Death Stranding is bizarre; you don’t need me to tell you that. It’s a weird game, but it’s also a good game. I played it all the way through back when it launched – though, ironically, while the narrative themes focus on connectivity, I played it offline while I was awaiting a new internet installation.
While I don’t understand the unquestionable hype surrounding Hideo Kojima, I can recognise his ability to make solid (heh) games. Metal Gear Solid established so many unique elements in gaming, Phantom Pain was fantastic, and Death Stranding gave us so many brilliant gameplay mechanics and technically impressive environments.
When I say brilliant gameplay mechanics, I’m thinking more ‘complex carry weight and BTs’, and less ‘bombs made from excrement’.
However, the problem for many lies in the storytelling. Plenty of fans seem to love the story, while others (like myself) find it needlessly abstract, with long, drawn-out sequences of cutscenes and inactivity, especially during the opening hours. It’s pretty and has great music, yes, but despite numerous attempts to return to the game for a second playthrough since 2019, I could never make it more than 20 minutes before the fatigue set in.
The Opening Of Death Stranding Is Just The Start
Sure, I know that Death Stranding opens up the gameplay the later you get into the game – tons of games do. There are still plenty of extended cutscenes, but there are also extended periods where you’ll be out traversing the world and overcoming the dangers that come with it. To me, the latter is the best part of Death Stranding.
But when you’re bottlenecked by the opening of the game feeling like a feature-length movie just to get things started, you can already feel the fatigue I was talking about. The rest of the game is a balance of great gameplay and even more long cutscenes that – let’s be honest – don’t make a ton of sense and are just plain weird for the sake of it. Even if you do understand the plot, it just feels endlessly tiring.
Prepare yourself to have a lot of new jargon that’s never explicitly explained, and by the time you get the idea, you have another page of words and terms to add to it.
Will The Fatigue Set In With Death Stranding 2?
None of this is that big of a deal when I’ve already played and completed Death Stranding once, but my issue now lies in the looming sequel. Am I going to feel that same fatigue as Death Stranding 2 undoubtedly drops me into some extended cinematics before things kick off? Honestly, probably, since I already feel that way before I even have my hands on it.
I want to play Death Stranding 2, but I don’t know if I have the energy for it. The world looks beautiful, the characters look interesting, and I want to struggle out in the harsh environments and face down BTs once more – but I don’t want to struggle through cinematic tedium and those downright weird moments. You can tell me I’m incapable of seeing Kojima’s Ascended Vision or whatever, but “Mario and Princess Beach” wasn’t exactly a cliffhanger. Only time will tell if the sequel can actually pull me in for the long haul.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
4.5/5
- Released
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June 26, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
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Decima
- Franchise
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Death Stranding
- Number of Players
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Single-player
