Death Stranding was visually arresting when it launched on PS4, taking Guerrilla’s Decima Engine and applying it in ways not explored by the studio’s Horizon series. With the sequel, Kojima Productions has yet again delivered a game that pushes boundaries visually, with some key enhancements on some of the engine’s improvements we’ve already seen in Horizon Forbidden West.
Death Stranding 2 crams a lot of detail into its gorgeously sparse open world, with Digital Foundry noting how high the image quality is and how far details stretch out before having to taper off to keep performance in check. It makes static images of Death Stranding 2 look pristine and almost life-like, with that illusion maintained in motion. Digital Foundry notes how impressive the various weather effects in the game are, with specific mention of how water physics have been improved on over Horizon’s implementation to account for more dynamic behavior for gameplay purposes. You can watch the full technical breakdown below.
In testing, Death Stranding 2 sticks to its two performance targets, staying locked to either 30 or 60 frames per second depending on the mode you chose on PS5 or PS5 Pro. Better yet, choosing performance mode on either console runs the game inside a 120Hz container on supported displays, offering more responsive inputs in tandem with the dependable performance.
Differences between Sony’s two consoles aren’t as stark as you might expect, with both aiming for 1440p outputs and using the Decima Engine’s own approach to upscaling to 4K. Digital Foundry notes that this causes some image instability on the original PS5 where the image looks cleaner on the PS5 Pro, perhaps thanks to the more powerful console sticking closer to a native 1440p most of the time.
The bigger differences are between the Quality and Performance modes on PS5, which Digital Foundry notes have enough of a gulf between them that players might prefer the lower framerate albeit shaper quality mode. On PS5 Pro, the difference between the two is so imperceptible that the publication suggests just sticking with the Performance mode.
Death Stranding 2 is out soon for players who have ordered the game’s Deluxe Edition, granting 48 hours early access before the game launches for everyone on 26 June. In GameSpot’s Death Stranding 2 review, writer Diego Nicolás Argüello notes that the sequel sticks too closely to its predecessor at times, writing, “This second iteration doesn’t feel as arresting as it mired in familiar story beats, a disappointing lack of friction, and an obsession with doubling down on the weaker aspects of Death Stranding.”
