Death Stranding Director's Cut Reviews
Death Stranding's "director's version" offers some additions to the game that will be well received by their original admiration, but it will offer nothing to those who didn't like the principle of the game in the first place.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Hideo Kojima's games are either liked or not. I'm one of the first ones, and Death Stranding on PS5 allowed me to relive this great adventure. Although I admit that the additional story content and simplification of gameplay are a slight disappointment.
Review in Polish | Read full review
This is a re-release of the original game with bits and pieces of new content and some extra polish. The game’s overall quality speaks for itself now more than ever and those who will experience it for the first time should gladly come on in.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
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.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut on PlayStation 5 is without a doubt the best way to get the most out of the title. If you haven't played it yet, this is the perfect opportunity to give the game a try. Unfortunately, its add-on content doesn't shine as bright as it should, and much of it could have been offered through free updates.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
An enhanced version of a polarizing game, one with a unique gameplay mechanic that can become monotonous and an intriguing story that falls apart at the end. This release doesn't change much, but it makes a stunning game look even more beautiful, and adds some appreciated tools and variety to help you on your journey
Review in Arabic | Read full review
I very much enjoyed Death Stranding on the PS4, and that hasn't changed after playing through Death Stranding: Director's Cut on the PS5. It's not perfect in its overall story and gameplay execution, and it isn't a game that everyone will enjoy. If you can get past that, it's still is a uniquely rewarding experience that looks and plays better on a PS5, and it's one of the few PS5 titles that doesn't demand a fortune to upgrade for existent owners. At the same time, the content additions are a bit thin and don't add a lot to the experience, so the upgrades in visuals and performance are likely the main reason to upgrade your version.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut is the definitive version of Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece technically, mechanically, and artistically.
The Xbox version of Death Stranding Director's Cut represents an excellent opportunity for all Microsoft gamers who had never been able to get their hands on Kojima's latest creation. To this day, Death Stranding remains a superlative game with unique gameplay. Despite this, we are still faced with a game that divides the gaming community without half measures: if you didn't like it initially, you won't this time either. On the whole, however, the porting to Xbox Series X/S has been optimised properly, as it was already done on PS5.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Death Stranding: Director's Cut is a unique game, the product of a volcanic mind capable of creating a fascinating, visually stunning world with unique gameplay mechanics. The downside, however, is missions that become repetitive and tedious in the long run, with an obsession with extremely long and tedious dialogue. A work dominated by genius and unruliness, a true auteur game that we recommend everyone try at least once.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Death Stranding is a game that caught me by surprise, I am far from a Hideo Kojima fan and I was never overly impressed with the Metal Gear Solid franchise, but this game just hits different.
The new UI tweaks, slight gameplay changes, small bits of story content and more all add up to a worthwhile and wonderfully bizarre package that still proves Kojima Productions have truly crafted a game unlike any other.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut is a refined experienced. 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.
When I was first asked what mark I’d give Death Stranding out of five, I said I would give it a question mark. It’s certainly not conventionally “fun”, at least not for the first several hours. It depends on how much the player is willing to embrace Kojima’s artistic vision and absorb themselves in it. Death Stranding simultaneously tedious and exciting, profound and inane, terrifying and laughable. Like the spectral beings that inhabit this post-apocalyptic America, it’s often shapeless and hard to comprehend. One thing is for sure though: it’s like no game you’ve ever played before. In a world full of pandering pablum and endlessly milked franchises, it’s extraordinary for a big-budget game to be so daringly different. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut doesn’t just re-invent the wheel, it re-invents the whole cart, and that’s why the definitive edition of Hideo Kojima’s opus is well worth playing.
But there's no denying Death Stranding: Director's Cut's technical achievements. It's incredibly immersive, putting every new capability built into the PlayStation 5 to the test and coming out triumphant. If you were disappointed by Death Stranding's unwieldy gameplay the first time around, the Director's Cut isn't going to win you over. But if Kojima's storytelling won you over, this will be a worthwhile upgrade.
However, additions aside, let's not forget what remains, indisputably, the most important and valiant element, even in this Director's Cut: Death Stranding. Experience that, regardless of one's personal taste, is valid, important and destined to remain lucid in memories for a very long time. Almost as prophetic as the brilliant Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Sam Porter Bridges' journey westwards, despite some some somewhat stretched and unnecessarily brainy sequences, remains deep and full of messages and social themes too powerful to be ignored, which pass first from the gameplay and our efforts, and then culminate in a genuinely moving final sequence.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In our review of Death Stranding Director's Cut we put aside the big words because once again we needed to explain, explain and explain again its indecipherable gameplay, as well as the introduction of the new gadgets and tasks released with the Director's Cut. Whether you only discover it now, or you decide to upgrade from the previous version, Death Stranding remains an experience that, regardless of your personal taste, is valid, important and destined to remain lucid in the memories of those who will trust it, for a very long time. Almost as prophetic as the brilliant Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Sam Porter Bridges' journey westwards, despite some unnecessarily brainy and drawn-out sequences, remains profound and filled with messages and social themes too powerful to be ignored, which first pass through the gameplay, with the efforts required of the player, and then culminate in a genuinely moving final sequence. We will not begin, as practice would require, to justify at any cost the high rating that will surely be making someone turn up their nose, but if you are tired of the usual experiences, and want to experience on yourself something really new, try Death Stranding ... and trust that never as in this case, a gameplay on YouTube just will not be enough to make you understand what you're about to meet.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is better than Death Stranding. Beyond that, there’s not really a lot I can say about it. If you didn’t like Death Stranding, you’ll find this game a little bit more tolerable. If you did like Death Stranding, you’ll enjoy this upgraded version; Or you won’t. Seeing as the point of Death Stranding was to struggle, maybe a less frustrating version of the game isn’t what fans want.
Death Stranding Director's Cut is a rare game that has no middle ground. It delivers a unique experience that encourages planning and patience but places high action on only rare situations. It falls under the umbrella that if you like this gameplay style, you're going to love Death Stranding, and if you don't, there's nothing for you here.
Let me be clear: if you didn’t like Death Stranding when it first came out, then this Director’s Cut will do basically nothing to fix any of the game’s issues for you. It is still obtuse at times, a bit too long, a bit too confusing for some. However, if you were a fan of the original launch, then there’s just enough new content here to justify the upgrade. It sure gave me the perfect excuse to start a fresh save and enjoy these brand new additions.