PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews

The 'Director's Cut' of Death Stranding is basically the same game we once enjoyed on PS4 but taking advantage of all of the technical prowess of the PS5, plus there are some interesting additions to top it off.

Every new line of code written enhances the original experience, bringing new ways for existing players to enjoy Death Stranding again. Whether you're here for exploring the factory and playing with the new toys like I am or want to challenge friends for top spot on the racing and firing range leaderboards, odds are there is a reason for you to come back. Reworked missions will aid new players into the world more smoothly than the original release, too. I definitely felt as though the difficulty spike wasn't nearly as harsh thanks to this. Keep in mind that while the Director's Cut expands and adds delicate touches here and there, this is still a game that requires patience and time for the best results.

Director's Cut is the definitive version of Kojima Productions' masterpiece. It delivers an incredibly pertinent story, with more content than ever before, to be experienced through ingenious integration of the PlayStation 5's DualSense.

Death Stranding remains a bizarre masterpiece on PS5, and the director’s cut only further cements that reputation with a number of worthwhile new ideas that enhance the act of delivering packages across a picturesque landscape of nothingness. The story of Sam Porter Bridges is overblown and wondrous, taking hold of you and refusing to let go as you’re dragged into an adventure that takes the medium to places it has never been before. It’s mindless self-indulgence of the highest order, and it’s rare to see a game deliver upon its overarching ambition in such a bold, uncompromising way in the modern era. For that very reason, it deserves to be celebrated.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is a game with a ton going on. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a creative and enjoyable experience. The only question for those who played the original version is whether or not they enjoyed their first trip through Kojima’s brilliant creation. If you did, or if this is your first time playing Death Stranding, you are absolutely going to love every second of the Death Stranding Director’s Cut.

If you’re a newcomer to Death Stranding, the Directors Cut is the best way to play an absolute masterpiece, and I’m very jealous that you’ll be able to engage with it in all its glory. Some of the systemic chaff has been cut out to maintain the atmosphere while making your adventure a little less punishing, and, as a result, it feels far more accessible than it was at launch. Death Stranding feels at home on the PS5 with its enhanced immersion, loading times, framerate bump and graphical fidelity, elevating an already great game into something extraordinary. Returning players are also getting a lot of bang for their buck if they upgrade thanks to a job lot of new content and lore, providing a great excuse to transfer your data, slip on your Bridges Boots and dive back in.

I don't have much to say about Death Stranding that I didn't already say back in 2019. The game remains the excellent and unique piece of art that it is. The "Director's Cut" stuff is an absolute bust and I'm disappointed that such cynical "blockbusterisms" have been applied to Kojima's work in particular. However, this is more than outweighed by the utterly different tone that eminates from the game, now that it comes across as reflective rather than prophetic. It might be sobering, but it's worth musing over.

If you have never played Death Stranding and are on the fence about picking it up, this is the version to go for. Everything about it has been improved upon, and navigation has been perfected, so if you don’t want to walk 20 minutes to every destination, the Director’s Cut has supplied you with all the right tools to make it faster and more efficient.

Whether the 4k60 frames or the powerful features of DualSense, the experience of Death Stranding: Director's Cut has been taken to another level. With this Director's Cut, there will be some new feelings when going through the "journey of connection" again.

Two years later, Death Stranding is still an atypical and compelling adventure that managed to transport us for more than fifty hours. No matter how much we might grumble about the weaknesses of its creator's writing, the fact remains that its unique concept still holds up well, while its panoramas are sublimated by the PS5's optimizations. So the verdict is pretty much the same as for other editions of this kind on Sony's machine: if you've never played the original game, go for it, but if you've already played it, the new content doesn't necessarily justify paying for it again.