Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
People have often labelled Hideo Kojima as a man who always wanted to be a film director, but wasn’t good enough and settled for video games. It’s why he has an obsession with the world of movies, television, and music, and the creatives in those fields, far more than his own. It’s why games like Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding are wrought with ambitious characters or cutscenes tainted by clumsy narrative exposition.
But I’ve always believed the inverse to be true. Hideo Kojima’s undying love and continued willingness to understand how films are made lend his own creations far more nuance. He has pushed boundaries again and again with each game his studio releases, and I struggle to look back on the adventures of Solid Snake or Sam Porter Bridges and not feel like they changed the medium in some way, all because Kojima Productions had the capacity to look beyond and redefine it.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Is The Most Interesting Blockbuster Of The Year
Labelling him as an untouchable auteur incapable of fault who develops all of these games of his own back isn’t right, but this reputation was never something that Kojima himself has sought to cement. Fans thrust it upon him with the best of intentions, and now his celebrity status has reached a point where being excited about something like Death Stranding 2 comes with its own unique baggage. So, let’s try and dispel that a little bit.
When the release date for Death Stranding was first announced for late 2019, it felt earlier than most people expected. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain was only launched in 2015, and somehow Hideo Kojima was ousted by Konami, set up an independent studio, secured funding, and released a triple-A PS4 exclusive in just over four years. Given how long and how much games of this caliber cost to make, it speaks to the experience of this team and the validity of their creative vision that it came together so seamlessly.
The same goes for its sequel, which is now just over a month away from release, when most of us expected it to land in 2026 at the earliest. But no, earlier this week it went gold after we saw press outlets from around the world spend 30+ hours with the game.
Kojima is confident in Death Stranding 2 because his team believes in what they are making, and years later, I’m struggling to name any other game like it. If you’re one of the many people who couldn’t get into the first game or bounced off it, the sequel is also making some nice changes.
According to hands-on previews, there is a greater yet not necessarily required-focus on its combat encounters, pacing has been improved, and there is decreased focus on long cutscenes and more time given to players to experience major narrative moments by doing things themselves.
As much as I love Death Stranding, it does take several hours to figure out who the big players are, how the mechanics work, and what exactly went down in this strange new world before actually making deliveries. It’s beautifully executed, but easy to see why it was so polarising. But even years later, I promise it’s worth the perseverance.
Should I Play Death Stranding 2: On The Beach If I Skipped The First Game?
Kojima Productions has included a recap in the main menu of Death Stranding 2 to catch you up on who all the main characters are and what happened during the first entry, so you can technically jump into the sequel without doing a mountain of homework, and inevitably dropping it in the river. Many of its mechanical boons also seem to have been developed or refined with this audience in mind. You could and should jump into this game if you’re curious, but you will almost certainly lose some of its charm by not experiencing the original’s story through your own eyes.
Its defining narrative payoffs and standout character moments are so incredible because it is your own tedious adventure through hardened terrain that got you there. You are the one who ascended mountains, built bridges, and fought against ungodly creatures to connect a broken world and protect what was dear to you. Being told that during a montage is all well and good, but it will never have the same impact. If you have the time or patience, I promise the journey is worthwhile, and will make the sequel all the more satisfying.
Looking back on what I’ve written of this piece so far, it is the only reminder I need of why the experience of Death Stranding is so special, and how a sequel that aims to refine upon its best and perhaps flawed ideas is so exciting. I refuse to label myself as a part of the weird Hideo Kojima cult that has formed around the man over the past several decades, since so much of what he does and the stories he tells are self-obsessive, bizarre, and border on the unnecessary.
But it’s the fact that he has the influence, resources, and bravery to do these things in the first place that allows him to push boundaries and explore this medium like few others in the triple-A ever will.
That alone is worth caring about and supporting a game like Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and the fact it happens to tick all of my masochistic boxes is the cherry on top.
