Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima)
Page 9 of 9 Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
gordonash




Posts: 308

PostPosted: Fri, 3rd Apr 2026 18:50    Post subject:
Loving the soloing on this one. Couple of mechanics to make the road network a lot more easier on the old back. Dont want to drop any spoilers but unlocked an upgrade for the truck last night that still makes me laugh with glee hours later every time i pass some cargo.
Back to top
headshot
VIP Member



Posts: 38043
Location: UK
PostPosted: Sat, 18th Apr 2026 22:25    Post subject:


May the NFOrce be with you always.
Back to top
jermore




Posts: 1108

PostPosted: Sun, 19th Apr 2026 07:33    Post subject:
gordonash wrote:
Loving the soloing on this one. Couple of mechanics to make the road network a lot more easier on the old back. Dont want to drop any spoilers but unlocked an upgrade for the truck last night that still makes me laugh with glee hours later every time i pass some cargo.

Soloing?
I take it you're playing without player structures?
Back to top
gordonash




Posts: 308

PostPosted: Mon, 20th Apr 2026 17:27    Post subject:
jermore wrote:
gordonash wrote:
Loving the soloing on this one. Couple of mechanics to make the road network a lot more easier on the old back. Dont want to drop any spoilers but unlocked an upgrade for the truck last night that still makes me laugh with glee hours later every time i pass some cargo.

Soloing?
I take it you're playing without player structures?


yes, tried to squeeze it for every hour i could. Finished 2 nights ago on 139 hours.
Back to top
jermore




Posts: 1108

PostPosted: Mon, 20th Apr 2026 19:53    Post subject:
gordonash wrote:
jermore wrote:
gordonash wrote:
Loving the soloing on this one. Couple of mechanics to make the road network a lot more easier on the old back. Dont want to drop any spoilers but unlocked an upgrade for the truck last night that still makes me laugh with glee hours later every time i pass some cargo.

Soloing?
I take it you're playing without player structures?


yes, tried to squeeze it for every hour i could. Finished 2 nights ago on 139 hours.

solid effort, I respect it Smile
probably do the same myself, but I haven't even finished 1 still Laughing
Back to top
bringiton




Posts: 3838

PostPosted: Wed, 22nd Apr 2026 14:24    Post subject:
Just finished this. While I overall enjoyed the game, I have very mixed feelings about it.

Gameplay:
The game is simply too easy. This is suffering from basically the same issue as MGS5, where it gives you too many possibilities and too little issues to solve with it. I played on Brutal difficulty, so it's not like I cut myself out of the challenge.

Traversal is way too simple. I think I used maybe 2 ladders and one climbing rope during the whole game. Also sure, you can gear up with climbing gloves, boots, heating device etc. to climb to the highest mountain. Or you just take a bike and are there in 1/4 of the time. You can literally take a bike all the way up to the highest station and just tank the small penalty for cold/thin air.

The vessel being around all the time doesn't help. In the first game, later on you really had the feeling of being "out there", as tracing back to ealier parts would have required significant time investments to manually travel back. Here? Just use the ship. Oh, one fast travel is not enough, how about we allow you to teleport between locations? Oh no wait, how about we ALSO let you fast travel between hot springs in addition to the 2 fast travel methods you already have.

I do realize the intent of the game is different, that you can gear up and not take the penalty on deliveries for fast travelling with them. But at that point the game is not presenting me with a challenge, but rather a role-playing opportunity. And the game is already long enough as it is, so I didn't feel like dragging it out further by taking slower routes. Sure, for completionists they would want to avoid the penalties on deliveries, but I assume that's a minority of players.


The game overall is so fixated on the delivery form, that it never tries to do anything outside of it. I am not saying I want GTA type of gameplay, but they never, not at a single point (disclaimer: I did not do all optional deliveries as they require intense amounts of grinding to get there) do something outside-of-the-box. The first game had you delivering a bomb to a location (unknowingly), which you then had to return. Nothing like that here, they do zero interesting stuff with the cargo. I think there is only one main delivery where the cargo must not be submerged, and you only have to take it over one single river.

Why not go nuts in the sequel? I truly don't understand. Have a location be blown up by a voidout while you are closing in. Have deliveries be a challenge by something else than throwing combat in. Give me cargo I have to keep wet. Have somebody came and steal my cargo so I have to get it back. It is only ever take stuff, get it to destination. If there is combat on the way, they are very clear to point it out. Nothing surprising ever happens on deliveries. (Except maybe that one fisherman mission and some ghost hunter missions, which take forever to grind to).


Also I was mighty disappointed we didn't get to control the DHV Magellan. Not having it fly around Australia sure, but specifically in the final sequences, but not give us a short turret section or even have us fight the big BTs Kaiju style, when they dock the ship to the monster?

And while I complain about too many options for too little problems, they also didn't do enough with what they set up. Why not let me use Rainy (or her abilities) during gameplay? Why not have me restore a certain path or location with her ability? She puts out a fire in a cutscene, which is a total non-issue the whole other game. I only encountered fire in the 2 scripted missions where it has to happen, and the second time you could simply run around.
Similar with weather stuff. I encountered one (I assume scripted) sandstorm at the start of the game, then another one like 25 hours in, and that was it. Rivers may go a higher and only then you have to actively think about how to cross it, which means all the other times you can just drive through (the statistics at the end of the game showed I traveled 1/3 by foot and 2/3 by vehicle).

Combat is also way too easy. There is no incentive to go stealth (other than trying to get bonus likes, which is only important for completionists), enemies will never get backup. The camps pack a maximum of like 15 enemies (at most) and are very easy to take out with headshots. You can run in mostly unprepared and take out everyone.
BTs are also a joke. In the first game they created tension until the endgame, here they are a pushover, killlable with normal weaponry and they go down fast. I was pulled randomly in fights with larger BTs without any preparation and took them down easily with what was lying around (only exception are those flying fuckers causing you to voidout when they suck you in). BTs create zero tension in this game.


Story:
 Spoiler:
 


“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
- Albert Camus
Back to top
Page 9 of 9 All times are GMT + 1 Hour
NFOHump.com Forum Index - PC Games Arena Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Signature/Avatar nuking: none (can be changed in your profile)  


Display posts from previous:   

Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB 2.0.8 © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group