DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH is a sequel through and through, not straying too far from the style and set-up established within the first game. Instead, choosing to improve upon the formula in almost every way, putting more focus on action, pacing, and enemy encounters.
A direct continuation of Sam Porter Bridges’ journey, with captivating new characters, returning fan favourites, and bizarre story beats that only Hideo Kojima could cook up. This is a game for the fans.
DEATH STRANDING – The Next Chapter
If you neglected the first game or just need a refresher, there’s a handy recap accessible from the main menu. Though I’d recommend a YouTube deep dive to fully catch you up to speed.
The game opens eleven months on from the events of DEATH STRANDING, with Sam and BB-28 — I mean Lou — living a relatively normal life, despite being in hiding. Of course, that’s quickly upended with the arrival of Fragile, who has a job in Mexico that only Sam can perform. While Sam is away, Lou and the babysitting Fragile are attacked by mysterious figures in red, and tragedy befalls them.
Some time later, a grieving Sam is recruited into Fragile’s new company, Drawbridge, joining the crew of the DHV Magellan on their mission to connect Australia to the chiral network (spooky internet). A mission with a double objective, to help Sam heal and move on from his pain.
On his trek down under, Sam bonds with the crew of the Magellan and forms connections with dozens of people across Australia. You have to appreciate the simple nature of the names Kojima gives his characters: Tarman, Rainy, Tomorrow… They’re absurd, they’re cool, and they’re easy to remember!
As Sam trudges across wild terrain battling outlaws and ghoulish BTs, he also has Higgs to contend with, who’s back from oblivion to make Sam’s life a misery. The pacing in DEATH STRANDING 2 feels much improved over its predecessor, with engaging side content and backstories peppered between main story beats.
The game has some incredible action sequences and heart-wrenching moments. As you’d expect if you played DS1, the run up to the end of the game is packed full of intense boss battles and wild revelations — including a twist that had my jaw hitting the floor, and a scene that was quite possibly the last thing I ever expected to be in the game! No spoilers, but you’ll know it when you see it!
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In DS1, whenever Sam connected his BB-unit, he experienced flashbacks from inside a pod, looking out at Clifford Unger, a character Sam fights multiple times in a place akin to purgatory. In DS2, a new character fills that role. This time, we see the fragmented memories of a man called Neil who somehow has a connection to Lou.
In DS1, you see Clifford’s face in every flashback and slowly form a bond with that character. But in DS2, the memories are broken and don’t always contain Neil, meaning I didn’t make as strong of a connection. The Neil fight scenes are incredible however, with dramatic settings and action sequences, they serve as some of the best boss battles in the game.
While I loved the story overall, it could be a bit convoluted at times, despite it also over-explaining in some areas. Sometimes, needless misdirects and characters not connecting-the-dots would throw me off my naturally drawn conclusions. It felt intentional to make for bigger ‘AH HA’ moments, though in practice, they were more ‘Oh, so I was right’ moments.
Friends And Foes
DEATH STRANDING 2 is choccas with weirdly interesting characters brought to life by excellent performances.
While Sam could often feel like a silent protagonist in DS1 — living up to the ‘strong silent’ archetype — in the sequel he’s much more vocal and conversational, allowing more of Norman Reedus’ performance to shine through. And Norman has much more to play with this time around, with Sam well and truly being put through the wringer, both emotionally and physically.
With his electric guitar of death and a legion of ghost mechs at his disposal, the maniacal Higgs Monaghan absolutely steals the show whenever he’s on screen. His unique brand of crazy is on full display, a man hellbent on torturing those he believes wronged him. You can tell Troy Baker had a blast returning to the role!
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While all the new crewmembers are fantastic, with emotionally gripping backstories to boot, Tomorrow in particular needs shouting out. Played by Elle Fanning, she is a badass through and through, with combat prowess and powers that put Sam to shame. She’s easily my favourite new character.
