Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Perfectly Refines The Original’s Eccentricities

Stranded in the middle of a blizzard atop the tallest mountain in Australia, I forged ahead with packages stacked three feet high on my back and winds howling in every direction. The inclement weather and steep incline forced me to abandon my pick-up truck full of Lost Cargo and back-up equipment about 2000 meters from my position, a regrettable but necessary decision if I wanted to deliver these precious goods to such a remote location intact. The severity of my situation sets in when I reach the summit: it’s just me, my two weirdo companions, and the elements. But it wouldn’t remain that way for long.

After five minutes cautiously sliding down the mountain face towards the objective in the valley down below, my Odradek stirs awake in a panic to warn me that BTs, the terrifying levitating souls of the dead nearby. I can’t see them through these terrible (and incredibly realistic-looking) weather conditions. But that doesn’t mean they can’t see me. 500 meters, white out conditions, and about two dozen BTs stand between me and my destination. And a single step in the wrong direction could spell disaster for my entire mission.

This situation could play out in the original Death Stranding. But Kojima Productions’ divisive vision of a game centered around long continental treks feels fully realized six years later. That doesn’t come down to sweeping changes of what came before it, but a sizable expansion on player options and unforgettable scenarios that feel more dynamic than they did the first time around. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is an incremental evolution that broadens its bizarre formula just enough to convert the skeptics without sacrificing what made the original so memorable.

Connecting The World

Death Stranding 2 begins 11 months after the first game’s conclusion. Players are back in the role of Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), an immortal deliveryman who helped the skeletal remains of the U.S. government reconnect the surviving pockets of American society after an unimaginable apocalypse. We learn early on in this sequel that Sam went completely off the grid with the infant that helped him restore the now United Cities of America.

Sam’s old friend Fragile (played by a returning Léa Seydoux) tracks him down on behalf of the UCA for one final favor: help reconnect Mexico, then Australia. Doing so will help create a new kind of phenomenon that allows for instantaneous travel between the continents, further uniting what’s left of humanity and hopefully staving off extinction for good. This globe-spanning set up introduces a star-studded ensemble of old and new characters who are equal parts Hideo Kojima’s brand of strange and wonderfully endearing.

For the majority of returning players, Death Stranding 2’s story will be what brings them back. And I’m happy to report that the sequel mostly succeeds in this department. It takes its sweet time kicking things off, but once it gets going, it’s easy to get invested. You’ll be spending a lot of time with the crew aboard your ship, the DHV Magellan, making for a much more intimate tale. There are moments where Death Stranding 2 feels like the best parts of a BioWare game, like Mass Effect.

How that story is delivered still has its flaws. Dialogue still betrays when Kojima is offloading exposition onto the player. Characters still repeat plot points and player instructions one after another, reminding you that this is a video game and a heavy-handed one at that. And for some reason, the game inexplicably spoils some of its biggest twists hours ahead of time with over-obvious foreshadowing. Uneven writing plagues Death Stranding 2. One moment, I was rolling my eyes at Kojima practically telling me how to feel through stilted verbiage. The next, I was smiling ear to ear after a genuinely sweet interaction between three of my favorite crewmates.

Luckily, the series’ signature style is preserved. It’s still a bit clumsy in its ambition. There are new weird concepts and names to grapple with. The lore can sometimes feel impenetrable without taking a second to glance at the in-game glossary. And it can often feel like weird things happen for weirdness’ sake. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained every perplexing step of the way. My willingness to buy into Death Stranding 2’s fiction rewarded me with a sci-fi odyssey unlike anything else in games or film.

Deliver At All Costs

Story was a clear priority for Death Stranding 2, as the core gameplay of this sequel remains largely the same. “Preppers” give Sam any number of packages at one point on a map, and players must deliver them where they need to be using whatever tools and equipment they’d like. Different delivery conditions (like avoiding water, not damaging fragile packages, making multiple stops, etc.) will alter what equipment and route is best for the job. You’re doing this in a shared world where the items you leave behind and structures you build will appear in other players' games, benefitting them on their journey.

Like the first game, a player’s entertainment mileage will vary. Some may find Death Stranding’s gameplay incredibly dull, and I can understand why. You’re essentially just watching a guy walk or drive slowly across huge swaths of land. But I personally found this loop both meditative and satisfying. What doesn’t get across watching streams or gameplay videos is the careful planning that goes into every delivery.

There’s something gratifying about bringing all the right tools with you and using them when the time comes. There’s also something very intense when things don’t go as well as you hoped. A surprise enemy encounter or tripping over a steep incline you didn’t account for can also throw a wrench into those plans, forcing you to improvise or rely on the game’s social features to bail you out. These are emergent moments that no other game is capable of.

