Although Death Stranding 2: On the Beach spices up the formula of its predecessor in a lot of interesting ways, the second entry in the series by Kojima Productions is still all about reconnecting a world that has been torn apart by the devastating Death Stranding. However, reestablishing the connection between different cities and shelters is only the beginning of the work Sam can do to bring people together, and the more effort you put into doing this, the more you are rewarded.
After connecting a city or a shelter to the Chiral Network, the Connection Level, represented with stars on the game's interface, will be at a very low level. If you only want to experience the game's story, you can easily ignore this mechanic and proceed from one place to another as the story dictates. However, if you want to expand the traversal and combat options at Sam's disposal, you will want to increase this Connection Level by completing Standard Orders, Aid Requests, and delivering Lost Cargo scattered all around. Doing so, however, can be hard work, so, are the rewards you get for maxing the Connection Level worth it? It depends on your playstyle.
By playing Death Stranding 2: On the Beach normally and mostly ignoring any side deliveries, you should have no trouble hitting at least Connection Level 3, which will usually unlock an upgraded variant of a weapon or tool unlocked after reaching Connection Level 2. At Connection Level 4, you will get another upgraded variant, which is usually a significant improvement over the Connection Level 3 upgrade. At Connection Level 5, however, you won't be getting anything substantial unless you are into cosmetics, as maxing out a Connection Level with most cities or shelters will reward you with a new Custom Hologram and Patches. In the case of Villa Libre in Mexico, The Lone Commander and The Pizza Chief in Australia, you will also get some additional rewards that aren't of the cosmetic variety, so it may be worth it to max out their Connection Level even if you aren't into cosmetics or unlocking everything the game has to offer.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
