Last Updated on Oct 21, 2025 @ 9:59:13 AM.
Death Stranding 2 is not far away, with its release coming in less than 10 weeks, and with it, a slow trickle of marketing information and details about the game is beginning to be revealed. During a recent appearance on the Koji Pro radio broadcast, Hideo Kojima had a surprising revelation surrounding his upcoming title’s boss battles, and it may be a net win for accessibility options, of a sort.
Hideo Kojima’s and difficult boss battles are synonymous with one another, with many pointing to various hard-to-beat bosses in the Metal Gear franchise as proof he enjoys making everyone earn their progress, but with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, that looks set to change.
Hideo Kojima is Pushing the Story, Not Just the Gameplay
During his appearance on the aforementioned radio broadcast, Hideo Kojima mentioned his different approach towards boss battles. Now, if you happen to die at the hands of a boss, you’ll have a third option on the Game Over screen besides the normal Continue and Quit choices. This third option will allow you to move past the boss battle without having to actually beat them, and instead, show the battle in a series of images and text descriptions.
With accessibility in gaming being an incredibly important part of the discussion in modern game development (and rightly so), it’s good to see this sort of out-of-the-box thinking being implemented, especially in a narrative-heavy game like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, where gameplay generally takes a backseat to the story unfolding.
Whether other developers and studios take this on board and make it a mainstay throughout gaming is yet to be seen, but when portions of gameplay could be skipped and replaced with a graphic-novel-esque looking sequence, it does beg the question of why more aren’t already doing things like this. After all, if you don’t want to skip it, you won’t have to, and if you do, there’s no shame in it either.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released on June 25th, 2025, exclusively on the PS5.
UPDATE: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has long since been released, and once again, to critical acclaim, just like its predecessor. Not everyone was a fan of the boss battle option, though, with many criticising it as a way to get around gaming in the latest video games.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, take a look at the reported news of two classic Call of Duty titles hitting Xbox Game Pass, or how Spider-Man Brand New Day could be a net win for Insomniac’s Spidey universe too.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
