And we’re back with another blog, you know by now that show we give you some straight-up gameplay and our first impressions of the latest video games releasing. As usual, it’s me, Jake Baldino, and today we’re talking about “Death Stranding 2.” This is the follow-up to Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions’ 2019 game. Here, Zaid is back, the world is still a mess, and he’s gotta deliver a lot of stuff. It is once again a weird, lengthy, interesting game. And, personally, as much as I enjoyed the first “Death Stranding,” I think “Death Stranding 2” is an improvement.
A Better Sequel?
In recent years, I’ve encountered a lot of sequels that I just didn’t really end up loving as much as the first game. Thankfully, this time around, I think “Death Stranding 2” builds what the first game sets up and runs with it. Whether or not that all lands with you personally, it’s gonna be up to you. But I’ve had a lot of fun playing this one and I got a lot to say.
Spoiler-Free Setup
So just so you know, we’ve been playing a review copy, and all this footage is captured running on a PS5 Pro, and is spoiler-free. So any cut scenes or things you see here are relatively early in the game or just stuff heavily featured in the marketing. And even there, in the edit, like we played it really safe, so I think you’re pretty covered.
The Mission Begins
But, you know, just as a little bit of a catch up, after the events of “Death Stranding 1” and narrowly escaping the end of the world, Sam and Baby Lou are hiding out when they’re tasked with a new mission to connect another region of the world just as they did America in the first game. So Sam sets out to do what he does best, which, in my mind, is just extreme cardio. Like, he’s hauling boxes and packages long distances to deliver them, occasionally killing some dudes and some ghosts, but mostly just kind of vibing out in big, sprawling landscapes. That’s “Death Stranding.”
Should You Play the First Game?
Now, two things right off the bat, the questions I’ve gotten the most on social media, do you need to play “Death Stranding 1” before this? I hate to say it, but, yeah, probably. The game has a lot of language in describing this world that it kind of just assumes you know. It’s a weird world with a bunch of confusing lore and more specifically a lot of rules. You might be able to pick up a lot of it as you go, but I’d say maybe watch more than one YouTube recap to really get acclimated. The game does actually include a “previously on” type thing, on the main menu, but it’s kind of just a big slide show and it huffs its own farts a little bit too much. Like I said, maybe just watch a YouTube recap.
If You Didn’t Like the First…
But the other thing is that, look, if you didn’t like the first game, if you thought it was weird, or boring, or a walking simulator, or whatever, you’re still probably not gonna like this one. The playability is significantly improved, but the reality is still that “Death Stranding” didn’t change what it is to capture more audience. It’s still, at the end of the day, a quirky delivery game through and through. So if the first one wasn’t for you, I don’t know if this one will change enough for you.
For the Fans: Bigger, Better, Bolder
But with that added away, for fans of the first game, this one does really kind of go balls to the wall. It’s just more fun, straight-up. More tools, more deliveries, bigger battles, better combat and stealth, cool bosses, and just interesting bigger feeling worlds.
Familiar Beginnings
It’s not apparent right away though. I’ll be completely honest, the first few hours felt extremely samey, like same flow. Bring a package to a similar looking building you’ve seen a bunch of times in the first game. The same animation from the first game plays where Sam places the packages and links up the Chiral Network. You’ve done it a million times. You’ve talked to a hologram, you then take a nap in the room, you take a shower. Bar for bar, it felt too similar where I was actually like kind of thinking to myself, “What were they making for the last five years?”
Improvements That Matter
But then, after a while, the improvements rear their head and I realize the substantial changes, right? Essentially, the core delivery stuff, that whole loop is the same, but with some streamlined elements and more fun stuff added in to make it more compelling and just, like, fresh enough, as well as just better pacing overall, which made a difference.
Better Pacing, Better Story Moments
Whereas in “Death Stranding 1,” it felt like you’d go hours talking to holograms in basements just kind of begging for a big story moment, until the game suddenly decides to dump an hour-long cut scene onto you. Here, in “Death Stranding 2,” the adventure to me just felt well paced. Like, you’re still free to do deliveries however you want, take on optional ones and grind stuff out of course, but the game just does a better job introducing consistent story moments and some immediacy to some of the big deliveries and the long treks that you’re making, and that just made a huge difference to me.
Streamlining Without Sacrifice
Less characters are just calling you up while you’re out in the field now to just give you expository dialogue now, so it is a little quieter moment to moment, but then you’re often just rewarded with way more interesting stuff happening consistently. Now, I’ve mentioned streamlining, but it’s done in a way that doesn’t cut out what made these games special. It’s still a clunky game by nature, but much has been done to make navigating menus, planning routes, and managing cargo much better.
Tech, Tools, and Traversal
You’re loading into vehicles quicker, you’re clicking less things on menus. There’s still a lot, but, like, you’re clicking less things, you’re organizing quicker, you’re cycling through things quicker, it just makes the game feel smoother and enables you to more easily do the things you wanna do. You’re getting useful tech and tools much earlier this time around. So the simple walking and climbing more quickly fades to riding vehicles, and using zip lines, and a monorail, and all this crazy shit.
