Hideo Kojima is back to bring his weird and unorthodox ideas to our screens once again, Death Stranding 2 got announced in 2022 and we finally have a release date and trailer to break down, the game is set to release on June 26th of this year on the Playstation exclusively but as we are seeing Playstation releasing their exclusives on PC we can be sure it comes out on PC sometime in the future.
So Much More Of Kojima
Death Stranding was the first release of Hideo Kojima after he left Konami over creative differences and Konami showing a lack of support for Kojima’s upcoming projects. Death Stranding was initially perceived as just a game about delivering from early impressions.
However with time people soon realized what the core environment and settings represented and praised Kojima’s creation along with the performances of notable actors like Norman Reedus who plays the protagonist Sam Bridges.
Death Stranding 2 continues the mind bending story that was in Death Stranding 1 with even more interesting characters, goals, more horrific monstrosities to shoot and somehow there are references to Metal Gear thrown in even though Kojima does not own the rights to it.
So Much More Action
The 10 minute trailer posted on the playstation youtube channel showcases various new scenes, environments, enemies and both new and returning characters. It seems this time we are venturing outside the UCA to other lands.
While the first game received a joking title of just being a “walking simulator”, from the trailers it’s clear there is going to be much more combat in the sequel. There several new kinds of enemies Sam has to face on his outings both on foot and on vehicles as vehicle combat was also shown.
There is one scene where Sam is throwing metal harpoons that are of the same design as his other tools towards an armoured vehicle to stop it in its tracks. There are also more scenes of Sam fighting a multi-legged metallic robot over flooded areas.
New Cast Of Characters
Léa Seydoux returns as Fragile along with Troy Baker as Higgs, whose role still remains mysterious. A major addition to the cast is Elle Fanning, whose character is yet to be fully revealed, but her presence in the trailers suggests she will play a significant role in the story.
Knowing Kojima there is some unforeseeable plot twist that Elle Fanning’s character is sure to be at the center of. There is also the red samurai who is a completely new character who we only see a glimpse of in the credits.
One of the most discussed scenes is Neil played by Luca Marinelli, one of the finals scenes is him wearing a bandana similar to how Solid Snake from the Metal Gear franchise wore it, Neil is even wearing bulletproof vest and is equipped with guns similar to how Solid Snake was, igniting a plethora of theories as to where the story of Death Stranding could be going.
Graphical Fidelity On Another Scale
The trailer showcased in-game footage of various areas with water bodies, varied flora and in various day and night cycles all to showcase how beautiful and highly detailed everything looked.
The characters themselves look almost as they do in real life with no lack of expression either, the scenes where Sam is walking beside a lake during the sunset especially look really beautiful highlighting the capabilities of the Decima Engine at work.
Conclusion
Death Stranding received an initial review of being an underwhelming title with nothing exciting to offer but as time passed people really began to see how brilliant a story it had, sure it may not be everyone’s cup of tea but no game can satisfy everyone’s expectations.
However it’s clear those criticisms were taken to heart as this sequel promises so much more combat against so many more beings of various shapes and sizes for players to fight through while at the same time trying to understand the story more.
Death Stranding 2 is showcasing that it has it all, from staggering visuals and exciting combat to an in-depth story that explores a thought provoking theme of death and rebirth. Fans of the first game won’t have to wait much longer as mentioned before it is set to release in June of this year.
