Stranded in the middle of a blizzard atop the tallest mountain in Australia, I forged ahead with packages stacked three feet high on my back and winds howling in every direction. The inclement weather and steep incline forced me to abandon my pick-up truck full of Lost Cargo and back-up equipment about 2000 meters from my position, a regrettable but necessary decision if I wanted to deliver these precious goods to such a remote location intact. The severity of my situation sets in when I reach the summit: it’s just me, my two weirdo companions, and the elements. But it wouldn’t remain that way for long.

After five minutes cautiously sliding down the mountain face towards the objective in the valley down below, my Odradek stirs awake in a panic to warn me that BTs, the terrifying levitating souls of the dead nearby. I can’t see them through these terrible (and incredibly realistic-looking) weather conditions. But that doesn’t mean they can’t see me. 500 meters, white out conditions, and about two dozen BTs stand between me and my destination. And a single step in the wrong direction could spell disaster for my entire mission.

This situation could play out in the original Death Stranding. But Kojima Productions’ divisive vision of a game centered around long continental treks feels fully realized six years later. That doesn’t come down to sweeping changes of what came before it, but a sizable expansion on player options and unforgettable scenarios that feel more dynamic than they did the first time around. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is an incremental evolution that broadens its bizarre formula just enough to convert the skeptics without sacrificing what made the original so memorable.

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One of the most touching scenes in Arcane Season 2 comes when Jinx confronts the specter of her adoptive father, now metamorphized by a science experiment into an inhumane beast named Warwick. Eyes seething red, he’s poised to take her out, but something within him stops him, despite himself. A flicker of faint recognition. Just before the fog seeps in again. It’s a heartbreaking long beat.

Season 2, which finished up earlier this year on Netflix, is full of pensive moments like this, quiet montages that say more with pictures than with words. It is quite the tonal shift and departure from its source material, League of Legends, where Warwick is more likely to be your trolling Jungle teammate who is missing all his abilities, and Jinx your recklessly useless bottom lane ally, constantly assassinated by the opponent. Both characters are given a new lease on life in Arcane, expanding beyond simple caricatures into a profound exploration of grief. These and more creative liberties were happily taken by French animation studio Fortiche with the oversight from League parent company Riot Games.

Now in its sophomore season though, Arcane has been met with mixed reviews, notes about its pacing, and some complaints about the plot’s convolutedness. While showrunner Christian Linke admits he’s still processing all of the feedback, he restates his commitment to telling personal stories in his style, and highlights how catering too much to the fans can actually be deadly for efforts to make good art.