Summary
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach shifts focus from physical to psychological battles, addressing deeper psychological warfare.
- Death Stranding 2 could center on personal stories rather than physical traversal, offering a more introspective gaming experience.
- Death Stranding 2 might involve intentional harm as players visit the Beach, reflecting a deeper psychological narrative.
It has now been over five years since Death Stranding introduced players to one of the strangest worlds and gameplay loops in gaming history by putting them into the shoes of Sam Porter Bridges — a porter tasked with reconnecting America by delivering cargo to various locations across the fractured world. Despite being innovative and bold, Death Stranding‘s delivery-style gameplay loop was largely divisive, causing many to label the game as a “walking simulator.” However, regardless of the controversy, Death Stranding managed to deliver an incredibly compelling narrative and approach to gameplay, now tasking its sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, with living up to its name.
Based on what has been revealed so far for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Sam has somehow been called back into action, despite his decision at the end of the first game to live an isolated life and focus on raising Lou. In the footage, Sam can be seen traversing various environments in the same way that he did in Death Stranding, meaning the first game’s gameplay loop is set to return. That being said, there is reason to believe that, whereas the first game focused on Sam’s task of reconnecting America through a physical journey, the sequel’s story might be more psychological than physical.
Related
Why Death Stranding 2’s Sam Might Not Be the Same Sam From the First Game
There is plenty of evidence to show that the Sam players knew from the first Death Stranding may not be the same in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
Death Stranding 2’s Story Appears to Shift From Physical to Psychological
While Death Stranding Was About Physical Traversal, the Sequel May Be About Psychological Warfare
Death Stranding was all about physical traversal, to the point that probably about 98% of its gameplay involved traveling somewhere. After all, Sam’s responsibility was to reconnect America through using his ability to make physical delivery runs between locations. However, now that America has been reconnected following the events of Death Stranding, it may not make sense for Death Stranding 2‘s narrative to primarily focus on what Sam is capable of accomplishing through making deliveries. Instead, Death Stranding 2‘s story might be less about the physical challenges that come with rebuilding and more about the psychological toll of the journey.
Hideo Kojima is known for his deep, introspective storytelling, and Death Stranding is a perfect example of that. Death Stranding 2, though, already appears as though it will delve even deeper into the psyche, especially given its subtitle, “On the Beach.” After all, the Beach in Death Stranding is described as a reflection of the subconscious, so Death Stranding 2 is likely to emphasize psychological warfare even more than its predecessor. This will prove especially true if a substantial part of Death Stranding 2‘s story actually plays out on the Beach itself.
This doesn’t mean the delivery gameplay loop will be lost entirely in Death Stranding 2, only that it might have less to do with the story than it did in the first game. If a part of Death Stranding 2‘s gameplay sees players regularly returning to the Beach, it could involve them intentionally putting themselves in harm’s way, as Sam’s death would send him to the Beach.
Death Stranding 2’s Story May Be More Personal Than the First Game
Should Death Stranding 2 get even more introspective than its predecessor, it could be a far more personal story than the first game. While the first Death Stranding was largely about Sam reconnecting America and had his character arc developing alongside that, Death Stranding 2‘s story structure could be the opposite of that. In other words, rather than Death Stranding 2‘s story being about Sam’s purpose, it might instead be all about Sam himself, as well as Death Stranding‘s other characters. This would, as a result, make it a more psychological story than a physical one.
If Death Stranding 2: On the Beach embraces an even more introspective narrative than its predecessor, it has the potential to offer a much different experience from the first game while still maintaining its themes. Where Death Stranding was a journey of physical reconnection, its sequel may shift the focus even further inward, exploring the lasting effects of Sam’s past and the deeper implications of the Beach as a psychological battleground.
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