Hideo Kojima rejoices as Death Stranding 2 shines

Hideo Kojima, the visionary behind Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, recently expressed his delight with the game's glowing critical reception during the Death Stranding World Strand Tour 2 in London on July 1, 2025. With an impressive OpenCritic score of 90 and a 96% recommendation rate, the game has cemented its place as one of 2025's top-rated titles. Kojima, initially concerned that the sequel might feel too mainstream, admitted to tweaking elements to preserve the polarizing edge that defined the original. ''I'm happy with the scores,'' he shared, reflecting on the balance between accessibility and his signature eccentricity. This warm response underscores the game's success in captivating players and critics alike with its bold narrative and innovative mechanics.

What does the game have to offer?

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, released on June 26, 2025, for PS5, builds on the 2019 original, plunging players into a post-apocalyptic Australia. You control Sam Porter Bridges, tasked with reconnecting isolated communities in a fractured world to avert an extinction-level threat. The game blends exploration, delivery-based missions, and asynchronous multiplayer elements through its Social Strand System, where players indirectly aid each other by building structures like bridges or ziplines. New characters, including a reborn Higgs as a glam rock mercenary robot, and quirky additions like coffin hoverboards and homing missile mechanical dogs, amplify the game's surreal tone. Enhanced by the Decima Engine, it boasts stunning visuals, refined gameplay, and a haunting narrative about connection, loss, and survival.

Compared to Horizon Forbidden West, another open-world PS5 title, Death Stranding 2 shares a focus on exploration and breathtaking visuals but diverges in gameplay and tone. While Horizon emphasizes combat and a more traditional action-adventure structure, Death Stranding 2 prioritizes traversal, resource management, and cooperative mechanics, with combat as a secondary element. Kojima's game leans heavily into philosophical storytelling and experimental mechanics, making it less accessible but more distinctive than Horizon's polished, action-driven narrative. Both showcase the PS5's graphical prowess, but Death Stranding 2 stands out for its unapologetic weirdness and emotional depth, cementing Kojima's reputation as a boundary-pushing auteur. Find the best prices for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach using our price comparison tool.