Death Stranding was one of the most unique and singular games to have ever been released. Now, six years later, it finally has a sequel. One that has traded the cold, melancholic landscapes of a ruined America for the blistering outback of Australia.
The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event called ‘The Death Stranding’. This event essentially merged the afterlife and the real world together, spawning undead ghosts to haunt the land. Now, whenever people die, their bodies turn into these ghosts called “Beached Things” (or BTs for short).
The sequel takes place 11 months after the climax of the previous game. In that time, the world has massively changed, with all of America reconnecting to the ‘Chiral Network’ (a pseudo-Internet-like system). Now, the new American government is looking to reconnect to the rest of the world — but is that a good thing?
I’ve exclusively been playing the game for the past week, and I have to admit, it’s a huge improvement over the previous title. For those unfamiliar, Death Stranding was pitched as the first “strand-type” game.
Before release, no one knew what the hell that even meant. The game turned out to be essentially a walking simulator with rare, undercooked combat sequences thrown in. Most games usually have travelling as a small slice of the gameplay experience. In Death Stranding, this was the game. So much so, you’d have to react quickly and press buttons so your character wouldn’t trip.
The gameplay loop was to load up your character with as much cargo as they could carry, and find creative ways to get from point A to point B without breaking it. This was easily one of the most bizarre and rogue choices for a triple-A game to make. Especially in one starring huge Hollywood stars like Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley and more.
Now, in the sequel, you get to do all of that in Australia. Get ready to load up your back-breaking amount of cargo, trek the continent, snap pics with quokkas and have your heart broken along the way.
What is Death Stranding about?
Oh ho ho — the big question.
Asking a gamer this question is like asking your local flannel-wearing white boy what’s so good about Radiohead.
Death Stranding is an IP from Hideo Kojima, who also created the legendary Metal Gear Solid series.
You play as Sam Porter Bridges (played by Norman Reedus), a ‘porter’ tasked with trekking across the post-apocalyptic world while delivering cargo to these bunkers. Along the way, you’d discover more about the Death Stranding, how it’s changed the world and why a scary, sexy Mads Mikkelsen keeps abducting you.
The series is ultimately about connection and overcoming grief in a broken world. Everyone Sam meets in the game is broken in some way, and it’s only through you that they can move past these events and start connecting with the world again.
Now, six years later, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach continues Sam’s story.
Why is it set in Australia?
When it comes to understanding why Hideo Kojima makes the decisions he does, you kinda just have to assume it’s because he can. In an interview with Triple J, Kojima said he wanted a game where you stretch from one side of a continent to another. Because both Africa and Eurasia were way too big to fit his plan, he settled on Australia.
But that’s not to say the inclusions are half-baked. Kojima and his team have gone all out in imagining what a post-apocalyptic Australia would look like. It’s very clear that the team took inspiration from classic Aussie films to craft such a uniquely Australian dystopian environment. Hell, Kojima even managed Mad Max director George Miller to lend his likeness for the game.
George Miller as he appears in Death Stranding 2 (Image credit: Sony).
Australia also makes perfect sense for a game like Death Stranding. The original game was released just three months before the COVID-19 pandemic began, forcing everyone to stay in their homes. Speaking from experience, Death Stranding’s overwhelming atmosphere and isolation felt like an odd, cold comfort during the pandemic. I mean, think about it, you’re essentially playing an Amazon delivery driver while everyone is forced to stay home.
Given the severe lockdowns in Australia over this period, the themes and setting for Death Stranding fit too well.
Of course, the Australian mentions don’t just end there.
As you explore our sunburnt country, you’ll also come into contact with raging wildfires and iconic Aussie wildlife. NPCs also throw classic Aussie slang at you, which is surprisingly not as jarring as it sounds.
Who stars in Death Stranding?
It’s no secret Hideo Kojima is a bit of a simp for Hollywood.
One of the game’s biggest gimmicks is Kojima Studio’s digital scanning technology. This has let Kojima go wild with his dreams, scanning every celebrity he can convince.
Some rogue names include Edgar Wright, Conan O’Brien, Michael Philippou and Danny Philippou (Aussie directors behind horror film Talk To Me), the synthpop band CHVRCHES (who wrote a song for the previous game).
The core cast of Death Stranding has returned for the sequel and are now joined by Elle Fanning, Shioli Kutsuna, Debra Wilson and more.
So far, my personal favourite cameo has to be Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii popping up to fight Norman Reedus over disrespecting his pizza.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is for sure one of the weirdest games you’ll play all year. But it’s an absolute delight, and if you can meet it on its terms, it’ll be an experience you won’t forget.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is now available only on PlayStation 5.
Buy it from: Amazon ($99), EB Games ($124.95), PlayStation Store ($124.95)
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