This Death Stranding Director’s Cut review contains minor spoilers.
When Death Stranding first arrived back in 2019, it was shrouded in mystery. Its enigmatic trailers had captivated gamers and expectations were high. None of the pre-release materials made it explicitly clear what Death Stranding was about. As a result, reception to it was polarised when it failed to live up to some of those lofty expectations. And understandably so. It was something entirely unique – something brand new. That’s pretty rare these days – and Death Stranding‘s complex and whacky story, as well as its delivery-centric gameplay, wasn’t immediately appealing to many. Others – myself included – had speculated and hoped that it would somehow be connected to the cancelled Silent Hills game. It seemed plausible at the time but is laughable now. Alas, it wasn’t linked to the cancelled Kojima project and I’m kind of ashamed to admit that that initial expectation jaded my first playthrough of Death Stranding.
Just like Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding Director’s Cut was my second go at it. This time, on PlayStation 5. While its story remains the same, it is enhanced in every other way. From stellar performance and graphical upgrades to expanded in-game mechanics, Director’s Cut feels like the total package. Despite its faults, I liked the original Death Stranding on PS4. And while Director’s Cut is still not without fault (and certainly not for everyone), I adored it.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut Review – Story
There are some extra missions with their own side stories (definitely worth checking out for fans of Kojima’s past games) in Director’s Cut – but the original plot remains.
There’s no easy way to explain Death Stranding‘s story. But I’ll try:
An apocalyptic event – the “Death Stranding” – destroyed North America (and possibly the world), killing millions of people and drastically altering the continent’s landscape. The world of the dead began to spill over into the world of the living. Beached Things (BTs) – basically ghosts – populate much of the world. They are the souls of people who died and failed to pass through “the Beach” (purgatory) to the world of the dead. As a result, they became stranded in the world of the living. When a living person comes into contact with one, a voidout (massive explosion) occurs. This is what destroyed America.
Sam Bridges is a porter who delivers packages to survivors. Sam has DOOMs which allows him to sense (but not see BTs) and survive death. With the aid of a connected Bridge Baby (a baby born to a mother who died during childbirth), Sam and others can see and sense BTs more clearly. Sam, helping the USA’s successor nation-state, the United Cities of America, and the Bridges organisation, embarks on a journey to connect all surviving cities and encampments to the “Chiral Network” – basically the internet rooted through the Beach. With the Chiral Network, the UCA will be able to rebuild America through shared resources and information.
Get all that? Well, it barely scratches the surface. If you thought Metal Gear was complicated, it has nothing on Death Stranding. This is peak Kojima – his creativity and world building here is masterful. However, his story suffers from being unnecessarily complex and borderline silly in parts. It’s a shame, because something more restrained and subtle could be even more effective at conveying Kojima’s scarily prophetical themes. While there’s a lot to enjoy about Death Stranding‘s story, it’s mostly told via (well-written) expository dialogue as a result of its complexity.
Characters
Death Stranding is full of likeable characters with compelling backstories. They’re all expertly voiced by the game’s deep and recognisable cast, especially Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Troy Baker, and Lea Seydoux. Unfortunately, the game’s narrative devotes a disproportionate amount of time to the overarching end-of-the-world plot leaving its characters stranded. In most cases, they simply profess required story beats to Sam in cutscenes. Luckily, most of them do get some degree of exploration. I’d just have liked more in place of some of the less interesting stuff. Again, it is symptomatic of a story that would’ve benefited from more nuance, subtlety and restraint.
Sam Bridges is a fantastic protagonist. He fits the role perfectly and Norman Reedus portrays him well. His relationship with Lou (his BB) is incredibly touching, too. In contrast, his relationship with Amelie (his adoptive sister) is confused. In fact, I didn’t enjoy her character at all and found her plot points to be the worst. Let’s not forget the god awful “Mario and Princess Beach” line, either. Disappointingly, that’s still in Death Stranding Director’s Cut. I really hoped it would be removed. That line and the sequence that follows is Kojima at his worst.
