Death Stranding 2 review roundup: 'among Kojima's very best work'
The critics have shared their thoughts on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – and it's overwhelmingly positive
👍 Death Stranding 2 has a Metacritic score of 89 after 93 critic reviews
🤩 The game has 96% positive reviews, 4% mixed and 0% negative
🤷♂️ It’s scored considerably higher than the first game
📆 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release on June 26 for PS5
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has received rave reviews from critics. The follow-up to 2018’s PS4 release is clearly a less polarizing title this time around, as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has achieved a Metacritic score of 89 after 93 critic reviews. That’s higher than the first game, which scored 82 when it first released.
The game sees the return of a star-studded cast, including Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, Léa Seydoux as Fragile, and Troy Baker as Higgs Monaghan. Here’s what critics made of Hideo Kojima’s latest epic.
Dexerto awarded Death Stranding 2 a perfect score, saying: “Death Stranding 2 is a phenomenal offering. It's among Kojima's very best work not just for its narrative, but for the near-limitless variability in its gameplay opportunities.”
VGC also thought Kojima’s latest title was befitting of full marks, and said: “Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is an all-time great sequel and one of Hideo Kojima's best games. With a stunning world, greatly expanded gameplay and player choice, and one of Kojima’s most compelling casts and narratives, it significantly improves on the original in virtually every way.”
IGN gave Death Stranding 2 a 9/10, and noted how the game improves upon its predecessor. “The original Death Stranding held promise: A complex, often confusing, but never contrived first draft. A reflective journey across a lost America, it established a world and its rules with a flourish, even if I found it stumbled along the path.
“But in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Australia plays host to an expanded vision and is a more accomplished achievement in nearly every facet. It removes almost all of the friction that weighed down its rookie effort, delighting with a truly unpredictable story full of intrigue and malleable stealth-action playgrounds hidden in its vast, hauntingly beautiful version of Australia. Yes, at times, it is unapologetically weird – but that isn't what defines it. It's an inventive journey packed full of both shock and awe, the sort of bold work that deserves to be encouraged. No, it isn't perfect, but it's incredibly exciting and original, never once straying from the path less trodden, and I love it all the more for it.”
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GamesRadar+ was less enamoured with the game, but still awarded it an 8/10, saying: “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach builds on the foundations of the original, but adds whole new wings with a different vibe. This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse – but it well serves series fans like me. Charmingly bizarre with its worldbuilding and spectacle, there's still a real sense of community as you bring the world online with other players at your side.”
GameSpot were one of the few outlets to score Death Stranding 2 below an 8/10, and said: “The first Death Stranding was eerily prescient. Releasing in 2019, it was impossible to divorce it from the COVID-19 pandemic that followed a year later, the parallels between preppers living in bunkers and people struggling to find ways to connect with others reflecting a period of quarantine and uncertainty about the future.
“By contrast, Death Stranding 2 is less precise and clear about what it wants to say; it seems committed to making you ponder many things at once, inviting different takeaways. Its story touches on topics like the increasing harms of climate change, how our everyday actions are being automated with each passing day, the damaging presence of guns, the clash between governments and privately owned entities, and the importance of helping others in any way we can. If the sequel is prescient of anything, it is that fixation on the past binds us to repeat history, no matter how much we try to pretend otherwise.”
It seems like the general consensus is that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach improves on the first game in almost every tangible way. It means if you enjoyed the original Death Stranding, which we think is still one of the best PS5 games, you should have a good time with this one.
Check out our upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox games lists to see what’s up next for Sony and Microsoft’s consoles.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.