I’m really disappointed with Death Stranding 2, this feels like Kojima’s safest and least passionate title.

Death Stranding 2 is the least passionate Kojima game I’ve ever played. The traversal has been sanded down for accessibility, the environmental hazards are scripted set pieces instead of emergent systems, and the combat lost the lethality that gave every encounter in DS1 real consequence. The narrative follows the exact same beats as the first game with twists you can solve halfway through, and the whole thing undoes DS1’s ending in the first hour to send you connecting another continent for reasons that never feel like yours.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I’m halfway through the game and have almost no motivation to continue because I already know where this story goes. The first game is one of my favorite games of all time that left an insane emotional impact, this one feels shallow by comparison.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ I’m disappointed.