“Kojima wanted more people to enjoy the game all the way to the end. This was an order he provided,” Yoshiike said.

Further in the interview, he noted that the studio decided to tone down the worldbuilding elements for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. That isn’t to say there isn’t any extra detail to be found in the game’s story, however, and Yoshiike even noted that completionists can discover and enjoy these elements on their own. For everyone else, however, the title offers a clearer path forward that doesn’t meander as much.

“In the second game, we didn’t need to provide too many worldbuilding elements, we could make it less elaborate,” said Yoshiike. “For completionists, they can enjoy it, but at the same time, people who don’t necessarily care about it that much, we made sure they can follow the story through other supplemental elements within the game. That was one of the design choices that we made. We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that it’s much easier to recommend DS2 to people. And we’re able to see the metrics, and we saw that people progress much further than they previously had. So that was just as we designed, I think.”

Kojima has been known to make changes to his games based on player feedback in the past. Back in June 2025, musician Yoann “Woodkid” Lemoine revealed that the story for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach had been changed after earlier versions of the game were already in playtesting.

“There’s a key moment where we had a discussion, probably halfway [through] when we were doing the game, where he came to me and he said, ‘We have a problem,’” said Lemoine in an interview.

“Then he said, ‘I’m going to be very honest, we have been testing the game with players and the results are too good. They like it too much. That means something is wrong; we have to change something.’ And he changed stuff in the script and the way some crucial stuff [happens] in the game because he thought his work was not polarizing and not triggering enough emotions.”

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was released on PS5 back in back in June. After seeing a positive critical reception at the time, Kojima Productions, alongside support studio Nixxes, would work on bringing the title to PC, where it would arrive this month. For more details about the latter, check out our review of the PC port. Also take a look at how many players rushed to play the game on launch day.

When it came to choosing Decima, the most important of its aspects for Sakamoto was that it would support the technologies that Kojima Productions needed for its open-world games. Despite it being less accessible when compared with more commercial offerings, its strong runtime rendering analysis tools was a standout feature. He also noted that, while no engine tends to be the singular best choice, studios have to make their own decisions depending on their needs. For Kojima Productions, this was Decima.

“When we were considering adopting Decima, I had the opportunity to evaluate the engine directly,” Sakamoto explained. “It offered many of the capabilities needed to build an open-world game, and while some aspects are less immediately approachable than commercial engines, its runtime rendering analysis tools stood out. Being able to access such a rich set of data without relying on external tools is incredibly valuable. The development environment – built for large-scale, multi-disciplinary teams – also included features I had long hoped to implement in the engine I worked on previously. With all of that in mind, we decided to adopt Decima.”

“It has now been nearly ten years since we began using the engine. While no engine is the best choice in every scenario, Decima enables us to accomplish many things that would be difficult to achieve elsewhere.”

Further in the interview, Sakamoto also spoke about wanting artists to work directly with Decima to create their own shaders rather than only having programmers working with it. He noted that engines tend to contribute more to a game’s development than just offering a graphics pipeline. Thanks to that, just about every developer works with the engine in some way, at least indirectly.

“When people talk about game engines, attention tends to focus on the parts that relate directly to the game’s visual expression,” he explained. “But in reality, a game engine provides a wide range of functions that support every aspect of development. In that sense, the number and type of tools used may differ depending on one’s role, but I don’t think there is a single developer whose work is completely unrelated to Decima.”

Just last week, Kojima Productions had announced that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be coming to PC on March 19th. The announcement was made with a new trailer giving us a look at some of the game’s visuals on the platform. The studio has also confirmed that it will support uncapped frame rates for gameplay, support for DualSense features, and the ability to run at 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios for ultrawide displays.

For more details about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, check out our review of its PS5 version.

“Happy New Year. In 2026, we will move forward with the ‘Second Phase’ that leads into Kojima Productions’ ‘Third Phase,’” wrote Kojima, who then went on to note that he wouldn’t be traveling around the world this year. Rather, he will be spending his time “staying grounded and laying solid foundations” for the studio’s future projects. He will also be moving ahead with the production of the live-action movie adaptation of Death Stranding.

“Unlike last year, like I was traveling all over the world, this year will be about staying grounded and laying solid foundations. We will continue development on the horror game ‘OD’ and move forward with preparations for the espionage action title ‘Physint.’ This includes casting actors, scanning, and performance capture shoots,” his post continued.

