Mdm_Thomas Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Review

With a strong fondation like Death Stranding, this second installment isn't a groundbreaking innovation compared to the first one. And that's absolutely not a negative point as Death Stranding was an incredible experience despite some slow phases, redundant deliveries and a very grindy Platinum trophy. Let's now look at Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. First, I played around 100 hours to achieve the Platinum trophy. So the "grindy" feeling of Death Stranding is definitely still there. If you're a Platinum hunter, it's going to be a long ride but I'm sure you've seen other much longer though. Graphics: 10/10 I am mainly a big productions player, AAA single player experiences, so I've seen my part of different kind of qualities in graphics and I have to say that DS2 is one of (if not the first) the most beautiful game out there. Fidelity, lighting, visual effects, models quality, animations. Everything is absolutely gorgeous. I played on base PS5 (not Pro) on Fidelity mode as you don't require constant 60fps to play the game, even during fights sequences but as always, personnal preference. Performance Mode is still very very solid visually. Story: 8/10 Following the events of Death Stranding, Sam is back with Fragile and her crew to connect another country, Mexico. Weird things that only Kojima can understand are still happening but isn't it why we play his games. New deliveries, small recluded bases to huge cities to connect to the network, new huge BTs, tragic events, WTF moments involving Street Fighter-like gameplay with a guitar in front of a giant BB (yes, you read that right), we can say that Death Stranding 2: On The Beach brings its fresh additions to the story and lore of Death Stranging. As mentionned earlier, you take on another journey with Sam, Fragile and new characters being the Drawbridge crew, a new delivery company run by Fragile after the closure of Bridges and Fragile Express. These new characters each have their own unique personnalities and small story lines, and are very well written. The main new character, that will follow you everytime in your deliveries is Dollman, a man that got trapped in his daughter's doll after a tragic event (yet another weird thing only Kojima understands). Some characters are more important than others for the main plot but I won't spoil anything here. Of course, some characters are returning from Death Stranding, such as Deadman, Heartman, Fragile (duh) or Higgs. Another new character makes his debut, Neil Vana, similar to what Cliff Unger was in Death Stranding with sequences happening outside of the "real" world. I really liked the main story line, while still focusing on deliveries and connecting the country. There are still some long and redundant quests, back-and-forth between 2-3 bases, all that can kill the momentum and don't give you the appeal of continuing the story, but once you're past that and unlock more and more tools, the game is very fun and addictive. Cinematics are incredible and really adds a real feel of cinematography, that we all know Kojima loves. Still have to say that getting to a certain point in the story, the missions are getting artificially long to stretch the game's life. Gameplay: 9/10 For someone that really liked the gameplay of Death Stranding (while having its flaws of course, it's not a 10/10 game), the gameplay of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is an improvement in a lot of ways. Vehicles, guns, tools for deliveries, transportation, everything that Death Stranding did well, this time is improved. It's still a direct sequel, on the same engine, same tech and all, so if you didn't like the gameplay of Death Stranding, you won't magically like this one. It's not a different gameplay, just improved. Some parts are still grindy such as roads building, with the addition of the "monorail", a new way to transport huge amounts of materials across the map (you will need to unlock all related bases and build all structures linking 2 bases in order to use the monorail) that helps a lot when grinding roads build. The combat has been improved in my opinion, with more guns, more ways to take down MULEs (and other ennemies) without killing them (remember when you kill a human and don't dispose it in time, it will trigger a Death Stranding and you will destroy a small part of the map), Sam doesn't feel like a heavy weight guy that can only fist fight for more than a third of the game anymore. More vehicles too, more ways to travel across the country with roads, the monorail and also the brand new DHV Magellan, a moving base of operations used by Drawbridge to travel using tar currents (it's all explained in details in the game but at the time this review is written, I already forgot how it worked...) and is used by Sam to fast travel to main bases and cities (yes, fast travel in Death Stranding, thank you Kojima). That being said, I really recommand playing Death Stranding 2: On The Beach but not if you don't played Death Stranding first. This sequel relies eavily on the events of Death Stranding, even if it gives you an overall recap when starting the game, experiencing the events by playing, feeling the gameplay yourself (as it's not a kind of gameplay that everyone will enjoy, it might not be for you) and if it clicks for you, you will appreciate even more Death Stranding 2: On The Beach with all the improvements and Quality Of Life changes.