Metal Gear fans weren’t sure what to make of Death Stranding when it was first revealed. Hideo Kojima’s latest project was mostly conveyed through a series of enigmatic trailers. It took years until the public finally gained an understanding of what the game was: a highly experimental hiking simulator where players delivered packages across a haunted United States of America. It was a bizarre concept, and not everyone was able to enjoy the final product. However, Kojima’s gamble paid off, and this new “strand-type game” ended up becoming a successful endeavor.
Now, Sony is celebrating that success by releasing an upgraded version of the game called Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. Director’s Cut is meant to enhance everything about Death Stranding, from the core exploration to the base game’s somewhat divisive combat. A whole host of new tools, features, and content are being added, as well as technical upgrades offered by the PS5’s superior hardware. For those who already loved Death Stranding, and even for a subset of those who didn’t, it looks like Death Stranding: Director’s Cut will be a slam dunk when it comes out. Hopefully, the new missions will be able to provide players with the engaging content that they’re looking for.
Improved Combat
Combat encounters in Death Stranding are frequent and simple affairs, but the new missions offered by the Director’s Cut have the chance to fix this. Not only will there be new training rooms to help players practice their skills, but it looks like there may also be a new set of human enemies with more structured spawn points in bespoke environments. While there were some enemy camps and dedicated combat sequences in the base game, it appears that the Director’s Cut will have much more involved combat rooms, if the player is not able to avoid them.
Better Stealth
Death Stranding is deliberately light on combat due to its setting mechanics of death ruining the landscape. The most common enemies will simply try to disable Sam and steal his packages, and players will need to go far out of their way to actually kill their foes. However, stealth is a part of that affair, and it looks like it will be a little more involved in the Director’s Cut. Now, players will have to navigate indoor environments as well as silently hide on open terrain. There’s no expectation that Death Stranding’s stealth will match Metal Gear Solid’s, but some expansion will do it well.
More Horror
The world of Death Stranding is a strange one indeed, where the dead haunt the living, rain can end lives, and the simple and natural event of a human’s death has become a destructive event. This all goes without mentioning the particularly monstrous BTs that occasionally confront the player and the wildly varying circumstances of the main cast. The Director’s Cut’s trailer has already shown that Death Stranding’s weird marine life imagery and spikes in supernatural activity are still around, so hopefully, these things will continue to serve as the game’s climactic points of interest.
Smoother Deliveries
It can’t really be a Death Stranding mission without some hiking involved. With all of the new tools available in Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, it would be great to see them put to use in new delivery missions. The satisfaction of using the new traversal options, even if it’s just taking a load off Sam’s feet by having him rest on Buddy Bot, should be front-and-center here. If nothing else, a balls-to-the-wall setpiece involving taking the motorcycle off a ramp would be much appreciated.
More Character Development
The story may be the most important part of Death Stranding. It helps motivate the player in their journey across America, and many of Death Stranding’s characters are a joy to be around. However, it feels like more can be done with those present. Deadman in particular shows up constantly, but it feels like his relevance to the plot peters out. More screen time for Die-Hardman and Lockne would be good too. Whatever the new story content is, especially if it includes brand new characters, it can hopefully surpass what the original Death Stranding has already done.
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut launches September 24, 2021 for PS5.