“Also, be pushing forward with the live-action film of Death Stranding, as well as its animation projects, both the movie and series. In addition, we’re preparing several ‘events’ this year. Once things are finalized, I’ll be able to share more.”

“This year also marks my 40th anniversary in the game industry, from 1986, and began my journey in game creation. Thank you, as always, for your continued support and supporting Kojima Productions. I look forward to another great year.”

This “phase 2” of Kojima Productions had been a subject of conversation as far back as April 2025, where he noted that the development of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach coming to an end marked the end of the studio’s first phase. He described “phase 1” as a period where the studio would create a new IP and then expand on it with a sequel, which it achieved with Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

“Phase 2”, however, wasn’t defined very well at the time, aside from Kojima noting that it would revolve around the development of OD and Physint. He also said that he wanted to experiment with other media, including a movie, as well as potentially an anime series.

OD seems to be the main subject of development for the time being, with Kojima stating just last month that there were plenty of hints in the “Knock” trailer from back in September to let players know what the title would be about. He also said that “the system [OD] uses isn’t ordinary. Everything is made in a game engine, and a game is a game, but it’s still a system like no other. That’s why we built a completely new medium together with Microsoft.”

In the meantime, check out our review of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which is available on PS5.

A major concern in this regard was ensuring that the gameplay in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach remained faithful to the original, while also giving players more tools to deal with problems that they might face in the game. One example of this was giving players access to more vehicles. “We gave a lot of thought to difficulty,” Kojima said, noting that the original Death Stranding had a few “pretty sharp edges”. “We wanted to retain the theme and gameplay mechanics, but make adjustments so it’s easier to play. That’s why we added more vehicles, for example.”

Kojima also spoke about how the “extreme” design choices of the original Death Stranding were added into the game intentionally. This, he noted, led to two major points of the game’s story that saw players dropping out. He confirmed that one of these points was fairly early in the game, where players have to deliver the dead body of President Bridget Strand to an incinerator in order to be cremated. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach doesn’t really have parts like this that see players dropping off, he said.

On the other hand, Kojima also admitted that smoothing down some of the rougher edges of the original with the sequel also led to “hardcore players” who enjoyed Death Stranding to have a “lukewarm” reception to the sequel. Ultimately, he acknowledged that there is a balancing act that game designers have to pull off when it comes to balancing titles to appeal to more players while also making sure that they don’t alienate their core audience.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was released on PS5 earlier this year. While neither Kojima Productions nor Sony have confirmed it as of yet, the title is also expected to make its way to PC, especially if the ESRB rating discovered last month is to be believed. For more details about the open-world delivery game, check out our review.

In the meantime, Kojima has also spoken about the future of the Death Stranding franchise. In an interview from back in August, he confirmed that he has no plans to make Death Stranding 3 himself. However, he does have a concept written up for it, and he hopes to see another developer take on the reins of the franchise.

“I have no plans to make [Death Stranding 3] at the moment,” he said. “Because the ending of Death Stranding 2 was my finale of 1 and 2. But I already wrote the concept of DS3. So I have that in data. I hope that someone will create it for me.”

Kojima Productions is working on two titles for now—horror game OD and espionage title Physint.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2’s first mission aboard the tanker firmly establishes Solid Snake as the ongoing hero of the series, coaxing players into a sense of familiarity. But an hour into the game, things change. There’s a fast-forward of two years and Snake is presumed dead. The rest of the game is played through the lens of Raiden, a newer recruit who, though lacks the expertise and wit of Snake, demonstrates greater agility and a good amount of skill. The biggest gameplay difference between Raiden and Snake is the quick roll between cover that can be pulled off when controlling Raiden. Besides his agility in combat, he lacks the charismatic banter and iconic gravelly voice of Snake, resulting in many frustrated and disappointed players at the time of MGS2’s release. Imagine your favorite character getting sidelined for an entire game with little confidence in his return. In hindsight, we appreciate Raiden for his future, and badass, appearance in MGS Rising Revengeance but in 2001, there was no surefire guarantee Solid Snake would take the spotlight again.

