Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Review (PS5) – The Same Old Dance

The original Death Stranding was a novel release in 2019 from Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. Its ideas of an interconnected but solo adventure where every structure you create and road you pave affects the others playing their own solo game were fascinatingly unique at the time. With its sequel, it expands, but does it deliver on a more exceptional experience? Read on to see in our Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review.

Game Name: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Platform(s): PS5 (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Kojima Productions
Publisher(s): Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: June 26th, 2025, (June 24th, 2025 — Early Access)
Price: $69.99

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach picks up about a year after the events of the first game as the main character, Sam Porter Bridges, played once again brilliantly by Norman Reedus, lives out a peaceful and hidden existence with his BB kiddo from the first game, known as Lou.

Of course, it isn’t long before Fragile (Léa Seydoux) returns with one last request for Sam: to reconnect Mexico to the rest of North America just like he did for the former United States in the original 2019 title.

Same Old Gameplay

As such, the gameplay is going to be nearly identical to what it was in the first title. This isn’t surprising at all, given the foundation that was laid out in 2019.

You trek across a nation on foot to deliver packages and use your Q-Pid device to connect each city or base to the overarching chiral network. For all intents and purposes, this is an action-packed postal service game.

The depth of the gameplay comes from the various obstacles that are in your path along the way. Large rivers that will destroy your precious cargo, supernatural ghost-like BTs that will void out and destroy an entire area, armed bandits, desert storms, timed deliveries, and more are all encountered throughout your journey.

Of course, you have the means to defend yourself as well, including an ever-growing arsenal of assault rifles, shotguns, grenades, machine guns, and vehicles. The third-person perspective shooting gameplay is fine, but doesn’t feel much different than before. This is a symptom of a much larger overall issue.

The same goes for the stealth options, which are far too light outside of the new Blood Boomerang. The Boomerang, in particular, is fun to use, but its weak damage output, coupled with the sacrifice of Sam’s blood, makes it not worth using. It is almost to the point where I don’t recommend even trying the stealth approach outside of a couple of key missions.

Lack of Innovation

My main issue with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is how it feels too much like the original, but without the innovation at the same time. The first game was a chore at times with having to balance out the cargo you carry, carefully maneuver around to avoid damaging contents, and holding the right and left triggers to balance your movement when scaling mountains and the like.

This all felt unique and distinct, which helped to alleviate the overall frustration and monotony of the gameplay. Fast forward to now, though, and this game is largely a repeat of the exact same systems, but with a new coat of paint or a new name for items and vehicles. Unfortunately, this means it lacks the novelty this time around and simply has just the frustration.

This is seen in annoying instances like several missions where fast travel is conveniently locked, and you are forced to retread the same 4000 meters you’ve traversed before already to deliver an item. To be clear, this isn’t surprising at all; I expected this game to be just like the original without much new content.

The problem, however, is that the game even teases you with the prospect of new gameplay systems and ideas, but never outright fulfills them. You’ll understand when you play (I don’t want to spoil anything here), but it is a bit too on the nose with what you should be able to do, but aren’t. At least not in this game.

In fact, this is seen in the boss battles, which are few in number but at least somewhat engaging and challenging. The main problem with the boss battles is that several times throughout the story, the best or most interesting fight happens in a cutscene without any input whatsoever from the player. There were several times I was wondering why I didn’t get to play through that fight and, instead, had to face a similar giant mech multiple times over.

One area Death Stranding 2: On the Beach could’ve improved its gameplay was in how lonely the world feels. You only see people in cutscenes or holograms; never really as NPCs to talk to.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t change, either, which is a shame since you get your own Mass Effect-like ship with party members aboard. Even still, you don’t get to explore the ship, talk to the party members at will, or anything like that. Having these more meaningful optional interactions would’ve helped this game feel more alive, if full-on cities with NPCs aren’t possible, and even it doesn’t happen.

A Riveting Narrative

This is a shame, too, because the story is actually pretty strong in this sequel. It is a bit all over the place at times in terms of pacing, but I found it to be much more interesting, personal, emotional, and engaging than the original.

The new characters this time around are fantastic, and being on the same ship with them means you get more interactions in cutscenes, even if you can’t do that outside of these moments. Shioli Kutsuna’s Rainy and Elle Fanning’s Tomorrow are the absolute standouts of the new cast, but there are some fun other new and returning cast members as well.

Even Norman Reedus himself, while I feel like he has fewer lines here than in the first game, has some quieter moments that are brilliantly acted with just the right amount of emotion without being too over-the-top. It does take time for the story to get going, especially during Sam’s initial trek across Mexico, but once it starts, it doesn’t stop in its revelations and intriguing decisions.

I will say that almost every single twist is highly telegraphed to the point where I think the game almost wants the player to realize such and such event is going to happen before it does, but this doesn’t take away from the emotional impact of those moments.

After all, the vocal performances, motion capture, and soundtrack are all stellar. While this will likely not be in my top games list for the year, the performances and music will be. In fact, I don’t expect any other game to match the level of performances featured in this game, and I fully expect the cast to win numerous end-of-year awards.

Final Thoughts

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach sticks too close to the status quo, which is strange for the previous game that felt so unique when it was released in 2019. The lack of an alive world, the far too samey gameplay systems, and unfortunate tease of additions that never happen hold back this title from fulfilling its potential.

That said, if you can go through the same old motions of fighting bandits, avoiding BTs, and delivering packages to connect the new location of Mexico, you will find a story that is far more gripping and emotional than the original. The performances and music featured here should go down as the best of 2025 and at least make this game worth a play for those reasons alone.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is available for PS5.

Review Disclosure Statement: Death Stranding 2 was provided to us by Sony for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.