorite.
Too Many Cooks
As with any Kojima project, there’s no shortage of A-list actors and performances. Plus, the character work and visuals are once again outstanding. Kojima Productions continues to impress with lifelike 3D scans and motion capture. We’ve come a long way from polygons to near-cinematic performances. From Fragile’s facial animations (plus her sentient hands) to Dollman and his 14fps puppet-style animation, the cast is delightfully eccentric.
This time, Kojima has assembled perhaps his most star-studded cast ever, and sometimes, it’s too much.
click to enlarge + 7While the first game had a focused cast, this sequel has nearly twice as many characters. Bigger doesn’t mean better, and one of the game’s core issues is how little time is given to its supporting cast. As each chapter ends, focus shifts to the next major character, leaving others on the back burner.
This seems to be a Kojima hallmark. He’s learned a lot from his earlier works, but he still struggles with balancing character writing, sometimes leading to awkward moments even in emotional scenes.
Still, some performances are undeniably great. Luca Marinelli’s Neil and Alissa Jung’s Lucy stood out, especially in the final chapters. Their chemistry might even surpass Mads Mikkelsen’s performance from the first game.
click to enlarge + 7I liked Elle Fanning’s Tomorrow and Shioli Kutsuna’s Rainy, though their characters felt underdeveloped compared to the rest.
My personal favorite? Dollman. He’s always got my back, reminding me to shower, sleep, and picking up my fallen cargo.
Conclusion
If it’s not obvious yet, I really enjoyed my time with Death Stranding 2. It’s a stellar sequel that improves on what didn’t work in the original. There are some awkward and disjointed moments here and there, but Death Stranding 2: On the Beach absolutely delivers, pun intended. Its gameplay loop remains addictive, and the action sequences are better than the first game.
Kojima may be leaning further into the strangeness in this sequel, but beneath all the intentional absurdity and lengthy exposition, there’s a lot of heart and humanity woven through the chaos. His humor can be corny, and his dialogue a bit cheesy, but he handles mature themes like grief and loss with surprising sincerity, even if not always with perfect nuance.
click to enlarge + 7Death Stranding 2 is about pain and loss, yes, but it also dares to believe that hope and love can transcend them.
Sam’s journey across continents is, in many ways, a 60-hour therapy session, and it goes both ways with the player, too.
Despite its narrative shortcomings and an overcrowded cast, what fascinates me most about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is Kojima’s unwavering commitment to creating a game that doesn’t follow anyone else’s rules.
And somehow, it all works out in the end.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Reviews and Death Stranding page.