Courier Chronicles
The core gameplay loop hasn’t changed much from DS1 to DS2. You’re still a post-apocalyptic postie, trekking over unforgiving terrain with a towering backpack of parcels to deliver for the reward of a thumbs-up or two. You’re still connecting a string of facilities to the chiral network (only this time in Australia). And you’re still working together with other players from around the world to build pathways and make each other’s lives easier. These are elements that make DEATH STRANDING games unique.
What has changed since DS1 is the innumerable improvements to the game. Almost every system has been tweaked, polished, and upgraded. For instance, the standard ladder has been given a mechanical slider that makes climbing it multiple times faster, and you can even connect two ladders together to scale higher cliffs or make longer makeshift bridges.
Another example is the overhaul of postboxes. You can now recycle items for materials, as well as fabricate equipment as needed, saving you a trip to a depot. You can now also hide inside them, peeking out the letter slot in what felt like a nod to Metal Gear Solid.
The best new quality of life feature is the fast travel system, allowing you to travel between key points of interest with your ship, the DHV Magellan — even zipping between Australia and Mexico as quick as a flash. That might seem like a standard feature in most open-world games, but in DEATH STRANDING, it’s a godsend. When you have a heavy and bulky delivery to make across the other side of the map, the ship can get you and your vehicle within a stones throw. It also reduces that feeling of your time being wasted.
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The DHV Magellan acts as your mobile base of operations, complete with a VR gun-range, garage, fabricator, and your own private room. I also used it as a bottomless pit of storage! I’d store up all my delivery items and recovered cargo, delivering them all at once when I next visited the specified facility. The seemingly endless storage is a blessing when it comes to building out the network of roads across Australia (one of my favourite things to do in DEATH STRANDING). While the ship has limited material storage, nothing stops you from storing tonne after tonne of metals and ceramics in your private locker! This means you can fast travel to the closest POI, load up a truck with materials, and get to constructing!
Much more than the few random rockslides present in DS1, environmental hazards now pose a real threat. From earthquakes that make it hard to keep your balance, to flash flooding that can wash away structures, and weather events like snow storms that make it near impossible to see where you’re going. One standout mission had me delivering an escaped kangaroo back to an animal shelter amidst a raging bushfire — very Aussie!
DEATH STRANDING 2 has an icon that will flash up in the corner of the screen whenever a new location or concept is talked about, allowing you to open the corpus and read in-depth if you choose to, much like the ‘Active Time Lore’ from Final Fantasy XVI. There’s also a new social media service that replaces the email system from the first game, keeping you updated on events in a more casual way.
One thing that hasn’t changed from the first game is the frustrating amount of deliveries you have to make to get a facility to five stars; to deliver twenty separate pieces of lost cargo, only for the star rating to increase by a sliver, was just disheartening. I wanted the rewards for getting five stars at each facility, but I also wanted to experience the story at a reasonable pace, something that felt at odds with each other. It also adds a needless feeling of bloat to an already large game.
There’s a few cool new ways to get around in the game, like building out the monorail network and hitching a ride between depots, and a vehicle that I won’t spoil, that allows you to zoom around faster than ever within the chiral network.
Disappointingly, there’s just the one new vehicle… I REALLY wanted that electric unicycle Fragile was riding in the DEATH STRANDING 2 teaser trailer! Perhaps I just never found it in my 70-hour playthrough. Having said that, the Tri-Cruiser is a fast way to explore new areas, while the Pickup Off-Roader has you covered when you want to haul a lot of cargo at once. Both vehicles are upgradable, including mounting weapons and cargo-grabbing-devices to the truck.
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Combat – And More Of It
There’s a much larger focus on combat than there was in the first game, with new BTs and chiral creatures to contend with, as well as ghost mechs and human enemies. From giant BTs looking to swallow you whole to Neil and his skeleton crew, boss battles are once again amongst the highlights of the game.
Luckily, there’s also a fantastic range of weapons at your disposal, unlocked and upgraded by increasing your standings with facilities and preppers. As you can only carry so much, you’ll need to assess what sort of threats you’ll be facing and arm yourself accordingly.
