An oddity of a debut game after the Metal Gear Solid fallout between Hideo Kojima and Konami, it's Death Stranding 2 that capitalises on the original's good faith for the definitive mixture of story, visuals, and package delivery. This is what Kojima Productions had been building to all along.
It takes the first game and streamlines select gameplay facets, then smartly builds on and improves features to create a more all-around experience.
The product that comes out the other side is an equally gripping and satisfying one, where top-of-the-line cutscenes tell another bonkers Hideo Kojima narrative, while the gameplay delights with complex delivery routes and vastly improved combat.
Picking up right where the original left off, Sam Bridges must continue reconnecting the world and bringing people back together, this time across Mexico and then into Australia. What follows is far from any kind of ordinary — in true Kojima Productions fashion. Returning characters are bolstered by new faces to carry an unusual story that represents one of the strongest narratives of 2025.
In between every gripping cutscene are gameplay and interactions that represent a supremely confident leap over what the first game offered. There's more of everything: more traversal options and items, more vehicles, new characters to deliver to, and superior combat.
Fights are handed the biggest facelift of all, as Sam can now quickly switch between stealth and gunplay, with each offering robust options to take down enemies and BTs. Whereas the original lacked in this department, Death Stranding 2 is far, far more consistent across all of its facets. It's a bar of quality at the top end of the scale, as is customary for Kojima Productions. It appears that the developer will be taking a break from the universe now as it focuses on different projects; it leaves the series as one of the PS5's greatest.
The video game industry stops and takes notice when Kojima Productions drops a new game. In 2025, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is its craft, a masterpiece of storytelling and traversal. Nobody makes this kind of experience better.