The announcement of Death Stranding 2 at the Game Awards was a welcome surprise for fans of Hideo Kojima and his latest blockbuster title. As the first in the newly-dubbed "strand" genre, the first Death Stranding saw players embark on a journey across a post-apocalyptic United States to connect remaining settlements to the Chiral Network, a communications network intended to establish links between isolated colonies. The reveal trailer for Death Stranding 2 ends with the tagline "Should We Have Connected?" which would seem to directly contradict the themes of the first game.
Despite this seemingly contradictory tagline, fans of the first game should be happy to see familiar faces return like Norman Reedus' Sam Bridges, Lea Seydoux's Fragile, as well as Troy Baker's villainous Higgs. As gameplay has yet to be shown, it's unclear how Death Stranding 2 will evolve the formula established by its predecessor. Those familiar with Kojima's previous work on the Metal Gear series can expect to see unique additions to the gameplay that are sure to tie into the "Should We Have Connected?" tagline.
Death Stranding 2's Tagline is the Antithesis of the First Game's Major Theme
With the goal of connecting the remaining colonies—called knots—of the new United Cities of America to the Chiral Network, Sam Bridges sets off with his BB, Lou, taking on requests for cargo delivery along the way. As players attempt to traverse a variety of harsh environments, they can construct tools such as ladders, bridges, and even vehicles to help make the journey easier. Part of what made this a "strand" game was the online functionality that allowed players to leave behind equipment for others to use on their journey or recover lost cargo from players in their own game.
All of these elements combined to create a theme around bringing people together to achieve a common goal. Connecting knots to the Chiral Network was supposed to help in rebuilding the country, and giving players the ability to asynchronously support each other on their individual journeys supported the message that one was not alone in the desolate, Timefall-covered wasteland. Now that Death Stranding 2 questions whether this connection was a good thing, it makes the first game feel cheap thematically. This feeling may dissipate once players get the chance to dive into this new story, but it takes some of the wind out of the game's sails right from its initial reveal.
How Death Stranding 2 Might Add a Twist on the Theme of Connection
Hideo Kojima is no stranger to dramatic twists across his myriad of critically-acclaimed titles. With how surprising the implications of this new tagline are for the first game's plot, it will be interesting to see how Death Stranding 2 spins this theme to fit its own story. Perhaps the Chiral Network was vulnerable to infiltration and has been corrupted as a result. This would be a cause for severing the connection so that other knots are not corrupted by a potentially catastrophic virus. As the world of Death Stranding teeters on the edge of another extinction event, it is very possible Sam will be called on again to prevent a cataclysmic outcome.
It's important to note that the game is still under a working title, meaning the final name could change to better suit the themes of its narrative. If the game really is going to focus on breaking the newly established connections of the Chiral Network, perhaps a title like "Death Severed" would be more appropriate. The return of the villain Higgs could also have implications for the game's theme as he was left stranded on the beach at the end of the last game. Perhaps his return could signal that the game will be titled "Death Survived" and follow the theme of survival during an ongoing extinction event. Whatever the final title may be, it is certain to invoke intrigue among fans as most Kojima titles do.
Death Stranding 2 is now in development for Playstation 5.
