Since its reveal at The Game Awards in 2022, the team at Kojima Productions has been very quiet about the sequel to Death Stranding. That all changed at PlayStation’s State of Play with the gameplay reveal of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
The game looks to expand on the original title’s vision with new biomes, traversal methods, and narrative ideads. Still falling into the “strand genre,” the sequel leans heavily into the absurdity and weirdness that Kojima is known for. As usual, the trailer left us with more questions than answers, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the trailer, we see the return of Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux, and Troy Baker, along with newcomers Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna. And we’re pretty sure that was Mad Max director, George Miller. Time will only tell if we’ll get the Danny DeVito cameo we’ve I’ve been waiting for.
Now, I don’t want to be hyperbolic, but to my — admittedly poor — eyes, Death Stranding was the best game on the PlayStation 4. The internet collectively dismissed the game in 2019, calling it a “walking simulator” along with many less than pleasant adjectives. And to be fair, the early hours are heavy on exposition-laden dialogue, and it is technically a game about walking places. To me though, Death Stranding was an emotional punch to the face, even before the pandemic hit. It was filled with to the brim with unique concepts, tackling isolation and the effects of time on people better than any game I’ve experienced. It may not have been for everyone, but it was the game that hit me the hardest last generation.
Alongside the trailer, Kojima also revealed that he’s already planned the next game that he’ll be producing with PlayStation Studios. Development will begin after the studio has shipped Death Stranding 2.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is slated for release in 2025.
Image credit: PlayStation (screenshot)
