5/5 ★ – asoola's review of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.

Once you truly connect with someone that connection will always be unbreakable and lasting. That’s the lesson Death Stranding 2: On The Beach taught me and that’s the overall message of this game that I truly love. It’s a journey about finding hope despite the odds, and enduring no matter what. The story is absolutely beautiful and of course it’s written extremely well. I found myself feeling joy, sadness, frustration and most importantly hopeful with the characters as the story progressed. I was shocked by many moments some plot twists took me by surprise despite the fact that they’ve been hinted at, in a way they were hidden in plain sight. Tomorrow’s entire role especially is something I expected half of it while the other half I was totally surprised with. Spoilers will be discussed when I discuss her character of course later in this review. Each moment in the story made me fall in love with Death Stranding 2 even more and honestly? I think it is the perfect sequel for the first game. From beginning to end the story never felt dull and with each scene I found myself wanting to experience more of the story. The game’s story did not disappoint in the slightest same goes with the game’s ending! I would like to dedicate a paragraph to the amazing characters of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach my excitement to meet new and returning characters was awarded with well written characters that felt real. Well written characters is no surprise when it comes to this series but the way each character was written made me love and appreciate each character. Sam, Fragile, Tarman, Rainy, Tomorrow, Heartman, Deadman, Dollman, Charlie and even Neil and Lucy were fantastic characters with emotional stories. Sam and Fragile have a special place in my heart honestly and I’m so glad their stories were written and concluded well in this game but the same can be said about each character I mentioned. Spoilers time ‼️ as I said: Tomorrow being older Louise (or Lou) is something I kinda expected what I never expected is Tomorrow/Louise being Sam and Lucy biological daughter. The hints were there though so it’s fun to go back to the first game with this information and see the foreshadowing in a clearer lens. Now personally since I think the post credits scene hinted at that, I’m excited for a future Tomorrow’s game as well! I think her exploring the world and learning more is definitely an interesting journey that I would love to play. Tomorrow aside I definitely never expected that Fragile was actually dead from the beginning and writing the sentence even now feels unreal however I did love how her character was handled in this game she died as I would like to say a hero’s death, managed to fulfill her dream of traveling and connecting the world with Sam one last time, and defeated Higgs. Higgs never managed to break her or Sam because “I’m Fragile… but I’m not “that” fragile.” Fragile is easily one of my favorite female characters in gaming she always was since the first game and she always will be. Rainy is also a character I never thought I would end up loving as much as I did but she seriously is the most caring character and I’m glad she finally gave birth to her daughter too. The way Lucy’s character was expanded upon in this game was brilliant she’s an important character to Sam and to finally see her and know her was a delight. She’s not perfect and she definitely made mistakes however I saw her as a caring mother and loving partner. (Cheating is wrong though no matter what let’s get that right.) Die-Hardman really stepped up his game in this game and it made me realize why he is called Die-Hardman and why he was the director of Bridges. I highlighted few characters but as I said each character is well written and their stories made me love them even more. The protagonist of this story Sam remains to be my favorite protagonist I genuinely love Sam and his growth and the strength he has to keep going. He’s caring, determined and most importantly loving. When he loses someone it hits him hard and I think despite that he has the strength to keep going, I think he more than anyone needed to understand the lesson of deep connection and always being connected even after death. His connections with everyone is the strength he needs to carry on. I loved how he no longer bottles up his emotions as well when he learns of Lou’s “death” in Episode 10 and when he learns of Fragile’s death in the finale I saw him be vulnerable more than ever, Die-Hardman stopping Rainy to let Sam let his sadness all out while crying is a moment that really made me break down with him. All and all Sam is a character that’s no longer lonely or alone he’s connected with his friends and he knows that he’ll never be truly alone after his journey in Australia. Higgs where do I even start? Is he a cruel antagonist? Yes absolutely do I still hate his guts? Yes ABSOLUTELY! I think he’s a charismatic (if that’s the right word to use) antagonist yet cruel. He’s mad and the game never shies away from showing that. I mean when he made Sam get stuck in a loop of death and resurrection? I got so frustrated and I felt so helpless I didn’t know what to do myself! I think moments like that that make the player lose her mind is a sign to a great antagonist. (I still hate him though! 😂) But Higgs isn’t the only villainous character no APAS 4000 is no better and they initially empowered a madman. I’m sad that some of the characters Sam met in the UCA lost their lives but come on their plan goes against everything the characters worked towards. But just like Higgs they were thwarted by Die-Hardman, Lockne and everyone in Drawbridge. Now onto the gameplay I can say with confidence that this game improves on the first game’s gameplay immensely! Everything was smoother and easier to play, getting around places genuinely was fun. Of course I’m not saying the first game’s gameplay sucked but you can feel the improvement as you play. I also loved and appreciated more action gameplay (action wasn’t just in the gameplay it was in story cutscenes too!) In conclusion very fun gameplay I’m obsessed with it. I still have few standard orders to do so I intend to enjoy the gameplay even more! The soundtrack of this game is filled with feelings if that makes sense? There’s lots of tracks and songs that stirred my emotions in a very good way. “are you there?” made me cry lots, “story of rainy” made me feel as if raindrops was falling on my head, “any love any kind” CHOIR version especially still makes me emotional, just to name a few. In conclusion the entire game was made with love and care, and I enjoyed it very much Sam’s journey in Mexico and Australia is a journey that will always stick with me no matter what. Keep on keeping on, Drawbridge! 💙