Summary
The atmosphere and world of the originalDeath Strandingare one of the game’s most prominent features, but the exposition-heavy storytelling could be improved on inDeath Stranding 2. With a new storyline that hopefully doesn’t take so much emphasis on revealing the secrets of the past, the more in-the-moment storyline and the outlook to the future have more opportunities for theDeath Strandingstoryto be shown rather than being told.
One of the biggest improvements that the series could benefit from to enhance both the original andDeath Stranding 2is by revisiting Amelie’s long monologue on the beach. However, this is only one of many moments that would be better to be seen, by pulling perspective away from Sam in order to better flesh out these key moments in theDeath Strandingstoryline and lore.
RELATED:Death Stranding 2 Has As Much Clarity As Its Predecessor Did
Pulling the Perspective Away in Death Stranding 2
A great example of when the originalDeath Strandingshowed the story in one of its most compelling cutscenes is when the players are shown the flashback of how Fragile got drenched in Timefall. The cutscene not only focuses on Fragile and her struggles, but the rest of it shows players exactly how powerful the secondaryDeath Strandingantagonist Higgsis. This scene also shows where Fragile stands morally, having willingly run through Timefall in order to save South Knot City at the sacrifice of her own body, even if she admits to regretting the decision later.
This is exactly the type of thing thatDeath Stranding 2themesneed more of, by pulling away from the perspective character to tell other stories firsthand. The same can be said for the moments that Deadman is shown to be exploring the nightmares without Sam, as well as the clips of backstory that are given from the perspectives of Mama and Heartman. However, even those examples have their own moments where a character monologs their backstory for a while, telling Sam about their past as the player is forced to sit there and listen along.
With how many characters have complex backstories that the player is supposed to follow, these flashback scenes are a much better way to relay the information than with a handful of lines. Considering that Kojima Productions has already shown that the developer is more than capable of this, the problem might just be the scope of the largerDeath Strandingworld. With such a hugecast of characters inDeath Stranding 2, giving every single one of them fully realized flashbacks would be expensive and might pad out the runtime. Instead, maybe a different type of perspective swap could help tell the stories of these characters.
More Recovered Journals and Letters, and Less Direct Reports to Sam
Another way thatDeath Strandingexcelled at storytelling was through the messages and journal entries that could be sent to Sam or recovered through data drives. One of the more impressive of these stories told through text is the journaling received from Lucy Strand, Sam’s first wife who died while pregnant with their child. Over the course of her notes on Sam and private journal entries, the player can discover what actually happened to Lucy and gets a few hints that theBB players cart around duringDeath Stranding, Lou, could actually be their baby.
Even though these aren’t as exciting as Kojima Productions' iconic cinematic cutscenes, they can still be a much more interesting way of getting to understand the more minor characters that don’t have a huge impact on the main story. At the very least, these journals are much more interesting than getting an email from the Chiral Artist expositing about her rocky relationship with the Junk Dealer. So, this could be a way forDeath Stranding 2to answer some questionsin a way that had already been successful in the previous game.
Death Stranding 2is currently in development by Kojima Productions.
MORE:The First Game is Half the Battle for Death Stranding 2
