LiamCroft

@Broosh I've fixed that now, thanks for pointing it out!

@Fiendish-Beaver Yeah, there's a Trophy for beating the game on the hardest difficulty.

@Fiendish-Beaver No worries! Story and Hard mode are unlocked from the start, but you need to finish the game first to access the hardest mode.

@Fiendish-Beaver All your character upgrades (health, sanity, stamina) carry over, and you can select a new, harder difficulty option.

@Hyena_socks The game autosaves pretty frequently, and there are little shrines dotted about where you can make additional saves.

Some enemies do respawn, yes.

It's mostly more action and combat-focused in general, but there is a certain point in the story where the gore and action is seriously cranked up. That's in relation to the narrative.

@pawlslax On the standard difficulty (which is called hard), it’s a tough game that’s definitely harder than Silent Hill 2. There is a story mode below it, though, that proves a lot more manageable.

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! If you have any questions beyond what’s in the review, feel free to copy me in.

If the performance issues are fixed, I think the game is just about an 8/10. However, it was impossible for me to ignore them in my playthrough.

@Ricky-Spanish Yes, it's linked in this very article. The reasoning didn't come from Sony, though.

@Ricky-Spanish No, Sony hasn't said anything publicly about reducing the SSD size.

@Nightcrawler71 Yes, they're universal. You link your Shift account to your profile on whatever platform you want to play on.

@WolfyTn I don't own the game yet and have successfully redeemed the first Shift Code to the account I'll be using on PS5.

@KundaliniRising333 From what I've seen, it's a new area that leads off of the Vatican map from the base game.

@Fiendish-Beaver Nah, I don't think the original game has been updated in any way. The DLC has simply added this new content to it.

@Fiendish-Beaver The DLC is built into the base game, as you access it via a new quest that triggers when you load up a save. However, the quest takes you to a new area in Rome, and the whole expansion takes place within that new space.

@Flaming_Kaiser It's been available for over a year: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP0082-PPSA18287_00-OCTOPATH1PS5E000

@Enuo I did. This is how it's always worked. Outlets gather information from sources they trust, and then publish an article when they feel confident enough in the story.

You don't publicly state what your sources are, otherwise, you'll never have any sources ever again.

@Enuo Did you read the article?

@wildcat_kickz That's from January 2026 onwards.

@ElectricWizard No bias whatsoever. I review what's put in front of me.

@awp69 MGS Delta looks and plays far better than Gears of War: Reloaded does. This is basically the same game from 2006 with improved visuals, while Delta has gameplay improvements.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is also a better game than Gears of War.

@Frmknst No, four actually!

@Ravix It's not advertising, I can only report my experience with the game. I noticed frame rate drops, but they didn't come across all that major to me.

@Kidfunkadelic83 Yes, you can crouch and move at the same time.

Hi everyone, if you have any questions beyond what is covered in the review, feel free to copy me in.

We'll be closing the comments section on this article now, as we approach midnight UK time. Thanks for participating!

@Dodoo No idea I'm afraid, we don't have review code. It looks like code was only available for PC.

@BLKxHER0 Nope, the Phantom Edition doesn't include beta early access.

@Simulated-Soul https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/07/ps-stars-program-marks-its-eventual-shut-down-with-one-last-collectible

@get2sammyb @Hi569 The interview with Jamal Musiala confirms the shoot for the FC 26 cover was done in May.

@rjejr It is true: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/04/hbo-renews-the-last-of-us-for-a-third-season

@wildcat_kickz That category is in relation to a "making of" documentary on The Last of Us TV series.

@DonkeyFantasy Not yet I'm afraid! Sony only said it's coming at some point this year, so the timing is a bit vague, unfortunately.

@Supern0va Cheers, fixed!

@Medic_alert It’s now live in the article 😂

@TerranIV Ideally, yes. If not, you'll want a comprehensive story recap on YouTube because what's available in DS2 doesn't do a very good job of recounting the first game.

@tameshiyaku Yes, I also reviewed the first game: https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/death_stranding

Like I say in the review, I found Death Stranding 2 more straightforward and easier to understand, mostly because many of its themes and world mechanics were already explained in the original. This reduces some of the wonder of the story; I'm not necessarily sure I'd call it "better".

@Jammer Yeah, there are plenty of other artists on the soundtrack.

@NitrousX There are no missable Trophies, and to unlock the Platinum, I think you'd need another 20 hours or so of gameplay. You need to level up all the Facilities in the game to rank 5, which can be a grind.

@DreadfulDragon Gameplay absolutely played a large part in my review and the final score. Did you read the many paragraphs discussing the traversal and combat?

@Nalim There's a fair assortment of other artists on the soundtrack, but Woodkid definitely has the most tracks of anyone else.

@KeldorTheCursed Yes, I think so. The first game sets up the world and how it works, as well as many of the main characters in the game. Death Stranding 2 does have a story recap on the main menu, but it focuses more on the characters and their motivations rather than actually covering the first game's events. I still think you'd be very lost in the DS2 if you don't play the first one.

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! I've now played Death Stranding 2 for 70+ hours, so if you have any questions beyond what my review covers, feel free to copy me in.

Obviously, I won't be going into any story details, to preserve as much of it as possible. I also tried to write the review in a way that is as spoiler-free as possible.

@Dan12836666 Microsoft has had live-service games for a decade or more: Forza Horizon, Sea of Thieves, and Halo Infinite for starters are all Games as a Service.

Just a quick note on the lack of Death Stranding 2 in our personal picks: I would have selected the game but I'm literally playing it now for review, so it would have been a bit odd.

@Waa-Laa What did you do when Ghost of Tsushima added its online Legends mode, then, which had Trophies? Skipping whole games because of online Trophies doesn't make sense.

@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare Well, we won’t know if that’s the case until the June lineup is confirmed, and if it actually is tiny.

@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare It’s an additional game coming as part of Days of Play, not linked to the usual monthly updates for the service.

@Chapapa It’s $20 with a 10% launch discount, so maybe around €15-€18?

@Jacko11 @PuppetMaster In 2021, Sony did a State of Play in February, April, and May. In 2022, it did a State of Play in February, two in March, and one in June. In 2023, it did a State of Play in February, April, and a PlayStation Showcase in May. In 2024, it did a State of Play in February and May.

It absolutely has a track record of multiple State of Play livestreams during these months.

@DonJorginho Wow that's amazing!