Things have been quiet at Kojima Productions since the release of Death Stranding for PS4 and the subsequent launch by 505 games that brought the title to PC. This has some fans wondering if Kojima Productions is working on a Death Stranding sequel, either picking up directly after the ending of the original, or exploring the stories of other characters during the same time.
If this is the case and Kojima Productions is looking at continuing Death Stranding into a series, then there are a few critiques and requests that the sequel may need to address. Similarly, there are some natural improvements that a sequel can make as both gaming technology improves with next-gen consoles and PC hardware, as well as the capabilities with in the game world evolves.
Portable Music Player
One aspect that draws players to continue through Death Stranding is the licensed music that periodically plays at different times during the game and can be found to play in the private room. Unfortunately, there is no way to take any of that music with the player as they go exploring the world, which admittedly does strengthen the crushing sense of isolation the game presents. However, with one of the best soundtracks of 2019, it is strange that the game doesn't have a way to listen to all of that music that Kojima Productions had to pay for to put into the title in the first place.
More Vehicles
The vehicles are a strong point of contention for players, considering that they imply that they'll be able to trivialize some deliveries, but they also don't exactly move over unsteady terrain all that well. Combine this with the fact that most of Death Stranding's artful aesthetic is built around landscapes that have been reclaimed by nature or wreckage of bombed cities, and the available vehicles almost require roads to be built. So, a new focus on vehicles to give them a better give and take on which terrain they can travel across and how much they can hold as a result is an improvement a sequel should aim for.
A Risk/Reward System for Lethal Damage
So, there's a strange turning point that comes after reaching the first of Cliff Unger's war beaches, where the player is suddenly given the ability to kill enemies with the introduction of lethal weapons. However, as Kojima Productions writes through the gameplay, the lack of ludonarrative dissonance means that the player is heavily punished for killing enemies, but is given almost no reward for doing so. It's a positive in a storytelling sense, but leaves the player with all these weapon options that are really meaningless and could be explored further to give a stronger risk/reward factor for straight up murder.
Dynamic BT movements
The term "dynamic" has become a bit of a buzzword for gaming media, with the idea that dynamically generating things like enemy placements, item drops, or even the weather makes a world feel more lived in. In reality, it adds a level of RNG or randomness into a situation, which is intended to enhance replayability and make each encounter feel new and completely different from the last several. So, considering the way that Death Stranding's world is constantly evolving, adding some dynamic movement of the swarms of BTs could go a long way.
Improved Clearing of BT Territory
This doesn't necessarily need to go along with the previous entry, and would actually work best with the current system where BT infestations stay in specific places. There already is a system for clearing out BT Territory by destroying the Giant BT that can usually either be found in the center of the area or shows itself by attacking the player. However, while this will clear the area and allow the player to move through hostile territory in ease, it never lasts for very long, making it somewhat more difficult to enjoy these sections of Death Stranding's open-world without having to immediately run away.
Death Stranding is available now for PC and PS4.