Just as it does in almost any video game, the music ofDeath Stranding 2: On the Beachplays an important role in helping create and preserve the game’s atmosphere and emotional weight. As players takeSam across the vast wilderness of Australiawith plenty of cargo strapped to his back, they are accompanied byDeath Stranding 2’s ambient, reflective, and sometimes haunting score, though it is meant to be far more than a mere accompaniment, as the first game’s music was. Instead, Ludvig Forssell, composer forDeath Strandingand now its sequel, crafted a score that tells a story just as much as the game’s characters and cinematics do.
Game Rant recently interviewed Forssell about his work onDeath Stranding 2as its composer, and while much of the groundwork was already laid by the first game’s music, he wanted to ensure it evolved with the sequel’s story and characters. During the interview, he discussed his creative process, the subtle shifts he has made to setDeath Stranding 2’s score apart from its predecessor, and how the sequel’s soundtrack is designed to be a driver in the story rather than just a passenger.This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Shaping the Sound of Death Stranding 2
Q: How early in development were you brought into the project, and what kind of direction did Hideo Kojima give you about the sound of Death Stranding 2?
A:I first came on in late 2022 to work on the announcement trailer featuringTroy Baker’s renditionof “BB’s Theme.” Since we already had a fairly recognizable sound for the first game, our goal was obviously to build upon this and expand it to go beyond that of the first installment. To do this, I suggested working more with vocals, connecting a more human element to the synthetic groundwork laid by the predecessor’s score.
To me, it was also important to let the music play a more active and straightforward role in the sequel, taking in the themes of the storytelling aspects and the development of some ofDeath Stranding 2’s returning characters. For this, I opted to incorporate elements like guitars and drums to layer with the hybrid fundamentals of the score, and also approaches to scoring gameplay beats with less of an “informative” style and more of an emotional and developing storytelling approach.
Q. Did any visual concepts or narrative themes stand out to you early on and begin shaping the musical palette of the game?
A:The story andgameplay aspects ofDeath Stranding 2definitely rely a lot on knowledge of the first game and the concepts it introduced. However, this time around, the direct impact — emotional and physical — of the story twists have on Sam, our main character, and the pacing of the gameplay loop really stood out as the main maturations that needed to be highlighted. We have themes that I think are much easier to grasp and leave a mark and a much more straightforward introduction to the world, so I wanted to make sure that the score furthered Mr. Kojima’s intent in these areas.
Q. You’ve leaned into heavier, more musical textures for this score, including your Scandinavian death metal roots. What motivated that tonal shift from the first game’s more ambient style?
A:This was partly touched upon, but in shaping the expansion and evolution of the firstDeath Stranding’s score, it was very important for me to step beyond what I consider to be music that is in service of the action and lean more into music that also tells a story and/or doesn’t just inform the player but also steers them deeper into the connection between what happens on screen and how their interaction with this gets “rewarded.”
On a conceptual basis, I did not want to use any guitars in the first score, but the introduction of physical guitars being a big part of the story this time around, I had to rethink that approach, which led me to sprinkle death metal throughout the score in an attempt at giving certain scenes a harder push into what I hope to be more satisfying head-banging moments.
Q. Neil’s theme seems like one of the boldest pieces in the score. What was the process behind crafting his two-part musical identity, especially given his flamboyant and dangerous persona?
A:WithNeil’s theme inDeath Stranding 2, I wanted to craft something really simple based around the back and forth of just two chords, sort of hinting at the struggle of the character’s duality while also presenting him as a shell of a man who’s lost something crucial in his humanity. This basic theme is then overlayed by what I call a 7-note “Sisyphus-arpeggio” that keeps reaching upwards only to start over and over.
However, to tell Neil’sstory inDeath Stranding 2to its completion, I felt like we also needed to have the theme itself have multiple renditions, with one using all the previously mentioned conceptual ideas from a sort of dark and pessimistic standpoint and the other, sort of the “true” rendition, telling a more faceted story that evolves and takes you through all the thoughts and motivations of the character as more of those are revealed.
Q. How did you approach scoring returning characters whose emotional states have changed since the first game?
A:The standout returning character in this case would most definitely be that ofTroy Baker’s character, Higgs. Higgs returns and right off the bat straight up states that he is just a ghost. He then uses this sarcastic approach to all of his actions, which really goes beyond the more “mysterious seriousness” of the character from the first game. I wanted to lean into this more theatrical Higgs with his theme this time by using some of the building blocks of his old motif, taking it and expanding it into something much more extravagant and operatic. I will not delve too deeply into how I then furthered those concepts towards the latter parts of the game, but safe to say I am very excited to see how people react to those parts when they get to them.
