Death Stranding 2: On the Beachis launching to rave reviews, with critics and dedicated fans calling it one of the best games of the year. That praise, as lofty and audacious as it may be, is, at least in my opinion, well deserved, as Kojima has yet again delivered another masterpiece worthy of going toe-to-toe with some of 2025’s very best games, and aren’t we lucky that there have been so many. However, as much as fans, like myself, and, indeed, most critics, are loving it, not everyone shares that sentiment.
It is no surprise that a modern game has proven a tad divisive, especially a sequel to arguably one of the most divisive games of the modern era. Many doubt thatDeath Stranding 2isHideo Kojima’s most creative game, claiming it is too iterative and not innovative enough. Those criticisms are somewhat understandable, especially as we live in an era of iterative sequels likeMarvel’s Spider-Man 2andGod of War: Ragnarök. However, while understandable,those who believeDeath Stranding 2is bad because it is iterative have maybe just missed the point.
Death Stranding 2 Is Iterative, Not Innovative
It Iterates On Its Predecessor’s Best Ideas
Despite fans lovingDeath Stranding 2so much thatKojima had to change it, there has been a little discourse online claiming that it is too iterative. In essence,some believe thatDeath Stranding 2doesn’t change enough about the core formula from the first game. Instead of innovating,DS2tweaks and improves here and there, ostensibly replicating most features fromDeath Strandingand making them better. The thing is, that is 100% true.Death Stranding 2is iterative. It is not innovative. And that’s okay.
Death Stranding 2is still focused around its protagonist, Sam, lugging around packages from one scenic and likely very rocky location to another, all while desperately attempting not to trip over, fall face-first into a river, or crash his vehicle. It is also about fighting human enemies while dealing with supernatural ones, about embarking on an epic quest in a world so full of fun sci-fi-sounding words you’ll need toread theDeath Strandingnovelsjust to understand any of them. Crucially,it’s about people, connections, life, loss, and a cute little baby named Lou.
Of course, that’s not to say thatDeath Stranding 2doesn’t add anything new. After all,fans prefer it toDeath Stranding, so it must be doing something different. There are new types of terrain to master; new weather and environmental events and effects that make clambering about with a hundred boxes precariously stacked on your back a tad harder; a plethora of combat tweaks and improvements to make fighting more fun, and so much more. However,none of that matters when the originalDeath Strandingwas so perfect to begin with.
It Was Already A Perfect Experience
I know that a lot of peopledid not likeDeath Strandingat launch, and that I’m incredibly biased towards the game as I rank it as my second-favorite of all time and don’t see that changing anytime soon. However, it really is a perfect experience, at the very least, in relation to what it is trying to achieve. On a purely technical and mechanical level,Death Strandingis a gorgeous game with a whole new approach to exploration that’s dynamic, emergent, and challenging.
Itsimplementation of multiplayer mechanicsthat sees useful items pop up at the most convenient times and players working together to create meaningful and helpful upgrades, built a sense of community without ever needing to see another player.Its combat, while serviceable, was heightened by an intense sense of tension and horrorthat permeated throughout the game’s gorgeously directed and emotional cutscenes. Even its soundtrack is peppered with exceptional licensed music and a hauntingly beautiful score.
Whether or not you enjoyed the essence ofDeath Stranding’sstory and gameplay, it’s hard to deny that what Kojima was going for hasn’t been executed perfectly.
Whether or not you enjoyed the essence ofDeath Stranding’sstory and gameplay,it’s hard to deny that what Kojima was going for hasn’t been executed perfectly. That’s why it is so baffling to me that people are complaining about its critically acclaimed sequel being iterative, rather than innovative. Simply put, how can you innovate on perfection? The answer is, you’re able to’t.Death Stranding 2gives fanseverything perfect aboutDeath Strandingand just improves it that little bit more, thanks to the power of next-gen technology.
Death Stranding 2 Doesn’t Need To Change
Sequels Should Evolve, Not Change
Death Stranding 2simply didn’t need to change, much likeMarvel’s Spider-Man 2andGod of War: Ragnarökbefore it. In doing so, it would have discarded not only all the hard work Kojima and co. put into the first game, but also the entire DNA of the experience. The originalMarvel’s Spider-Mangame perfected the web-swinging, world, tone, and combat. So, all its sequel needed to do was iterate upon it, adding new costumes, story, characters, and modes of traversal.
Death Stranding 2just needed to give fans what they enjoyed about the first game, and utilize next-gen technology and the game’s bigger budget to pull off anything Kojima couldn’t do the first time around.
Similarly,Ragnarökonly needed to expand upon the story, add new areas to explore, and build upon the extremely solid combat from the first game.Death Stranding 2just needed to give fans what they enjoyed about the first game, and utilize next-gen technology and the game’s bigger budget to pull off anything Kojima couldn’t do the first time around. Sequels don’t need to change the entire experience. In fact, in most cases, they really shouldn’t. Sequels exist to evolve an experience, to showcase new ideas within an existing formula.
One would be confused were aJurassic Parksequel to feature aliens instead of dinosaurs, much like one would be confused were Christopher Nolan to makeThe Dark Knightabout Superman.Death Stranding 2needed to be more of the sameand just that tiny bit better. Fortunately, it is and, as a result, became one of thebest-reviewed games of 2025. I suspect the calls for more significant change come from those who perhaps didn’t gel with the original experience, but find elements they like within its framework.
Perhaps some truly believe a sequel should deviate significantly from the original experience, and maybeKojima’sDeath Stranding 3idea, if it ever gets made, will deliver that. However,Death Stranding 2absolutely delivers on what it had always intended to do, and that is amazing. It is a superiorDeath Strandingexperience and, in my opinion, Kojima’s best game. That’s allDeath Stranding 2ever needed to be - well, that and very, very weird - as it would be a huge shame to lose the very creative and unique ideas established in the first game.