Troy Baker’s Higgs is a strange case. Baker delivers his lines impeccably. But Higgs’ motivations are very unclear and simplistic. He wants to destroy the world. Why? Not really sure. I think it’s because, as he said, “humans only have a few hundred thousand years left” so we might as well get on with it. That doesn’t really make sense. And Higgs never really gets any deeper than that.
Themes
Death Stranding touches on death, isolation, perseverance, resilience, love, and cooperation. Overall, the combination of its core gameplay loop, terrific atmosphere (aided tremendously by Kojima’s handpicked soundtrack) and hit-and-miss story do a great job at conveying its themes. When played through the lens of the Director’s Cut released in 2021, Kojima’s themes are highly pertinent to the last couple of years. In fact, the game itself is a surprisingly apt metaphor for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut Review – Gameplay
While Death Stranding‘s story is complex – its gameplay is refreshingly simple. You deliver packages from A to B, avoiding MULEs (gangs of thieves) and BTs along the way. The challenge and detail comes in your planning. And trust me, the planning matters.
Terrain varies drastically and forces you to consider how you approach each trip with careful forethought. In that vein, you must consider what equipment you might need and balance that with how much you can carry. There are tonnes of options when it comes to equipment and tools at your disposal, too. From simple ladders to powerful exoskeletons, you’re free to approach any delivery how you see fit. It’s clear a lot of thought was given to player agency in Death Stranding, and it’s all the better for it.
On the whole, I found Death Stranding to be incredibly addictive and relaxing to play. Most games focus on violence and killing – but you could play the entirety of Death Stranding without killing anyone. The joy here is in persevering against a tough challenge. In fact, I’d argue there’s few things more satisfying in all of video games than seeing your destination emerge on the horizon as Low Roar plays after a long journey in Death Stranding. It’s blissful.
New stuff in Director’s Cut
Director’s Cut does an excellent job at expanding on the original offering in Death Stranding. There’s the Maser Gun, which is introduced early on here and helps alleviate some of the frustrations I had when playing 2019’s version. Similarly, there are some new PCC blueprints you can build which are useful like the Chiral Bridge and Ramp. New vehicles include the Defence variants of the Truck and Trike, and the Trike Transporter. These add further variety when choosing a vehicle in the game.
Other new stuff includes easter eggs from Half Life and Cyberpunk 2077, and they aren’t merely cosmetic. All come with a unique ability lifted from their respective game and expertly dropped into Death Stranding. None feel out of place – they’re a lot of fun and enhance the experience. They go to show that Death Stranding can be at its best when it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut Review – Graphics & Performance
On PS5, Death Stranding Director’s Cut is the best looking game I’ve ever played. Some of the views you can experience when travelling across its vast open world are simply breathtaking. Not only are environments mesmerising, but character models are hyper-realistic, too. I often found myself forgetting I was playing a game and not watching a film.
Of course, this is all enhanced by the PS5’s 4K resolution and 60 frames per second refresh rate. Director’s Cut introduces three graphics modes – Performance, Quality, and Ultra-Wide. All three target 60FPS. Performance is set at 1800p resolution upscaled to 2160p and is consistent at 60FPS. Quality, on the other hand, is set at true 2160p but takes a very slight frame rate hit in combat and cutscenes. I found Quality mode ran at 60FPS or very close to that most of the time, so always opted for that instead of Performance mode. Ultra-Wide places black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, mimicking the ultra-wide experience found on PCs. It’s cool and makes landscapes look even more impressive. Although, personally, I wouldn’t play the whole game in Ultra-Wide mode.
Verdict
Death Stranding Director’s Cut is a phenomenal experience. It’s captivating and, just like the MULEs, I’ve found myself addicted to delivering cargo. Director’s Cut enhances everything about the original and there are no bugs or glitches to speak of. Not only does it look amazing and perform incredibly on PS5, but the addition of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers add another level of immersion. Yes, the story is still outlandish and will put some people off. But if you suspend your disbelief, you might actually find it quite charming.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut is a refined experience. From the memorable sound design to the meticulously detailed open world, it has stuck with me – even more so than when I played the original back in 2019. If that was Hideo Kojima’s intention with this re-release then bravo. Mission accomplished.
Keep on keeping on.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Version played: PS5
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