Q. Are there any characters whose themes intentionally echo or subvert their musical identity from the original Death Stranding?
A:While it’s not specifically “Deadman’s Theme,” the music written for the early game sections revisitingDeadman’s characterended up being something that shone a new light on his character and the sadness of how he came to be, but from a very forward-looking and positive direction that steers clear of the timbres used for his character in the first game. There was actually a theme written for him, much more akin to his music fromDeath Stranding,that didn’t end up working with his portrayal inDeath Stranding 2.
Evolving Gameplay, Scoring, and Creative Process
Q. How much of your scoring process is narrative-driven versus gameplay-driven?
A:While I’ve touched a lot upon the changes to approaching the expansion of thescore forDeath Stranding 2being focused more on storytelling, I do have to mention that a bigger portion of the music I wrote for this game was focused on the gameplay rather than story beats in terms of workload balance. Perhaps this is why I specifically wanted these gameplay moments to be less “informative” and more “musically satisfying.”
Then again, there’s also something to say about balancing the more reoccurring gameplay moments, such as human and BT enemy encounters with the biggerboss moments inDeath Stranding 2, by letting the less scripted moments have you ease into the music in a way where you can return or just pass through without feeling like you are being hit with music with too much to say right away, which is also why those moments' music systems are very deep to let you take that gameplay wherever it needs to go.
Q. You’ve talked about using looping motifs to reflect emotional unraveling. Can you share an example where this technique reshaped a scene or moment for you?
A:What we call the “DSTheme” is this looping arpeggio that’s been with the game ever since the early trailers for the first one, and I love playing around with the idea of a simple looped passage like that and changing the perception of it by ever so lightly tweaking a note here and there or messing with the chord progression. This was done for theDeath Stranding 2reveal trailerin 2022 by, halfway through, lowering the lowest note half a step to give it an ominous, foreboding sense of how things would be returning, but “not in the way you were used to.” I love playing with that sense of security in hearing something familiar and, bit by bit, turning that on its head to instead have that familiarity seem a bit suspicious and almost betraying.
Q. Were you involved in integrating the music dynamically into gameplay moments, and if so, how did that influence your compositional choices?
A:Since I wasn’t the audio director this time around, my direct access to the game was, of course, somewhat limited. However, most parts of the process of the first game’s development stayed the same, both in us having set the ground rules for many of the game’s interactive music segments, but also in that I would create each piece of music together with a roadmap for its implementation and dynamic usage, which I would then work with the team on implementing and reviewing.
At the end of the day, game development is an iterative process, and a lot of choices need to be remade as the game takes shape. I always try to account for this when writing the music by providing as many options as possible at an early stage so that we can then make the tweaks needed at a later stage with what we already have on hand.
Q. You’ve worked with Kojima Productions across multiple titles. How has your creative partnership with Kojima evolved over the years?
A:I think my working relationship withHideo Kojimahas become very cemented in trust in that he will present me the overarching conceptual ideas and things he wants to achieve to then just let me take them and run with them. He has always had very clear visions for all parts of his game, including the music, and I just think my experience has left me just a tiny bit better, bit by bit, in understanding this vision.
Q. After your work onBoy Kills World, where you blended heavy action with Southeast Asian instruments, did any of that influence trickle into this project?
A:More so than influence, I think each project that I’m lucky to be part of inspires me to build on those experiences in my next project. Sure, some of the instruments I got forBoy Kills Worldmade their way onto theDeath Stranding 2soundtrack, but I would never want to superimpose the soundscape of that film on anything else. I guess, most notably, my work with my own vocals onBoy Kills Worldgave me some interesting ideas that didn’t work for that film but definitely could work forDeath Strandingor something else. The fun part of being a composer is that you’re constantly evolving and adding to your craft, and I relish this sort of evolution.
Q. What does it mean to you personally to return to the world ofDeath Stranding, and how do you hope players feel when they hear this score for the first time?
A:Though it in hindsight feels sort of weird being part of this game and not having been there with the team atKojima Productions and Sony, it’s such an honor to keep carrying the torch and see how the game that started out as the smallest, craziest concept has gotten to grow and become such a huge success. My wish is that this game reaches even the people who never got into the first one, and that people get to experience it to its completion as to really get the full swing of the story. Beyond that, I wish that this full experience is something people will then relive through the soundtrack and that it’ll help them carry this game with them for a long time.
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