Should we have connected?
– Tagline
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, is a video game developed by Kojima Productions, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. It was written and directed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed the first game. The game was officially announced during the TGA 2022, with a release window set in 2025 during the 2024 State of Play.
It is the upcoming second installment to the Death Stranding series.
Story[]
Characters and cast[]
In Death Stranding 2, Norman Reedus returns as Sam Porter Bridges, Léa Seydoux as Fragile and Troy Baker as Higgs. Elle Fanning as Tomorrow while Shioli Kutsuna has been cast as Rainy, with Tarman(George Miller) and Dollman(Fatih Akin) are also confirmed being part of the DHV Magellan crew. Deadman(Guillermo Del Toro) and Heartman(Nicolas Winding Refn) will also return.
Plot[]
The game will take place outside North America. It involves Sam expanding the Chiral Network as part of a private organization.[1]
Gameplay[]
- The game will feature real-time terrain change like floods, forest fires, and earthquakes.[1]
- Structures can be damaged and destroyed by the real-time terrain change.
- Sam can now put his backpack on the floor, which start floating like a carrier.
- The game will feature a Photo Shoot event where the player takes pictures that will be saved as a Polaroid, which can be viewed later, and the photos will have influence on the game’s story.[2]
Development[]
Initial phase[]
Already a month after the release of the first game, through his official Twitter account, Nicolas Winding Refn, who plays Heartman, publishes a rather intriguing twitter, with the text that reads only "Dear friend" and attached a photo depicting the director in the company of Hideo Kojima, on which we find the words "Heartman will return" written.[3] During an interview for LEO, Norman Reedus to the question "Okay, so you got the book going on, you've got the final season coming out, then the spinoff, and you're filming Death Stranding, the video game." he replied with “We just started the second one.”[4] confirming the production of the sequel. Immediately after Hideo Kojima publishes a tweet to "rebuke" Reedus even if in a joking tone.[5]
Teasing and reveal[]
During the Tokyo Game Show 2022, a teaser poster is published, by scanning a QR code present in the VR recreation of the Kojima productions offices, which bears the words "WHO AM I?" and showing a girl with long light hair and a face hidden by the dark, the image is later renamed 0XF7K4P59BX0 on the Kojima Productions website. The following month, via a tweet on Twitter, Kojima let it be known that “The answer to “WHO” at TGS will be in the next “WHERE.”[6] Later on Kojima published a second teaser poster, always showing a brown-haired girl with bangs and an obscured face but which bears the words "WHERE AM I?" [7] and a tweet that reads "The answer to "WHO" at TGS will be in the next “WHERE”. ”[8] The doubts about the poster "WHO AM I?" are dissolved at PAX Australia 2022 where, by scanning a QR code accompanying the poster, a photo of Elle Fanning is revealed with the caption "A Hideo Kojima Game x Elle Fanning." and with "threads" running down, the image is then named CA8M9GKX1P60 on the site. Throughout this period Hideo Kojima is engaged in remote motion capture sessions with the subsidiary in Los Angeles and video editing [9] [10] On October 8, Kojima tweeted Elle Fanning's 3D scanning session. [11]
On October 10, the actor Tommie Earl Jones, who plays Die-Hardman in Death Stranding, publishes the phrase on his Twitter account: "Something's coming! Are you ready? ”, maybe suggesting a possible return of his character.[12] Later on October 13 Kojima publishes a shot of a video call between him and Nicolas Winding Refn. [13] On October 20, Kojima tweeted that he met Indian director S.S. Rajamouli and with the occasion his face is scanned. [14] [15] In October 28th WOODKID, musician and creator of the theme for the trailer of the Director's Cut version of DS, is scanned. [16] On October 31, Kojima publishes a tweet with the words “From “WHERE” to “HOW” ” and attached an image with the same stylized icon present in the first poster “WHO AM I?”. [17]
On November 01, the Insider Gaming site find a hidden image on the Kojima Productions site where the actress of the poster "WHERE AM I?" is revealed, it is Shioli Kutsuna. The gif then reveals a second poster with the caption "HOW COME?" on a black background and below the logo of what looks like a marine creature. [18] News later confirmed with a tweet by Kojima of the actress's 3D scanning session. [19] At the end of November Kojima is in California, presumably in the KJP subsidiary, to follow the motion capture filming in which the actress Shioli Kutsuna is present. [20] [21] A few days later, Kojima publishes three logos, two of which have already been seen in the WHO and HOW posters, with the wording “Start a new journey ”. [22]
On December 7, the day before TGA 2022, Kojima published a tweet containing the two previous posters plus a third new one, with a face similar to Fragile, with the words ""WHO" "WHERE" "HOW" and now "WHY". ” [23] During the TGA 2022, Kojima officially reveal Death Stranding 2, stylized in DS2, with a reveal trailer that confirming the presence of Fragile, an aged Sam and also Troy Baker in the cast, although it is not confirmed that his character is again Higgs. [24] During is talk on the stage, Kojima did confirm that he wrote the story before and during the Coronavirus Pandemic, but as he humoursly said, he changed some of the story in the game to "not predict the future".
