A recent image has been making the rounds on social media, comparing intergenerational graphics on PlayStation consoles. This isn't too uncommon, but this image in particular chooses to use Death Stranding 2 star Norman Reedus as the de-facto touchstone for graphical evolution over the years, showing images of him from three different games: one on the PS3, one on the PS4, and one on the PS5. As many have already pointed out at length, the differences are rather striking.
There's some uncertainty as to whether the "PS3" image is from The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct or The Walking Dead: No Man's Land, a mobile game. Regardless, the difference between Reedus' appearance in Death Stranding versus Death Stranding 2 remains notable.
As the image indicates, graphics have been evolving at a much more impressive rate than some may have realized. Does this photorealistic image of Reedus from Death Stranding 2 disprove all those who've decried the PS5 as being underpowered and underwhelming? Perhaps it's not quite at that point—precious few PS5 games, if any, look like Death Stranding 2—but it does certainly prove that PS5 hardware has the potential for mind-blowing visuals, at least. Just how mind-blowing such visuals are will require a closer, longer look at the latest games, and Death Stranding 2 is an obvious target for analysis.
Death Stranding 2 May Be Hiding a Fun Surprise in Plain Sight
Hideo Kojima loves a good cameo, and one mysterious character in Death Stranding 2 seems like a shoo-in for a surprise appearance.
Does Death Stranding 2 Set the Standard for Current-Gen Graphics?
Death Stranding's Gameplay and Structure Make It a Good Proving Ground for Graphical Fidelity
One difficulty with analyzing video game graphics is the vast assortment of different gaming experiences on the market. One might look at a choose-your-own-adventure game like The Quarry and immediately declare it as the best-looking game of all time, but this isn't taking into account the whole picture. While The Quarry is indeed visually impressive, it mostly consists of straightforward cutscenes or slow, highly reserved gameplay. The system's GPU doesn't have to worry about maintaining a strong framerate while rendering new entities or environments, and the CPU doesn't have to handle myriad, unpredictable player inputs or other dynamic in-game processes.
All of that is to say that, the simpler a game's mechanics are, the more bandwidth is available for photorealistic graphics, as it were. This is why Death Stranding 2 is so impressive: it is a massive open-world game with vast draw distances, NPC pathing, building mechanics, and online functionality; it has a lot going on under the hood, and still looks stunning. Perhaps this is why the online gaming community is starting to rally behind it as "the first PS5 game," as it looks, runs, and plays the way that many expected all PS5 games to look, run, and play.
Kojima games have a tendency to push current hardware to their limits: the Metal Gear Solid games of the PS2 and PS3 are no different, and are regularly hailed as the best-looking games of their eras.
What Does Death Stranding 2 Say About the Future of Video Game Visuals?
Death Stranding 2 was developed in Decima, Guerrilla Games' proprietary engine that is most commonly associated with the Horizon games. Horizon Forbidden West, released in 2022, is without a doubt one of the most visually impressive games ever, with realistic character models, detailed and expansive vistas, and whimsical VFX, and still, Death Stranding 2's graphics are significantly better.
Maybe this can be attributed to the fact that Forbidden West is a cross-generation release, held back by its PS4 compatibility, or maybe Kojima Productions employed new strategies to make Decima even more effective at rendering eye-candy. Whatever the case, it's clear that Decima is capable of more in 2025 than it was in 2022, suggesting that future games made using it, as well as games made using similarly strong engines, will look even better.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- June 26, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
Embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam—with companions by his side—sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected? Step by step, legendary game creator Hideo Kojima changes the world once again.
- Engine
- Decima
- Franchise
- Death Stranding
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- PS5 Release Date
- June 26, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
