Imagine this: you’re trudging through the strange, beautiful world of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, pack loaded, rain falling, footsteps echoing through a lonely valley. You finally reach a boss fight—and it’s brutal. A few losses in, and instead of grinding it out for hours, the game offers you an out. But not just any skip button. Instead, it lets you experience the rest of the encounter through a vivid, storybook-style sequence of images and text, like flipping through a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. Only Kojima would turn failure into an art form.
This isn’t just some gimmick. Hideo Kojima introduced the feature on his KOJI10 radio show, and it’s all about giving players a choice. If you’re not into tough-as-nails combat, or you simply want to keep the story moving, you can opt out of a boss fight after a few game overs and still catch every emotional beat. The boss gets wrapped into the narrative instead of leaving you stuck on a screen that says “You Died.” It’s a thoughtful approach to accessibility and pacing—one that says, play your way.
Fans of the first Death Stranding will remember that it wasn’t really about action anyway. It was more about the quiet tension of traversing the terrain, delivering cargo, and feeling weirdly emotional while doing it. This sequel seems to be adding more action, sure, but the skip feature suggests Kojima hasn’t forgotten what made the original special. Want to go head-to-head with terrifying foes? Great. Want to just vibe through the story? That’s valid, too.
And it’s all coming together fast. Kojima said the game is about 95% complete—his metaphor being that it’s “10 PM” on a 24-hour development clock. Translation: June 26 is locked in as the release date for PlayStation 5. But that’s not the only thing cooking.
There’s a Death Stranding movie in the works, too—directed by Pig’s Michael Sarnoski and backed by A24. Expect eerie, beautiful visuals and probably a few things that’ll keep you up at night. Kojima is also thinking way ahead. He’s already talking about “phase two” of Kojima Productions. Phase one gave us Death Stranding and the mysterious horror project OD (which he’s developing with Jordan Peele and Xbox Game Studios). Phase two? It’s sounding like a return to his stealth roots, starting with a project called Physint, and yes, there’s even an anime on the way.
But for now, all eyes are on Death Stranding 2. More than just a sequel, it feels like an evolution—a game that doesn’t just blur genre lines but also invites players to bend the rules of how they play. Whether you’re trekking across surreal landscapes, dodging otherworldly threats, or just choosing to take a narrative shortcut, the game seems built to make your journey feel like your story.
So mark your calendar. June 26 is your boarding call for something strange, ambitious, and—if Kojima’s track record is anything to go by—deeply unforgettable. Just make sure your boots are laced tight.
Kojima's Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Will Let You Skip Boss Fights
Hideo Kojima is back at it with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and it’s already shaping up to be another wild ride. This time, he’s mixing genres again and throwing in a feature that’s as thoughtful as it is unexpected—if a boss fight gets too tough, you can choose to skip it after a few attempts and watch the outcome play out like a beautifully told storybook sequence. It’s a clever way to keep the momentum going without locking anyone out of the narrative. With the game nearly finished and Kojima Productions gearing up for an ambitious new chapter, this sequel looks set to deliver that unique blend of action, exploration, and accessibility that only Kojima can pull off. Mark your calendars—Death Stranding 2 lands on PS5 this June 26, and it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
