By Hideo Kojima has verified that Death Stranding 2 will incorporate more action than its predecessor in the most Hideo Kojima fashion possible.
The inaugural Death Stranding did include considerable action, but tossing containers of your urine and feces at goop creatures constituted a much smaller segment of the equation compared to the calmer aspects like navigation and delivery tasks. Kojima previously referenced Kobo Abe‘s novella Rope, which discusses the early tools of humanity, specifically the stick and the rope (with an excerpt being the very first thing you notice when you start Death Stranding).
In conversation with Edge, Kojima states, “I have a ‘stick and the rope’ theory… numerous games focus solely on the stick. Even in titles where players are connected online, everyone is just competing with the stick.” He further elaborates, “With Death Stranding, I aimed to create a game centered on the rope,” which is clearly felt in the original, discouraging players from engaging in combat as much as feasible.
Nevertheless, if the action-oriented trailer published earlier this year didn’t make it evident, Kojima has asserted that Death Stranding 2 will emphasize combat, informing Edge, “The sequel provides a balance between the stick and the rope.”
Given that dead bodies in Death Stranding would trigger a voidout (a colossal explosion creating a crater in the terrain) if not adequately dealt with, I’m curious to see how that gameplay element evolves in the sequel. If players will encounter combat against humans more frequently, will there be an increase in dead bodies to transport, or perhaps Kojima has decided they resolved that, who knows?