Death Stranding was Hideo Kojima’s first non-Konami-produced game when he left the company. It was a PlayStation 4 powerhouse, and its remaster pushed its amazing visuals further than ever. Its gameplay, while divisive, was an eclectic blend of package delivery, physics systems, business management simulation, action, mountain climbing, and logistics that stupefied yet reached Zen-like levels of relaxitude.
A fan, though I may be, I never once thought that Death Stranding needed a sequel. The story was self-contained, and character arcs seemed complete. Even the gameplay was taken to its logical conclusion. The news of Kojima returning to it so soon bordered on being disappointing, as I hoped to see some more weird new ideas from the “creatividad” himself.
Could it be that I was wrong? Did Death Stranding need a sequel after all? Is everything we knew in the first game all wrong? Will this be a shocking sequel like Sons of Liberty was for Metal Gear Solid? Find out in our Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review!
This is a review coupled with a supplemental video review. You can watch the video review or read the full review of the below:
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Developer: Kojima Productions
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5
Release Date: June 26, 2025
Price: $69.99
What is a “walking sim” anyway? The original Death Stranding truly defined what it could be with every agonizing step Sam takes. Every step was bated caution as the cargo shifted balance on uneven terrain. Choosing where to step next and judging variables while feeling a BT’s breath slip down your spine like the gasp before a plunge into an abyss was unbearably tense.
Death Stranding 2’s gameplay is not much of a leap compared to the original. At its core, Sam is still making deliveries and exploring huge landmasses while contending with ghosts, brigands, and Mother Nature herself. Where the sequel improves upon the original is its pacing, variety of gameplay systems, and range of player expression for problem-solving. It also helps that the story moves faster than the first.
It turned out that walking-sims can be a white-knuckle experience. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach’s core thesis not only expands upon its gameplay systems but also reevaluates whether bringing everyone together was best for humanity at all. On the Beach is a meditative experience with bursts of action and excitement, though the action comes around much faster and is more aggressive this time around.
Sam and his former Bridge Baby, Lou, have left the UCA and have been hiding out in Mexico. Taking on the odd job here and there, his life is turned upside-down when Fragile makes her way back into his life and convinces him to reconnect Mexico on the chiral network. This is only the tutorial area, yet it manages to be as massive as the first map from the original Death Stranding.
After reconnecting Mexico, Sam’s quest truly begins, and he meets new characters like the affable Captain Tarman of the tar-faring vessel, Magellan, and the living stop-motion toy, Dollman. The real journey begins when Sam and the crew arrive in Australia, but this isn’t like the outback you know. It’s been affected by the Death Stranding in ways veterans won’t be ready for.
As the story develops, new crew members with unique abilities are recruited to the Magellan. One of which gives weather reports around areas connected to the network (via Sam’s Q-pid), which matters deeply because it affects gameplay. Rivers can flood or dry up now, and it happens when you least expect it. Rockslides can make an easy walkabout into a frantic sprint, and earthquakes spew tar and chiral creatures into barren areas.
New additions like the day and night cycle make the environment feel dynamic and alive. When a storm kicks up, it’s the stuff of legends, annihilating visibility and Sam’s footing. The effect is marvelous, and Sam gets completely caked in filth, and the dirty parts wash off when treading through water, realistically leaving dirt or tar on the dry areas.
The graphics overall are gorgeous, though they are not that much of a leap compared to the original. Graphics have effectively peaked now, and the only noticeable improvements are the density of detailed 3D objects and effects. Forests are so full that the canopy blocks the sun. One sequence involves a dramatic forest fire, and the billowing smoke and flames were convincing.
Many of Sam’s old tools return, and some with new additions. Multiple ladders can be combined, and Dollman can be thrown and used as recon to scout areas. Weapons play a greater role now since combat takes a greater focus than it ever did in the first Death Stranding. Sniper rifles, grenades, and even a boomerang become handy when going up against BTs, robots, or other humans.
Combat in the first Death Stranding was restrained because it defied the essence of the story’s themes, and probably because it was basic and not interesting. On the Beach will have players take on missions where the goal is to dispatch foes as if Sam were some kind of Big Boss.
There’s no shortage of nonlethal options, but the game has no problem letting players get sadistic against robot foes. On the Beach has so much more action and stealth gameplay that it feels like a Metal Gear Solid game at times. Regretfully, Sam doesn’t play as fun as Venom Snake. He’s slower, his weapons are deliberately restrictive, and his foes are dumber.
It didn’t matter that the combat mechanics in Death Stranding were plain because there wasn’t a lot of it. On the Beach has more combat situations than the first by a wide margin, and the game is worse off for it because the third-person action is generic.
The action was awesome in The Phantom Pain because of how flexible Venom played. He was snappy and super humanly responsive. Sam is a blue-collar worker, and he plays like one. Putting him in situations where he’s sneaking around, garroting dudes like he’s Agent 47, or using mounted turrets to gun down marauders almost seems out of place, especially when he’s got a baby strapped to his chest.
Fighting becomes a hassle when battling BTs because it comes with a flood of tar that restricts movement. Not only does it make an already sluggish Sam move slower, but getting covered in black muck makes the visuals hard to read. Bosses are a mess of black crap, with flailing tentacles and appendages while flinging chunks of goopy tar while Sam is drenched in it, barely able to move around.
Where Death Stranding 2 excels is its pitch-perfect pacing and gradual escalation. The addictive loop of making deliveries and problem-solving is as engaging as ever, made better thanks to the variety of locales and gameplay systems. Adding RPG elements to further customize Sam and grow his abilities will please gamers who love to grind, too.
In most respects, Death Stranding 2 is a superior game to the original, but I can’t help but feel that catering to the blithering, chest-pounding, lowest-common-denominator gaming audience made it a dumber game. Even some of Kojima’s quirkiness comes off a little more forced than usual, as if he has to fulfill a quota so gamers know that he’s an auteur.
Some aspects of the story, like Tarman’s tar-cat with wings or Dollman, are arbitrary and weird for the sake of weird. The story is chock-full of details like that, which rarely pay off, like Drebin’s weird albino smoking monkey in Guns of the Patriots. When the story sticks to landing, it’s amazing and emotional, and it pulls it off beautifully because Kojima understands the human condition.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a worthwhile sequel that earns its place as one of Kojima’s best games, even if it does come off a bit misguided at times. This is the kind of experience where you lose track of the time when trying to help the community build a highway, and the nagging urge to do one last delivery keeps you up all night.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code purchased by Niche Gamer. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is now available for PlayStation 5.
