Kojima Productions may be looking to continue Death Stranding, and fans are hoping for some improvements and evolution in the sequel.
Things have been quiet at Kojima Productions since the release of Death Stranding for PS4 and the subsequent release of 505 games that brought the title to PC. This has some fans wondering if Kojima Productions is working on a sequel to Death Stranding, either picking up directly after the end of the original or exploring the stories of other characters during the same time.
If this is the case and Kojima Productions is considering continuing Death Stranding into a series, then there are some criticisms and requests that the sequel may need to address. Similarly, there are some natural improvements a sequel can make, as both gaming technology improves with next-gen consoles and PC hardware, as well as capabilities in the gaming world evolve.
Portable music player
One aspect that draws players to continue through Death Stranding is the licensed music that plays periodically at different times during the game and can be found to play in the private room. Unfortunately, there is no way to carry that music with the player while exploring the world, which undoubtedly strengthens the overwhelming sense of isolation that the game presents. However, with one of the best soundtracks of 2019, it is strange that the game does not have a way to hear all that music that Kojima Productions had to pay to put in the title in the first place.
More vehicles
Vehicles are a strong point of contention for players, considering that they mean they may trivialize some installments, but they don’t exactly move over unstable terrain that well either. Combine this with the fact that most of Death Stranding’s artistic aesthetic is based on landscapes that have been reclaimed by nature or the remains of bombed cities, and the available vehicles almost require road construction. So a new focus on vehicles to give them a better give and take about the terrain they can travel on and how much they can sustain as a result is an improvement a sequel should aspire to.
A risk / reward system for lethal damage
So there is a strange turning point that occurs after reaching the first of Cliff Unger’s war beaches, where the player suddenly has the ability to kill enemies with the introduction of lethal weapons. However, as Kojima Productions writes throughout the game, the lack of playful dissonance means the player is severely punished for killing enemies, but receives almost no reward for doing so. It’s positive in the narrative sense, but it leaves the player with all these weapon options that really don’t make sense and could be further explored to provide a stronger risk / reward factor for direct kill.
Dynamic BT Movements
The term “dynamic” has become a buzzword for gaming media, with the idea that the dynamic generation of items like enemy locations, item drops, or even weather makes a world feel more inhabited. It actually adds a level of RNG or randomness to a situation, the goal of which is to improve replayability and make each encounter feel new and completely different from the last. So, considering the way the world of Death Stranding is constantly evolving, adding dynamic movement from BT’s swarms could take a long time.
Improved BT territory clearance
This doesn’t necessarily have to go along with the previous entry, and would actually work better with the current system where BT infestations linger in specific locations. There is already a system to clear BT Territory by destroying the Giant BT which can usually be found in the center of the area or shown attacking the player. However, while this will clear the area and allow the player to move through hostile territory with ease, it never lasts long, making it a bit more difficult to enjoy these sections of Death Stranding’s open world without having to flee from righ now.
Death Stranding is out now for PC and PS4.
