Death Stranding 2has a lot of room to improve upon some of the first game’s more controversial aspects. As the first post-Konami title from revered director Hideo Kojima,Death Strandinghad a lot of expectations surrounding it and ended up really hit-or-miss among players due to its sparse combat encounters and heavy emphasis on world traversal. One areaDeath Stranding 2can improve upon from the original is its enemy variety and opportunities for combat by further fleshing out the MULE camps of the first game.
Combat, or lack-there-of, has been a major point of contention in the conversation surroundingDeath Stranding, as some feel the game is held back by its limited combat mechanics while others assert that combat doesn’t need to be the focus of the game. Thefollow-up toDeath Strandinghas the chance to build upon the mechanics established in the first entry to give a greater emphasis on combat, both from a lore perspective and a mechanical one as well. MULE camps in particular hold the potential to rectify this mechanic while also allowingDeath Stranding 2to expand its world and these groups' role in it.
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Death Stranding 2 Should Capitalize on the Potential MULE Camps Hold to Expand Its Gameplay and Lore
InDeath Stranding’s post-apocalyptic world, life hinges on the couriers who deliver necessary supplies across the fractured communities of the United Cities of America. As such, cargo is a hot commodity for certain groups, and bandits like the MULEs developed to ambush porters and steal their cargo. While not the primary antagonists ofDeath Stranding, the MULEs serve as an additional threat that Sam Bridges must face on his journey across the country, but their limited story role leaves the MULEs feeling like an underutilized element of the game.
From a gameplay perspective, MULE camps are a way for the game to explore its strand mechanic by allowing players to raid the camps to recover cargo stolen from other players and return it to their world. However, most MULE camps are fairly straightforward and require the player to either use stealth or engage in direct combat using the differentweapons available inDeath Stranding, clearing out the MULEs and collecting any stolen resources from the thieves. While gathering resources is useful, there isn’t much else drawing players toward MULE camps, and they’re often more of a nuisance than their worth.
A major wayDeath Stranding 2could overhaul MULE camps and give them more relevance to the game’s plot would be to treat them similarly to theYiga ClaninThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Despite not being the main antagonists of the game, the Yiga Clan has an entire mini-dungeon dedicated to them as part of the game’s main quest line.Death Stranding 2could do something similar and have players tackle a massive MULE headquarters, which could help develop them as a greater threat to the world and show their growth from the first game.
Improving combat to coincide with the increased presence of MULEs would also knock out another major complaint about the firstDeath Stranding.Even something as simple as giving players access toheavy artillery inDeath Stranding 2could add a new level to the game’s combat. While combat still doesn’t have to be the main focus ofDeath Stranding 2, making MULEs more of a threat and thus increasing combat opportunities alongside them would help diversify the gameplay and address the criticisms that the first game was too monotonous.
Death Stranding 2is now in development for PS5.
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