Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Has “A Range of Approaches to Every Situation,” per Level Design Lead

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In the sequel titled “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach” by Kojima Productions, players continue to traverse expansive, beautiful landscapes while delivering packages, this time with protagonist Sam aiming to reconnect Australia. Interestingly, the development team has been displaying a focus on action-packed scenes as of late, which is a shift directly influenced by fan feedback, according to director Hideo Kojima himself.

Indeed, it’s not merely about increasing speed or adding more battles. In fact, the lead level designer, Hiroaki Yoshiike, shared that players will have multiple strategies to tackle each situation, as he discussed this in an interview with Edge for its 411th issue (as transcribed by GamesRadar).

The player’s job is to transport a package from one place (point A) to another (point B), but obstacles or enemies are there to hinder this task. Essentially, it’s like a game of tag.

In the sequel, Yoshiike explains that Kojima-san aimed for a more distinct emphasis on combat. As a result, we’ve designed the game to offer players multiple strategies to tackle each challenge they encounter.

In our game, players have three primary strategies to choose from: sneaking past enemies, engaging in open combat, or navigating challenging terrains to avoid encounters. We made sure each strategy remained feasible throughout the game. Furthermore, we programmed the AI of our enemies to react differently depending on the player’s actions, resulting in a wide variety of responses beyond simply chasing the player.

As a gamer, I can tell you that these enemies seem to have an uncanny ability to spot me from afar and are more than eager to investigate any unusual happenings. It’s almost like playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty all over again, where the AI was significantly enhanced compared to the original game.

The sequel to “Death Stranding,” titled “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach,” will be released on June 26th exclusively on PS5. After being declared gold, early responses from test audiences have been overwhelmingly positive, even surpassing the original’s reviews. Keep an eye out for more updates as we approach its release date.

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2025-05-19 17:12