Hideo Kojima worried Death Stranding 2 was too likable, so hold his hand when you tell him it just beat the original game on Metacritic and zoomed up to a 90 score

Despite Hideo Kojima's insistence that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach being beloved could be "a problem", some critics seem glad to love Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and its Metacritic is a big improvement from the original game.

Death Stranding 2 is officially releasing later this week on June 26, but reviews for the game have already dropped. Despite the first game being well liked in some circles, it was definitely a bit divisive as far as big Sony releases go. It ended up at an 82 Metacritic score, and that number got bumped up to just an 85 with the game's Director's Cut.

At the time of writing, Death Stranding 2 has blown past them both to nab a 90 on Metacritic – making it the fourth highest rated game of 2025 behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, and Split Fiction (it's also behind the two Zelda Switch 2 ports, which are first and second respectively, but shh). Although, Death Stranding 2 hasn't quite yet reached the highs of Metal Gear Solid 5, which sits at 93.

Oscar Taylor Kent gave the game 4 stars in our Death Stranding 2 review, saying, "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse – but it well serves series fans like me. Charmingly bizarre with its worldbuilding and spectacle, there's still a real sense of community as you bring the world online with other players at your side."

Elsewhere, there's been full marks from the likes of TechRadar (whose review I wrote) and Push Square, while on the lower end of things, GameSpot gave the game a 7 out of 10 and Restart Run gave it a 3 out of 5.

By Metacritic's metrics, there are no negative reviews at this point in time, of which the original had three, compared to Death Stranding 2's four mixed reviews, I'd say that's pretty good. Hopefully, Hideo Kojima isn't too bummed out to see how much people like Kojima Productions' latest game.

"I almost gave up": Hideo Kojima on looking into the abyss, Death Stranding 2's Australian setting, working with his idols, and connecting with koalas.