Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 332 sampled Steam reviews (313 positive / 19 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing33% mention it
- Visuals & art13% mention it
- Music & audio11% mention it
- Combat11% mention it
- World & exploration6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing63% mention it
- Visuals & art26% mention it
- Grind & repetition21% mention it
- Combat16% mention it
- World & exploration16% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
91%
11 reviews
5-15h
96%
26 reviews
15-40h
94%
69 reviews
40-100h
93%
150 reviews
100h+
96%
76 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 90 | 200 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 95% | 90 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 91 | 750 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 92% | 86 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Apr 29, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 4458 total reviews in window · weighted 215.1 up / 19.2 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (248)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“Sure, it gets weird, sometimes confusingly so, but Death Stranding 2 also delivers a gripping, thoughtful experience full of memorable moments, clever mechanics, and emotional highs. It's strange, beautiful, messy, and it's one of Kojima's best works yet, a truly worthy successor to the original.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Death Stranding 2 presented a complete story and crafted it with a human message of very high value, putting all doubts to rest regarding the previous installment through noticeable improvements, and succeeded in its attempts to attract a new audience to the series. With a unique gameplay style that combined traversal, delivery, and combat, which was documented in the previous part's leaks despite the clear update, especially in boss fights within a vast and beautiful world for traversal and delivery. However, it is exhausting and tiring at times. The showcase of the Decima engine technology provided the best presentation of Death Stranding thanks to the prominently featured graphics, which is a strong indicator that the formula presented in the series may be an exceptional experience in the current generation.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Death Stranding 2 is a fascinating yet conflicted sequel. Unafraid to slow down, reflect, and stir emotion, but too often at the cost of frustration and recycled mechanics. It refuses to pander, save for the promise of story continuation, stellar cast, and an evocative soundtrack. But before expanding its world, it should have focused more deeply on refining its gameplay, because the magic of the first game can’t be relived twice.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Death Stranding 2 can feel like a disappointment at times as the unique magic of the first game fades, but it's still an incredibly well constructed piece of art from Kojima Productions”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It's practically the same game as six years ago, but with a different plot and significantly reduced difficulty. Early access to transport simplifies everything, and those who didn't like the previous game because of its slowness will feel more comfortable here. But next time, such a trick is unlikely to work, and you expect something more interesting from Kojima than just a repetition of what has already been done.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Sam Porter Bridges returns in Death Stranding 2, a more spectacular, ambitious, and accessible adventure that makes it clear that Hideo Kojima continues to live up to his own legend. It's a fantastic title that offers action and infiltration as only Hideo Kojima knows how, but also drama and tension. And not just from the script, but when a snowstorm or thunderstorm breaks out in the middle of a delivery. The level of immersion is overwhelming, the hours fly by, and it invites you to keep playing.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Even with all of Kojima’s peculiarities and deficiencies as a storyteller on full display, the energy, heart, and soul of Death Stranding 2 are undeniable.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“The PC version of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is undoubtedly a success, and I wouldn’t hesitate to call it the best port Sony has ever created. The game runs smoothly even in the most demanding scenes with ray tracing enabled, and I didn’t encounter any crashes or bugs. Add to that the new content and support for widescreen monitors, and you get a port that’s anything but commonplace these days. Some players might be surprised by minor details, such as holding your breath with the Alt key, but this is just a minor quirk that you can easily change. Nine and a half out of ten.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“But there's a genuine creative argument driving every aspect of the game, that might not convince everyone, but it's enough to make you curious. It's enough to make you look and engage with ridiculous ideas. They're far less ridiculous than our reality.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Death Stranding 2 takes everything the original did and does it better. More polished, more focused, more ambitious and far easier to follow. It revitalizes the genre it helped pioneer in truly spectacular fashion. Its greatest and arguably only flaw is that it still isn’t for everyone, but this time, it broadens its appeal significantly. And if it resonates with you, there’s a good chance you won’t just like it - you’ll fall in love with it.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Death Stranding 2 doesn't have to be perfect, but it is exceptional as a game and a sequel. It's hard for me to point out any real flaws. I played like a haunted person, looking forward to the next scenes. This is a complete experience - much bigger, better, more dynamic, much more interestingly conceived and varied compared to the previous installment.”
read full review ↗ - 93
“But between its engrossing central loop and genuinely brilliant conclusion, it delivers an affecting mixture of grandiose and heartfelt. Together, it allows you to say something rarely true about big budget games these days, or honestly, most blockbuster media: there’s very little else like it.”
read full review ↗
Gamepressure
Eternal Games
INDIANTVCZ
Raider King
3DNews
La Orden del Pixel
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Gadgets 360
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
Paste Magazine…and 236 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.9Jun 11, 2026
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.8May 28, 2026
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.6Apr 29, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.5Apr 23, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.4Apr 17, 2026
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH is now Steam Deck verified!Apr 9, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.2Apr 2, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Patch 1.1Mar 26, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH - PC Hotfix 1Mar 21, 2026