I’ve talked a lot about not comparing Death Stranding 2 to Metal Gear Solid in the main preview, but it’s hard to deny that the franchise that placed the islets on the map had an impact on the way Death Stranding 2 was designed in some parts.
He compared the jump from Stranding of Death to Stranding of Death 1 in a similar vein to Stranding of Death 2 from Stranding of Death 1 to Stranding of Death 2 from the first Metal Gear Solid with the Son of Freedom in the sequel. We spoke with Kojima himself at Kojima Production in Tokyo, and he talked about how he views jumps between games.
Stealth (we had to focus) but it was game over. Before we reached the elevator, we had no weapons at all, but once we got on and up, we had access to the weapon. The reason I did that is because when I put a weapon there, people use it to defeat the enemy. It wouldn’t have been like a hide-and-seek game. That’s why I purposely took it out, but a lot of people hated it, and many didn’t even do it on the elevator. (In MGS1) We put in a lot of mechanics to teach people how to stealth. Therefore, in MGS2, we made the weapon more accessible because we knew people had a better understanding of stealth. A first person perspective also allows you to aim for a specific area of the body. That was the same for the two who oversee deaths on the beach.
You can see the vision. In Death Stranding 2: Beach, combat is now much more feasible. Given the unique premise of the original game, this might seem a bit surprising to see a game that essentially discouraged violence. Speaking about how this focus came about and how it affected the overall design of the game, Kojima said:
Well, I don’t recommend people fight more or anything like that. But I added more options for combat as many people around the world are asking me to make another metal gear. However, this is a game that focuses primarily on streaming. You can avoid the enemy by going a long way. You can quickly use your car or bike to drive and fight enemies. I wanted to leave that choice to the player. In that case, I had to fine-tune the weapon’s design to make it easier to use. I was a bit worried when I was practicing those mechanics. Because many of the staff who worked at Metal Gear still worked here and we kept saying to each other, “Does this feel too much like Metal Gear?” It wasn’t intentional.
While participating in the game, it was clear that weapons were easier to use in Strike of Death 2. As a result, there were even more options for how they approached delivery. However, I didn’t think that many people seeking a new Metal Gear game could have influenced their decision to include more combat in their death tactics.
Although there is definitely an echo of Metal Gear in Death Stranding 2, I encourage anyone you are to find a way to play Death Stranding 2 that suits your playing style, but I can’t stress enough that Death Stranding 2 still feels like death when you die.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released for the PlayStation 5 on June 26th, 2025. The cheapest copy is available for $99 with free shipping from Amazon.
The author traveled to Tokyo, Japan as a guest of Kojima Productions.
