To say that Death Stranding is an extraordinary game is a gross understatement. Kojima Productions' title, released in November 2019, has its fans, as evidenced by the 20 million copies sold since its release. It also has many detractors who describe Hideo Kojima's game as a walking simulator devoid of interest and, above all, of any form of pleasure.
Good news for the 20 million owners, and despite what others say, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is coming to PS5 this June 26th (June 24th in Early Access). Does this sequel improve on the unique formula of the first episode? Is the journey as memorable as Sam's first trip? Our opinion after 50 hours of play.
The end of the strike for Sam Porter Bridges
The story of Death Stranding 2 takes place 11 months after the events of the first installment. Sam Porter Bridges, played by Norman Reedus, has managed to reconnect the United Cities of America and is now taking a well-deserved rest with Lou. This is the BB (yes, literally) who accompanied him on his journey and whom Sam did not want to return to the Bridges company at the end of the first episode.
Unfortunately for them, this retirement will be short-lived. At Fragile's request, they will have to set off again on a long journey intended to connect Australia to the chiral network, a sort of advanced Internet that allows bases to communicate with each other and exchange goods using porters. Of course, the journey won't go as smoothly as expected due to old and new threats.
First observation: the story progresses very little during the first 25 to 30 hours of play. The original opus suffered from the same flaw, but the discovery of the very particular universe created by Hideo Kojima managed to compensate for this lack. The pace of the scenario becomes even more peculiar during the first part of this Death Stranding 2.
The cutscenes are rather rare and are sometimes dispatched in a handful of seconds, clearly leaving us wanting more. Fortunately, the last quarter of the story (which still corresponds to 10 hours of gameplay) does more than satisfy us and finally brings us the lot of revelations and long cutscenes we've been waiting for.
Because yes, curiosity pushes us to swallow the kilometers out of thirst for revelations, as in the first Death Stranding. The desire to learn more about the origins of Lou and each of the characters we meet throughout the adventure never fades. The strength of a great game.
We simply regret that the motivations of the antagonists, Higgs in the lead, are surprisingly classic. Fortunately, the charisma of the villain and the excellent performance of Troy Baker compensate for this pitfall.
In the end, we still come away from Death Stranding 2 satisfied to have witnessed a story rich in twists and turns, superbly staged... although sometimes a little too nebulous for its own good.
A story far from accessible
Yes, it is essential to point out that the story of Death Stranding 2 is particularly cryptic, even more so than in the first game. Death Stranding 2 is clearly not as "simple" to follow as a Metal Gear Solid, despite the multiple winks made by Hideo Kojima to the saga, sometimes even a little crude.
The story requires the utmost attention to understand each of the fantastic concepts it depicts, such as the Strike (the world of the dead, so to speak), the DOOMS disease affecting Sam and his allies, or the BBs. The corpus, accessible at any time in the menu, allows you to refresh your memory on all the elements that make up the universe of Death Stranding, and so much the better.
Another choice by Kojima Productions is disconcerting. It is very surprising to note, in retrospect, that the trailers revealed so far show events very late in the adventure. Of course, they have less weight in isolation, without the context that goes with them, but still.
The advice may no longer be very valuable, but let's give it anyway: if you can avoid watching the trailers before playing, do so. And if you haven't played the first Death Stranding, it is strongly recommended that you watch a summary of the story (the one available in the main menu of this sequel is not complete enough).
A feast for the eyes and ears
If Death Stranding 2 is so gripping and immersive, it also owes it to its XXL cast. Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo Del Toro and Troy Baker reprise their roles with just as much brilliance. Fragile, more present than ever, particularly shines in this episode. Newcomers Elle Fanning (Tomorrow), Luca Marinelli (Neil), and Jonathan Roumie (Dollman) also shine.
Especially since Kojima Productions masterfully introduces the new characters. The studio manages to create an immediate attachment by depicting their torments with great accuracy. We delight in each of the appearances of all these protagonists also thanks to the formidable motion capture work and the science of Kojima Productions' staging.
Death Stranding 2 is a feast for the eyes, but also for the ears. The game would clearly not be the same without the masterful soundtrack by Woodkid, made up of both instrumental compositions and sung themes with meaningful lyrics. The French artist, accompanied by Ludvig Forssell, completes the game's artistically memorable work. Note that the main track To the Wilder is not the only gem that will accompany the most striking scenes and your most perilous walks.
Another tour de force from the Japanese company: the absolutely flawless technique. The frame rate is stable even in the most explosive phases and no bugs came to hinder us. The textures benefit from great care and are as detailed as the character models. The various weather effects also shine with their realism.
An unchanged concept, and that's a good thing
Death Stranding 2 follows the formula of the first episode, namely an open world populated by different installations where civilians hide to escape the Precipitation and the Stranded brought by Death Stranding. Sam, as a porter, must go from one to the other to reconnect them to the chiral network.
In Death Stranding 2, you spend most of your time making deliveries from point A to point B and finally reconnect the arrival installation to the chiral network. The problem is, the desolate Australia that Sam must travel through is made up of rivers, mountains, and chasms that will significantly complicate your travels.
Sandstorms, snowstorms, earthquakes, and other environmental delights also make travel even more intense in this episode. Each part of the map, which is quite large, has its own specific terrain and weather features.
As in the first game, you also need to carefully manage the goods to be delivered. The heavier Sam is carrying, the less stable he will be and therefore likely to fall, damaging the objects. In the best case scenario, your mission score suffers. Damage your goods too much and it's game over.
Of course, Sam can count on a wide variety of equipment to make his job easier. This ranges from ladders that can be placed both horizontally and vertically, to climbing anchors, or sturdy boots capable of overcoming the most rugged terrain.
