Believe it or not, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has a Pokemon mini-game, and it’s as hilarious as you’d expect. No, it doesn’t break any gameplay rules or anything like that. It’s a deliberate design choice by Hideo Kojima to introduce this fresh mechanic in a strange but impressive way.
As I continued my journey through Death Stranding 2: On the Beach’s post-game, I began hunting what the legends call “The Lord of the Tar Lake.” This massive leviathan caused a huge and unfortunate voidout in Southern Australia, covering the entire area in deep tar.
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+ 3To fight this beast, I needed to capture another Beached Thing (BT) from the northern regions to lure the Lord out of hiding. I was going to use it as bait. To do that, I had to weaken the enemy BT and throw an EX Capture Grenade into its mouth to capture it. Yeah, you can already tell what game inspired this.
Moving on, after capturing that BT to use as bait, I now had the means to pull the Lord of the Tar Lake out of its sanctuary. And that’s when I realized this game is even crazier than I thought.
click to enlarge+ 3Sam Porter Bridges does a familiar Pokemon-style summoning pose, and from the deep tar, my captured BT emerges, ready to throw hands. What caught me off guard was that, despite being an obvious Pokemon reference, a tune starts playing that feels eerily similar to the Godzilla theme. I was grinning from ear to ear. That’s when I realized this was Kojima’s way of sneaking in a Godzilla reference through a Kaiju vs. Kaiju battle, cleverly disguised as a simple Pokemon-style fight.
Before you ask, no, it is not a turn-based experience. Rather, my BT is fighting another BT in a hilarious and cinematic experience. Watching my BT, Delphi, get devoured by the Lord of the Tar Lake was epic. Then I saw the majestic leviathan, my Moby Dick, rise from the tar waters. It took me about 20 minutes to slay it, and after the battle, I was met with a stunning sight: clear skies and a single Torii gate standing in the center of the lake.
click to enlarge+ 3Since then, I’ve grown fond of this new “Pokemon-like” minigame in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. I’ve started searching for more BTs to capture so I can summon them to take down other massive threats in my path.
This is such a weird gameplay mechanic, and it’s not even essential like delivering cargo or building roads. It goes far beyond what Death Stranding 2 needs to be, and it was a totally unexpected but welcome surprise. Who would’ve thought that a supposed “walking simulator” like Death Stranding would end up having a hilarious Pokemon mini-game?
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