We at ScreenHub Entertainment are pretty big fans of Hideo Kojima’s bizarre exploration game Death Stranding. So, when we got to see more of the sequel, now titled Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, in action at the January 2024 State of Play, our interest was naturally piqued. Did we understand what was going on? Not really, but that’s on-brand for both Kojima and this franchise. So let’s dive into what was shown and what we hope the game is promising.

Combat and Gameplay

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, which is targetting a 2025 release window on PS5, sees the return of Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, who has left the BRIDGES company in favour of the civilian outfit Drawbridge. Despite not being a government company, Drawbridge benefits from having a “generous patron”, providing Sam with weapons and a place to lay low. This was one of the first things that caught my attention in the trailer. While the exploration and community aspects of the original game were quite novel, the game did suffer when it came to combat, so much so that if I encountered an optional boss in the world, I would just run away; not due to fear or anything but for lack of interest in actually doing the battle.

It’s strange that Death Stranding would have such clunky and uninspired combat, considering Kojima is the mind behind the Metal Gear series, which boasts some of the best minute-to-minute gameplay ever. But by showcasing a room full of weapons, it seems like Kojima Productions took the feedback and is looking to make combat encounters much more engaging and layered this time around. I do worry that the line of dialogue where Troy Baker’s Higgs, back from the dead and donning a guitar that shoots electricity as a weapon now, quips to Sam that he’s traded in a rope for a “stick” means combat will take precedence over exploration, but that just might be some villainous mockery. I want this sequel to be able to continue that sense of wonderous exploration but to actually have good combat at the same time, and make all aspects of the gameplay loop enjoyable. Hopefully, this means weapons aren’t just cargo this time around and are instead actually part of a loadout you carry with you for yourself. The motto for the fictitious Drawbridge leans into Higgs’ observation, stating “Both Stick and Rope, To Protect and Connect, Together, for Tomorrow”, suggesting that Drawbridge will be more of a combat unit than BRIDGES was, while also carrying out those courier duties.

The world also looks far more reactive this time around. While the first game had you scaling mountains and overpassing rivers, the world was very static and wouldn’t adapt. With the power of the PS5, this has changed now, as evident by the avalanche and flash flood moments in the gameplay portions of the State of Play. There’s also a bit of variety, from sand dunes to mountains, as opposed to the Iceland-inspired terrain of the original game (I still don’t get by the USA looks like Iceland in this universe) and unless certain missions are locked into certain times of day like the Insomiac Spider-Man games are, it also appears there’s a day/night cycle in Death Stranding 2, which, yeah, being stalked by BTs at night sounds terrifying. So hopefully, in combination with improved combat and a more reactive world, the gameplay loop won’t feel as repetitive as the original game’s, which despite being a fan of it, is a valid criticism of it.

Story and Setting

Death Stranding features a pretty impressive cast and the sequel so far promises the same. While Mads Mikkelsen isn’t returning, Léa Seydoux and Troy Baker are and will be joined by Deadpool 2 and 3’s Shioli Kutsuna, Mad Max director George Miller, and Elle Fanning. On The Beach takes place sometime after the events of the first game, which in itself was a wild and wacky experience. Kojima is known for his off-the-wall storytelling and Death Stranding 2 is definitely keeping that momentum going. The official synopsis reads as follows:

“In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam – with companions by his side –sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles, and a haunting question: should we have connected?”

Naturally, if you’ve played the original game, you’ll know things are bizarre, to say the least. There’s rain that ages people, ghostly shadows called “Beached Things” (or BT for short) that link to the afterlife that cause nuclear-level explosions when they kill a living person, Bridge Babies (BB) who exist in a state between life and death who can see B.T.s. Yeah, it’s out there. But the main gameplay loop involves Sam delivering packages between colonies in this post-apocalyptic wasteland on foot while dodging the rain and the BTs.

For the sequel, Kojima actually wrote his entire script before the pandemic, but citing that he didn’t want to predict the future yet again, axed the whole thing and started from scratch, implying his original draft had something to do with a pandemic. But this story, while still wrapped in mystery, seems to be about Sam venturing outside of the United Cities of America to connect them to the Chiral Network, all while keeping the BB Louise, formerly Lou, safe. Based on the lore and hints in the trailer, we may very well also have some time-traveling/dimensional shenanigans going on as well, just to add to the layer of convolution. Along with the possible critiques on technology, there may also be a theme of puppeteering, suggested by Fragile’s hand mask and her new stop-motion companion, and the faint strings around Elle Fanning’s character towards the end of the trailer. Oh, and did I mention cyborg ninjas? Because there’s cyborg ninjas.

The main driving force of the first game was to make deliveries and get people connected to the network and that was largely seen as a positive and inspiring action. But On The Beach seems to be asking what the cost of so much connectivity is, perhaps Kojima shining some criticism on social media. There also seem to be questions of what the purpose of hands-on work is in an age where automation exists, likely a jab towards the advancements in AI. Since the UCA opted to go down this route, Léa Seydoux’s Fragile opted to start Drawbridge from scratch to keep the human aspect intact.

Death Stranding was one of those games that was so strange it can’t help but be memorable. Unorthodox in its gameplay mechanics yet unexpectedly entertaining, it did enough that I’m genuinely curious about On The Beach. Here’s hoping it’s one of those “bigger and better” type-sequels, as this is definitely a franchise where there is room for improvement on an otherwise solid foundation.