Death Stranding 2 sets a new standard for video game graphics. Norman Reedus finally looks like himself.

Norman Reedus has been in a lot of video games, from his role as Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead games to his upcoming collaborations with Hideo Kojima, which started with the failed Silent Hills. For years, I've seen a problem that keeps coming up: developers have trouble getting Reedus's unique visage quite right. His characters always looked alike, but there was always something a bit odd that kept them from being truly realistic in digital form. But now that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is out, I can state with confidence that this game has finally gotten Norman Reedus's appearance just right, setting a new visual benchmark for the industry.

It's hard to argue that video game technology has come a long way, especially when it comes to modeling characters. This jump isn't just about making things better in general; it's about how Reedus seems so real in Death Stranding 2. This is a huge deal since it illustrates what the newest consoles can really do. It also shows how hard Kojima Productions works to push the limits. The level of detail makes it much more interesting to play as Sam Porter Bridges, and it makes me feel more connected to the tale and its universe.

Norman Reedus's Digital Evolution Shows How Much Gaming Has Changed

The journey to realism took a long time, from PS3 to PS5.

It's evident that Norman Reedus has gotten better at video games over the years, but the last step in Death Stranding 2 is still amazing. His first video game role was as Daryl in The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct on the PS3 in 2013. The character was too thin and sickly-looking, and his hair was cropped shorter than usual. It was a model that everyone knew, but it wasn't really accurate.

The playable teaser PT for the canceled Silent Hills on PS4 was the first time he worked with Kojima. Reedus seemed more like himself here, but there were still some small mistakes. Maybe his nose was too straight, his cheekbones weren't pointed enough, or his eyes were too piercing. The first Death Stranding came out later in the PS4's life cycle. The model was right, yet it still looked like it was made by a machine.

The change is now complete with Death Stranding 2. The in-game model of Sam Porter Bridges seems so convincing that it's hard to tell it's not real. The artist has made every detail, from his hair to his wrinkles and even the pores on his face, look quite real. No other games from the same generation have as much detail. It shows how strong the base PS5 hardware is and how good Kojima's team is at making games. The difference is so big that older versions look like "Halloween masks" next to this one.

Hideo Kojima's Vision Goes Beyond What You Can See

Kojima's dedication to face-scanning is a revolutionary idea.

Hideo Kojima has always had a unique way of making games, and his dedication to employing face-scanning technology for his characters is a big part of what makes them look so good. People quip that Kojima "scans" every actor or famous person he likes into his games. Death Stranding 2 looks so good because of this technology and the Decima engine, which was made by Guerrilla Games and is best known for its use in the Horizon series.

Death Stranding 2 is much more impressive than Horizon Forbidden West (2022), which was previously thought to be one of the best-looking games because of its realistic character models and complex settings. This could be because Forbidden West came out on more than one generation of consoles, which may have slowed it down on the PS4. Or maybe Kojima Productions developed new ways to make the Decima engine work better so that the visuals are even better. For whatever reason, it's evident that the Decima engine can do more now than it could a few years ago.

The fact that Death Stranding 2's graphics are so good is even more amazing because of how big the game is. It's not a straight, uncomplicated experience. This is a huge open-world game with huge draw distances, complicated NPC pathing, complicated building systems, and the ability to play online. There is a lot going on "under the hood," but it still looks great. This is why the gaming world is started to call it "the first PS5 game" that really meets the console's graphic standards. Death Stranding 2, like all of Kojima's games, pushes the bounds of hardware. This shows how amazing the PS5's graphics can be.

Why Norman Reedus's Realism Is Important For The Future Of Video Games

It's not just how it looks; it's also how it connects with players and pulls them in.

The photorealistic picture of Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges is more than simply a technical show-off; it really changes how the player feels about the game. When a character looks almost like a real person, it makes the story more immersive and makes people feel more connected to it. This level of realism makes the story more powerful in a game like Death Stranding 2, where the plot often deals with themes of human connection, loneliness, and the emotional toll of living in a world after the end of the world. I care more about Sam's journey, his problems, and how he interacts with other people like Fragile (Lea Seydoux), Tomorrow (Elle Fanning), and Mama (Margaret Qualley).

This level of graphical quality establishes a new standard for what gamers may expect from games on the current generation of consoles. It illustrates that the hardware may create experiences that make it hard to tell what's genuine and what's not. It's a strong hint that games will be even more visually interesting and emotionally powerful in the future. I always love when characters and stories are more complicated, and the ability to show such fine facial emotions and human characteristics makes it possible. This is the kind of graphics that really make a game feel like it's from the next generation.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is out now for PlayStation 5, and you really have to see it to believe it.