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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be one of the biggest video game releases over the summer, coming six years after the original. Death Stranding 1 is a phenomenal title if one’s into the core delivery gameplay loop. It feels incredible and satisfying to get Legend of Legends ratings in those timed delivery missions with only seconds to spare. However, after platinuming both the base game on Windows PC and the Director’s Cut on Xbox, practically back to back, I noticed a core balance issue with the game.
Death Stranding is known for its delivery gameplay. It seems very much like a hiking game, but once the Truck is unlocked, especially the Long Range version, the game becomes a trucking simulator. The Truck can go practically anywhere and removes the point of most game mechanics. Death Stranding 2 can’t carry over the most unbalanced aspects of the original.
Death Stranding’s Truck Can Get You Anywhere
The “One-Size Fits All” Vehicle
Once a player unlocks the Truck, it becomes the method of travel for around 85 percent of the game, and only 85 percent because of the enemy encampments. The best Truck, the Long Range Lv. 3, has great battery life, and one can still make the S ranked timed delivery from the Timefall Farm to Lake Knot City, even driving through the lake to get to the road at South Knot. Speaking of roads, they’re a must to build and make the Truck so much more viable. However, the battery is far from the only positive.
Using Trucks is a lot more efficient than doing anything else.
The carrying capacity of Trucks is enormous. With the amount of stuff to carry, including premium deliveries that take up over 1,000kg, they’re the only viable way to finish those missions. The real kicker is that they can go anywhere, minus some chasms. One would think the Truck can’t possibly get around the snowy mountains near the bottom left of the game map, but they would be wrong. With enough grease, these Trucks can drive all the way up these mountains, and it’s absurd. Sure, it can be difficult, but the player can save anywhere, minus enemy encampments.
Just save before driving through a BT area or climbing up a mountain, and if it doesn’t go well, reload the save. Using Trucks is a lot more efficient than doing anything else. Frankly, the game should restrict the player to only autosaves during missions, like Metal Gear Solid 5, but it’s understandable why that would be frustrating to many. Playing GOTY contender Blue Prince showed me the value of not having a save option, and the game would be ruined if one could cheese it like Death Stranding.
The Overpowered Truck Needs To Be Rebalanced For Death Stranding 2
Make Other Traversal Options Viable
It might not seem like an overpowered vehicle is a big issue, but it is when it removes the point of dozens of game mechanics and items Death Stranding has to offer. I’m sure Kojima would prefer more variety in what the player’s doing, and that should be fixed in Death Stranding 2. Look at the 2008 Xbox 360 classic Ninja Gaiden 2, for example.
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After Watching Death Stranding 2’s New Trailer, I’m Convinced There Won’t Be A Death Stranding 3
Death Stranding 2 just dropped another ten-minute trailer, and I’m convinced more than ever before that this will be the first and only sequel.
One of the biggest issues the game developers noticed about Ninja Gaiden 1 was that nearly everyone used the Dragon Sword most of the time. It was the best weapon in the game by far, so Team Ninja stepped it up and made possibly the best arsenal of weapons in any action game ever in Ninja Gaiden 2. Death Stranding should follow suit.
The game should make all the vehicles viable and useful for certain terrains. I’m still really excited about Kojima’s newest project, and I plan on pre-ordering it, but a refinement like this would make Death Stranding 2 an even more legendary sequel.
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