Death Stranding: Director’s Cut PS5 Makes a Strange Game Slightly Easier for Newcomers, but Not Simpler

Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is a perplexing game that I skipped out on during its launch on PS4, and even though the PC version is highly regarded as a great port, I never played that either. Now, over two years after it came out, Death Stranding: Director’s Cut on PS5 adds a bunch of neat little additions along with the usual visual and performance benefits and, after playing it for the better part of a week now, I think I’m starting to “get” it.

Unlike Sony’s previous ‘Director’s Cut’ with Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding’s new version doesn’t add any significant story expansion or mechanics. It’s also exclusive to the PS5, whereas Sucker Punch’s studios’ Samurai fantasy remaster was available on both PS4 and PS5. There, the upgrade price that Sony was asking for was mostly for the Iki island expansion, making it so that returning players would also be able to enjoy a good amount of new content. That’s not the case with Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, which is primarily geared to those who’ve already played the game and love its gameplay loop.

Of course, there’s a minuscule amount of new content that will keep those players happy, and some of it will make many new players’ journeys easier. However, the way the Director’s Cut handles this may be too slow to start and by the time the cool new items and mechanics are unlocked, those new players may have tapped out.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut PS5 Features and Additions

Here are all the new features coming to the Director’s Cut on PS5:

• Haptic feedback on DualSense controller
• Adaptive trigger support
• 3D Audio
• Improved load times
• Choose between performance mode (upscaled 4K at 60fps) or fidelity mode (native 4K at 30fps)
• New Firing Range area
• Fragile Circuit racing mode
• New story missions
• Mouse and Keyboard support
• Half-Life and Cyberpunk 2077 DLC items from the PC version

You can check out how and when the new upgrades like the maser gun, buddy bot and racing track can be unlocked, but for the most part, you won’t be getting into the thick of it before episode 5. That’s a lot of time to invest into before getting the things that make the game easier, but that’s also quite contradictory to the original vision of the game. Sure, the buddy bot makes the tedious process of traversing the terrain easier, but then you don’t get the same sense of gratification on completing that delivery quest.

The racing track is cool but serves no purpose aside from chilling out in the game itself. The training area is basically a glorified time trials mode where you can compete with other players online in getting the highest score possible, but ultimately it doesn’t add anything to the experience. The cargo catapults though are quite fun to use and while they also make quests easier, it doesn’t undermine the player’s abilities to navigate the harsh world of Death Stranding.

A Better Use of the DualSense Controller’s Haptics and Adaptive Triggers

The core experience of Death Stranding remains the same, perhaps a little easier, but being played on the PS5 and using its hardware does make it a better experience. Not many PS5 games have made good use of the haptics and adaptive triggers on the DualSense, often making it a hurdle for doing basic tasks. Not in Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. Since the game relies so heavily on using those triggers to maintain Sam’s balance, the subtle use of resistance on the DualSense’s triggers actually contributes a great deal to the experience. The same can be said for the use of haptic feedback, which maps really well onto the different kinds of terrain you’ll be walking through in this post-apocalyptic America.

The inclusion of mouse and keyboard support is a welcome one, and it works quite flawlessly. While this isn’t a game that really benefits from a hybrid keyboard-mouse-controller combo, it’s a nice gesture on Kojima Productions’ part to include the option. Regardless, I’ll be sticking to the DualSense controller as it provides a more immersive experience to me.

I played most of the game on the ‘Quality Mode’, which targets 60fps at a native 4K resolution with room for minor drops, which isn’t the case in ‘performance mode’ which is a little steadier with a dynamic 4K target. In either case, there is no meaningful difference between the two modes as far as visuals go, although I would suggest playing in the ‘Quality’ mode if you have the widescreen setting turned on. If you’re going to make the game look more ‘cinematic’, you might as well go for that extra sharpness which helps when dealing with a wider field of view. Performance is solid in either mode and if there are any drops then they’re quite minor. Being on the PS5, loading is just as fast as you might expect, but the game pretty much never had many load screens, to begin with, once you get into it.

The primary gameplay loop of Death Stranding consists of delivering parcels and reconnecting America while dealing with occasional occupational hazards such as raiders or invisible monsters called BTs. I like how mysterious and totally self-indulgent the game is towards Kojima’s sensibilities, even though the same can sometimes feel like a nice bow on a gift that perhaps isn’t as nice. While the presentation is high up in terms of quality, the actual game itself can sometimes fall short of living up to that. In either case, I highly recommend playing Death Stranding online, which you probably did if you played it at launch or on PC. I never really bothered to understand or appreciate the ‘strand’ type asynchronous multiplayer aspect before actually playing the game, and I’m a fan. The servers were taken down for maintenance in the final phase of the review period, and that’s when I started to miss the visual indicators of how my actions have helped other players or vice versa.

Ultimately, the Director’s Cut of Death Stranding really is meant for returning players, with a few new additions that should help out new players after they’ve slogged through the opening hours. In certain ways, it feels like some of those additions actually negate the original vision for the game, which was meant to be punishing for players at its core. I can’t help but feel that the new game modes and items were added to justify its price tag along with the PS4 upgrade path. Death Stranding never got a backwards-compatible performance update like Ghost of Tsushima did prior to its Director’s Cut, so at least the cost of upgrading gets you that. I can at least say that I am glad I gave this game a chance and, despite having my grievances, liked it which is perhaps what matters the most.

To know more about the new features and editions of the game, check out IGN India’s comprehensive guide on the same.

Death Stranding: Director’s Cut releases on September 24 for PlayStation 5.

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