Prey (2017)

Prey’s opening is a masterclass on how to build intrigue while completely immersing the player in the game world. Arkane’s Prey builds off of 2006’s Prey with a similar slice of life intro that gets upended and warped into a sci-fi nightmare, though the two titles aren’t connected. Morgan wakes up to get ready for work in a highrise apartment in what looks like a futuristic San Francisco. The game’s physics engine allows any object to be picked up and thrown, and there’s a slew of emails and notes to read around the apartment, providing some context and lore. Players can’t be blamed for spending some time admiring the highrise views and exploring the interactable elements. After a nice helicopter ride to Morgan’s job site, a horrific Typhon creature attacks one of the scientists and Morgan blacks out. What comes next flips the status quo completely on its head. Morgan wakes up more or less like nothing ever happened, to an alarm in the same apartment building as before, but things aren’t quite right. After some exploration, it’s revealed the entire building is just a simulation aboard a space station. Nothing was as it seemed and the remainder of the game is spent trying to survive onboard the isolated and dangerous Talos I station.

The Last of Us Part 1

The core of The Last of Us’ gameplay doesn’t emerge until an hour into the game. And it’s not due to clumsy tutorials wasting the player’s time. No, the first hour is spent setting up the world state that would characterize the award-winning series. You don’t start the game busting zombies’ heads open as a hardened badass, but instead wake up in the shoes of Joel’s daughter, Sarah. The game lets the player explore Joel’s house, which contains a fair amount of mementos and bits of backstory into who these characters were before the zombie outbreak. An evacuation and car crash later and we’re playing as Joel, carrying Sarah in a desperate attempt to outrun the infected hordes. After one of the more tragic scenes in gaming, there’s a pretty substantial time skip as we finally control the hardened Joel that encapsulates the rest of the game. It’s the perfect intro to a zombie game and it didn’t even need to give the player a weapon to feel the tension and anxiety of the setting.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar Games typically lets players loose in their game world pretty early on. That’s not at all the case with Red Dead Redemption 2. It takes around an hour or so for the on-rails story missions to ease up. Players who just want to live out their wild west fantasies in an immersive open world have to wait it out and experience the story set-up first. Of course, that isn’t to say the opening hours aren’t action-packed or interesting in their own right. The game introduces the over-the-shoulder shooting mechanics and melee combat with some battles against a rival gang. But it’s true that a majority of the game’s opening hours involve slowly riding horseback along some snowy mountains listening to character banter. RDR2 has even more open-world freedom than the first game, but it takes a bit longer to reach that point this time around.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Speaking of slow burns, there’s perhaps no better example than 2006’s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The game starts out with a Harvest Moon-esque sequence of Link talking to villagers and doing a series of chores on the farm. Ordon is a peaceful village and all is idyllic during these moments. Sure, you get a slingshot tutorial, but there’s pretty much no need for combat when things are this peaceful. Obviously, Link gets thrust onto the hero’s journey eventually, but it takes a good bit of time to reach. Twilight Princess is one of the darkest games in the series, featuring some horror elements with the villain, Zant, and the eerie ghosts within the Twilight realm. It’s also one of the more fast-paced and action-packed games in the series, but the idyllic opener wouldn’t give that impression. The greatness of Twilight Princess’s opening is just how effective it sets up the stakes at play. It establishes that a peaceful and idyllic village like Ordon can be erased at the hands of evil. In a way, Ordon fulfills a similar role as The Shire from Lord of the Rings.

Death Stranding

While Death Stranding’s opening does a good job giving players a taste of what the game’s about, nothing could prepare people for the craziness that occurs in the middle and end of the game. The game begins like a vague dream, with tons of bizarre terms and lore that still make our head spin today. The exposition-heavy prologue features roughly 40 minutes of cinematics and 20 minutes of gameplay. The precious few moments that you are given some control, you’re tasked with picking up some dropped cargo and transporting it through some mountainous terrain in the rain before getting sidelined by the threat of some BDs. It’s a nice tutorial of what you’ll be doing in the core game but with none of the open-ended freedom. It would be another hour or so until the game’s core features open up. Much of Death Stranding’s charm is in its bizarrely beautiful open-world, touting varied terrain to overcome and breathtaking vistas to admire. Players don’t truly get to experience the core ‘strand-like’ gameplay until the ability to build infrastructure such as bridges and walkways for other real-life players becomes available later. And while there’s plenty of protracted cinematics throughout the rest of the game, there’s usually large swaths of open-ended delivery gameplay to offset it, unlike the exposition-heavy opening.

