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Hideo Kojima debuts new Death Stranding 2 footage of the most detailed photo mode ever, more famous faces, and an Alan Wake 2-style musical number
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach reveals new gameplay footage at TGS 2024, showcasing characters, story elements, photo mode, and a bizarre music video, hinting at the game's unique blend of narrative and gameplay.
Hideo Kojima and Death Stranding 2's Japanese cast debuted tons of new footage from the upcoming open-world game, though it's all more lowkey than you might expect.
During Tokyo Game Show 2024, Kojima and Co sat down to share more about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach in a series of clips (re)introducing us to both new and old characters, giving us a brief glimpse of what looks like the most bonkers photo mode in existence, and debuting a strange music video that echoes Alan Wake 2's Herald of Darkness musical number.
#TGS2024PlayStation Presents “DEATH STRANDING 2” Special Stage!First public release of game footage.Part1: Dollman & Tarman Member Introductions.#DeathStranding2 pic.twitter.com/ci2QP57CbRSeptember 29, 2024
'Part 1' has a very colorless Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus) getting accompanied by Lea Seydoux's Fragile to meet an all-new character called Tarman, who's actually being portrayed by none other than Mad Max director George Miller. (We should've seen this coming from the way Kojima gushed about Furiosa.) And, remember that lil' puppet guy that everyone fell in love with in the last trailer? He was actually a spirit medium before he got stuck in his current adorable for - oh, and he really doesn't like being called a puppet.
#TGS2024PlayStation Presents “DEATH STRANDING 2” Special Stage!First public release of game footage.Part 2: Tomorrow & Rainy Member Introductions.#DeathStranding2 pic.twitter.com/ElGZ62zSEQSeptember 29, 2024
#TGS2024PlayStation Presents “DEATH STRANDING 2” Special Stage!First public release of game footage.Part 3: Heartman TGS2024 Special Video.#DeathStranding2 pic.twitter.com/F0QlEPC6DgSeptember 29, 2024
'Part 2' delves more into Elle Fanning's Tomorrow and Shioli Kutsuna's Rainy, who's carrying a child. Not carrying a child in those classic Death Stranding baby incubators - she's literally pregnant, which is a rare sight in this broken world. 'Part 3' then has Heartman, using the face of Danish film director Nicolas Winding Refn, showing off a fancy exosuit that lets him pop up from the ground like an inflatable tube man.
#TGS2024PlayStation Presents “DEATH STRANDING 2” Special Stage!First public release of game footage.Part 4: 'Photo shoot event' (Stuffed Cryptobiote also make an appearance).#DeathStranding2 pic.twitter.com/O3nrKcIvBWSeptember 29, 2024
And here's where things get interesting: Part 4, which has Sam whipping out a camera in the game's new photo mode. What makes the video above extra cool is that characters will pose and react to the camera in their face, even going so far as using the environment around them as props. I wonder how far this can be stretched, though. What if Elle Fanning's not in the mood for a photo shoot? Will she shove us aside? Oh, and you can even see Sam's reflection in one of the mirrors, which is a neat touch.
#TGS2024PlayStation Presents “DEATH STRANDING 2” Special Stage!First public release of game footage.Part 5: Dollman In-game Event Video. The music of Daichi Miura that appears in the video “Horizon Dreamer” will be available midnight tonight, September 30th [JST]. Enjoy!… pic.twitter.com/iDVc9SmmXESeptember 29, 2024
Finally, here's that Alan Wake 2-ish number I was talking about. Japanese pop star Daichi Miura apparently plays some kind of role in Death Stranding 2, and for some reason he has a strange music video with five Dollman back-up dancers. I legitimately can't wait for Kojima to try and contextualize this in-game, but for now, here's a sneak peek at the new song Horizon Dreamer.