{"id":1234610,"date":"2026-02-26T08:17:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7VFYs9J9ZpzhqpE2QKRLRQ"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:17:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:17:59","slug":"death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd\/","title":{"rendered":"Death Stranding 2 reviewers say it&#8217;s a sequel that&#8217;s &#8216;more Metal Gear Solid than ever,&#8217; but it&#8217;s &#8216;still beautifully odd&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>Embargoes ended earlier today for Death Stranding 2 reviews, and the signs seem clear: Kojima and company still got it. &#8220;It&#8221; being the ability to make a maximalist meditation on spirituality, connection, and the sacred act of moving stuff from one place to another.<\/p>\n<p>PC Gamer&#8217;s Wes Fenlon has been doing a stint of non-PC gaming to give us some <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/action\/death-stranding-2-cements-hideo-kojimas-legacy-as-a-pc-game-designer-still-living-in-the-console-world\/\" target=\"_blank\">Death Stranding 2 impressions<\/a> ahead of its all-but-inevitable PC launch, calling it a &#8220;bottomless toy box of weapons and gadgets&#8221; that, by virtue of its crunchy collection of mechanics and systems, feels more like &#8220;a PC game in console clothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:3840px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"d4ynSsqvyfXgimFnT77C6n\" name=\"DEATH STRANDING 2_ ON THE BEACH_20250616165736_\" alt=\"Death Stranding 2\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Suffice to say that those of us on staff who never picked up a PS5 will be kicking ourselves for however long it takes for DS2 to hit PC. Considering how long it took the first game, we&#8217;re looking at at least eight months of self-kicking.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what Death Stranding 2 reviewers are saying elsewhere.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-for-better-and-worse-6\">&#8220;More Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse&#8221;<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:3840px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"Eb9vAo7ARyqbDCZNMgokjh\" name=\"death stranding 2 stats level\" alt=\"Death Stranding 2 stats: Sam geared up with cargo and his coat, looking off to the side while standing in a ravine.\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd-1.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/games\/open-world\/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach-review\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>GamesRadar<\/strong><\/a>: 4\/5<\/p>\n<p>At GamesRadar, Oscar Taylor-Kent writes that we were right on the money with our read that Death Stranding 2 sure looked like it was playing with a lot of ideas from Kojima&#8217;s previous work, though it comes at the cost of some of the original&#8217;s specific gameplay flavor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sam&#8217;s arsenal is pretty overpowered as a result. Once I unlocked a suppressed, lightweight assault rifle I found I could take out most camps at range via headshots without people noticing,&#8221; Taylor-Kent says. &#8220;Still, there&#8217;s a satisfaction to camp-clearing that tips its well-armed helmet to those found in Metal Gear Solid 5&#8217;s similarly designed open worlds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He also says that DS2 delivers some better performances, particularly from returning Norman Reedus. &#8220;The stakes feel more personal than ever too\u2014Reedus has to inject a lot more emotional range into Sam, and does it well while remaining understated,&#8221; Taylor-Kent says.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a-triumphant-combination-of-complex-sci-fi-storytelling-and-thrillingly-evolved-stealth-action-6\">&#8220;A triumphant combination of complex sci-fi storytelling and thrillingly evolved stealth-action&#8221;<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:3840px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"FgPtTej87Jb6V9J5JPiZpk\" name=\"death stranding 2 birthday explained\" alt=\"Death Stranding 2 birthday DOOMS: Sam, with Lou on his chest, standing on a mountain overlooking a desert valley.\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd-2.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach-review\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IGN<\/strong><\/a>: 9\/10<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Platypus semen,&#8221; Simon Cardy writes to kick off IGN&#8217;s Death Stranding 2 review, beginning a list of the many absurd and indulgent images and ideas leveraged in Kojima&#8217;s latest telling. &#8220;I think we should encourage such wild creativity, and be excited that someone is willing to show us things we&#8217;d never even thought of seeing,&#8221; Cardy says. &#8220;When viewed this way, Death Stranding 2 stands as an almighty achievement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In short, Cardy says that Death Stranding 2 doubles down on everything that worked well in the original, expanding on the first game&#8217;s suite of combat and delivery tools to serve up a sequel imbued with a greater &#8220;playfulness.&#8221; Likewise, the story hits harder by digging deeper into the themes of the original.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The original Death Stranding challenged our ability to truly connect as humans in a digital age\u2014a stark reality when faced with the pandemic it pre-empted by mere months,&#8221; Cardy says. &#8220;But On the Beach asks questions about the issues posed in that original text. It&#8217;s self-analytical, but rarely gazes at its navel, delivering a knockout story that works on many levels.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"even-with-its-shortcomings-it-is-a-story-i-will-continue-to-think-about-for-some-time-6\">&#8220;Even with its shortcomings, it is a story I will continue to think about for some time&#8221;<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:3840px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"ig9vXw8L4ANoUBF6BYKu4n\" name=\"DEATH STRANDING 2_ ON THE BEACH_20250620213442_\" alt=\"Death Stranding 2\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd-3.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/review\/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach\/boundless-sincerity-aside-flaws\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Game Informer<\/strong><\/a>: 8.75\/10<\/p>\n<p>Kyle Hilliard, a self-described &#8220;lover of Hideo Kojima bulls***,&#8221; writes in Game Informer&#8217;s review that, while &#8220;mechanically, the sequel is absolutely an upgrade over the first,&#8221; it was Death Stranding 2&#8217;s story where he &#8220;was sometimes left cold.