Compare Death Stranding 2: On the Beach vs Absolum

Accessibility-adjacent options, especially boss skips and a more accessible sequel structure, are treated positively by reviewers who mentioned them.

Accessibility was a strong point thanks to assist settings and damage modifiers, with some online limitations noted.

Enemy AI is a repeated weak spot, with reviewers noting it is not especially sharp even when combat remains fun.

AI behavior received limited but positive support for enemy responses that punish careless play.

The only clear aiming criticism was the absence of gyroscopic aiming, despite the game pushing ranged weapons more heavily.

Animation quality is strongly praised through motion capture, character animation, and facial/body performance work.

Animation quality drew strong praise for smooth, expressive motion and lively character/enemy animation.

Art direction is strongly praised, especially the detailed vistas and rugged depiction of Australia.

Art direction was one of the strongest consensus positives, repeatedly described as gorgeous, striking, or beautifully stylized.

Atmosphere is a major strength, ranging from meditative and haunting to warm, strange, and emotionally resonant.

Boss design earns frequent praise for spectacle and improvement, though some reviewers found bosses simple or out of place.

Boss design ranged from memorable and mechanically strong to harshly criticized for an instant-kill final-boss gimmick.

Bug frequency was limited but mixed, with one pre-launch freeze fixed and another reviewer reporting several bugs.

Character development is praised where reviewers saw Sam relying on others more and the sequel deepening characterization.

The cast/character roster is widely praised as excellent, quirky, memorable, and performance-rich, with a few mixed views on newer characters.

The character roster was praised for distinct heroes, but some reviewers wished there were more than four playable characters.

Class balance had limited mixed evidence, with at least one broken build described as trivializing the game.

Co-op was usually praised as fun and easy to access, though reviewers wanted more than two players and noted balance limits.

Combat is widely seen as tighter and more viable than before, but several reviewers still found it basic, intrusive, or less compelling than traversal.

Combat was the clearest strength, with reviewers repeatedly praising its feel, depth, combo freedom, and beat-em-up fundamentals.

Community features receive strong praise for likes, shared structures, monorails, roads, and the sense of helping unseen players.

Dollman’s companion role is strongly praised for scouting, advice, and personality, making the journey feel less lonely.

Reviewers praise expanded tools, weapons, boots, and unlockable options, making the sequel feel broader than the first game.

Content variety was praised for new encounters, paths, and discoveries, though some reviewers still wanted more areas or variation.

Controls are mostly praised as more refined, smoother, and less cumbersome, including PC input support, with only minor complexity caveats.

Controls were generally praised as responsive and fluid, especially with a controller, with only a few platform or precision caveats.

The delivery loop is often called addictive, satisfying, and more approachable, with dissent focused on repetition rather than the basic loop itself.

The core loop was often described as addictive and replay-friendly, though a few reviewers found the loop slowed by structure.

Dialogue quality is mixed, with one review praising clarity while others complain about long or nonsensical speeches.

Difficulty balance is one of the more divisive areas: some praise fair harder settings, while others say combat, BTs, or traversal became too easy.

Difficulty balance was mixed, ranging from adjustable and fair to overly grind-dependent or punishing in co-op.

Vehicles are praised for handling better and arriving earlier, though several reviewers felt driving can trivialize the hiking-focused identity.

Resource balance is mixed because plentiful building materials make construction smoother but also reduce challenge.

Emotional impact is usually strong, driven by sincerity, human stories, and moving payoffs, but not every reviewer felt affected.

Endgame content was a recurring concern, with reviewers describing it as thin, anticlimactic, or lacking meaningful progression.

Enemy variety is mostly praised for new forms and loadouts, but at least one review felt bandits and BTs were too familiar.

Enemy variety was usually positive, with several reviewers praising distinct foes, while one found variety lacking.

Environmental detail is consistently praised for texture, variety, visual density, and natural effects.

Environmental detail was praised for highly detailed locations and memorable, secret-filled areas.

Exploration is strongly praised for making Australia exciting, scenic, and rewarding to traverse, especially when routes and vistas click.

Exploration was a major positive, supported by alternate routes, secrets, handcrafted spaces, and reasons to revisit paths.