Kingdom Hearts 2

Kingdom Hearts 2 really threw fans for a loop with the opening’s focus on Roxas rather than Sora. What’s more, the location of this game’s intro wasn’t explored in past games, making the whole sequence feel like some Twilight Zone episode. Roxas’ summer vacation with his friends in Twilight Town functioned more or less as a gameplay tutorial as well, though the magic system and gummi ship stuff doesn’t come into play until Sora finally enters the picture. Millions of players asked the same questions during KH2’s opening hours: “Where is Sora, Donald, and Goofy? And who the heck is Roxas?” Part of the brilliance of KH2 is how those questions get explored throughout the course of the game.

The Stanley Parable

There’s not many games that sell based on intrigue alone, but The Stanley Parable is one of them. It’s very much an experiment on what it means to be a game. As soon as players boot it up from the start menu, a charming narrator describes a typical day at the office for Stanley. This is where player agency comes into question. Should I continue following the narrator’s ques, or do I completely avert expectations? And so, one of thousands of different routes begins. The first hour of The Stanley Parable is much different from the rest of the game because of how branching the choices are. Not to mention how much more of the narrator’s own personality gets exposed the more the player disobeys.

Control

Control is another game on this list that subverts expectations with its bizarre setting and story. The entire game takes place within a fluidly changing skyscraper called ‘The Oldest House’. The interior of this building is labyrinthine, boasting an ever shifting space that is much larger than its exterior would suggest. The first hour of the game is strange enough, with its introduction of the The Oldest House and some of the abilities you’ll be engaging with. But the game doesn’t reveal its true structure until later on after you gain more supernatural abilities and unravel more of the bizarre story.

Firewatch

Firewatch is one of the more fascinating narrative games I’ve played. It follows the daily life of a fire lookout worker over the course of a month. You’d think this would get boring, but it only gets more interesting as the days progress. This is because Firewatch is a slowly unraveling mystery with little bread crumbs hinting that something isn’t quite right. From a gameplay perspective, things don’t really progress too much past the first hour. You’re walking around and doing basic tasks like using a flashlight and walkie-talkie to communicate with your distant partner Delilah from beginning to end. But where the game ends is such a change from where it began that it warrants a place on this list.

Thankfully, there’s no dearth of options when it comes to games that just let you loose into their long winding roads that have a lot going on as you travel along vast worlds. We’ve put together titles we think fit that description and are certainly worth getting lost in. Some of your most memorable gaming moments could be waiting just around a corner in their worlds!

Let’s dive in.

1. Days Gone

A vast expanse of map waits for you and your trusty motorbike in this one. It’s a pity that its beautiful landscapes are marred by the presence of vicious zombies and humans desperate enough to forget their moral codes. But a large part of the game involves cruising along the map on your motorcycle, ensuring you have a safe way back to it if your next dangerous plan doesn’t pan out the way you wanted it to.

Play things right and you’re back on the road, albeit having to make a quicker exit than your entrance. But you never know what else you might discover as you blaze a path to safety in such situations. It’s a world that does a good job of keeping its players invested in Deacon’s melancholy tale.

2. Pacific Drive

From its riveting opening to a rather bittersweet ending, this is a journey that’s underlined by a literal bond between your Driver and the station wagon you commandeer at the start of your adventure. It’s a story beat that works well for the narrative while also giving you a reason to travel far and wide in your car.

The game’s premise provides the scope for a journey like no other along roads that want you to discover everything they have to offer. We’re not going to forget some very memorable anomalies during our time in the Olympic Exclusion Zone in a hurry. Especially the ones that messed with our car.

3. Death Stranding 1 & 2

Whether on foot or in a vehicle, Death Stranding’s trek through a very memorable adventure with Sam Porter is all about traversing a beautiful yet hostile world. Guiding Sam to his next delivery destination is all about the different things you can discover, or be forced to work around, that you can find along the way.

It’s a journey like no other, and it’s a road that’s as unpredictable as the many threats you’re likely to find before you make it to safety again. There’s always a sense of anticipation as you travel across America, Mexico, and Australia, and a sense of awe when you discover the next thing they have been hiding. The original Death Stranding and its sequel continue to evoke fond memories.

