Death Stranding 2 - Game Review

Death Stranding 2 - Game Review

When Death Stranding arrived in 2019, it split the gaming world in half. Some dismissed it as a glorified walking simulator, others hailed it as a daring experiment in storytelling. With Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Hideo Kojima hasn’t tried to smooth over those divisions; he’s doubled down on his vision, and in doing so has delivered one of the most compelling arguments for video games as art in recent memory.

This sequel feels less like a conventional blockbuster and more like an auteur pushing a medium forward. The vast landscapes, this time set in a post-apocalyptic Australia aren’t just backdrops; they’re emotional canvases. Traversing them is no longer tedious but meditative, aided by smarter pacing, better tools, and new vehicles. Where other studios chase endless checklists, Kojima makes the simple act of moving through space feel profound.

What really cements On the Beach as special, though, is its willingness to be unabashedly weird. Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Elle Fanning, and Luca Marinelli deliver performances that wouldn’t be out of place in a surreal arthouse film. The story swings from intimate reflections on loss and connection to bombastic sci-fi madness without ever apologizing. This is gaming that challenges as much as it entertains.

Of course, Kojima’s eccentricity won’t win over everyone. The game is dense, bizarre, sometimes even baffling. But isn’t that the point? At a time when so many AAA titles feel like they were assembled in focus groups, Death Stranding 2 dares to be idiosyncratic. It proves that a game doesn’t need to please everyone to matter, it just needs to be fearless.

For me, that’s why On the Beach isn’t just a sequel. It’s a statement: video games deserve to be strange, personal, and visionary. And right now, nobody embodies that more than Kojima. An unmissable experience.The game is out now on Playstation 5.

Review by Ryan Unicomb of @itsRyanUnicomb