During the 16th Spotify Podcast of Hideo Kojima, Norman Reedus confirm that his mo-cap sessions for Death Stranding 2 are "just now starting" and Kojima also added that DS2 will feel "nostalgic" for fans of the original but also feel new for those who weren't, that the technology has improved a lot over the past 3 years with things are possible now that weren't before and that DS2 is "not just a regular sequel." [25]
Scanning and dubbing sessions[]
On January 10, 2023, CHVRCHES, the band who released the original song Death Stranding as the lead single of the album Death Stranding: Timefall for the first game, made visit to Kojima Productions, possibly hinting a new collaboration. [26] The next day the band have their faces scanned. [27] On February 13, Kojima is in London where he meets WOODKID [28], Lea Seydoux and Elle Fanning [29] for a series of dubbing sessions [30] [31] [32] at the Molinare Studio. [33] [34] On March 1, the Taiwanese director Kevin Ko, visit Kojima Productions, wich gift to Kojima a box art of his film horror film "Zhou" [35], during the visit he was scanned, confirming his "little part" in DS2 [36].
After the dubbing sessions, in April, Kojima is again in the U.S. with the entire cast, so far, for a series of performance capture shots.[37] [38] [39] In a later performance capture shots, in May [40], the participation of children [41] on the set suggests their presence in the game as well, whether as holograms, NPCs, or active characters is not yet known. Ludvig Forssell, ex-composer of KJP and now freelance, is also present during this session.[42]
On July 5, singer and songwriter Daichi Miura made visit to Kojima Productions and was scanned, hinting the return of the Musician or a new character.[43] [44] On September 14, a series of tweets confirm Yuji Shimomura as the director of action scenes [45] and the presence of Mamoru Oshii as an actor during a motion capture sequence. [46] On September 20, Kojima is again at the Molinare Studio in London, this time with Shioli Kutsuna and Lea Seydoux for another dubbing session. [47] In November 22, Kojima is again at the mixer machine, hinting the editing of a video/trailer. [48] On December 4, a few days before TGA 23, a Guerrilla Games team [49] and Hermen Hulst [50] made visit to Kojima Productions and gave Kojima a statuette of one of the Horizon's machines.[51] Two days later, on December 6, Kojima tweet in a plane above Los Angeles, with Geoff Keighley commenting with:"Safe travels wherever you are headed!", suggesting Kojima's presence at the TGA 23.[52] Unfortunately, although present at the conference, Kojima did not show any trailer for DS2 at TGA2023 but a teaser for OD, his horror title for Microsoft.