4. The Crew 2

There’s a case to be made for The Crew 2’s scaled-down take on America that really brings moments where it’s just you and your car to life as you make your way between its various activities. Although it’s meant to be played with your buddies, its persistent open world design means that it’s quite easy to just get to exploring, driving around in your favorite ride, and having some racing fun along the way.

Of course, getting to pilot aircraft and operate boats were welcome additions, but our first sight of the Grand Canyon in this massive world was definitely among the highlights of driving around in it.

5. Jalopy

Splat and Lutfi’s journey in this one was nothing short of a masterpiece as far as memorable road trips go. The Jalopy in question is almost a character on its own, requiring a fairly realistic amount of upkeep to keep players ticking along in the narrative as they discover more about what was waiting for them at the end of it.

The option to keep the adventure going after its rather sad ending just adds more intrigue to an already satisfying journey. This is one that’s all about the journey, although there’s a case to be made for that destination being a very memorable moment.

6. Final Fantasy XV

In another adventure that has its protagonist accompanied by memorable companions, Noctis Lucis, the Regalia, and the chocobos, sure make travel and discovery a very memorable part of Final Fantasy XV. It helps that your posse is right by your side for the most part, their banter and conversations making the adventure come alive as you travel across Eos.

It helps that you can customize the Regalia and chocobos, giving your adventure that personal touch that makes such experiences special. Whether you’re chugging along on the road or soaring across the skies to your next destination, this is a game that makes the journey there a very enjoyable facet of the experience.

7. Read Dead Redemption 2

Arthur’s journey is one that absolutely exemplifies the feeling of being on the road, with endless possibilities and a world where life goes on, even if you’re not a part of it, being baked into the adventure. This is a world that’s alive, and almost thrumming with activities, secrets, discoveries, and content that’s sure to make your time with this one unforgettable.

There’s nothing that beats a conversation by chance that turns into a full-blown series of side quests, or the many quirky characters the road leads you to, in this one. There’s also the fact that you need to care for your horse as you would in the real world, and a host of activities that make your time on the road feel quite authentic and immersive. As far as open worlds that put you on a long and winding road go, this one continues to be a classic.

8. Mad Max

Max Rockatansky’s determination to build the Magnum Opus and the fact that this vehicle is a very crucial part of the adventure are reasons enough to qualify this one for our list. But it’s in the way that the Magnum Opus weaves itself so naturally into the gameplay loop and combat, in particular, and makes itself a star of the show.

It’s narratively valid, and the fact that customizing its parts can force you to make trade-offs in other aspects makes for a layer of immersion and engagement that solidifies the bond between man and machine in this one. The open world is a stage just waiting for you to discover moments where you and your vehicle are given an opportunity to shine.

9. State Of Decay 2

This one’s a constant challenge due to the world around you, a tale that builds a community around the struggle, and one in which the world can get quite unpredictable from moment to moment. From the need to nurture your community and take down the area’s Awakened Heart, every zombie-infested site is a chance to take your story down a path that’s different from the one you began with.

A lot of it comes down to your fellow settlers, and weaving everyone’s journey together into a gameplay loop that’s quite addictive makes each bit of territory you free from the zombies an achievement, and a very satisfying one at that.

10. Snowrunner

This is a title where the simulation of off-roading on rough terrain is accompanied by very flavorful discoveries that spell out the stories of the regions you explore while you witness your own role in fixing them up firsthand. It’s a great way to have you braving its landscapes, taking care of your fleet of vehicles while getting invested in a progression loop that becomes quite interesting the more you make your way through a region.

It connects you to the land you’re exploring while your vehicles carry you through it all, making this a journey that just draws you into the world it presents you with. You’re the focal point of an interesting bridge between the past and the present, and it’s up to you to build it up, one success after another.

11. Far Cry 5

Far Cry 5 serves up surreal beats as you roam a world filled with calamity. But it’s the people you meet and the friends you make along the way that make this a worthwhile journey.

The ability to recruit locals who resist the local militia and their rigid control over the land is a great addition to this open-world, and adds a flavor to the entire journey that’s just too great to ignore. It helps that you forge relationships to discover more of the story and side content as you go, along with helping the local resistance, you know, resist the militia’s growing influence. You’re a cornerstone of that struggle, and the journey felt personal and, as a result, memorable.