Facial animation evidence is uniformly positive, with reviewers highlighting detailed faces, capture, and rendered human contact.

One reviewer praised the sequel for preserving the franchise’s heart and soul while expanding its systems.

Fast travel is useful and convenient through the Magellan and waypoint systems, though some restrictions and grading tradeoffs remain.

Frame-rate stability is consistently positive, with reviewers citing smooth 60fps, high PC frame rates, and handheld stability.

Frame rate stability was usually praised, especially 60 FPS reports, though one Switch review noted occasional drops.

Fun factor trends positive, with many reviewers calling the sequel more fun, though some still did not personally connect with it.

Fun factor was very high overall, with many reviewers calling the game addictive, joyful, or a favorite.

Reviewers generally describe the broader mechanics as substantially refined and more approachable, though one review found the gameplay disappointing despite the spectacle.

Reviewers praised the mechanical depth and expressive systems, especially once combos, rituals, and enemy responses opened up.

Graphics quality receives near-universal acclaim, with reviewers repeatedly calling it gorgeous, stunning, or among the best-looking games on PS5/PC.

Graphics quality was praised for hand-drawn detail, strong locations, and appealing fantasy presentation.

Grind level is rated positively by one reviewer who felt the game can be enjoyed at the player’s own pace without grinding.

Grind level was one of the most common complaints, though a few reviewers felt it avoided becoming a total grindfest.

Handheld play is viable but compromised, with Steam Deck running at low resolution while ROG handheld play was issue-free.

Handheld suitability was positive, especially for Steam Deck and Switch, despite small-text and co-op screen caveats.

Haptic/DualSense integration is praised as highly immersive through controller feedback, speaker use, and adaptive triggers.

Haptic feedback support received limited praise for selective controller jolts reinforcing hits.

Horror tension is mixed to weak because BTs can still feel tense, but several reviewers say the sequel reduces their fear factor.

Immersion is strongly praised, with reviewers describing effortless absorption and deeply lingering experiences.

Immersion was praised when reviewers felt pulled into the magical world and its escapist atmosphere.

Reviewers praise the sequel’s inventive systems, unusual world, and a gameplay structure that few other games attempt.

Innovation was praised where reviewers felt Absolum advanced or changed expectations for the beat-em-up genre.

The main noted learning curve is movement weight, which takes adjustment before it becomes satisfying.

The learning curve can be frustrating early, but reviewers said mastery and focused builds make the game more rewarding.

Level and environment design is praised for being more thoughtful and confident in how it leverages traversal.

Level design earned praise for criss-crossing paths and route variety rather than a purely linear brawler flow.

Load times receive a perfect single-review score for near-seamless transitions between menu, cutscenes, and gameplay.

Lore support and depth are praised through the Corpus encyclopedia, which helps handle the dense terminology and proper nouns.

Map and navigation design gets strong praise from the Route Simulator and more convenient route planning.

Map and navigation design was praised for making routes and playthroughs feel meaningfully different.

Menu usability is improved overall, especially radial menus and reworked menus, though some still found systems fiddly or clunky.

Menu usability received positive support for sleek, easy navigation.

Mission design is mixed: reviewers liked forward momentum and variety, but some criticized forced backtracking or insufficient challenge.

Mission structure worked best when story events and run transitions surfaced naturally during exploration.

Mission variety is praised for fresher cargo conditions, hazards, and delivery setups, though some reviewers still noted simplification.

Movement and hiking retain a distinctive physical weight that many reviewers loved, even when vehicles reduce how often players need to walk.

Movement feel was split: some found it exceptionally fluid, while others struggled with 2.5D positioning and precision.

Asynchronous multiplayer is one of the clearest strengths, making players feel connected through structures, roads, likes, and shared effort.

Narrative quality is highly divisive: many praise the story as memorable and emotional, while others find it muddled, messy, or unsatisfying.

Narrative quality split reviewers: some enjoyed the world and evolving story, while others found the plot bland or slow.

Onboarding is praised for clearer instructions, a stronger opening, and a better job of pulling players into the systems.

Online stability had limited evidence, but one co-op review reported no crashes or bugs during Steam play.

The open world is repeatedly praised as varied, beautiful, and more densely interesting, with Australia seen as a stronger setting than before.