The sequel adds natural phenomena like earthquakes and fiery meteor showers to the mix, which can throw more spectacular curveballs at you. These are such cool additions to the core game, I just wish these moments happened more often than they do across the 50 hours it took to roll credits.

The fact that they don’t is evidence of another change made for the sequel. Death Stranding 2 is much easier than the first. I delivered 80 percent of all of my main orders in perfect condition. While this keeps the story moving, I found myself a little disappointed that the game’s coolest new additions occurred so few times when they were some of the highlights of the pre-release trailers.

Shoot The Messenger

This time around, Death Stranding 2 isn’t afraid to deliver on the action. Whereas the first game had moments where confrontation was a possibility, the sequel features more missions that send you directly into enemy territory. Here is where the game’s stealth and combat shine. Both aspects are incredibly fun. New items like holograms can be used to distract enemies as you sneak past them or set up takedowns. Hand-to-hand combat has more satisfying combos and weapon options.

When it's time to pick up firearms, Death Stranding 2 also delivers. Gunfights are electrifying. Every weapon type, from stun guns and bola guns to assault rifles and shotguns, is fun to use. Bullets hit with a gratifying thud and the game slows down the action to let you enjoy the fruits of your aggression. It’s some of the most fun I’ve had with a third-person shooter in a while, and Death Stranding 2 is the last game I would have expected to pull this off.

My only gripe is that the game rarely challenged me when confronted by enemies. On the game’s Normal difficulty (the recommended default), ammo is plentiful, and enemies are easy to outsmart. You’re given access to almost too many tools and options to eliminate threats. Even boss fights, I often beat on my very first try. For players looking to get the most out of the game’s surprisingly fun action, I recommend one of the harder difficulties, as you’ll otherwise burn through the game’s most high-octane moments.

An Ending To Remember

I wouldn’t normally dedicate more than a line or two to talk about a game’s ending, but I’ll make an exception for Death Stranding 2. Without spoiling anything, the final stretch of Death Stranding 2 is one I’ll remember for a long while. While the substance of that ending sticks a shaky landing, the sheer spectacle of it all had me snickering with joy and disbelief.

As someone who’s played the majority of Kojima’s body of work to completion, it was rewarding to see echoes of his past work pop up here. His ability to surprise players with moments that could only be done in video games remains as effective as it was in the Metal Gear Solid series.

I also thought it put a nice bow on some of Death Stranding 2’s more interesting ideas, drawing clear inspiration from our real world. If the first game was a prophetic reflection of the pandemic to come, Death Stranding 2 wrestles directly with the world that was left in its wake. It manages to remain as hopeful as the first game, but there’s some decent (albeit clumsy) commentary on how capitalist entities can selfishly corrupt good born out of a bad situation.

Again, I wish the game did a better job letting this subtext remain subtext. Or letting these ideas take center stage as often as it's constant stream of new concepts and the jargon used to describe them. But at least it's not beating around the bush about what it believes in like a Far Cry or an Assassin's Creed. It’s clear and earnest in its message and where it stands on those ideas and issues. It's refreshing and something I want more blockbuster video games to do.

Journey’s End

Death Stranding 2 is another anomaly in the modern gaming landscape. It’s got a weird premise, a weird visual identity, and even weirder ideas for what a $70 game should be. And while this sequel largely iterates on the first game’s ideas to create something broader, it thankfully stays true to what made the original distinct.

Sure, I wish Death Stranding 2 showed more than it tells. Kojima could benefit from emulating how concisely many of his director friends in Hollywood deliver their own stories. Or how to write natural dialogue more consistently. But the overall vision of Death Stranding 2 is so bold and uncompromising that it brute-forces its way through these shortcomings.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach may not be for everyone. But if it is for you, it's one of the most enjoyable games of 2025, a must-see follow-up that is more cohesive, refined, and fully developed than the first.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach launches June 24, 2025 on PlayStation 5.

INVERSE VIDEO GAME REVIEW ETHOS: Every Inverse video game review answers two questions: Is this game worth your time? Are you getting what you pay for? We have no tolerance for endless fetch quests, clunky mechanics, or bugs that dilute the experience. We care deeply about a game’s design, world-building, character arcs, and storytelling come together. Inverse will never punch down, but we aren’t afraid to punch up. We love magic and science-fiction in equal measure, and as much as we love experiencing rich stories and worlds through games, we won’t ignore the real-world context in which those games are made.