Death Stranding 2: On The Beach was already a great game on PS5. I reviewed Hideo Kojima's sequel in Pro last year, and was impressed by the realistic character cast and incredibly detailed open world. Everywhere I looked there was an excuse for Sam Porter Bridges to stop and stare, or open photo mode and spend too long taking pictures of the surrounding scenery.
When it comes to depicting realistic environments and characters, the Decima engine may be the most advanced video game technology in the triple-A space today. The game's heroes feel like they can pop out of the screen and touch you. That's okay, as long as you're not the creepy tar ghost that calls this post-apocalyptic world home. And now Death Stranding 2 is coming to PC much earlier than expected, with a port that surpasses its already stellar visual experience on the right hardware.
After spending the last few days exploring early Mexican locations on PC, I'm tempted to see this second installment follow through to the end on graphical brilliance alone. This is a highly optimized port that takes all the strengths of the PS5 version and improves upon it further.
How does Death Stranding 2: On The Beach run on PC?
Created with the help of veteran studio Nixxes, this port is highly optimized. Considering how smoothly other Decima Engine games like the original Death Stranding and Horizons play on PC, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Whether you have a graphics card and CPU from a few years ago on a flimsy SSD or a top-of-the-line rig, On the Beach appears to effectively bend to whatever you throw at it.
For context, here are my specs for output at 1440p resolution at maximum settings:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D
- GPU: RTX 5070
- ram: 32GB
Not only was this setup able to max out every single setting, but it was also able to take advantage of the new and improved ray-traced reflections and lighting that wasn't present in the PS5 original. You'll be warned about the potential impact these features may have on performance before you enable them, but we were still able to maintain solid frame rates even after turning on all the extra settings.
The PS5 Pro was challenging in terms of resolution and performance, but the PC version makes the world even more beautiful. Each new comparison surprised me more. The foliage density of the initial jungle environment was greatly improved, and as the frame rate increased, I could appreciate how the plants swayed in response to Sam's movements, or the arachnid chiral creatures jumping around in fear as I got closer. It's a big improvement over an already impressive experience, and the draw distance was even better on the smaller 27-inch OLED display.
If you're playing this sequel for the first time and need a narrative catch-up, you'll find a summary in the main menu, just like the PS5 version.
There's nothing more thrilling in Death Stranding 2 than finding a large observation deck with a view of the vast landscape that awaits you, whether or not you're already connected to the Chiral Network. I love looking at my creations when I've spent hours building a complex network of monorail tracks and roads, knowing that thousands of players will soon be using them. The PC port allows you to experience the experience all over again, giving each moment new life. I don't use a 4K display to game on my PC, but I have no doubt that my computer will easily be able to deliver consistent 4K/30fps or better.
What's most impressive, and one of the things we haven't been able to replicate before when playing PlayStation exclusives on PC, is the speed of loading times for titles like Horizon Forbidden West and Marvel's Spider-Man. Death Stranding 2 may be the first game to deliver that brilliance with ease. Once you're in the main menu, you can take control of the game in less than a second after it's loaded. I don't know what kind of magic makes this possible, but if you want to get a quick delivery before lunch, you can jump into the current play quite easily.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach also plays great with mouse and keyboard.
I've always played Death Stranding with a controller, and I was often struck by how the weight on Sam's back and the balance needed to keep him from falling into the nearest ravine could be felt through my fingers pressed firmly into both shoulder buttons. When playing with mouse and keyboard, you can achieve the same effect by pressing both mouse buttons to achieve the same feel. Each hand/shoulder is controlled by a single button, allowing you to quickly and easily shift balance in response situations.
You can get a PlayStation-themed jumpsuit and patch by linking your PSN account and accessing Trophy Support. It only takes a few seconds and is worth a try.
Once you're more familiar with the controller layout, managing your inventory and equipping tools during traversal or combat will take some getting used to. But if you want Death Stranding 2 to offer a slightly different challenge when you jump into it for a second run, this is definitely one way to do that. But if you are a new player, I would experiment with both methods to decide which one is right for you. For me, I think the extra immersion that the DualSense controller provides will always win in games like this.
While I can't yet provide a comprehensive technical analysis of what's right and wrong with the PC version of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, I can say that it does a great job on my system that's far from top-notch. Kojima Productions and Nixxes are known as masters of optimization when it comes to porting projects like this, and this is probably one of their most accomplished efforts to date. It's so amazing to play and watch that it's tempting to embark on this epic and moving journey all over again.
