With the announcement ofDeath Stranding 2at the Game Awards, many fans of Hideo Kojima’s first post-Metal Geartitle were delighted to hear that it would be receiving a sequel. Much speculation around how the sequel will build upon the gameplay of the original has already begun to circulate with many fans hoping combat plays a much larger role this time around. The final scene of the reveal trailer forDeath Stranding 2shows the return of Troy Baker’s Higgs—leader of the Homo Demens and primary antagonist from the first game—sparking hope that a more robust combat system will be implemented in order to take on this returning threat.
The bulk ofDeath Stranding’s gameplay focused on traversing harsh terrainacross a post-apocalyptic landscape while trying to deliver cargo and connect the surviving cities—or knots—to the Chiral Network. Along the way, players would encounter some combat scenarios involving groups of cargo bandits called MULES and the occasional face-off against Higgs' Homo Demens terrorist organization. But the sparse chances for combat were made even more sparse by the way players were incentivized to avoid combat and protect the cargo when possible, leading many players to lament the lack of worthwhile action beyond boss fights.
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What Higgs' Presence in its Reveal Trailer Could Mean for Death Stranding 2
Players of the first game will already be familiar with the terrorist organization known as Homo Demens and its leader, Higgs. InDeath Stranding, Higgs led the faction against Samand his quest to unite the Knot Cities using the Chiral Network using his ability to summon BTs. Throughout the game, the player will encounter Higgs as an obstacle to completing their task, at one point even tricking Sam into delivering a bomb to South Knot City by disguising himself as a member of Bridges. Most often, Higgs won’t face the player directly but will instead summon a large BT creature for players to fight or leave the Homo Demens to do the dirty work for him.
Theending ofDeath Strandingleft Higgs strandedon the beach after his final confrontation with Sam. How he managed to escape and reunite with the Homo Demens is yet unknown, but it will likely mean Higgs will be even more desperate this time around as he seeks revenge and could point towards a greater emphasis on combat and more aggressive, unavoidable enemies. The new look for Higgs and the Homo Demens as shown in the new trailer forDeath Stranding 2sees a much more heavily armored group, suggesting this might indeed be the case.
Death Stranding 2 Might Be a More Combat-Focused Game than its Predecessor
Although combat did exist inDeath Stranding, it was not nearly frequent enough or robust enough for many players' liking. Usually reserved for boss fights, the game tended to discourage engaging in combat during most of its missions with anemphasis on planning routes around MULE-infested areasto reach Sam’s destination. It was possible to craft weapons should the player catch the attention of the MULEs or come face-to-face with Higgs and the Homo Demens, but combat felt rather clunky and rudimentary—especially if the player was loaded up on cargo.
While thedirector’s cut ofDeath Strandingadded new optionsfor combat, it didn’t improve the fact that the game was never designed to be combat-heavy. This could be rectified inDeath Stranding 2if the game changes up the gameplay at its core. The tagline “Should We Have Connected?” suggests a radical change from the first game as its core themes heavily focused on connection and its gameplay supported this. If this idea is now being challenged in its sequel, it’s likely that the core gameplay will change drastically as a result. Whether this means a greater emphasis on combat is still yet to be seen, but the way Higgs was highlighted at the end of the reveal trailer suggests this to be the case.