12. The Long Drive

The road goes on and on in this innovative concept that’s literally all about being on the road and letting the journey continue. With a focus on freedom, immersion, and exploring the vast desert, this one gives its players a lot of freedom to just enjoy the journey.

You’re given a lot of reasons to just hop into your car and drive along, never knowing where the road takes you in this randomly generated desert. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in a game where the adventure takes you down unpredictable paths, look no further.

13. Forza Horizon 5

Mexico proved to be a great location for this instalment to the Horizon series, and driving along to stunning vistas was both entertaining and visually memorable. Getting to drive fancy, fast cars on roads that wound between different elevations, climate patterns, and, of course, new discoveries was a treat.

There’s an active volcano, ancient structures, cities, towns, jungles, and beaches to find and explore, making this title find reasons to put you at the wheel and send you along on your journey.

14. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Survival in The Zone and navigating the complex relationships that govern it while also ensuring that you get enough food and sleep, is quite an immersive loop in GSC Games Studio’s much-awaited return to its popular franchise.

Recruiting people to aid in your journey, while the many discoveries and anomalies that await you in The Zone give this entire world a sense of mystery, and venturing into the unknown can be quite hard to top. With the PlayStation version on its way, now might be a great time to dive into a game whose journey to its current build is as interesting as the one it presents to you.

15. Ghost Recon Wildlands

Operation Kingslayer was a brilliant stage for the adventure that awaits you in this very immersive open world. With so much variety in the terrain along with a lot of freedom with how you approach any mission you find out in cartel-controlled Bolivia, this is a world where every inch of land you capture could be one worth the memories, and even lets you disable your AI companions if you believe in taking single-player literally.

However, there is a case to be made for bringing up to three buddies along for the ride. That immediately makes this one a worthy addition, although the AI companions are always there if you’re going for a suitable middle ground. Either way, dismantling a cartel has never felt so immersive, and entertaining too.

That’s a wrap on our favorite titles that put us on the road and just let us build our best memories of them along the way. Here’s to many more such experiences on the horizon.

Sarnoski described the story of the movie as one that would capture the soul and themes of the game while still telling a completely new story that we haven’t seen before. Through this story, he noted that we would get to explore new characters as well.

“I think, with this project, we really want to capture the soul of the game, capture the themes of the game, but tell a story you haven’t seen in that world and explore characters you haven’t seen before, and find all of that scope and all of those incredible real locations, but also find all of those nuanced characters and just do justice to this on a macro and micro scale,” said Sarnoski (via IGN).

He also spoke about trying to find the right balance of telling a completely original story while still taking place in the same universe that was already depicted in the games. Through the movie, Sarnoski wants to make the world of Death Stranding more accessible to those who might not have already played the games, while also giving something new to fans of the series as well.

“We’re trying to find another story that you’ve never seen in this same universe that is both accessible to people that have never played these games before but will also give something to people that know the games really well,” Sarnoski explained. “I think finding that balance and finding a way to tell a human story in this world that captures everything that we love about it, as well as being able to stand on its own two feet, is really the goal.”

Kojima had previously spoken about the Death Stranding movie earlier this year, and noted that Sarnoski was a good choice for directing the adaptation, thanks to being smart and having good taste. During the same episode of his Koji10 radio show, he also said that it is going to be “an unbelievable and strange film”.

The movie adaptation of Death Stranding was first announced all the way back in 2022. It’s co-produced by Kojima along with Barbarian executive producer Alex Lebovici. Along with the two, Kojima Productions US and Allan Ungar serve as executive producers, with funding coming from Hammerstone Studios.

The involvement of A24 was announced back in 2023. The company is known for having produced critically-acclaimed movies across a wide variety of genres with films like Everything Everywhere All at Once, Uncut Gems, Hereditary and Midsommar.

As you wait for the release of the Death Stranding movie, check out our review of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which is available on PS5.

The event is slated to take place at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, Japan, on September 23. It can be attended in-person, with tickets being available from September 2 onwards on the official website. While not too many details about the event have been revealed, Kojima Productions has confirmed that it will last for approximately 2.5 hours, starting at 1 pm JST and ending at 3:30 pm JST.

The Beyond the Strand event is also slated to be livestreamed. Details about the live stream, however, will be confirmed at a later date, likely closer to the event itself, after tickets have been available for some time.

