Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Review

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach picks up with Sam and Lou now living free of the network he helped connect. However, the quiet life he’s built is soon interrupted by Fragile, who, after some persuading, convinces Sam to help her new company extend the chiral network through to Mexico. What would, however, be one final job that ends up changing the entire course of the game. That moment of peace is over. It’s a brutal blow to Sam and the player early on, yet it spurs the story along with little pause to recover. Dare I say more?

Fragile, of course, urges Sam to return to porting with her and Drawbridge – the new company she’s running. While it’s not quite trivialised, Sam’s arc early in the game feels stunted. In ways, this feels typical with his emotions being pushed aside again for the job at hand. While returning to porting is exactly what we want as a player, this isn’t your typical story of hope or even a rescue mission. Mysteries from the first game linger into this game as well, along with some new ones, with Lou’s history still unknown. However, this time around, Sam isn’t alone, a concept that returns throughout the sequel.

Even before leaving on the journey to Australia, we already have the beginnings of a crew aboard the DHV Magellan, a ship capable of traversing the tar currents. It’s quite the spectacle, with accompanying chime-like sirens you never quite forget. The ship becomes a hub of sorts that can be spawned and used to backpedal around the world in a fast-travel-like fashion. Its crew isn’t your typical rag-tag group either, with Tarman at the helm of the ship with a cat-like tar creature worthy of more screentime. There’s also Dollman, a possessed little puppet that joins Sam more closely on his adventure.

Once Sam’s officially onboard, they travel through the portal-like plate gate to Australia, which is when the game opens up. Unlike the original Death Stranding, the world here feels a lot more open instantly. Where the first game had three areas to travel across, here the game is cut in two, with Mexico and Australia being zones separated by the plate gate, yet it’s clear Australia is the main area. The game world’s expanse is hard to comprehend, yet much like the first game, you begin plotting your way between facilities, observatories and prepper shelters. Weaving forward and back with orders as you go. Here, no time is wasted with vehicles available or at least found in the world after the first few locations are added to the chiral network.

As the game continues, there’s a clear depth to Sam’s journey and him not being alone this time around. The crew of the DHV Megellan also grows, and yet the narrative never quite has a comfortable spot for some of these characters. It’s a weird balance that feels necessary, yet many of the new faces feel like little more than plot devices. I’ll say it right now that for the little time we get with some of the new additions to the crew, I did cherish these moments and yearned for more. I really wished we’d gotten some extra time with them.

For the vast majority of the game, Sam is back trekking, driving, hovering, ziplining and riding the tar currents across Australia. At face value, though, this is definitely not a 1:1 recreation of the country and thankfully so. Yet as you move across its expanse, it’s both a marvel and a heavily fictionalised version of what Australia looks like after the stranding. From a towering mountain at its centre to being able to see from where Perth would be all the way to where Melbourne would be – it’s way too easy to forget this is Australia. I feel like this was something I was a lot less aware of in the first game. Here, though, it’s hard not to compare it to the real deal.

In ways, this is a mercy, yet the open world gremlin in me was craving just that little bit more. I’d argue Death Stranding 2: On The Beach makes Australia its own, and in doing so, it becomes little more than a themed open world. I fear that without that little bit more scale, there’s an aspect that becomes quite trivialised as you drive around from location to location. At such a scale, it’s impossible not to appreciate the attempt at least.

Where the world does shine is that the environment in these areas is basically indistinguishable from Australia, with plants and even native animals filling out this world. It’s quite something to behold. I lost track of the number of occasions I was taken in by the presence of familiar plants in particular. For me, that grounded the map back down and showcased an attention to detail. The game also features a section where a bushfire breaks out, although this is not a recurring phenomenon in the game, unlike other weather events. Floods and even landslides from earthquakes keep things interesting across the new continent as well, adding to the new map’s appeal when you aren’t in awe of the view.

Native wildlife are also a staple in the game. None other than Chvrches runs an Animal Sanctuary, which players are able to visit. When you come across any wildlife in the world, you’re able to capture them and transport them to the shelter for care. I did love this interaction with the game’s animals. It is also possible to hit animals with vehicles, so it’s best to avoid them if you aren’t up for live delivery. If you are, it’s quite a comical moment of chasing, catching and then putting the animal in a delivery package, which does make the occasional noise or bump.

