Fans anticipating Death Stranding 2: On the Beach can look forward to a new in-game tool designed to help them navigate the game’s potentially complex story and world.
Developer Kojima Productions has wisely incorporated “Corpus,” an interactive encyclopedia aimed at assisting players in making sense of the game’s intricate lore and narrative, building on the first game’s reputation for having a sometimes confusing array of terms and concepts.
Understanding the World of Death Stranding
The original Death Stranding introduced players to a unique and often surreal post-apocalyptic world. Set in a fractured America, players take on the role of Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with reconnecting isolated cities and settlements known as the United Cities of America.
The game features unconventional gameplay centered around traversal and delivery, set against a backdrop of supernatural phenomena, complex themes about connection, death, and the environment, and a narrative style characteristic of its director.
Hideo Kojima’s Distinct Narrative Style
Director Hideo Kojima is renowned for his distinctive storytelling approach in games. His narratives, spanning series like Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, are often characterized by intricate plots, deep lore, philosophical themes, and a penchant for introducing unique terminology and concepts that are central to the world-building but can sometimes be challenging for players to fully grasp immediately.
While this style is praised by many fans for its depth and originality, it can also lead to moments of confusion, making integrated in-game explanatory tools particularly valuable.
Corpus: An Integrated Lore Database
Recognizing the potential for complexity in the sequel’s narrative, Kojima Productions has introduced Corpus in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Inspired by the Active Time Lore feature in Final Fantasy XVI (a system praised for its effectiveness in helping players follow complex narratives), Corpus functions as a comprehensive interactive narrative database. It contains fleshed-out lore entries for various characters, story events, and includes a supremely helpful glossary of terms specific to the Death Stranding universe.
Making Sense of Complex Concepts
The first Death Stranding featured unique concepts and terminology that could be bewildering initially, such as the nature of BTs (Beached Things, invisible entities from the world of the dead), the Beach itself (a liminal space), the condition known as DOOMS, the mysterious substance called Chiralium, and the time-accelerating rain known as Timefall.
These elements are fundamental to understanding the world and its rules, but their abstract nature meant players often needed clarification. Corpus in DS2 is designed to directly address this by providing on-demand explanations for these types of complex terms and concepts as they appear in the narrative.
Keeping Track with ‘The Story So Far’
A particularly useful feature within the Corpus system is a tab specifically titled “The Story So Far.” This part of the encyclopedia provides straightforward summaries of the story scenes the player has recently watched.
It regularly updates its entries as new events occur in the narrative, helping players keep track of the plot’s progression and providing a concise refresher on key developments. The writer of the original article found this feature helpful throughout their playthrough, using it whenever they felt a moment of “befuddlement” after a cutscene.
Bridging the Gap: The First Game Recap
For players who may have played the first Death Stranding but need a memory refresh before diving into the sequel, Death Stranding 2 features a recap of the original game accessible directly from the main menu. This recap takes the form of a 17-page static slideshow narrated by the character Deadman. It provides a general overview of the primary story beats and summaries of the major players from the first game.
While a “nice to have” feature, the writer noted that this recap is likely most helpful for those who have already completed Death Stranding 1 or have at least read up on its plot, rather than serving as a sufficient standalone explanation for players coming into the sequel completely fresh. Those completely new might still find external explainers on platforms like YouTube more helpful for a deeper understanding of the world’s foundational elements.
Kojima Productions’ Commitment to Comprehension
By integrating tools like the Corpus encyclopedia and including a recap of the first game, Kojima Productions is demonstrating a deliberate effort to enhance player comprehension of the game’s narrative and lore. This move shows they are going out of their way to ensure that players can better grasp the complexities of the Death Stranding universe in the sequel.
The writer of the original article expressed gratitude for these additions, noting that based on the story moments they witnessed in DS2, the narrative promises to be “even more off-the-wall” than the first game, suggesting players will indeed “need all the help we can get to make sense of everything.”
Anticipation for Death Stranding 2
The anticipation for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is high among fans and the wider gaming community. The first game carved out a unique identity with its unconventional gameplay, thought-provoking themes, and distinct narrative style. Players are eager to see where Hideo Kojima will take the story of Sam Porter Bridges and the fate of this fractured world next, making the release of the sequel a highly anticipated event in the gaming news cycle for PS5 games.
Tools to Navigate a Complex World
The inclusion of the interactive “Corpus” encyclopedia and a recap of the first game in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach signifies Kojima Productions’ commitment to making the game’s rich, complex lore and narrative more accessible to players. These integrated tools, allowing players to get immediate context on confusing terms during cutscenes and providing summaries of recent events, aim to help players navigate the potentially even more “off-the-wall” story of DS2.
While the first game recap may be more suited for returning players, the overall effort to enhance comprehension ensures that both veterans and potentially newcomers (with some supplementary research) can better appreciate the depth of the Death Stranding universe as the game prepares for its launch on PlayStation 5 on June 26.
