Death Stranding 2 Review

There was a time when it took me 4 attempts to just get going with Death Stranding 1 and I would just fall asleep in the beginning of the game but 5th attempt worked. Good news for you is that's not the case with Death Stranding 2! The pacing of the game has been addressed and the game offers a lot of new cool mechanics that will make you want to pour many hours into it.

After 65 hours in Death Stranding 2, here is my review. We will break down the various aspects of the game in each category and explore them in detail. Sounds good? let's dive right in then!

First Impressions

First impression goes a long way, that's what my Grandfather told me at least and would always ask me to dress up doesn't matter where I was going. As soon as you boot the game, you are greeted with a real world footage of augmented with the world of Death Stranding. If Aliens saw this video, they would belive this is what earth looked like when we are all gone.

The end of that video is seamlessly integrated with the game and now you(Sam) are walking on a mountain, with a dynamic music that changes with every step he takes and boy does it warm you up! When I say you have not seen anything like that in the video game world, believe me you have not.

Graphics and Visuals - The Decima Magic

The graphics in the game are second to none. The Decima engine truly shines here, beautiful landscapes, close to real graphics and boy the details of the surface and environment in the game are worth stopping and admiring.

For first few minutes you will be in disbelief, wondering if it's a movie or a video game!? If that controller wasn't in my hand, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, thanks to the haptic feedback pf PS5 controller!

You all must have seen many clips of the game to know for yourself, some find it so realistic that it creeps them out. But it's not just about how the game looks but also how the environment affects the characters in the game.
Sam gets sunburnt, frostbitten, covered in dust, caked in snow and blood, and is even pushed back by the strong winds and storms.

If one thing is guaranteed about Death Stranding 2, it's the visuals of the game, your mind will be blown away.

Gameplay - The Show Stealer

Let's move on to the real deal - Gameplay; This is where Death Stranding 2 truly stands out from all other games that showcase the visuals as their strength but falter in the rest of the department.

Theme of the Gameplay in Death Stranding 2 is all about player freedom. At its core you have to deliver packages without damaging them and how you navigate through the world is up to you. The game provides you multiple ways of doing the same thing, it's up to the player on what they choose to do. For instance, traversal in Death Stranding is what makes this game unique, the terrain is essentially your biggest enemy, so in order to navigate through it you could build a road, or jump ramps or rail roads or glide(on a freaking coffin) run, run faster, or even create zip lines.

With those tools at your disposal you are now basically addicted to creating more and more of these things to make your life easier in the game, because you go back and forth throughout the game many times and if you have not setup your commute system, you are essentially doomed.

Of course there is more to the game then just delivery and that's where enemy bases, BT infected areas and other things come into play. I will talk about those in the Combat section.

Music and Soundtrack

Traveling through the world of Death Stranding is beautiful yet long journey but what makes it worth while is the music and soundtracks in the game. The OST of the games matches the quality in the first game and there are times when you just want to walk in the game listening to these tracks or go on a long drive in the truck and road that you built, it's a vibe.

The best part of it all is that the game allows you to create your own playlist of songs(unlocked within the game) and you can listen to them whenever you want, no dull moments!

Combat - An Action Packed Game

While music and OST makes Death Stranding a vibe, combat in the game is where it gets tense. From BT(A enemy type in the game) infected areas to common human enemies, they all come hard at you if you do not have a proper strategy.

You can be stealth. go all guns blazing, or you could just run away. It is up to you but it does bring the thrill out if you choose to engage. Sam has plethora of weapons at his disposal: a Shotgun, Assult Rifle, Blades, bombs and grenades! If you can master some skills and go into the battle just wearing your gloves and you are bound to have a good time as well.

How about Boss fights you ask? Well boss fights in the game are lacking. By the end of the game you don't really need your weapons, so all that time you spent honing your skills are useless. To be honest that's my biggest disappointment from the game.

Characters - With Soulful Stories

Alright, moving on to the characters in the game. Kojima has a history of righting good characters in his games, and he doesn't fall short here. Each of the character is introduced very well and plays a significant role in Sam's journey. Kojima even found a way to incorporate a talking puppet and a talking mannequin in the game!

Some of the character's back story are optional and you will have to go out of your way to explore their back stories but it would be 100% worth it.

I am not going to talk a lot about characters in the games because it could risk spoilers but know that they all are very well written and they will bring out all sorts of emotions in you.

Story - A magical one

Well what binds all those awesome mechanics of the game? Its it's fabulous story of love and loss. The story gives you purpose to get going, a reason to keep exploring and a sense of belief that all these cannot be for nothing.

From the get go, the game binds you with its incredible opening sequences, it sets up the tone for the game immediately and lets you know what this journey is all about. The game brings you its story at all the right spots and a new character is introduced with a proper gap, giving you time to explore each person.

The only improvement I would want is better cutscene distribution, especially at the end, but i didn't really have a problem otherwise. It was just that you see one cutscene after the other at the end without pressing a single button and I found that dissatisfying.

Overall the story is stitched very well together with some extraordinary sequences which will amaze you time and time agian.

Conclusion

Death Stranding 2 is a game that will make you immersed in its world. It's one of those games where I wanted to build a better world not just for myself but for the others too. The story binds every aspect of the game very well and produces a couple of goosebump moments which will live in your memory for a while. The end sequence of the game is something you can never even imagine and even though you end up beating the main story you will always want to go back and deliver more orders to not only help make the Death Stranding world better but also unlock the many perks that could completely change your game experience.

If you ever have any questions about the review and its details, please feel free to reach out to us on X and other platforms. Until then, keep on keeping on!