SCORE: 5 / 5 Story: 5/5 Absolutely amazing. The story is not a mystery that needs unveiling. It's rather linear, apart from flashbacks and memories that appear to the protagonist when he ignores a lesson he was taught before, which is lovely storytelling in my opinion. The writing is amazing, and every quest seems to have a morale if you're willing to reflect on it. Visuals: 5/5 The graphics are phenomenal - and I don't mean that the game looks hyperrealistic, which it doesn't. But the lighting, the colors, the details on katana and armor are absolutely gorgeous.. the way the trees, grass and flower petals move in the wind, UGH. it's a constant eye-gasm. The whole game is so cinematic too, even sheathing your katana after a kill looks amazing. Soundtrack: 5/5 Every track sounds like it was created for a movie from one of those big Hollywood companies.. paired with the cinematics, they create pure epicness. Gameplay: 4.5/5 I had so much fun and absolutely fell in LOVE with this gem, which is why I completed the whole map. So just assume I loved everything else that is not listed here! For the rest I'm going to be nitpicky, hence the 4 stars. I personally felt that the enemies were using too many unblockable attacks in a row. Many of your best skills need you to hold a button to charge up the attack or create a chain, which was hardly ever possible. If you stay too clcose, they hit you and send you flying. If you're too far away, you won't hit them. If you don't manage to do a perfect dodge, you roll too far away from them and by the time you run up again, the use a strong attack once more. Even if you use the correct stances religiously, they can interrupt any of your attacks apart from the super special ones, which are limited. Groups were hardest for me. Guy runs up, I select the correct stance, he dodges, other guy runs up with a different weapon, so I select the new stance and attack, then the next guy runs up.. Ugh. And then, the Stand-Off camera.. oh my god. If there is a tree or an NPC I can't see the enemy.. how am I to know when to attack then? haha. Enjoyment: I repeat, I did everything I could in the game, so... I loved it! Difficulty: I intended to only do the main stuff, started it on Normal and the battles against bosses got too easy. I switched it to Hard for the rest of the game, the bosses were still easier than mobs of enemies for me. Hard Difficulty absolutely ruined the Stand-Offs for me, I loved them on Normal, then the time window was impossible for me hit :( Sadge. Audience: I'd say 16 and above. Grind: You can ignore everything that is not main-story, but it will become harder I assume. For every quest and mini-game you'll see what the reward is (charm slots, more HP, new armor, resources etc) so you can decide for yourself. I usually don't like grind, but in this game it didn't feel like a chore, I enjoyed it a lot to find all the POIs on the map and improve my character. Bugs: Nothing I'd genuinely call a bug.. more like minor glitches. Replayability: The story is always the same apart from the literal ending. You can make a save right then and there and immediately see the alternative if you chose to. You can approach enemy camps as either samurai or ghost.. But for some main-quests, a certain way is decided for you. So you can see and do everything in one thorough playthrough if you wish to! Now I'm so excited to see Ghost Of Yotei!

SCORE: 4 / 5 Story: 4/5 The story was good and very impactful. It offered fun, drama, induced fear and made me cry for many reasons, especially in the end. Compared to the story of the first game, I have to say, it was quite predictable and most plot twists were pretty obvious to me from the start. Since theorizing about the mysterious plot was one of my favorite parts of DS1, I missed it here a tad. Visuals: 5/5 Bloody gorgeous. Everything from textures, lighting, facial expression, skin texture.. it almost looked real, even on a regular PS5. Insane! Soundtrack: 4/5 The music was really awesome and helped portraying the emotions that were intended for the scenes. You know when you can barely keep the tears in and then the music kicks in? Yea. I give it only 4 out of 5 stars because almost everything was copyrighted, without an option to mute these tracks, and some of these would have blocked my videos in some countries. BIG no. Gameplay: 4/5 They introduced some new vehicles, weapons and gear that were very fun. The UI was simplified and thankfully didn't require tons of confirming anymore. Movement across the world felt very smooth, as the terrain was more traversable, even without highways. I LOVED the hikes! In combat Sam felt a bit sluggish, despite the rudimentary "dodge" it offered. Aiming with guns sadly felt bad to me. Slightly touching the analog stick and the camera moved across the screen. I got the "Aim Assist" APAS enhancement, which helped on still standing enemies, but having to aim, un-aim, aim again on moving targets. Adjusting the sensitivity only worked for a bit, after an Update it was awful again. You might say it's a skill issue, but I never had any problems in games like TLOU, RE, RDR2 and others. So... I dunno. Enjoyment: Apart from the aforementioned aim, I LOVED playing this game so much! Difficulty: I didn't do any sub orders or build highways at all and had very few moments in which I struggled to progress, only towards the end, and that, again, was due to the aim. 😂 Audience: Death Stranding 2 doesn't feature gore, blood or nudity, but I'd still suggest it for adults due to the complexity of the story. Grind: Not necessary to progress, but there are plenty things you can do if you'd like to! Bugs: I had absolutely none. Replayability: Same as the first game, I don't see myself replaying this game, since the story won't change. How did you like Death Stranding 2: On The Beach?