During an interview with Josh Horowitz, Elle Fanning, who play an unannounced role in DS2, reveal that she has done mocap sessions with both Léa Seydoux and Norma Reedus, and that Reedus is the "main guy", confirming that players will play the character of Sam in the sequel as well.[53] Through a post at the end/beginning of the year, Kojima reveals that DS2 still has some ADR, Automated Dialogue Replacement, left, and after this they will start recording Japanese voice overs", thus suggesting a very advanced state of work.[54] During the first State of Play of 2024, a new trailer is shown, revealing the game's full title, Death Stranding 2 On the Beach, showing new characters and the 2025 as a release window.[55]
Optimization and dubbing[]
On February 8th, a post on the X account of Ayako Terashima, the personal assistant of Hideo Kojima, reposted later by the japanese account of the game designer, show him playing the game on a PS5, confirming the return of the first person and the Odradek's compass, for testing purpose and to give directions.[56] In March 20, Nicolas Winding Refn visit Kojima Productions, and is photoscanned dressed also similar to Heartman, confirming his presence in the game.[57] In May, not only Norman Reedus visit the new office of KJP[58] but dubbing sessions for Kenjiro Tsuda and Nana Mizuki, the japanese voices of Sam and Fragile respectively, are also underway.[59]
During a radio broadcast on the Japanese network NHK, Hideo Kojima announced that the work on dubbing and motion capture is definitively concluded, also announcing that the development team will have to face a phase lasting about a year in which aspects such as the artistic direction, understandability, and gameplay will be optimized. He then focused on the reveal trailer for Death Stranding 2, underlining that it was important to immediately offer an overview of all the contents of the game, allowing a glimpse of both elements of the gameplay and the presence of old and new characters.[60] On May 28, Akihiko Ishizumi, the japanese voice actor of Deadman, visit KJP and take part in a ADR (additional dialogue replacement) dubbing session[61], followed by both Kenjiro Tsuda and Nana Mizuki.[62] Later, Tsuda take part to another session, this time with Satoshi Mikami[63], the japanese voice actor of Higgs, with Kojima with who, in a tweet, confides that he cannot yet reveal the other cast members[64]. While the dubbing sessions continue, both with Shioli Kutsuna[65], the voice actor of the Living Doll [66](called Dollman in the script) and the voice actress of Elle Fanning's character[67], Kojima not only post a game session, with the new HUD visible[68], but also a new "WHO AM I?" poster very similar to Kenjiro Tsuda.[69]
A later X post by Ayako, Kojima's personal assistant, show a first blurred look of DS2 ingame menus, and the interesting thing is that Sam activates the menu not with the Cuff links, but with a ring on his thumb[70]. Later, a new "WHO AM I?" poster, with a female figure similar to Nana Mizuki, is shown by Kojima, inting a reveal of the entire japanese cast.[71] Days later, Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan & Asia announced their lineup for the Tokyo Game Show 2024, confirming a special event titled PlayStation Presents Death Stranding 2 On the Beach Special Stage in the 29th September. During the panel, Hideo Kojima will be joined by som,e of the japanese cast members: Kenjiro Tsuda (voice of Sam), Nana Mizuki (voice of Fragile), Tomokazu Sugita (voice of Dollman) and Shion Wakayama (voice of Tomorrow), the composer Daichi Mura and Nicolas Winding Refn, to discuss the upcoming title.[72]
The following post of Kojima show him "check the gameplay, map, enemies, placing things, events, UI, graphics, sound, animation, VFX, cut scenes, scenario, how everything is connected, vibration, the rhythm of the game, hints" sending also notes to the various team members[73], a stage where he "connect all the parts" who will follow the "adjusting the total balance of the game → adjusting the processing load and adjusting difficulty levels→ debugging"[74]. A following post show a dubbing session of Shioli Kutsuna and a first look at her in-game character talking with Fragile.[75]
During the stage presentation on September 29's Tokyo Game Show, Kojima revealed a new photo mode called "Photo Shoot Event". He also revealed names and Japanese voice actors for some characters and the return of Heartman. The game will also feature an in-game dance performance by Daichi Miura, which can be triggered by performing a specific action in the Private Room. Kojima also confirm that the release date for the game has been internally decided, but couldn’t be announced during the presentation due to “unforeseen circumstances", and for this wil be revealed in 2025. [2] As the Japanese dub continues, Yū Kobayashi,[76] who in the past was the voice of Cécile Cosima Caminades in Peace Walker, joins the cast in an as-yet-unannounced role, playing alongside Kenjiro Tsuda.[77]
A member of the Death Stranding subreddit translate the dub recording sessions of Tomokazu Sugita, Dollman’s voice actor, wich reveal that the "Death Stranding is also now affecting non-human lives".[78] During the latest episode of his Clueless Gamer series, focused on Death Stranding Director's Cut and also featuring Hideo Kojima, host Conan O'Brien, already appeared in the first title as the prepper Wandering MC, asked the game designer if there was a small space for him too in his next game, and Kojima's response was: "If you visit our new studio, I want to scan you again, with better scanning technology, and have you in my new game!", an offer that O'Brien immediately accepts. Whether this means that O'Brien will return to the Death Stranding universe or appear in OD, the horror videogame in development for Xbox, is not yet known.[79] On November 27, a Kojima shows pages of Dollman's dubbing session with the word "Final" on them, suggesting the end, or final part, of the dubbing for the character.[80]
Gallery[]
Logo[]
Key art[]
Official screenshots[]
Trailers[]
References[]
- ^ a b GameRant – "Hideo Kojima Reveals New Detail About Death Stranding 2's Setting"
- ^ a b Kojima details Death Stranding 2 Photo Shoot event and in-game dance number
- ^ Twitter – "Refn tweet on Heartman return on DS2"
- ^ LEO – "Reedus confirm is role in DS2"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima reactiond to the Reedus interview"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima answer to WHO poster"
- ^ Twitter – "WHERE AM I?"
