Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
It’s safe to say that the stakes are high until the start of the building of your first death in 2019. Kojima Hideo left Konami and set up his own development company at Kojima Productions, creating one of the more ambiguous games we’ve seen for quite some time. Was it a horror game? Action game? The answer lies somewhere in between.
Death Stranding still exists as one of the more serious and divisive games, but when it was announced in December 2022, death on the beach certainly changed his head.
Death Posture 2: In many ways, on the beach, there is a significant improvement over the original. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still really weird. And I’m really, really weird. However, in the same breath, it is mechanically diverse, with more combat encounters splashing between delivery missions and interacting with equally vague yet emotional stories based on the events of the first game.
However, many factors have been carried over. Long drawn walks, cargo monitoring and arrangements, creating a variety of tools and structures that need to be useful along the way. However, there are a lot of new elements like weapons and structures used, and I feel this is not only a deeper, more versatile experience with multiple play methods, but also more accessible as a result.
I’ll connect again
Given the context of the plot, beware of the short spoilers for the original death trickery.
Death Stranding 2: On Beach, it takes place 11 months after the original, with the main character Sam Bridges playing the role of actor Norman Reedus living a normal life with Lou, now known as BB-28.
But Sam is soon a vulnerable visitor played by actress Lea Sadoo. Sam tells Sam that he must travel to Mexico to help access the chiral network, even after consolidating the current UCA (United Cities of America) cities.
Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Without being too ruined, Sam is set on a trip to Australia early in the story. There, they must try to reconnect and combine new countries on a massive scale, influenced by the same devastating BT entities and affected by several deadly new enemies with secret ambitions.
The game’s opening hours slowly reintegrate you into the world of death, along with all its mechanics and supporting characters. There are quite a few expositions early, most of which require existing fans to sit back.
You can access the Death Stranding Summary in the main menu before you start the game, but in Death Stranding 2: Beach, you feel the need to weave most of this into the story.
Troy Baker has also returned as the Higgs. It’s incredibly fascinating, along with cameos from people like George Miller. There’s even a new character called Neil, portrayed by actor Luca Marinelli. I think he would absolutely adore most people, not only because of his prominent role in this story, but also because of his solid performance.
Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Death Stranding 2: on the Beach already does more with everything that has to be built in, and does an amazing job through 30-35 hours of storytelling. It is well-active, emotionally recharged, and sometimes you can’t look away.
It certainly is still vague in terms of Sam’s ultimate goal and the purpose behind it. But even if it takes a few hours to move on, it becomes more rational and easier to latch, retaining many mysteries and deeper nuances near the chest.
It all feels more confident and refined, exists in the world introduced in 2019, with the task of expanding and applying the heart and flesh.
Please deliver us
Death Stranding 2: on the Beach will soon become familiar to fans of the first game. In general, important cargo must be delivered to different regions of the country and connect each station to the Christian Network using SAM’s Q-PID.
You will need to arrange cargo accordingly and manage your weight in the process, as you plan and navigate through the safest route to your next destination. There are many terrain to cover, and there are plenty of quiet moments to both praise and reflect.
You need to create and pack the right tools for your job. This helps you cross taller shelves and flooded rivers, including fresh boots protected from harsh terrain, ladders and climbing ropes.
Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
When you take care of your business, you can create a variety of accessories and structures like watchers to help you get a better view of the terrain, and even a time fall structure so that you can see the terrain better, and even a time fall structure.
There are vehicles that can be unlocked and created or easily avoided, but you will need to manage and utilize accordingly, providing your own challenges.
The same multiplayer elements from the First Death Director are available here. Players can leave notes and certain items in their lockers for Sam to find them or simply go out into the open world.
All these return elements allow the beach to have a little more time to cram in, as it includes more consistent combat encounters and new weapons.
Along with most of your delivery, Sam will encounter a bandit camp along the way. In some cases, these camps can be avoided, but in other cases, Sam will have to go to camp and retrieve important stolen items essential for a particular delivery.
Thickness of things
While a relatively basic hand-to-hand combat comes back, Sam also equips several weapons from the start, including the WM.556 NL Assault Rifle and Maser Handgun. Weapons are not lethal in this world, but they act as normal, ranged weapons.
