Death Stranding 2: On the Beach brings Sam Bridges to Australia

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is going to be very, very close to home. Recently, PlayStation dropped a whole heap of new info on the sequel to Death Stranding, including a hands-on preview blog post, an interview with Hideo Kojima, the reveal of a new limited-edition Death Stranding 2 DualSense controller and, most importantly, confirmation that part of the game will be set in Australia (alongside Mexico).

That’s right, lads. Sam’s sinking a VB long-neck for breakfast and heading down under.

Originally revealed all the way back in 2022 at The Game Awards, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach picks up 11 months after the original game. Sam is now living a quiet life with his little BB, Lou. But the peace can’t last, obviously, and a call from Fragile sends him to Mexico. Then, from Mexico, an unspecified “incident” launches him all the way across the ocean to Australia. His new mission? To once again reconnect a fractured society, this time while trudging through the varied landscapes of Mexico and Australia.

It’s genuinely exciting to see Australia featured as a key location, and interesting to see Hideo Kojima’s reasoning for choosing it as one of the two primary locations in his interview. He explains that the reason for choosing Australia was, “With the UCA established, we wanted the sequel to take place in a location that shared a similar geography with the Americas — stretches from east to west and borders the sea in the north and south.” He mentions that Eurasia was too large, and Africa didn’t seem to fit. Australia, however, ticked all the boxes.

Having Australia as the setting does make me wonder how far the representation of the country will go. Will there be recognisable references to spaces and places in modern-day Australia? Will Fragile let Sam know to meet him under the clocks? Probably not. But what we do know is that in the Australian setting, some iconic Aussie wildlife will be making an appearance. An animal sanctuary is specifically mentioned, which will be home to kangaroos, koalas and wallabies.

With this sequel, the core ideas of Death Stranding shift ever so slightly, moving from the idea of connecting people to questioning if we should have connected. Kojima explains how COVID had a hand in shaping these themes of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The original Death Stranding was already in development when the pandemic hit, during the time of the Brexit discussions. Its themes fittingly reflected the desire to connect and unite in order to prevent division and isolation.

But three months after the original game’s release, COVID hit. The world fractured in a way eerily similar to the game’s premise, and while the internet helped people keep connected, Kojima noticed an increasing disregard for in-person connections, which clashed with his personal beliefs of just how important in-person connections really are. Despite the sequel already being in the works pre-COVID, the team revisited the core concepts post-COVID. While the first game was inspired by a fear of social fragmentation, Kojima says the sequel stems from ruminating over the dangers of being too connected after experiencing the pandemic.

The original Death Stranding took its time easing players into the game, slowly building up its world. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach doesn’t beat around the bush. Both the narrative and gameplay are described as much more fast-paced this time around, with new equipment, structures and transportation being unlocked early on, facilitating this momentum. Alongside the expanded toolset, there’s a wide range of new weapons too, from holographic grenades that project an image of a BT to scare off enemies, to electrified poles favoured by MULE in the original game, now throwable and capable of electrocuting both vehicles and enemies.

One of the key reasons for unlocking new equipment, structures and weaponry early on is to give more choice and freedom in regards to strategy. You can go in guns blazing, utilising the offensive weaponry at your disposal, or you can be more cautious, avoiding danger where possible and relying on stealth to avoid combat. You can also leverage the new day/night cycle to your advantage. During the day, you can see enemies and terrain more easily, but Sam can also be spotted by threats more easily. On the flip side, travelling at night makes it harder for enemies to spot you and lets you sneak around more optimally, but limits your vision. It’s up to the player to weigh the risks and choose what kind of approach to take.

There’s also a brand new BT in town, the Watcher, which detects and attacks Sam using sight. In addition to this new BT, there are several new human threats introduced, including a group known as the Armed Survivalists who come equipped with lethal firearms and a shoot-on-sight attitude to match.

But it’s not just BTs and violent survivalists that Sam needs to worry about. The environment can stop you in your tracks as quickly as a BT can, with a new range of dynamic natural hazards threatening to end your journey. Earthquakes can knock you off balance with strong tremors and falling rocks. Heavy rain can lead to flooded rivers and unstable terrain to slip on. Planning your route now means accounting for weather and terrain just as much as accounting for enemies. Carrying too much through the mountains during a quake can cause you to lose your footing. And if you come across a wildfire, let’s pray you’ve packed your handy tar cannon, one of the new pieces of equipment designed to help Sam manage environmental threats, to extinguish it.

Another new feature of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is the addition of proficiency levels. Previously, Sam’s stats improved depending on his Porter Grade, but this time there are 12 new proficiency levels that will be impacted by your playstyle. If you spend lots of time travelling through rocky terrain with unstable footholds, for example, Sam’s ability to traverse through rough terrain will improve faster.  Furthermore, Sam’s abilities can be further customised Automated Porter Assistant System Enhancement. Through consuming ‘memories,’ a limited resource found throughout the game, you can enhance Sam’s porter, combat, stealth and servicemanship traits. Because they are limited, you’ll need to decide carefully how you shape your version of Sam.

To finish off, Sony unveiled the limited edition DualSense wireless Death Stranding 2: On the Beach controller. Developed in collaboration with Kojima Productions, the controller is customised with the insignia and motto of Drawbridge in a vibrant orange. The controller will launch on June 26, 2025, alongside the game, with pre-orders opening May 22 at 10am local time. For us Aussie players, the controller has a recommended retail price of $134.95 AUD.

Overall, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach looks like a bold evolution of the original. Between earthquakes in Mexico and wildfires in Australia, Kojima’s sequel is shaping up to be just as weird, beautiful and thought-provoking as its predecessor… only now Sam’s a little closer to home.

Death Stranding 2 launches exclusively on PlayStation 5 on June 26, 2025.