Note that Death Stranding 2 has no shortage of secondary orders to complete. They are extremely rewarding, since you unlock all sorts of equipment with unique abilities for completing them. It's a joy to discover the many weapons and items you can unlock as you progress through the game. These range from assault rifles and rocket launchers to grenades that can create obstacles to hide behind.
You'll need to complete side quests if you want to complete the skill tree built into Death Stranding 2. It allows you to improve your carrying or combat abilities. You can also get more accurate weather information or make the Odradek, which scans the terrain to display items to pick up, more efficient. The skill tree is well-balanced and provides some nice benefits, without making the epic journey too easy.
Helping your neighbor
Death Stranding 2 has a multiplayer component of the utmost importance, which feeds into both the lore and the gameplay. You'll never directly see other players in your game. However, their buildings do appear in your session.
If a player has built a bridge over a river or placed a ladder to climb a mountain, you can see them in your game and use them. The system is inspired by the floor messages in Dark Souls, but pushed even further. It's as satisfying to see that a player has placed a structure in exactly the right place as it is to know that one of our constructions has helped someone.
Death Stranding 2, despite the gloom and melancholy in its universe, is a profoundly humanist title that wants us to understand, through its storyline and this multiplayer aspect, that a A better future comes from helping each other, even from a distance. This is also why you can entrust objects you have no use for to other carriers. Your reward? Nothing more than a few likes, since you don't do a good deed to expect something in return.
As you've probably guessed, Death Stranding 2 offers more or less the same structure and gameplay mechanics (movement-wise, at least) as the first episode. Kojima Productions only evolves the formula in small ways. Was there a need to reinvent the wheel? Not really, in our opinion. Let's be clear, if you didn't like the original episode, you probably won't like its sequel. On the contrary, a player won over by the 2018 game will be happy to rediscover the newcomer on PS5.
Death Stranding 2: a walk in the park?
However, Kojima Productions is indeed appealing to the most cautious players with a bias: making the adventure more accessible. This involves several notable choices.
You had to wait many hours to access the pickup in the first Death Stranding. Here, the vehicle is available after a few hours of play. Logical, from a narrative point of view. On the other hand, this completely reshuffles the cards.
The pickup truck, in addition to allowing you to move quickly, is capable of storing a colossal amount of merchandise. As a result, the tension created by carefully choosing and placing objects, as well as the obligation to pay close attention to where Sam puts his feet, is much less present.
There are times when you absolutely have to put your foot down, especially during combat, but the vast majority of deliveries can be made by vehicle. The most cunning will even prefer to take a few detours to avoid the Stranded and bandits that the game had placed on the most direct route to a mission. It's also a good way to get around steep terrain.
Ultimately, the sense of pride and relief offered by the first Death Stranding after completing a mission is much less felt in this sequel. Of course, nothing prevents you from making your deliveries on foot even once the pickup truck is unlocked, but the temptation to do everything in a vehicle is more than great. It even detracts from the great variety of orders to be carried out. Are you asked to deliver goods vertically or not to submerge them in water? Load them into the pickup truck and the constraint disappears.
Furthermore, the integration of the DHV Magellan, a ship capable of transporting Sam and his friends, also makes everything easier. You can only rarely use it for the main missions, the game always subtly justifying its unavailability. On the other hand, nothing prevents you from transporting goods from side missions by this means, even if your final grade drops if you do.
Action and Death Stranding, that's two
Hideo Kojima says it, he likes works that divide. Death Stranding was criticized for its lack of action, but it still enjoyed critical and commercial success. It's worth noting that the Japanese creator has taken the feedback from its critics into account. Thus, Death Stranding 2 offers significantly more action than its predecessor. Many missions require you to take up arms, and several boss battles are scattered throughout the adventure.
Unfortunately, the fights are far from being the sequences in which Death Stranding 2 shines the most. This is due to Sam's extremely laborious control and some rather frustrating game design choices. A very glaring example: on PS5, the aim button is L2. Except that it's also the button with which Sam can pick up an object on the ground with his left hand.
So it very often happens, in the middle of combat, that you press L2 to aim and Sam picks up a piece of merchandise instead. In addition, the latency with which the wielder performs certain actions is particularly annoying. You sometimes have to try several times to access the weapon wheel, without really understanding why. The time Sam takes to equip a weapon is also far too long for our liking.
A few bosses that stand out
Furthermore, the maneuverability in combat as soon as you have a little too much merchandise on your back is far from pleasant. It makes perfect sense that Sam's weight would disrupt deliveries, but during fights, we wish the only real opponent was the one in front of us, not the one on our backs.
The dodge system, which requires holding both triggers and pressing circle, or aiming to sidestep, is quite imprecise. It takes a fair amount of luck to avoid an attack like this. The melee is still as archaic as ever, both for attacks and parries. All these flaws are regrettable, given that the adventure's bosses are well thought out and visually successful. Death Stranding 2 even has a few boss fights against some pretty impressive giant Stranded.
Fans of Metal Gear Solid won't find bosses as striking as Psycho Mantis, The End or Fatman, but the effort is really appreciable.
Infiltration, however, remains fairly classic given that the areas to enter are rather simple in design. These are generally bandit camps with a few tents and containers and too rarely any truly elaborate structures. It's still fun to use the various useful objects to stay hidden or eliminate particularly alert enemies, especially in hardcore mode. Kojima Productions will undoubtedly raise the bar much higher in Physint.
In terms of lifespan, count on 45 hours to complete the main story in a straight line and easily double that to do everything.
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