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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

9.0
Developer: Kojima Productions
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Released: 2026
Metacritic: 88
50-80h
Avg. Playtime
No DLC
Expansions
Solo Only
Multiplayer
$69.99
Best Price
PS5PC
⭐ Read Review 📖 Beginner Guide 💸 Best Price

About Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is Hideo Kojima's 2026 sequel to his landmark 2019 "strand game." Sam Porter Bridges returns, now bound to a new mission across an expanded post-Stranding world — this time spanning ravaged Mexico and Australia — to extend the Chiral Network and confront a far more sinister threat to the Beach.

The core delivery-and-traversal loop returns and is dramatically expanded. The terrain is more vertical, weather is more dynamic (sandstorms, earthquakes, flash floods), and Sam now has a vastly richer toolkit: a returning grapple-rope, hover-carriers, a foldable monowheel, and a buildable rail-cart network that asynchronously connects players' worlds. Combat against MULEs and the renamed BTs is meaningfully expanded — Sam carries serious weaponry now, and the new factional militias add tactical variety.

This being Kojima, the cast and themes go big: a returning Sam joined by Fragile, a mysterious new Tomorrow Corp, Higgs returning in some form, and a parade of celebrity faces. Themes lean into connection, AI, and the cost of monumental work — classic Kojima preoccupations refracted through post-2020s anxieties. The result is messier, longer, and more emotional than the original, divisive as expected but unmistakably essential.

Why Players Love It

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Expanded Delivery & Traversal

Vertical terrain, dynamic weather (sandstorms, earthquakes, floods), and a richer toolkit including grappling, hover-carriers, and a foldable monowheel.

🛤️
Asynchronous Rail Network

Build collaborative rail-cart lines that asynchronously connect your world to other players' — the strand mechanic taken further than ever.

⚔️
Real Combat

Sam now carries serious weaponry and faces factional militias as well as MULEs and BTs. Combat is meaningfully expanded over the first game.

🗺️
Mexico and Australia

Two vast new regions with distinct biomes, geopolitics, factions, and Beach manifestations — the most expansive Kojima world yet.

Overview Video

Watch trailer on YouTube
9.0Outstanding

Our Verdict

Death Stranding 2 is messier, larger, and more emotional than the first — Kojima at his most ambitious, divisive as always, and unmistakably essential for fans of his work.

Story
9.5
Atmosphere
9.5
Traversal
9.0
Combat
8.0
Music
9.5
Value
9.0
Read Full Review (1,500+ words)
Complete Beginner's Guide
⏱ 15 min · 📊 Medium · ✅ Progress tracking
Start Guide
Best Builds & Character Tips
⏱ 10 min · 📊 Easy · 🔧 Build Guide
View Guide
First Boss Guide & Strategies
⏱ 8 min · 📊 Hard · ⚔️ Boss Guide
View Guide
Tips & Tricks for New Players
⏱ 6 min · 📊 Easy · 💡 Tips
View Guide
Patch 1.3 — Strand Network Expansion
2026
  • Increased shared structure cap on the rail network
  • Expanded photo-mode options
  • Tuned BT encounter detection radius
  • Numerous polish and accessibility fixes
Patch 1.1 — Launch Polish
2026
  • Resolved rare endgame progression issue
  • Improved frame-pacing on PS5 Pro
  • Audio mix tuning in cutscenes
  • Several mission UI corrections

Community Tips

“Build rail networks — they're Death Stranding 2's killer mechanic. A railway you started becomes infrastructure for hundreds of other players asynchronously.”
— PorterPrime · 942 upvotes
“The new combat loadout is real. Carry actual weapons on hostile-zone deliveries; the assumption that you can stealth past everything is gone.”
— BridgeBabyVet · 714 upvotes
“Plan routes around weather. Sandstorms wreck cargo, floods sweep you off cliffs, earthquakes shift terrain in real time. Check the weather radar before every long haul.”
— ChiralNetworker · 598 upvotes
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