Dynamic Weather and Real-Time Strategy
So while, yes, you lose some of the tension early on of just climbing a mountain and hoping you don’t trip and fall, you get to more easily take advantage of stuff that was kind of later in the first game. There’s also this new weather pattern system that can make things more difficult sometimes during story missions, but also randomly on a delivery. Weather is like a trackable system in the game now. And during intense rain, rivers are gonna flood and rise, like making traversal more difficult or washing away old bridges that you built. Sandstorms make it hard to see and wind drains your stamina quicker. There’s even an element of fire in the game. These are really well done and just fun to see play out. And having them force you to change your strategies in real time and improvise is just a good way of shaking things up. In fact, I actually wish there was even more of it here.
Addictive Delivery Loop
Now, along with this, like I had kind of alluded to before, the game does a really good job doling out tools to you as you make deliveries. The loop is just, once again, oddly addictive if it clicks with you. You wanna go big, you know, you wanna load up as many packages as you can, you wanna fill your car and venture out with that challenging delivery, because every earned, unlocked tool is useful. Faster exoskeleton legs, better weapons, more tools for stealth, more battery storage, you name it, I just found it more rewarding this time.
Combat and Stealth Overhaul
Even if, last time around, the hikes were more arduous and I was begging for help. In “Death Stranding 2,” I was just happy to grind for the next fun thing, like an improved thing to build out in the field and leave for people, or like an interesting silenced weapon, or like these decoy hologram throw-able grenade things. Plus, there’s more stat tracking, as well as a good skill tree here that has useful upgrades you can unlock with these earned points, think like better detection radius, improved battery charging, and a bunch of other stuff. And this is along with new backpack and vehicle upgrades that are just way more thought out and in-depth this time around.
Kojima Moments and BTs
And this is where there’s just some good Hideo Kojima stuff I love, dude. And like you guys should know if you’ve been watching for a long time now, like I am biased, I am a Hideo Kojima fanboy since “Metal Gear Solid 1.” But like, in these big moments, you’re getting tense music, cool soldiers, interesting art direction and design, badass robots, some over-the-top action set piece moments. Some of it feels extremely, maybe overly referential, to “Death Stranding 1,” but there are still plenty of cool, unique moments.
BTs and Strand Worldbuilding
Unfortunately, creeping around BTs just doesn’t quite hit as hard as it did in the first game. I found these sections much easier, for the most part. The BTs are easier to see, their detection even less than it was last time around, and just nowhere near the same level of tension to it all. Maybe it’s just because I’m more familiar with this world and the threats, I don’t know, but they just felt nerfed.
And speaking of returning elements, it’s still fun to build roads, it’s fun to use a bridge that someone else built and give them a thumbs up. All that’s strand-type world building out here is still compelling with some fun remixes, and couple that with having way more tech and tools earlier on, like I said, it just makes it feel like you’re really taking advantage of everything the game has. Like, end-game level play of “Death Stranding 1,” feels like the inspiration here. I like playing in this world, and I liked it more than the first game. I liked pursuing and seeing through the story in this world.
Story Strengths and Stumbles
Now, does the story land? I think that’s gonna be extremely subjective. It’s not an open-and-shut case. Some characters are introduced with a lot of fanfare and take up a lot of time and end up not really feeling very important. And some of the more interesting story threads I was hoping to see pursued weren’t really as in-depth as I wanted it. Also, kind of like I said, references are almost retreads or recreate some stuff from the previous game, and I’m not sure to what effect or what they were going for.
Look, it’s hard to talk about this stuff without spoiling, but while the story isn’t perfect, it did a great job of keeping me playing. Even if it had weird spots that didn’t quite land, I still wanted to keep playing to see what happens next. And the high points are absolutely some of the coolest shit I’ve seen in a video game in a long time.
Sam Bridges: More Than a Vessel
Now, smaller note, I really liked Sam this time around. He’s a more active participant in the events, and I think it really helped the story quite a bit. He’s still a man of few words, you know, he’s not like this overly chatty guy. But he’s got more agency, he’s a little cooler, and just more interesting. He’s not just a vessel for the player, someone who just weirdly stands around while exposition rolls in and he doesn’t really say anything. Now, he just feels well thought out and significant. Plus, he’s even more customizable, and the graphics are good enough now that, like, he just looks like a real guy. The visuals are nuts, it’s almost uncanny.
Final Thoughts
So “Death Stranding 2” is extremely familiar while also massively improved in a lot of ways. Gameplay is more fun and more immediately gripping. The story, while not perfect, is way better paced and more engaging. I think fans of the original will really enjoy this and appreciate some of the gameplay updates, and, honestly, just to be back in this cool, weird world where people dying is like a nuclear event, where the rain ages you if it hits your skin, where some people have superpowers for no reason, where you can expect to turn a corner and see a weird celebrity cameo in the game, the “Metal Gear Solid” inspirations, the lighter moments, a lot of levity and a lot of weird, dark, creepy shit, hiking around adventuring, being exposed to cool, new music by real-world artists, stumbling upon weird surprises, and leaving help for other players behind you.
I think “Death Stranding 2” succeeds. Like the first game, it’s not for everyone, but I think that’s by design and that’s okay. If it is for you, I think you’re gonna have a hell of a good time.
You know how this goes by now, I give you some pros, some cons, and some personal opinion, and now I wanna hear yours down in the comments. Are you someone who was into “Death Stranding 1”? Did you jump on right away? Did you maybe play it later on with a re-release, and updates, and stuff like that? What’s your experience? Were you looking forward to the second one or do you hate these games? You’ll probably let us know either way.
But let’s talk about anything “Death Stranding 2,” or Kojima Productions and Hideo Kojima down in the comments. But that’s it, I’m Zaid, thank you very much for reading. We’ll see you guys next time.