Death Stranding 2 On the beach, a courier is forever, even on the beach!
by Simon Larocca·February 9, 2025
Per chi has been into video games for
a whole lifetime like the one writing, the habit of never really getting used to the
madness spawned by the brilliant mind of Hideo
Kojima has become a natural condition. A figure who has managed
to balance on-screen appearances with a reserve bordering on the supernatural,
the Japanese game designer is shrouded in legend thanks to his most
famous video game work, that Metal Gear
Solid that has managed to win over generations of gamers with its
perfect mix of compelling storytelling, unique action-stealth gameplay and
a series of outlandish ideas that, in his hands, have managed to be
accepted as coherent (one above all: the way to defeat Psycho Mantis on PlayStation).
Mille hardships, worthy of a Dante-esque poem, led him to leave the mother house Konami, so in the new millennium the productions bearing the Kojima name took a very specific direction that in 2019 with Death
Stranding, the sublimation of the Kojima vision, once again gave us something unique.
A distance of five years, the official announcement has arrived that yes, the sequel to the post-apocalyptic adventures in a nation, America, devastated by the consequences of the climate crisis and the creatures we have learned to know and hate in the unusual guise of couriers of the new world, is in production.
Death Stranding 2: On the beach.
This is the official title
released by Sony and all the previous rumors collapsed like houses of
cards: Kojima is not used to revolutions and big plot twists that even George
Martin would struggle to devise, we know it, but it was nice to see Sam as the announced protagonist,
along with the supporting cast with impeccable acting: the motion capture, in the previous chapter
as in the one that will come in the future (we still do not know when), is at
the highest levels and if the photorealism of Death Stranding left jaws dropping and
delighted eyes and heart, we can be sure that with the sequel we will need
very comfortable chairs, to enjoy the spectacle that good old Hideo will put
on stage for us.
Con a notable media hype, Death Stranding 2: On the beach is the second title produced by the “newborn” Kojima Productions and among the newly announced characters we have the one played by the beautiful and talented Elle Fanning, as well as the likeness, and brace yourselves here, of George Miller: if you don’t know who I’m talking about and hearing the words Mad Max doesn’t make you want to hit the road aboard an armored four-wheeled beast with iron spikes, then we’re no longer friends.
Come always, utmost secrecy
on the details of the plot: something has leaked on Sony’s official website and
also during the State of Play, but if you know even a little about the character
in question, always expect anything and its opposite from someone like him:
leaks and rumors when it comes to Kojima are as useful as
Mario suffering from a growth-mushroom withdrawal or Sir Arthur from Ghost’n Goblins in
his underwear. Personally, I think it is likely that there is a mystery, if not
the key to interpreting it, in the subtitle with its slightly too summery and sunny tones,
considering that the Japanese designer himself stated that the sequel will be
even darker and more vehement, in terms of the emotions it evokes and metaphorical
slaps in the face, than its predecessor.
Moreover, we are talking about the creator of Snatcher, a wonderful sci-fi adventure, and at the same time about a dating sim (?) set in a school attended by hormone-crazed teenagers: are we really sure that everything we will be shown from today until the fateful launch date will be real, or another deliberately convoluted projection of what seems to be but is not?
This is the beauty of Death Stranding. It's Hideo Kojima.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
TGMGrading
Grade your titles
Inspection, sub-grades, seal and display case: every grade comes with the method behind it, written down in full.
