Pickle Sneepo 🥒

@sunieepo.neocities.org

97 Followers 62 Following

Sunie / 29 / any pronouns / video game critic and occasional enjoyer, silly creature lover, and best friend to world's first screaming Jellybean / my meow meow @cougy.bsky.social 💞 / https://sunieepo.neocities.org

7/10 I don't know what to make of this game. As someone who loved the first not necessarily for its gameplay but because of its heartfelt narrative and somewhat kooky nature, I was quite surprised to find that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a deeply fun experience. Its gameplay loop more closely resembles Metal Gear Solid V than the original Death Stranding; combat takes the center stage here, and there are many unavoidable encounters with new types of enemies that force you engage in tactical gunplay action. This isn't a bad thing, but it's not necessarily what I was looking for. Thankfully, the walking and delivery aspects of the game remain top-notch, and there are vibes abound as you traverse the diverse landscape of Australia. They also added animal rescue mechanics, which of course absolutely tickles my pickle. The cutscene direction is stellar, and the actual script writing is largely improved over the first game, ignoring the presence of the Dollman character whose entire existence is to serve as Hideo Kojima's insurance that no one will ever misunderstand him ever again. Subtlety is completely dead and Dollman killed it, and after having done so he'll turn to the camera and explain to you why he did it, because of themes and such. Also, despite this game advertising itself as standalone, it is absolutely not; intimate knowledge of the events of the first game is a must to be able to immerse yourself here. When you peel away the layers of well-shot cutscenes, gorgeous visuals, insane technical accomplishments, and less clumsy dialogue, though, the actual plotline of Death Stranding 2 leaves much to be desired. A hodgepodge collection of ideas never really adds up to a coherent whole, which is in stark contrast to the ultimately tight core premise of the first game. This game is also so bizarre that I can safely say it's easily the most strange video game I've ever played that wasn't a low-budget artsy indie game, and for that I have to give it points.