Death Stranding 2: On the Beach: New graphics technologies and improved accessibility

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach recently landed on PC: let's discover the new graphics technologies and improved accessibility compared to its predecessor.

There's no denying that the first chapter of Death Stranding, upon launch, split the community in two: were we playing a masterpiece, or a simple "Bartolini Simulator" ?

If we have to define the genre of Kojima's title, then it's best to do so without too many frills. Death Stranding is, to all intents and purposes, a courier simulator: those are the basics, and there's no denying it. You accept a job, transport the order from point A to point B, taking care not to damage it, and then receive a final evaluation.

The real question, however, is another: what has Kojima innovated in the classic and in some ways now stale structure of open worlds?

Death Stranding isn't a traditional open world; you don't simply run from one side of the map to the other in search of mission X or Y; every move, on foot or by vehicle, forces the player to carefully plan the safest and most efficient route to complete the delivery. Every slope, river, or rocky stretch becomes an integral part of the gameplay, turning the journey itself into a true challenge. All of this is interspersed with shooter sections against enemies and CAs and masterfully directed cutscenes, made even more believable by a top-notch cast and hyper-realistic character graphics created using motion capture.

The plot in brief: The United States of America has been wiped out by a cataclysm, spawning entities teetering on the edge of life and death. Sam Porter Bridges, the protagonist of this adventure played by Norman Reedus, known for his work on The Walking Dead, is tasked with delivering essential supplies to the now-isolated colonies and reconnecting them to the Chiral Network, a system capable of reconnecting the remnants of the American population.

Sam's journey, therefore, marks a profound sense of human reconnection that certainly also encompasses inclusion for gamers. So it's worth asking: to what extent and in what ways does it include players, including those with disabilities?

Accessibility in Sam Porter Bridges' Journey

Death Stranding 2, compared to the first game, takes a step forward in terms of accessibility, starting with the ability to skip boss fights. Essentially, if we're defeated, the game gives us the option to automatically win the boss fight by showing us, through images and a step-by-step narration, how the fight was handled.

This does not mean that for the most part, we will still have to deal with the gameplay which, as previously mentioned, is based on carrying orders. The first game, precisely at this stage , was more punishing, forcing us to walk slowly, balance our weight more carefully, and plan every meter of our route. In On the Beach, this mechanic is made less hostile through new gameplay features and improved mechanics that make it easier to avoid dropping our transport. Starting with the new options that allow players to adjust the pressure required for the triggers to function via a dedicated slider, thus reducing the input speed for the action to be executed. In terms of mechanics, however, the bokka exoskeleton, a device that improves the carrying of orders, undergoes a significant improvement compared to the prequel, allowing for greater stability, especially on more treacherous terrain and when crossing rivers ; as well as the Hovercar, a sort of cart suspended in the air and resistant to tipping over - both unlockable as you progress through the game - which also receives greater stability and control and stronger integration with exoskeletons and vehicles.

The APAS Update: The Skill Tree

A new addition to Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is the skill tree, which improves stats and technologies, allowing Sam to specialize in various gameplay mechanics, from combat to transportation. Specifically for transportation, there's a skill that improves the balance of equipped exoskeletons, and another that creates a sort of protective shield that limits damage from falling orders, effectively reducing stress for players with physical impairments related to fatigue.

Another improvement concerns the weapon and structure creation wheel: in the first Death Stranding, to keep it open you had to hold down the d-pad and navigate with the right stick. In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, however, a single-press toggle activation has finally been introduced, making navigation more convenient and less tiring.

As previously mentioned, the game is interspersed with shooter phases where we fight human and armored enemies. In the previous game, if you were grabbed and dragged by the latter, a gigantic explosion would trigger, leaving a huge chasm in its wake. At those moments, it was therefore impossible to remove your backpack during combat, resulting in the permanent loss of all your equipped items upon your "waking up." In this sequel, however, Kojima Productions introduces a major innovation: it is finally possible to detach your backpack and all its contents before entering combat, allowing the player to easily recover their equipment once the fight is over.

Of course, accessibility doesn't stop there , but it's also worth mentioning the auto-aim lock-on settings, the relative sensitivity, and a series of toggles to activate all those actions that require a long press, such as running, crouching, grabbing packages, and holding your breath.

Visual and auditory accessibility: a flaw that has persisted since the first chapter

While accessibility has been greatly improved in terms of motor skills, it's fair to ask how a big-budget Sony IP like this still falls short on the visual and auditory front.

The game interface does not feature any settings for improved readability: there is no color blindness setting and, given its predominantly blue color, it is difficult to read for tritanopic players , i.e. those unable to visually distinguish shades of blue from dark green as in this case, or yellow from pink or light gray.

There is no high contrast setting and no HUD magnification settings other than to enlarge the text from normal to laptop mode, but without fully configuring the size.

The audio section is also sparse: the subtitles have no features for the text background except the possibility of activating the speaking name and, again, the text enlargement from normal to portable mode.

The new graphics technologies introduced

Having concluded the section on accessibility, we cannot fail to mention the two new graphics technologies introduced in this sequel: the PICO (Progressive Image Compositor) upscaling technology and the introduction of Ray Tracing.

The Decima Engine's PICO upscaling technology, in addition to the existing DLSS, FSR, and XeSS, is available in the PS5 and PC versions. It achieves greater fluidity without compromising visual quality, and reduces computational load by lightening rendering. Simply put, the game is rendered at a lower resolution, and PICO technology "reconstructs" the image at a higher resolution, resulting in smoother gameplay and visual quality close to native resolution.

The other new feature in this chapter is the introduction of ray tracing in the proprietary graphics engine, available only in the PC version, which improves reflections and ambient occlusion, making the visual impact more consistent and realistic: softer shadows, more credible management of the lighting of foliage and atmospheric conditions such as rain, snow and desert storms are noticeably more immersive.

A great sequel in many ways

Ultimately, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach demonstrates how Hideo Kojima wanted not only to expand on the first game's formula, but also to make it more accessible and less punishing without betraying its identity. The improvements to motor accessibility represent a concrete step forward, reducing the various barriers present in the first game. However, there remain obvious limitations on the visual and auditory fronts, especially regarding the interface's readability, colorblindness support, and subtitle customization—aspects that today one would expect to see more attention from a Sony production of this magnitude. On a technical level, however, the title confirms the evolution of the Decima Engine thanks to the introduction of PICO technology and ray tracing on PC, capable of further enhancing an already impressive graphical component.