Death Stranding Director's Cut

I have to say that what they are doing with Death Stranding Director’s Cut is kind of weird. This without a doubt is the best way to play this very controversial game, especially if you have never played it before. However, I am not 100 percent sure there is enough meat on the bone for someone to pay another 60 or so bucks for a game if they already tried it and did not like it. Yet, the quality of life improvements here may be enough to sway those who thought the original release was “ok” into thinking that this is now actually a good game.

The End Of Days

Even though the title of the game is Death Stranding Director’s Cut, from what I have experienced so far there is not anything major (if anything) added to the story. We still have the creatures from the in between of life and death causing havoc, we still have mankind separated living in various settlements and we still have Norman Reedus walking around with a baby trying to unite the colonies. The main story here is great, I really do enjoy it, but the side content kind of sucks and is boring if I am being honest.

Embracing The Power

The first new thing about Death Stranding Director’s Cut that we have to talk about is the jump up in the presentation. I played the original game on a base PS4 and already thought that it looked great. This new version for the PS5 and PC looks phenomenal, it has a quality and performance mode, but this is one game you will really want to play in the quality mode as the enhanced visuals truly are spectacular, I think that with this extra power, they were really able to embrace Kojima’s vision for what he had here. It is also worth noting that the game makes use of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller's adaptive triggers as well.

The Support Skeleton

Many jokes and criticisms were thrown at the original game for basically being a delivery simulator. While that is pretty much still the case in Death Stranding Director’s Cut, there is a new “Support Skeleton” exosuit type thing that combines the best elements of the fast skeleton and the power skeleton from the original game. It makes moving around with heavy cargo so much easier and it is a very welcomed edition. Actually, getting around in general, now feels like a lot less of a frustrating experience.

Fighting The Good Fight

The combat in Death Stranding Director’s Cut has also been upgraded. Sam is now much nimbler when it comes to fighting off enemies he comes across on the road. He can move around easier and do a few faster paced attacks such as a jumping kick and he can use these gloves which make climbing much quicker. You can also make use of a few new weapons that are there to make combat more accessible and fun as well.

Pros:

• The game really does look incredible
• The new support skeleton makes getting around less frustrating
• It makes use of the PS5s DualSense controller
• Combat feels better and is more fun

Cons:

• The side missions are still pretty boring and not much if anything was added to the story
• I still do not see this winning over those who hated the original game