Kojima Productions is just a few months fresh off having shipped Death Stranding 2: On the Beach on PS5, and since then, the studio has been working on updates for the title, as well as its next projects. Kojima had also confirmed just last week that he was done penning the concept for a potential third Death Stranding game. However, he noted that he had no interest in making it himself, and that he wants someone else to develop Death Stranding 3.

In an interview, Kojima said that he was more interested in working on other projects because he saw the ending of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as a definitive ending to a story he started with the original Death Stranding.

“I have no plans to make that (DS3) at the moment,” he said. “Because the ending of Death Stranding 2 was my finale of 1 and 2. But, I already wrote the concept of DS3. So I have that in data. I hope that someone will create it for me.”

With Death Stranding 2: On the Beach in the rear-view mirror, Kojima Productions is turning its attention to its next titles: a horror game dubbed OD, and an espionage title dubbed Physint. Kojima had previously spoken about how Physint came into being, since fans had been asking him to return to a Metal Gear-styled espionage game at some point.

“Of course, I have lots of new ideas that I want to create,” Kojima said about working on Physint back in May. “But when I became sick during the pandemic, I realised that a lot of people wanted me to make something like Metal Gear. That’s when I had the idea for a new espionage game. I reflected and thought the idea was good.”

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is available on PS5. Kojima had noted that he has no plans for a DLC of the game. In the meantime, check out our review of the title. And if you’ve already finished it, here are 15 secrets you might have missed during your time with the game.

As caught by social media user Genki_JPN, Kojima considers the ending to Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as a finale for his time working on the franchise. However, he has written up the concepts for a third Death Stranding game in the hopes that someone else will make it.

“I have no plans to make that (DS3) at the moment,” he said. “Because the ending of Death Stranding 2 was my finale of 1 and 2. But I already wrote the concept of DS3. So I have that in data. I hope that someone will create it for me.”

This decision likely comes down to the fact that Kojima is also working on two other major game projects now that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has been finished – Physint and OD. The former is slated to be a stealth game and was conceptualised by Kojima because fans have wanted him to make something like a Metal Gear title since his exit from Konami.

“Of course, I have lots of new ideas that I want to create,” Kojima said about working on Physint back in May. “But when I became sick during the pandemic, I realised that a lot of people wanted me to make something like Metal Gear. That’s when I had the idea for a new espionage game. I reflected, and thought the idea was good.”

In February 2024, Kojima had also explained his decision to return to the espionage genre after having worked on Death Stranding since he left Konami. In an interview, Kojima mentioned that he first wanted to create a new IP to challenge himself, which led to the development of the original Death Stranding. However, after working on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, he has wanted to explore some of the new ideas he’s been getting.

“And since then, there have been a lot of new ideas. But in the last eight years, every day on social media, from users all around the world, people have been asking me to create another Metal Gear and stuff like that.”

While Physint is still some time away, with Kojima noting earlier this month that it was still in the “conceptual stage”, he is also working with Microsoft on horror title OD. While Kojima has previously noted that Physint is still five or six years away, questions about the status of OD came up after the recent round of lay-offs at Microsoft. The company, however, confirmed that OD is being worked on by Kojima Productions and Xbox, and that this collaboration is still ongoing.

OD was announced all the way back in 2022, and will star Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier.

That being said, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach isn’t just on another level – it’s several magnitudes more impressive. Both titles utilize Guerrilla Games’ Decima Engine, and while its technical features (and limitations) still apply to the sequel, the development team has pulled out all the stops to elevate the experience in every imaginable way. Without further ado, let’s dive into the graphical differences between each title and what makes the sequel stand out.

World Detail

While the first game saw players travelling a single country, it offered some unique environments and climates (leaving aside the otherworldly locations or tar-covered areas). The vegetation, fjords, waterfalls, and snow certainly stood out, and while the “post-apocalyptic Iceland” jokes remained relevant throughout, it was still an absolutely stunning experience. However, it should come as no surprise that Death Stranding 2 surpasses it in every single way.

There are two major locations this time around – Mexico and Australia – each with their own significant roles to play in the story. Kojima Productions highlighted the sheer variety well before launch and that’s all the more obvious given the different types of foliage, plants, water bodies, rock textures, minerals, and wild animals, and how much more detailed the textures are.