Originality remains high, with reviewers praising bold creativity, even as some say the sequel is safer than the first.

Originality received positive support for its fresh beat-em-up and roguelite hybrid approach.

Pacing is mixed: many reviews praise improved mission or story momentum, while others call the narrative slow, muddled, or filler-heavy.

Pacing was praised by some for compact run lengths and momentum once the systems clicked.

Performance optimization is praised across PS5 and PC, including smooth performance mode, strong PC scaling, and polished port work.

Performance optimization was positive overall, especially on Steam Deck and Switch 2, with some Switch caveats.

Platform-specific support is excellent in cited reviews, covering deep PC settings, controller support, and full DualSense implementation.

Polish is praised through refined systems, a smooth PC port, and an almost flawless technical presentation.

Polish was widely positive, with reviewers calling the game polished, crafted, and high-quality despite design caveats.

Progression is praised for faster unlock pacing and more forgiving advancement that keeps deliveries rewarding.

Progression was the most divisive system: some liked the steady growth, while others felt it over-relied on grinding and numbers.

One reviewer found Sam especially well cast and suited to the game’s semi-silent protagonist role.

The playable leads were generally appealing, with reviewers highlighting fun fantasy archetypes and standout characters.

Fetch-style questing remains a pain point for one reviewer, who found ferrying boxes back and forth exhausting.

Quest design was divisive, with some side-quest gating and RNG requirements described as tedious.

Replay value is supported by one reviewer eager to return for more missions after finishing the story.

Replay value was highly divisive: many found it addictive and varied, while others felt repetition and forced replay hurt it.

One reviewer praised the sequel for letting individual playstyles feel legitimate through its expanded systems.

Supporting characters are often praised for nuance and memorable moments, though one review felt they were underused.

Skill-tree and APAS-style systems are praised for rewarding playstyle choices and allowing situational re-specs.

Social features are praised where likes and player feedback create a warm, positive network of encouragement.

Sound design is very highly rated for immersive environmental audio, rain, wind, footsteps, and overall atmosphere.

Sound design was praised for punchy hits, crunchy feedback, and strong audiovisual pairing.

Soundtrack quality is strongly praised, from licensed tracks to Ludvig Forssell/Woodkid scoring and emotionally timed music.

The soundtrack was a standout strength, repeatedly described as excellent, phenomenal, varied, or among the year’s best.

Stealth is broadly praised as deeper, more flexible, and more fun, with many reviewers comparing the expanded toolkit favorably to Kojima’s stealth legacy.

VR Training/tutorial support is praised as both useful and fun for refreshing mechanics.

Upgrade systems are praised for flexible perks and incentives that help tailor traversal, stealth, and combat approaches.

Upgrade systems offered build variety and experimentation, but reviewers split over random, temporary, or underwhelming upgrades.

User interface design is praised for thoughtful fictional UI and a radial menu that makes road management easier.

User interface design was mostly fine but received a handheld-specific caveat around small text and lack of font scaling.

Value for money was positive in the limited evidence available, with reviewers calling it inexpensive or good value.

Vehicle roster evidence is limited but positive, with one reviewer praising the usefulness and variety of vehicles across missions.

Visual effects are praised as incredible, with weather, landscapes, and special effects repeatedly singled out.

Visual effects were praised for making spells, explosions, and combat impacts engaging.

Voice acting is one of the strongest consensus positives, with performances frequently called excellent, memorable, or world-bringing.

Voice acting was mixed, with several reviewers praising performances while others found some delivery weak or uneven.

Weapon balance is mixed to weak, with several reviewers calling Sam overpowered or finding many weapons redundant, despite some praise for variety.

World-building is praised as bizarre, imaginative, and distinctive, though one review criticized gaps in cultural representation.

World-building was widely praised for its magical setting, history, culture, and lore hooks even when the main plot lagged.

Dynamic weather, terrain hazards, and reactive routes add life and variety, though one critic felt some additions gesture at depth without enough substance.

World interactivity stood out when player actions produced new dialogue, events, enemies, and persistent changes.

Writing quality is split sharply, ranging from career-best praise to criticisms that the script and finale do not land.