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Save for a few moments, I was rarely surprised and often left wanting more,&#8221; Hilliard says. &#8220;Mostly, I stared ahead stone-faced while characters explained everything with detailed monologues at varying degrees of performance quality.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>DS2&#8217;s gameplay has its own frustrations, Hilliard says, noting that\u2014at its heart\u2014Death Stranding is a series about doing fetch quests, and doing fetch quests &#8220;just feels bad&#8221; when you&#8217;re &#8220;stuck in the middle of nowhere without the ability to charge your battery.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll confess that the ratio of complaints to praises here leaves me a little confused about the score, but there might be something about GI&#8217;s review mathematics that escapes me. Ultimately, Hilliard says it&#8217;s a game where he&#8217;ll &#8220;happily take the misses alongside the hits.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a-sprawling-story-that-oscillates-between-serious-societal-reflection-and-total-absurdity-in-the-same-breath-6\">&#8220;A sprawling story that oscillates between serious societal reflection and total absurdity in the same breath&#8221;<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:3840px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"QVj4Hkxv3yo9nGQYSrixjk\" name=\"death stranding 2 birthday dooms\" alt=\"Death Stranding 2 birthday DOOMS: Sam looking at Lou as he holds her to his chest.\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd-4.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/gaming\/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach-review\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Digital Trends<\/strong><\/a>: 4\/5<\/p>\n<p>Giovanni Colantonio at Digital Trends calls Death Stranding 2 &#8220;gonzo storytelling that&#8217;s happy to sit on the fence between brilliant and moronic.&#8221; The first Death Stranding, he says, was a COVID-19 game without even meaning to be. Death Stranding 2 is, instead, about its fallout: the fraught geopolitics and interpersonal dynamics of a world fractured and reconnected.<\/p>\n<p>Gameplay-wise, Colantonio says &#8220;the most surprising thing about it is that it\u2019s a straight sequel,&#8221; which &#8220;aims to pave over some of the less intentional friction to better focus on the real challenges.&#8221; He expects that the amount of Metal Gear DNA bleeding over into DS2 will drive some to &#8220;lament a strange series losing even just a bit of its edge,&#8221; but more &#8220;will welcome what&#8217;s ultimately an adventure that&#8217;s easier to enjoy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"still-beautifully-odd-by-triple-a-standards-6\">&#8220;Still beautifully odd by triple-A standards&#8221;<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:3840px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"4zeAEcMCsn6cgbZaJ6AAnm\" name=\"DEATH STRANDING 2_ ON THE BEACH_20250619222411\" alt=\"Death Stranding 2\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd-5.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach-review\"><strong>Eurogamer<\/strong><\/a>: 4\/5<\/p>\n<p>For Eurogamer, reviewer Lewis Gordon says Death Stranding 2 is, like other reviewers above, a linear expansion that cranks up all the first game&#8217;s numbers and streamlines its scratchier bits. &#8220;And yet,&#8221; Gordon says, &#8220;in seeking to give players more tools, more guns, more enemies, and, fundamentally, more ways to express themselves aggressively, something of Death Stranding&#8217;s radically slow, radically non-violent design ethos has been lost.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But even if a bit of Death Stranding&#8217;s unique vibe has been diluted in its more approachable gameplay, Gordon says it&#8217;s still extremely Kojima. &#8220;This big, absurd game is, in many ways, the ultimate synthesis of the writer-director&#8217;s idiosyncrasies and obsessions while containing, amid the noise, perhaps his clearest message yet,&#8221; Gordon says. &#8220;The world may be a mess but its problems cannot be solved alone by communicating over the internet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/action\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embargoes ended earlier today for Death Stranding 2 reviews, and the signs seem clear: Kojima and company still got it. &#8220;It&#8221; being the ability to make a maximalist meditation on spirituality, connection, and the sacred act of moving stuff from one place to another. PC Gamer&#8217;s Wes Fenlon has been doing a stint of non-PC gaming to give us some Death Stranding 2 impressions ahead of its all-but-inevitable PC launch, calling it a &#8220;bottomless toy box of weapons and gadgets&#8221; that, by virtue of its crunchy collection of mechanics and systems, feels more like &#8220;a PC game in console clothing.&#8221; (Image credit: Kojima Productions) Suffice to say that those of us on staff who never picked up a PS5 will be kicking ourselves for however&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1234611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[23,748],"class_list":["post-1234610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pc-gamer","tag-action","tag-games"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Death Stranding 2 reviewers say it&#039;s a sequel that&#039;s &#039;more Metal Gear Solid than ever,&#039; but it&#039;s &#039;still beautifully odd&#039; | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Embargoes ended earlier today for Death Stranding 2 reviews, and the signs seem clear: Kojima and company still got it. &quot;It&quot; being the ability to make a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/death-stranding-2-reviewers-say-its-a-sequel-thats-more-metal-gear-solid-than-ever-but-its-still-beautifully-odd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Death Stranding 2 reviewers say it&#039;s a sequel that&#039;s &#039;more Metal Gear Solid than ever,&#039; but it&#039;s &#039;still beautifully odd&#039; | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Embargoes ended earlier today for Death Stranding 2 reviews, and the signs seem clear: Kojima and company still got it. &quot;It&quot; 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