However, this time Sam gets the opportunity to wield new electrode poles, which are generally acquired from bandits. These poles can swing as melee weapons or throw like spears to impress anything that collides.
Before you get close, you can also take advantage of Dollman, a portable drone that can be activated into the sky that can help you identify enemies and layouts for specific areas.
Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The best part about how this is put together is freedom of approach. Stealth is usually recommended for a cleaner, more tolerant approach, but you can burn the gun if necessary. The enemies are swarming you pretty quickly loudly, but Sam still feels he has the ability to his weapon, and the game does a good job of providing you with enough ammunition and the opportunity to do so.
At first I felt it was strange that taking out enemies slows down, but it was instantly very convenient as it gave me plenty of time to adjust the incoming enemies in different directions. I also feel that it’s really cool.
Even new settings can literally shake things up. Shake causes Sam to lose his balance and drop cargo, but normal sandstorms muddy the environment and bearings, relying on the map more frequently, or changing directions completely. Be prepared to maintain balance using the L2 and R2 triggers.
There are aerial cameras that zoom out to provide a better view, but this is for cinematic effects rather than being used as a navigation tool.
Beaches don’t really think of it as an RPG, but you can incorporate skills that naturally grow and improve based on your play style. Stick to stealth will quickly cover your footprint and make it impossible to track it. Or increase your proficiency and effectiveness with long-range weapons.
Sam must once again take on the undead spiritual presence of BT. Like the superintendent of the First Death, you need to be careful about how you approach them while you need to pack the appropriate weapons and equipment.
Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Blood-infused weapons, such as blood rena bullets, must be thrown, but traditional weapons have no effect. Get ranged weapons with multiple MPs injected. This affects the BTS of the truck, but is consistent or not readily available.
It’s never on your face, but since you’re experimenting with those particular mechanics in the first place, it feels very natural to embrace and implement them in a playstyle.
There are also plenty of new equipment to unlock via additional side missions. This is useful for both crossing and fighting, like a blood boomerang that can extract multiple BTs from afar.
Finally, the new boss battle is the true highlight of Strang 2 of Death on the Beach, even though they are usually responsible for the extremely difficult spikes compared to regular combat encounters. They are epic, cinematic and incredibly intense.
Please look at the parts
Death Stranding 2: It takes place on the beaches in both Mexico and Australia, each with a unique open world to explore. Whichever you cut, this sequel is drop dead gorgeous. Even on the PlayStation 5 Pro, the introductory mission quickly drew its incredible details, textures and distances.
The terrain is more dense and diverse than ever, but the amount of wildlife and natural changes and evolutionary environment is truly incredible. It’s cool to be able to find Australian animals, but beyond that, even repeated cycles of sunlight bring some incredible lighting effects and starry sky with their own shooting stars.
Captured on PlayStation 5 Pro
Death Stranding 2: on the Beach offers both quality and performance modes, with the former increasing resolution at 30 fps, while the latter reducing the resolution of the target at 60 fps. Either way, it’s very consistent and the PS5 Pro just adds the level of detail and impressive lighting that comes with it.
The incredible soundtrack and original score are also worth screaming for, as it adds a lot to the overall vibe as well as the emotional weight. The game began with Minus Sixty One, a track by French artist Woodkid, and I quickly boarded.
Final Thoughts
Like the first game, The Beach on the Beach in Death 2: may feel like an acquired taste for most casual gamers, but I encourage everyone to give this a try.
There’s a lot more to love thanks to more frequent combat thanks to more rational and emotional stories, great performances, incredible visuals, and gameplay at more engaging moments.
This sequel may be everything the first game wanted, but there’s no doubt that Hido and the team of Kojima Productions have created something really special.
4 and a half stars (out of 5)
Highlights: A fascinating and emotional story. The battle is much more consistent and satisfying. A new environment to explore. Incredible visuals, presentations, performances
Low Light: The core experience is still familiar and may drive away casual fans. Boss fights can be very difficult
Developer: Kojima Productions Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation 5
Available: June 26, 2025
Reviews conducted on the PlayStation 5 Pro are conducted using pre-release code provided by the publisher.
