Death Stranding 2: A Fresh Take on the Original

Hey everyone, Simon here from IGN with my take on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Since reactions to the first game were all over the place, I figure it's only fair to share my personal stance on the 2019 original before diving into the sequel.

Full disclosure - I didn't review the first Death Stranding for IGN (that honor went to our stellar reviewer Tristan Ogilvie - check his review here). His 6.8 score sits comfortably between the game's most passionate critics and its biggest fans. Like everything in art, opinions vary wildly, and mine differs slightly from Tristan's rather balanced take. This isn't a re-review (so no new score), but here's what worked - and didn't - for me.


Let's tackle the elephant-sized BT in the room first - that mind-bending narrative. Personally, I adored how Death Stranding's story unfolded, despite (or perhaps because of) its avalanche of made-up sci-fi jargon. It's the kind of experience that repays your patience tenfold, especially in those emotionally charged final hours. The father-daughter dynamic between Sam and Lou punched me right in the feels, while Cliff Unger and Die-Hardman's tragic arc culminated in one of gaming's most powerful performances courtesy of Tommie Earl Jenkins. That's not even mentioning Margaret Qualley's dual roles or Léa Seydoux's heartbreaking turn as Fragile. With Elle Fanning joining as the mysterious "Tomorrow" in the sequel, I'm already side-eyeing her character with maximum suspicion.

Sure, the plot involves world-ending catastrophes and oil monsters, but what hooked me were the intimate human stories woven through this apocalyptic tapestry. It reminds me of sci-fi at its best - think Villeneuve's Arrival or McCarthy's The Road - where universal themes of love and loss ground even the strangest concepts. Whether I was gazing at some terrifying Lovecraftian horror or cresting a hill to Low Roar's melancholic tunes, Death Stranding always found ways to balance spectacle with raw human drama across its 40-hour journey.

"This is exactly my kind of sci-fi - sweeping existential threats anchored in profoundly personal stories."

Gameplay-wise, recent previews suggest Death Stranding 2 is doubling down on that classic Metal Gear-style action, which has me genuinely excited. Because let's be real - as much as I fell for the story, the first game's actual mechanics sometimes felt like wading through tar. My initial 2019 playthrough stalled hard when endless hiking between delivery points started feeling more like actual work than entertainment. That infamous third chapter nearly broke me with its endless supply runs.

Thankfully, revisiting the Director's Cut later completely changed my perspective. The added combat depth and quality-of-life tools (looking at you, delivery bots and catapults) injected much-needed variety. Discovering player-built infrastructure already waiting in the world thanks to the online network transformed the experience too. By endgame, I was gleefully ziplining across mountains and tearing up ruined highways on motorcycles - exactly the sort of mobility I hope carries over from the start in this sequel.


While traversal eventually clicked, combat remained my Achilles' heel throughout. Sure, there's undeniable charm in hurling bodily fluid grenades at oil monsters, but BT encounters largely had me holding my breath until they ended. Stealthing around human enemies in their radioactive-yellow suits became my default - effective but unexciting. That's why Death Stranding 2's expanded arsenal has my attention. I'm not asking for Sam to turn into Doomguy, but having more dynamic options to engage threats would go a long way toward keeping me invested.

The bottom line? I fell hard for Death Stranding's weird, wonderful world and unforgettable characters, just not always its gameplay rhythms. Liked it plenty, loved it sometimes. Everything we've seen about the sequel - from its bombastic new story threads to those signature Kojima flourishes - has me eager to re-enter this bizarre universe. My biggest hope? That the actual play sessions between those jaw-dropping cutscenes feel less like chores this time around. We'll know for sure when my full Death Stranding 2 review arrives June 23rd.