- ^ Twitter – "The answer"
- ^ Twitter – "Motion session 1"
- ^ Twitter – "Motion session 2"
- ^ Twitter – "Elle Fanning 3D session"
- ^ Twitter – "Die-Hardman return?"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima and NWR videocall"
- ^ Twitter – "S.S.Rajamouli face scan session"
- ^ Twitter – "S.S.Rajamouli face scan session 2"
- ^ Twitter – "WOODKID face scan session"
- ^ Twitter – "From “WHERE” to “HOW” tweet"
- ^ Twitter – "Insider Gaming find a new poster in KJP site"
- ^ Twitter – "Shioli Kutsuna 3D scan session"
- ^ Twitter – "Motion capture session with Shioli"
- ^ Twitter – "Motion capture session with Shioli 2"
- ^ Twitter – "Poster with three logos"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima publish a new poster a day before TGA22"
- ^ Youtube – "DS2 reveal trailer at TGA22"
- ^ Spotify – "Reedus mo-cap sessions"
- ^ Twitter – "CHVRCHES made a visit to Kojima Productions"
- ^ Twitter – "CHVRCHES are 3D scanned"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima in London with WOODKID"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima in London with WOODKID"
- ^ Twitter – "Dubbing session 1"
- ^ Twitter – "Dubbing session 2"
- ^ Twitter – "Dubbing session 3"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima at Molinare studio 1"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima at Molinare studio 2"
- ^ Twitter – "Kevin Ko at KJP"
- ^ Twitter – "Kevin Ko 3D scan"
- ^ Twitter – "performance capture shot 1"
- ^ Twitter – "performance capture shot 2"
- ^ Twitter – "performance capture shot 3"
- ^ Twitter – "performance capture shot 4"
- ^ Twitter – "children in motion capture suit"
- ^ Twitter – "Forssell and Kojima"
- ^ Twitter – "Miura with Kojima"
- ^ Twitter – "Miura 3D scan"
- ^ Twitter – "Yuji Shimomura and his team"
- ^ Twitter – "Mamoru Oshii motion capture"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima and Shioli in London"
- ^ Twitter – "MIX"
- ^ Twitter – "Guerrilla team"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima and Hermen"
- ^ Twitter – "Horizon's statuette"
- ^ Twitter – "Kojima above LA"
- ^ Youtube – "Elle Fanning on mocap sessions"
- ^ State of work on DS2
- ^ Death Stranding 2 On The Beach Launch Trailer
- ^ Testing the game
- ^ Refn scanning confirm Heartman in the game
- ^ Norman at KJP
- ^ Japanese dubbing session
- ^ [In Japanese] Filming and recording for DS 2 has finished.
- ^ Akihiko Ishizumi ADR
- ^ ADR session with Tsuda and Mizuki
- ^ Kojima and Satoshi Mikami
- ^ Mikami e Tsuda dubbing session
- ^ Shioli Kutsuna dubbing session
- ^ Dollman mission lines
- ^ Elle Fanning's character VA dubbing
- ^ Kojima play session
- ^ New "WHO AM I?" poster
- ^ DS2 in-game menus
- ^ Female "WHO AM I?" poster
- ^ KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS TO ATTEND TOKYO GAME SHOW 2024
- ^ Building the game
- ^ Adjusting phase
- ^ HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN (5 Sept. 2024). https://x.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/1831566126557581646
- ^ HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN (18 Oct. 2024) - With Yū Kobayashi.
- ^ HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN (18 Oct. 2024) - https://x.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/1847155126022377704/photo/3
- ^ r/DeathStranding (25 October, 2024). Japanese dub recording sessions continue with Dollman’s VA, the Death Stranding is now affecting non-human lives!
- ^ Team Coco (21 November 2024). Clueless Gamer: "Death Stranding Director's Cut"
- ^ HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN (27 November 2024). https://x.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/1861683758258376763/photo/3