Without going much further, it’s hard not to at least note how the game interacts with Indigenous themes, which is to say that it’s barely attempted. While I don’t feel like the right person to discuss this in depth, I will share what I came across. From the Blood Boomerang to a cargo delivery that’s literally a piece of Uluru. That’s it. There’s hardly a mention of Indigenous culture.

This also extends further into the way the game develops Australia as a place after the stranding. I’d go as far as to say it’s a blunt refusal to even try. It feels once again strange to see a cast of celebrities camping out in Australia. There’s barely one accent, let alone any bad ones – which I will say is a mercy. Yet it feels akin to a who’s who of famous people that stopped by Kojima Productions for a bodyscan and a selfie. I largely can’t blame them for this – Kath and Kim requesting deliveries would be a daydream I know never would’ve come true. And I’d move the marker here again to say there’s nothing bad about their casting, it just feels a little insincere for a game set and purposely placed in Australia. I just would’ve at least loved to see a bit more engagement with a bit more of Australia past the plants and animals. 

While it’s not included in the main quest line, players can find a prepper shelter with none other than the Talk To Me directors – Danny and Michael Philippou. The pair also did their own voiceover, and their delivery orders are a clever wink at their creative work. While I love their inclusion, the fact that they are so off the beaten path feels a little like an afterthought.

In its essence, this is definitely a sequel to Death Stranding, and yet I feel like it might have bitten off a bit more than it can chew. Comparing it to the first game shows just how similar the bones here are. While the delivering side is expected and comfortable, other elements like the layout of outposts and shelters, and even the vehicles, feel a bit cut and paste. While it’s explained away in exposition, deep down, I was hoping we might see a bit more of Australia surviving in spite of the stranding. It feels like there’s still so much room for the game to grow in comparison past map size. 

Thankfully, the soundtrack helmed by none other than Woodkid rounds out the emotional beats of Sam’s new journey. It’s a sombre thread through the world’s emptiness that makes it feel just that little bit less lonely by its presence. My wonder at Woodkid’s talent for building these sweeping cinematic tracks that still carry the emotions of the game, especially when the pacing can’t quite sound those feelings out for us is never-ending. The game also stays true to its roots, with tracks picking up in certain areas as you trek between areas, experiencing the world.

Through everything, though, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is unwavering in its dedication to spectacle, much like the first. With cinematics oozing photorealism and a plot that at times feels just a little bit muddy, it’s an experience you’ll sink into like the tar currents. In the game’s final chapters, it all builds to what can only be seen as a cinematic event on a scale unlike anything I think I’ve seen before. As games go, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach feels much more like a curated experience where nothing is without intention.

Other aspects, though, like the world itself, are designed to come alive when players connect them to the chiral network, yet this also feels the same. Other porters in the field are always walking from A to B, yet little things like Sam and the enemies seem to be the only ones capable of driving. Even the emptiness and lack of contact at outposts with little more than a hologram. It certainly builds into that lonely effect of the game, where Sam is entirely the focus.

I did, however, find the inclusion of the monorail network in Death Stranding 2 the particular exception. This is a fresh addition alongside the roads players are able to build, giving you something else to earn. Being able to load deliveries, including your vehicle and even Sam just to fly across the map is an interesting new perspective if a little ambitious. Elsewhere, mining for resources comes into it as well, allowing for much larger quantity requirements for deliveries. I like that the game understands that sometimes you just want to sink into the routine of collecting and delivering packages. Much of what I find draws me to the games is that element of choice that comes into how you play. Will you do deliveries directly, or will you get sidetracked? I think this aspect deserves much more credit, and if anything, I would’ve enjoyed seeing more stories around the deliveries outside of the main missions.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that Death Stranding 2: On The Beach confidently walks in the original’s footsteps, yet stumbles with the final delivery. It’s not for nothing, though, with Kojima Productions making one hell of a cinematic game. In its entirety, the journey across Australia feels more than familiar, yet Australian and Indigenous culture didn’t make the cut. That said, no shortage of celebrity talent that appears to have moved down under for the end of the world. Once again, the game is carried by its cinematics with an equally powerful soundtrack that I won’t soon forget. The ambition of the Death Stranding series is certainly still at work here, even if it’s on cruise control for some of the game’s main systems.