death stranding 2
platform
playstation 5
playtime
~90 hours
progress
completed
last played
july 2025
playstation
played on playstation 5 pro
perspective
third person
thoughts here will be less than death stranding
because this expands on it
and it does it well
most things that can be said about death stranding can be said about this as well
a good way of looking at death stranding 2
think of it as an expansion to the first
not because there is a lot of content, or something is lacking that it should be called a full release
it just flows nice from the first into the second
sound
it takes what death stranding did well and takes it to the next level
everything sounds more dynamic, more movie-esque
i think if you liked the isolation feeling that the first one brought to the table you may feel wanting less
it has all the elements that the first one has
turns them up
the way the sound is presented in death stranding 2 really resonated with me
i enjoyed how it made the gameplay feel more dynamic
it matches the gameplay well too
acting
picking the right actors for the job
another homerun for kojima
like the first
every cast member does a phonomenal job
troy baker, lea seydoux, elle fanning, george miller, fatih akin, shioli kutsuna, alastair duncan, luca marinelli, norman reedus
all are outstanding
even the ones i didnt name
again troy baker, if i had to pick one, might be the close winner
design
world
again it is a beautiful world to get lost in, explore, and build
character
characters look cool, feels like what they are wearing belongs in the world
again i will shout out higgs' design
since he is probably my favorite character
most of the characters are designed well
i want to shout out tomorrow
is up there for my favorite character as well
in design, and the story
for me, higgs, both games combined is my favorite character
tomorrow is my favorite in death stranding 2
plot
like death stranding i will not really discuss the story because i am a firm believer that you should experience it yourself first
i would say it is on par with the first
though i might say the i enjoy the story of the first one more
but i was more excited to play this one
just because i wanted to see where kojima was going to take it
i would say that i really liked the story
it really hit me personally and truly felt a connection to it
with it being the writing, or the visuals
kojimas obsession with presenting video games like movies has always worked for me
as in feeling closer to the story, and engaged
gameplay
if you want it to play as death stranding you can play it like that
but it then can play so differently
it makes the whole thing better because all the mechanics are really expanded in this one
more choices to accomplish things
everything just feels polished
and well thought out
sam
not like a typical sequel were the main dude loses everything and you start from scratch
sam feels like he is more proficient
the apas enhancement sytstem helps improve sam
skill tree, works well
chiral network
same premise as death stranding
it is a wonderful mechanic
it makes you feel less lonely in a lonely game, like the first.
a sense of accomplishment when you setup, build, and when people use your items
route planning
again the core loop of the game
getting from a to b
it is a satisfying problem to solve
they expanded everything so you have more choices
and more things to worry about
traversing the terrain
more ways to solve the terrain problem
combat
something i did not expect when playing
it felt almost like you did not want to do in death stranding
i would say one of the lacking aspects of the first
they moved it to the front, and said go for it
feels great, enjoyable
though i much prefer the stealth method
stealth
expanded from the first
actually feels like you can choose between stealth and combat
honestly feels like a metal gear game
and i am all for it
world
playing death stranding then going right into the second
the first feels more static
dynamic weather with all sorts of events
it just makes the immersion into the game that much better
was something i did not know i wanted
or knew that was missing
fast travel
a welcomed quality of life feature
feels like it fits the world
not like i just teleport from one spot to another
highlight of the game
it has a very satisfying loop
route planning
heading out
encountering a problem
solving that problem
finishing the route
what makes it better is when you are
heading out
you're planning out new routes
for the next problem
the gameplay for death stranding feels expected, not how i thought it was going to be, but in the fact that we are still in the death stranding world and this is the logical next step for the people that are actually living in it. the game feels like world progression was actually made, and that these are natural progression that you have at your characters fingertips.
this sequel fixes a lot of issues that the first one had, polished them, took the jank away, and i think it makes the game better. it is a smoother experience playing this. it plays well, and i think the game is better for it. it is 100% a kojima game and some of the tropes that he uses, are here, personally i enjoy what he is putting on the screen. not everything in the story lands, and it not some perfect story being told, but it is engaging enough to want to know more, it still lands on its feet.
death stranding 2 lands for me because of what the first built for the foundation of the game, even if the story of the first is slightly better.
death stranding 2
the amazon delivery simulator really becomes something more
something that connects to me
a sense of community
a sense to leave a place better than how i found it
a sense to be better
to do things i don't want to to do
truly a wonderful game that i think is better than the first
an all time game for me
i would not say it is perfection
it just hits, and it rarely misses