Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Reviews
In conclusion, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is everything I ever could’ve wanted from a sequel. It brings back the same satisfying gameplay loop, delivers an improved and emotionally charged narrative, and showcases the best recreation of Australia I’ve ever seen in a video game. I’m not exaggerating when I say this could very well be Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus.
The sequel to the legendary Death Stranding brings to us exactly what we have wanted – another unique and unmissable experience from Hideo Kojima.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
It’s possibly Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus, and it’ll be a long, long time before I stop thinking about it.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach sticks close to the original’s formula, but tightens up the gameplay and expands your tools. The story leans into Kojima’s usual weirdness, with standout characters and a final act that delivers. It’s familiar in many ways, but still offers something different from anything else this year.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach reduces the classic Kojima weirdness and expands the gameplay variety and the impressive technical achievements. The main gameplay loop is still tedious in most parts and the more straight forward storytelling will disappoint fans of the first game. If you enjoyed Death Stranding and want to see how the story bits for everyone get unpacked, you should still get it.
Review in German | Read full review
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a divisive, challenging work that never tries to please everyone. And because of that, it succeeds in leaving a deeper mark. Hideo Kojima returns to talk about connection, but this time he does so in a world that no longer needs to be united: he does so in a world that must learn to live with its own fractures, its own shadows, its own broken memories. It is a video game about mourning and hope, about collective choices and personal sacrifice, but one that manages to remain a game in the purest and deepest sense of the word. Play-wise, the title consistently evolves the original formula, incorporating new mechanics, more dynamic rhythms and a more layered structure, where the narrative and management components meet without ever clashing. Not everything is perfect: some sections still feel too slow, certain gameplay choices may be off-putting to those expecting more continuous action, and some narrative passages risk being overly cryptic. But these are small cracks in a work that manages, once again, to be visionary, fragile, and powerfully human. The technical compartment on PS5 borders on excellence: lightning-fast loading, visual cleanliness, granitic stability, without sacrificing the artistic detail that makes every shot worthy of a photo shoot. DualSense is put to excellent use, as are 3D audio and haptic feedback, making every step, every raindrop, and every beat of the BB's heart a living part of the experience. Ultimately, Death Stranding 2 is much more than a sequel. It is a second work that rewrites the meaning of the first, a new journey that does not erase the previous one but transforms it, reworks it, sublimates it. It is one of those games that asks for trust, time, and a hint of surrender. But if you let go, On the Beach manages to touch chords that modern video games rarely dare to touch.
Review in Italian | Read full review
When I reviewed the original Death Stranding back in 2019, I gave it a 10/10 and called it “the definitive Hideo Kojima experience and a genuine, one-of-a-kind gaming experience.” Six years later, Kojima came along and made me a liar because Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is the definitive Hideo Kojima experience and a genuine, one-of-a-kind gaming experience.
While interesting in its approach, Death Stranding 2 feels more like a retread of its predecessor’s path rather than a bold leap forward. The first game was eerily relevant in a post-COVID world, but this sequel seems to lack that focus.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a great example of a sequel that expands on the original without losing sight of it. The traversal is still the star of the show, while the action has been significantly improved without taking over the experience. While a conventional plot takes the back seat for a more character-driven story, the new cast of characters and a phenomenal final third act stick the landing with prime Hideo Kojima bombast.
Although Hideo Kojima wants to make games that are somewhat divisive, I find Death Stranding 2 to be one of his most refined and enjoyable works to date. I feel confident this will be recognized as one of PS5’s defining masterpieces. In the way that we talk about The Last of Us on PS3 or God of War on PS4, I think Death Stranding 2 is an essential title for the PS5 generation.
Death Stranding 2 remains a unique video game, different from all the others, incomparable to the offerings of the contemporary industry, and for this very reason it must necessarily be analyzed "in a vacuum", away from useless comparisons and external interferences to the legacy of the series.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Hideo Kojima set out to craft a timeless yet divisive experience—but in the end, he only succeeded at one. Death Stranding 2 may not spark controversy, but it will be remembered. It’s far from perfect, still echoing some of the original’s flaws, yet it feels profoundly personal—raw, human, and unapologetically honest. More than a sequel, it’s a culmination. A quiet masterpiece that may very well be Kojima’s magnum opus.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach features more engaging delivery mechanics, a more varied environment, and more straightforward combat. On top of all these, the game features a memorable and emotional story, making this a must-play for fans of the first game.
While Death Stranding 2: On the Beach can feel like a step forward for gameplay, I feel like Kojima Productions took a step back with its narrative and difficulty.
While the sequel doesn't deviate far from the trodden path, it improves every aspect of the first time we got to travel with Sam. Less walking, more enemies, more variety in infrastructure and some light RPG elements make this a less revolutionary, but vastly improved experience.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Despite its few flaws, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach remains a particularly impressive large-scale game.
Review in French | Read full review
Death Stranding 2 is part 2 of Death Stranding, not its sequel. The gameplay structure shifts towards greater immediacy in the use of every feature, aspect, and mechanic, particularly with a much more solid combat system—which tends to Metal Gear Solid-ize this IP—and greater ensemble playing among the characters, who are less isolated from each other and more part of a single entity fighting with the past, in the present, in the name of the future. Sam and we cross the mirror together to explore beyond memories and recollections, in a title that is a bit déjà vu and a bit therapy session, as powerful as and more than the first, with its sharp narrative but not without the usual Kojima histrionics, and a bitter but not pessimistic underlying message, because “the future is indeed the sum of all presents, but tomorrow does not belong to today anyway.”
Review in Italian | Read full review
Death Stranding 2 is a fascinating yet conflicted sequel. Unafraid to slow down, reflect, and stir emotion, but too often at the cost of frustration and recycled mechanics. It refuses to pander, save for the promise of story continuation, stellar cast, and an evocative soundtrack. But before expanding its world, it should have focused more deeply on refining its gameplay, because the magic of the first game can’t be relived twice.
Review in Czech | Read full review
However, we like the story itself even better, especially due to the once again high-quality production and the often philosophical references to the real world. We won't spoil anything for you, of course, but the finale is even more moving than that of the first part and leaves us with a good feeling about this unusual and unusually good action-adventure, which should definitely find its way onto your PS5 if you enjoyed the predecessor even a little bit!
Review in German | Read full review
Kojima Productions delves into the ideas of the original game, nuanced and twisting them to stick it to the present without losing or losing its condition of Pure Video Game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review