Death Stranding or, as I’ve seen it called, “the glorified Uber Eats simulator” still gets a bad rap today. When you add Hideo Kojima’s unconventional storytelling methods, you get a game that a good number of people will skip for more conventional games. However, falling into this way of thinking locks you out of the most cinematic experience you can get from the world of gaming today. If you missed out on the original game, then there’s absolutely no reason to miss out on the sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

Back to work

The original game ends with Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus) going off the grid to raise Lou, a Bridge Baby whom he freed from captivity in a pod. However, in a new America connected by a sweeping chiral network, disappearing for good is nigh impossible. Eventually, Fragile (Lea Seydoux), the head of a delivery company called Fragile Express, finds and recruits him for another task: connect Mexico to the chiral network, which he agrees to do.

When Sam finishes the entire connection, a new phenomenon called a Plate Gate shows up at the edge of the country. The Gate is a two-way portal connecting the North American continent with Australia. Drawbridge, the new organization created by Fragile, comes up with a new task: create the same chiral network in Australia, in the hopes of creating another Plate Gate to further connect more continents together.

A familiar task for fans of the original

Because it’s a fresh canvas, players are facing the same challenges as they did in the first game. Unconnected by a network, Sam must brave the harsh outdoors with a limited toolkit. Besides the terrain, he also has to face the perennial threat of timefall (a time-accelerating rainfall), BTs (ethereal ghosts from the other side), and hostile survivalists.

Most of the game’s runtime involves grueling climbs and long drives. The lack of action might turn off gamers who prefer more fast-paced games. In fact, the slower pace is the reason why the franchise’s detractors use “Uber Eats simulator” derogatorily.

Personally, the more methodical approach to traversal is part of the game’s charm. I spent nights hypnotically fulfilling deliveries across the entire continent. Before I knew it, it was way past my bedtime, and I barely made any progress in the main story.

Of course, that’s not to say that Death Stranding 2 lacks any sort of action. Heavily defended camps, scary BT-filled areas, and the threat of rainfall keeps players on their toes. Armed with a complete arsenal of weapons, the game features a variety of ways to tackle challenges. Plus, all of them feel well balanced. Regardless of whether you prefer to go guns blazing, silently, or to avoid hostiles altogether, the game satisfies with apt rewards for your chosen path.

Should we have connected?

Such is the tagline of Death Stranding 2. Connection is an integral part of the game. Though you won’t see other players in your own game, you can feel their presence in the world.

For example, at the start of the game, Australia does not have any paved roads. By pooling resources online, players can collectively contribute to paving parts of the continent’s road system. By themselves, roads can take a few thousand units of metal and ceramics. When pooled with others, finishing a road might take only a few hundred of each.

Additionally, structures built by other players might make their way to your world. While you’re in the middle of a long trek through the wilderness and are running out of battery for your vehicle, you might find a lone generator waiting down the road because it was put up by another player who went through the same journey. Similarly, any structures you put up will get the chance to help other players.

Despite not meeting other players directly, the world of Death Stranding 2, when connected online, feels like a world well lived in. This post-apocalyptic world doesn’t seem lonely at all whenever I get a notification that says someone used a shelter I built or someone upgraded a road I helped pave.

All that said, I believe that the best way to play Death Stranding 2 is online. Outside of the game’s actual difficulty settings, online play is the real easy mode. Regardless, it only complements the entire point of connecting people.

Choosing the lonely road

On the flipside, going offline is a more challenging way to play. Because you’re not getting structures built by other people, you’ll have to do everything yourself, which costs more materials and takes more time.

I’ve tried both offline and online play. Though I still prefer online, I can see the appeal of going offline. Doing so definitely changes the way you think about the game. Each delivery order I took necessarily came with the question of “do I have enough materials or weapons to survive a long trek?”

It’s a more difficult game mode that further emphasizes the game’s survival aspect, but it doesn’t make Death Stranding 2 any less accessible. The game is just as enjoyable without the constancy of connection.

The most cinematic game I’ve ever played

Anyone who follows Hideo Kojima will know that he’s a fan of more obtuse storytelling. In fact, it will take more than a few videos to completely recap the events of the first Death Stranding. The sequel is no different, but the story is much more explosive and heartfelt this time around. Each beat of the plot is rendered with so much impact and emotion that it’s hard not to feel anything by the time the credits roll.

Even moments that straddle the edge of whimsy are complementary to the story’s intensity. As is typical of Kojima, there are scenes where characters burst randomly into a dance number. Normally, serious creators would shy away from the ludicrous. However, Kojima is one of the very few creators who doesn’t mind getting silly and who can make silliness work in a more serious setting.

Everything just works. Admittedly, there are a few twists that almost broke the suspension of disbelief. There are also a few philosophizing moments too contrived for my mind. But it’s still a complete package for a thought-provoking story.

It also helps that the cast consists of incredibly talented actors such as Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux, and, debuting for the series, Elle Fanning. While the performances of the first game were brilliant in their own right, the production is much more advanced for this sequel. You can sense every emotion and wow at every action-packed scene.

To top it all off, Kojima recruited Woodkid to do the game’s soundtrack. Unfortunately, the previous game’s lead, Low Roar, passed away during the sequel’s production. Thankfully, Woodkid is more than enough to cover the long sequel and amplify the game as an emotional masterpiece.

Is Death Stranding 2 your GameMatch?

Prior to playing Death Stranding 2, I held Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a clear Game of the Year winner with the potential to sweep a huge swath of the available awards. I don’t think that now.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is one of the best games I’ve ever played. With its methodical gameplay and its cinematic story, the game is an experience. However, much like anything Kojima has ever come up with, it’s an experience that you have to try for yourself. And yes, I do recommend that you try it. It’s a masterpiece.