Do you need to play Death Stranding 1 before Death Stranding 2: On the Beach?

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DS2 is fairly easy to play, but not easy to understand if you haven't played Death Stranding 1

Death Stranding 2
(Image credit: Sony)

Do you need to play Death Stranding 1 before playing DS2? Well, technically no, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Kojima's newest entry into his uniquely quirky science-fiction supernatural post-apocalyptic action sandbox and postman simulator franchise was never going to be a simple thing to understand, and those who are coming in without the context and foreknowledge of DS1 might find themselves somewhat at a loss before they start Death Stranding 2. That being said, there are things that the second game does to help get you on board, as well as some information that might help players who are at a loss before they play DS2.

Should you play Death Stranding 1 before 2?

Death Stranding 2

(Image credit: Sony)

You probably should play Death Stranding 1 before playing DS2: On the Beach, but it isn't completely essential. Death Stranding 2 has a built-in recap cinematic of the first game on the main menu that you can watch at any time, though to be honest, we found it was of limited use for actually explaining everything you need to know before going into the second game.

Hideo Kojima is infamous for weird and confusing stories that are often difficult to understand even at the best of times, and this truncated cinematic ultimately ends up skipping a lot of minor details that will turn out to be fairly important. So the end result could end up being a strange, hard-to-follow story made all the harder to follow by a lack of context.

Still, if you're happy to leap into the second game straight away and don't care about spoilers for the original, we have the Death Stranding 1 ending and story explained at the attached page, which might help you get to grips with what's going on. Death Stranding 2 also features plenty of explainers for important characters and aspects of the universe within the Corpus menu. These entries also don’t give you the full story, but can help you piece things together, and you’ll often be prompted to read an entry whenever something important or new is mentioned in a cutscene.

Death Stranding 2

(Image credit: Sony)

On a mechanical and gameplay level though, Death Stranding 2 isn't hard to play, even if you missed out on the first game. DS2 is actually pretty good at tutorialising mechanics and systems, despite the fact that it's fairly complicated, so those who are just in it for the delivery and combat gameplay should find it relatively easy to pick up, even if they haven't tested themselves in DS1. It's just the story that could use some more explanation.

Want to know more about the second game before you get stuck in? We've got all manner of helpful Death Stranding 2 tips and tricks for you to learn and master, as well as a guide on how to beat the deadly BTs in Death Stranding 2!

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

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