It would all be for nought if this didn’t significantly change up gameplay, but it feels like the development team really dug into the delivery aspect of the series and freshened up the kinds of routes that players traverse. Varying elevation and more uneven terrain are some ways, but there’s a greater emphasis on verticality. If you thought the original offered an unforgettable experience when it came to surmounting rocky peaks or gazing out on the landscape with all its potential nooks and secrets, Death Stranding 2 is on another level in scale, fidelity, and sheer realism (and that’s before accounting for the weather effects).

Lighting

Given the Decima Engine, there wasn’t much hope that the sequel would harness ray-traced global illumination or shadows, and so on. The lighting system is still fairly dynamic and intermingles with the new day/night cycle to mark the passage of time in a fairly realistic manner. The combination of more varied sky boxes, unique climate changes, and biome variety serve to illustrate the beauty of the lighting. However, it’s also apparent indoors, including Sam’s safehouse in the opening hours or when battling newcomer Neil in an otherworldly environment with sparklers and fireworks going off everywhere.

Character Models

Probably the most notable improvement that won’t be immediately obvious for those who haven’t played the original is the character models. Death Stranding’s characters already looked pretty incredible, especially when considering hair detail, skin, and material quality of clothing. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach improves every aspect across the board, whether it’s the skin textures – resulting in more defined blemishes, wrinkles and facial hair – or the more realistic hair physics.

The character models also look more detailed, especially with the fabric detail. The fact that all of this is enhanced by the improved lighting, coming across as more natural and human, is another feather in the sequel’s cap. It helps highlight the material quality so much more, whether it’s the worn-down leather of pouches or Dollman’s suit and hair contours.

Facial Animations

Kojima Productions has always been known for its best-in-class facial animations, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is no different. Cutscenes are, of course, where they excel the most, aided by the improved eye quality and skin textures. They bring out so much more of the characters’ personalities, making Fragile come across as that much more mysterious and Higgs even more unhinged (if the clown-like makeup wasn’t enough already). Once again, the difference may not be as explicit without comparing to the original, but considering all the nuances in expressions and how realistic everything looks without any sacrifice in fidelity, Death Stranding 2 is a phenomenal achievement.

Weather Effects

In terms of weather effects, Death Stranding 2 has its predecessor beat – surprise, surprise. Not that it’s a mark of shame against the original, as its depiction of Timefall and snowflakes was very well done, especially in how they react with the environment. The sequel retains all that and adds numerous new weather phenomena including sandstorms that realistically cover characters, vehicles and the environment in dust afterwards. Watching fires break out, the latter causing smoke to billow and rise while trees naturally crumble is also incredible. Fog and other volumetrics are also amazingly well done and combined with the lighting, present an altogether different atmosphere while maintaining the signature Death Stranding vibe.

Miscellaneous Details

For those who haven’t seen a single shred of gameplay to date, prepare to be blown away from the draw distance. It truly highlights the sheer scale of the environment, especially when there’s no hit to the level of detail (at least none on extensive scrutiny). As noted earlier, ray tracing isn’t utilized, not even for reflections on shiny surfaces or water bodies. Nevertheless, the sequel substitutes that with impressive usage of screen space reflections. Water physics is more realistic this time around, flowing naturally, especially during flash floods as waves tumble over each other (and Sam, if you happen to be caught in the torrent). Terrain deformation is another notable element of the gameplay loop, which can significantly alter routes and hamper exploration if you’re not careful. Watching an avalanche occur or a rockslide caused by an earthquake, with rocks realistically tumbling over each, generating dust along the way, is something else entirely.

Conclusion

Just when it seemed like the generation was absolutely tapped in terms of graphical fidelity, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach shows up and surpasses expectations, the largest being how significant the jump in its fidelity over the first game can be. Everything, from the character models and their expressions to the environmental variety and attention to detail; the intermixing of time of day, climate, and atmospherics with the phenomenal lighting; and the particle systems combined with terrain deformation make for a visually resplendent experience. The fact that it’s achieving all this on base PS5 at 60 frames per second is all the more impressive.

While the Decima Engine continues to impress, even after all these years, it’s incredible just how much Death Stranding 2: On the Beach can achieve in terms of fidelity, even without features like ray tracing. It’s not an absolutely spotless graphical showcase, yet for fans of the original, the evolution of the visuals and art direction is worth the price of admission alone and once again cements Kojima Productions as masters of its craft.