The sequel gives you much more choice in how you want to tackle enemy encampments, whether you want to go in all-guns-blazing or take a more stealthy approach. My go-to was the Tranq Sniper Rifle, specifically the silenced version. I could (non-lethally) pick off the perimeter guards, then go in with my Maser Handgun to quietly clean up the stragglers (and then loot the place for ceramics, of course!)
Rather than just turning up for an occasional boss battle, a variety of chial-creatures can now be found dotted around the landscape, swarming around pools of tar. While they don’t deal much damage, they can drain your precious battery if you’re not careful, and you need to defeat the majority of the swarm before they disappear. I first stumbled upon the creatures while running through a rocky ravine, suddenly finding myself amidst a seething pack of tarantula-like creepers! I noped out of there as fast as my bridge boots would take me!
Sights For Sore Eyes
As you would already know, if you’ve laid eyes on a trailer for DS2, the game looks phenomenal. Character models are incredibly detailed and lifelike, especially skin and hair textures, while landscapes and terrain are near photorealistic. A fully kitted-out photomode helps you capture and create some spectacular moments.
The way weather and environment interact is also impressive. For example, running through a desert area, the landscape is noticeably dry and dusty, leaving behind a fine film of grime on Sam’s skin and clothes. But when rainfall hits, everything gets a wet reflective sheen to it, puddles form within depressions in the ground, and the sound of Sam’s footsteps get squelchy. Droplets even hit the screen itself, increasing in amount depending on the force of the rain.
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The otherworldly areas where you encounter Neil are all visual feasts, the first of which takes place in a Mexican city during Día de los Muertos. The city, decorated for the holiday, is in chaos and flames, with fireworks lighting up the night sky. You battle Neil and his skeletal entourage in a graveyard lit by candles that was as beautiful as it was spooky.
The Decima engine is truly impressive, which we already knew from DS1 and Horizon Forbidden West, but DS2 really kicks it up a notch! I normally begin games in ‘quality’ mode to appreciate the visuals in the highest fidelity available before switching to ‘performance’ mode for a better frame rate. With DEATH STRANDING 2, however, the game ran so well in quality mode that I never felt the need to switch. It felt like I was getting a solid 60fps AND the best quality image — win win!
Music To My Ears
Not to be outdone, the sound design is also top-notch. From weather and environmental effects to weapon sounds and the creepy noises made by BTs — it all works in tandem to bring the world to life.
Where the soundscape really shines, however, is in its music. The soundtrack is sublime, with songs created specifically for the game, as well as existing tracks curated to fit perfectly. There are half-a-dozen songs that I just can’t get out of my head, dominating my Spotify playlist at the moment. Synth pop song Nightmares by CHVRCHES and the melancholic, orchestral track To the Wilder by Woodkid (featuring Elle Fanning, who plays Tomorrow), are my favourites.
Throughout the game, often when nearing the end of a long delivery, the game highlights its music. The track swells up, overtaking the rest of the game sound, relegating it to the background. It shows how much understanding Kojima has about the importance of music in telling stories and conveying emotion.
No matter how good an open-world game is, I’ll eventually turn down the volume and pop on a podcast or some other music while I explore the world. I didn’t do that once in my 70 hours with DEATH STRANDING 2, the music is already the perfect companion to exploration. There’s a playlist function where you can pick your favourites and remove any you don’t vibe with from rotation.
Should you buy DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH?
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH takes the solid base crafted by its predecessor and builds upon it in almost every way possible, shoring up the foundation while constructing new and exciting features. Exploration, traversal, and combat have all been elevated, while the story and characters are just as gripping as in the first game.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, the team at Kojima Productions has refined and polished it to a blinding sheen.
If you didn’t click with the core gameplay loop of making difficult deliveries in DEATH STRANDING, odds are you’ll still feel the same about ON THE BEACH. Though the increased focus on action and combat might just win you over this time around.
For those of us already entrenched in the cult of Kojima, the sequel doesn’t disappoint. I’m itching to dive back into the game to ‘five-star’ every facility and finish the network of highways around Australia, all while vibing out to the stellar soundtrack.
Quest Daily scores DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH:
9/10
Quest Daily was supplied with an early review copy of DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH thanks to the publisher.
