Being simultaneously insanely janky and insanely immersive, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a super realistic medieval experience that somehow also feels like a spiritual successor to Oblivion.

On one hand, Death Stranding 2 expands greatly upon the gameplay loop of the original to a fun degree, but on the other hand, it is a redundant mess that uses spectacle to distract from some poor design and narrative choices.

Besides the expectedly long introduction chapters to get the story rolling, the game practically throws you into the world with a lot of tools already at your disposal, and your arsenal of gadgets quickly grows further. The world is a large sandbox, full of the toys left by others and opportunities to make an impact of your own. Whether you're sending surplus supplies, forming routes with ziplines to ease the deliveries of other porters, or setting up jumps to launch your hoverboard off a mountaintop, the world feels interconnected and free.

It is immensely entertaining to navigate around the world, but with how easy it is (and how you are immediately armed as well as a minor member of NATO), the actual deliveries lack that distinct satisfaction from the first game. The terrain is never too rough to require the use of tools, humanoid enemies might as well be armed groups of toddlers, and you honestly have to let yourself be caught by BTs to encounter them. This can be resolved by not using the equipment you unlock, but naturally, you want to try out the new things you get, and the difficulties of the world do not scale accordingly. This is disappointing, but not a deal breaker due to how much fun can be had when getting creative.

However, the deal breaker is the redundancy in both the dialogue and the story. Netflix series often have dialogue that explicitly states what the characters are doing or feeling at any given time, catered towards TikTok brain-rotted slobbering troglodytes who are scared to commit their brains to more than one thought at a time. Death Stranding 2 has exactly that. You are constantly bombarded by the crew stating and even restating the obvious. Die-Hardman did the same in the first game, but Dollman takes this to the next level and by the end of the game I was praying that Higgs would tie him to a bottle rocket and blow that little ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up.

In regard to the narrative, Death Stranding 2 retreads a lot of the ground the original covered, but to a shallower degree. Melodrama is expected in a Kojima game; it is part of his style, but the story lacks the substance needed to make it endearing, and thus it's less-than-tolerable. The themes are there, but when shrouded by bloated dialogue, cringy choreography, and some poor acting, they lack the desired punch. The story set-pieces are insane stylistically, especially with how graphically advanced the game is, but with the context around them often being weightless, it's hard not to see them as attempts to distract from the poor writing. The only forgivable example of this is the ending, partially because Troy Baker runs circles around most of the cast and steals the show whenever on screen.

I really wish there was a mixed option for reviews, as my feelings for Death Stranding 2 flip-flopped a dozen times while playing, and they may change again as I think about it more. It's fun and a lot of the time that's good enough for a game, but as someone who really enjoyed the experience of the first one, this did not live up to my expectations.