Death Stranding: Director's Cut (Xbox Series X/S)

Death Stranding has had a fascinating journey over the last 9 years, from its reveal to its debut on PS4, then moving to PS5, PC, and finally appearing on Xbox Series X/S. It feels like a beautiful full cycle, considering this is the first game from renowned game designer Hideo Kojima after a troubling departure from Konami. With the sequel on the horizon, it’s the best time for Xbox gamers to play this bizarre epic and catch up. And here’s why!


What is Death Stranding?

Death Stranding is a game which won’t appeal to many people, and this has been discussed and seen over the last 5 years. It is a testament to creative freedom and the most Hideo Kojima thing he has ever made. At times, it can feel almost like a parody of his work, but it will often draw you back in with a neat concept, engaging gameplay mechanic and stellar acting on the how.

As a joke you may have heard before, it’s about an Amazon courier after the world has ended, and it sorted is funnily. But at its core, Death Stranding is a video game about bringing the world back together and connecting what is broken. Of course, this is something I feel we can all understand considering the sh** state the world is in right now. Set in a post-apocalyptic United States, after a cataclysmic event known as the "Death Stranding" humanity has retreated underground for fear of total annihilation.

The Death Stranding caused a rift between the world of the living and the world of the dead to collide, with strange creatures known as "Beached Things" or "BTs" infesting the planet and killing off any human beings that remain on the surface. Then there’s the “Time Fall” where the rain ages everything organic it touches rapidly until death and decay. Oh, and when these BTs fest on the living, they create a gigantic explosion, the same scale as an atomic bomb known as “Voidouts”. There is no infostructure, no systems, no logic and no safety in the world which the dead now rule.

But people still need hope, and their packages to be delivered, this is where Sam, played by Norman Reedus, a delivery man in this mad world is set the important task of connecting these various Knot Cities where the remains of humanity lie in safety, to rebuild the world and connect everyone once again. Sam will have to traverse the mighty and treacherous landscapes, delivering important parcels, resources, and data to these cities, but also build a new infrastructure for the rise of humanity once again.


It’s Hideo Kojima time! Hideo Kojima time!


Right, so I mentioned that Death Stranding’s plot feels like a parody of a Hideo Kojima game? It does, but I love how well it’s all handled.

The core concept is fascinating and the adventure of Sam rebuilding the world is noble and compelling throughout. We have all the hallmarks of a Kojima project, from weird characters, with weird names, surrealistic imagery, notions of love, death, technology, and course plenty of nudity. Riveting stuff, but also a little wanky if I’m being completely honest, where characters have names like Die Hard Man, everyone in the underground Knott Cities are so damn happy, Jeff Keely and Conan O’Brien are in it as themselves pretty much, and bad guys have Golden Masks and just want to destroy an already destroyed planet for … reasons.

Everything is so hammy, overdone on the emotional scale and I do deeply love it. Especially when we have Sam, brilliantly played by Reedus, do such a perfect performance as a dude who just feels like he wants to get on with things, and has no problem calling out weird s*** for the weird s*** it is. I love it. And you make grenades from your poop and blood.

And thankfully, no more MONSTER energy …. I’m so f**king relieved this is now gone!

While there is so much WTF in the story, the pacing, and series of events are all handled with great professionalism, meaning you won’t get bored, and the story only builds bigger and bigger without much fallout or slowdown. It will keep you invested, and more so due to the top talent acting. Everyone does a great job, including Margaret Qualley, Lea Seydoux, and Troy Baker. But honestly, Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen and phenomenal in this, and I love just how much they deliver either with restraint from Reedus or the variety of madness from Mikkelsen.

The story only deepens with many compelling beats and concepts that only get bizarre with each hour passing by. The world-building is tremendous as we see so much haunting wonder with the BTs, Time Fall, and the strange baby “BB” Pods adding many excellent layers that create one of the most fascinating worlds in gaming. Like I said, playing this again the Kojima-ness can get a little silly, and maybe a little too self-aware, but it’s balanced nicely with the cast, and excellent handling of the plot and engaging events throughout.


Even if the world ends, I need my Amazon parcel


Death Stranding is a game about reconnecting the world via the numerous Knot Cities while making deliveries and collecting various lost parcels. Sam will start at the base of operations for B.R.I.D.G.E.S and slowly make his way from Knot City to Knot City with very little means of traversing the landscape safely. There are no roads to begin, so you’ll be walking, hiking, climbing and traversing over rivers, and rocky terrains and kicking your way through knee-high snow to get the job done.  And in between the deliveries, you can expect fighting rebels, exploring long-lost shells of humanity, and evading terrifying ghostly visitors.

This sums up the core gameplay loop, which you can break down into three groups, with the delivery stuff/exploration, combat and fighting deranged cultists, and then the more horror-themed elements when the world decides you need more nightmare fuel for the rest of your life.

Two of these are fantastic, and the other is perfectly serviceable but could’ve been much more interesting if it went weirder.

Taking packages where they need to go is fundamentally the heart and soul of the game, and easily the most enjoyable thing personally. I love walking across a desolate United States, reaching points of delivery and deciding how to get there. Everything from the weight of the packages to the condition of Sam’s footwear, and even balancing all the packages on your back, all factor into the flow of the journey.

