Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Reviews
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is one of the best games of the generation and Kojima Productions at the peak of its craft - so precisely fine-tuned, emotionally resonant and at times, completely and confidently bonkers.
My 35+ hours with Death Stranding 2: On The Beach was laced with so many emotions and feelings: boredom, excitement, joy, confusion, and satisfaction. It still has the trademarks of a Kojima-written narrative -"Muffin Man"-style dialogue, bats*** insane moments, subtle-as-a-sledgehammer storytelling with obvious symbolism. But that's what makes this sequel all the more endearing; you may cringe at some moments, but you won't be bored with the thread being spun here. Nor will you be left out of the lurch with the interactive experience you're getting.
More of the same when it comes to a quality experience is never a bad thing, but Death Stranding 2 doesn't have the same wow factor that came with every little detail of the first. It is still an incredible, indie-esque realisation of a grand vision that only Kojima can come up with, and being exceptional instead of groundbreaking is still worth giving a thumbs up to.
Death Stranding 2 is the encapsulation of Hideo Kojima's ambition to marry films and games into one seamless experience. For the first time, it's not him emulating the cinema he adores. Instead, it's Kojima directing a vast, emotionally charged epic that others will imitate in years to come. It is a masterpiece of storytelling and game design. A peerless exploration of grief, found family, and all that we leave behind.
It’s Kojima at his most Kojima, a visionary building a type of experience that only he can. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is an adventure worth taking.
A work of art is not defined by perfection, but by the confidence with which it is created, the intent that drives it, and the lasting impression it leaves on those who play, watch, read, or listen. Even if Death Stranding 2: On the Beach didn’t grip me at first as I had hoped, by the end — much like its predecessor — it left me deeply moved and with a strange, immediate sense of longing. Just hours after finishing it, I started it all over again — not out of a need for completion (which I could have continued from my first run), but simply because I still can’t bring myself to leave this world and these characters. To me, this rare kind of involvement — at once interactive, emotional, and philosophical — is what makes video games such a special form of expression.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is better than its predecessor in almost all areas, placing a heavy emphasis on combat while keeping the stealth feature at a very good level.
Review in Greek | Read full review
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.
Death Stranding 2 is a game that pulls from the same playbook as the original, one that wants you to know it was made by the creator of Metal Gear Solid, and doesn't use its 55- hour runtime to pull on the threads that are interesting about the world. Instead, its focus on combat and retreading similar ground gets tiring fast. There are moments of something special here, but they can't shine past their own shadows.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a bigger and bolder expansion that will once again split fans and critics. The improvements across the board are felt immediately, bringing about a significant amount of much-needed change to the formula. Between the changes to stealth and combat, the new structures you can build, and the new settings, cast, and music, Death Stranding 2 has proven that Kojima is not only on point but also an auteur of the industry. There is nobody like him doing what he does, and I sincerely doubt there will be.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is, in my book, a near-perfect sequel. Many of the criticisms aimed at the first game have been addressed with smart changes that make it significantly more approachable. Visually and aurally, it’s even more stunning than its predecessor, and the new plot twists are truly gripping. Only the masochists who loved the utter bleakness of the first game might not appreciate the improvements that Kojima Productions has made.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Death Stranding 2 builds upon the foundations of its predecessor with a more polished and ambitious experience, successfully addressing many of the original’s shortcomings. While its emotionally resonant story stands out, the narrative momentum occasionally falters due to pacing inconsistencies.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach should have been called Death Stranding 2: Quality of Life, because that's what this game is. From top to bottom, Kojima Productions made so many improvements to the original, making a weird delivery-sim game that is quite relaxing. Those improvements may not be enough to attract people who avoided the original, yet the players coming back are going to find a sense of calmness that you could assume Kojima wanted to deliver with his game.
The feeling that remains is that we are faced with a work that marks not only this generation of consoles, but also a new chapter in Hideo Kojima's career and in the history of video games as a great means of artistic expression.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review