The terrain will be your biggest enemy and greatest ally, with Sam having to make dangerous climbs up and down grand vistas or risk running into BTs or Time Fall. But there is plenty of tools and gear to help along the way, such as ropes, and ladders which can be used for climbing and making bridges. You will be making a lot of decision-making on making it from point A to point B, making the whole venture across the landscapes a massive lateral experience, which in the end is utterly gratifying.

It’s relentless, to say the least, but at the same time rather calming when you get into the flow.

Things such as wearing down the soles of your shoes and BTs make the journey insanely stressful at times, but the rest when you’re walking along the vast green and open spaces during a calm moment is utterly soulful.

As you progress, new paths and gear become available, with some new additions added to the Director’s Cut, including a useful non-lethal rifle. The excitement of running through the wilds, figuring out the best routes, planning everything from the packages you’re carrying, the footwear you’ve got on, and what tools you need to concur those perils along the way.

Sam will eventually be allowed to build massive structures, such as zip lines and even roads to connect major points of interest, meaning you can venture back and forth much more fluently. And this helps when it comes to doing all those little side quests and lost parcels which my perfectionist/OCD brain couldn’t help but pick up every single one. Death Stranding is a game about building something new, bit by bit, and doing so is painful at times but highly rewarding nonetheless.

I’m sure Kojima thought of this quote from Confucius when thinking of Death Stranding’s gameplay - “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” The way players can interact with each other through messages and building bonds makes this test of endurance next level for me.

The walks aren’t the deadliest thing, nor is my ODC urge to pick up everything. BTs and the visions that come about will haunt you throughout the world, and usually at the most inconvenient spots. You will walk, you, your sensor and your adorable baby pod friend BB will sense danger out of the blue. The mood will change from pleasant to intense anxiety within a heartbeat and the tension never lets up easily. BTs will wonder key areas and they are full of hate and revenge. So sneaky and even holding your breath at times is key to surviving these encounters.

Stealth is a little one-note, compared to the likes of Kojima’s MGS series. But it’s fine, and the intensity is gripping. But when things go off the rails… they do in horrifying spectacle. If discovered and pursued, the world will morph within seconds, being slick with oil, gripping hands, and even giant mutant whale-like creatures that want nothing less than Sam’s soul. These moments of panic and dread are insanely terrifying, and playing these over again has me pumped for O.D. coming to Xbox. These are great moments of horror, and there is little to do but run, and running through oil makes it more gut-wrenching. Even though dying isn’t a massive penalty, I was still scared every time my senor went off. So yeah, the walking can be either quite nice or completely Hell. And both are fantastic.


While not everyone will enjoy the long walks through no-man’s land, there is something vastly more interesting about venturing your way through the harsh landscapes with limited resources and many barriers, than most AAA open-world games.

Now for the other stuff!


Metal Gear Postal!

Now when it comes to combat… it’s fine. Kojima has plenty of experience with making action games, or action mechanics which are thrilling. But with the likes of MGS, these normally had certain constraints that would amply simple, yet enjoyable, and enriching gunplay and tactics. Take MGS2, you can take enemies hostages, plant mines, and so forth, and the environments were designed for that. MGS3 uses camouflage brilliantly well, has some of gaming’s best bosses, and tight gunplay. But again, even in a jungle, the areas were limited.

When it comes to open worlds, combat and Kojima … they don’t work out as well, and it feels more like MGS5 which is a good game, but the open-world combat didn’t expand as well as I had hoped in some areas. And Death Stranding is much more limited in scope and creativity.

There is a varied assortment of gadgets and guns, whether doing it with lethal force or with a pacifist approach. Players can for the most part avoid many encounters out in the open, whether they sneak on by or have the fortune of owning a bike to drive across the rugged and ruthless lands. There are enough options and weapons to get out of a tricky situation, and flee if you feel overwhelmed. But you may have to sacrifice parcels to speed up your escape, which I like as a compromise.

Generally, the gunplay is solid and reliable, and the large disposal of gear and weapons will certainly help you out in any situation. The crafting aspect is one of the more impressive and allowing players to use Sam’s own bodily fluids to make grenades is weirdly cool and hugely useful. Just power down those (not Monster) energy drinks and Sam’s rear end will produce the most powerful components for an impactful grenade. But I would’ve loved more of this, whether it meant eating weirder and wilder things make you produce weirder and wilder weapons.

But when the combat moments hit, they hit hard, and this happens of course in the boss battles. Death Stranding is a return to form for Kojima bosses since MGSV’s slightly disappointing assortment, as these range from the epic, the incredibly stressful fights against monumental beasts to the more intimate encounters where Sam will duke it out with nothing more than his knuckles. So overall combat can be thrilling at times, even downright good in the right setting, but for the typical moment-to-moment stuff it’s not the most interesting and more could’ve been added to spice things up.


All that new shiny stuff in the Director’s Cut

Okay, I’m adding this from my old review to cover the new stuff that was added, for those who may have played Death Stranding originally on the PS4 or PC back in 2019/2021 and not the newer versions. So take it away past Patrick:

So, what’s the big deal with this Director’s Cut then?

Death Stranding’s newest cut does add a few more additions to the core gameplay experience, and plenty of smaller additions, including a smoother and gentler first few hours and a nifty new non-lethal rifle and Exo-suit, useful for some of the early game’s long hauls.

There are also some new items for fighting and traversing the path ahead, from Floaters (hehehehe), which allow you to take items safely across rivers and even delivery Bots can be used in the open world.

The biggest additions to Death Stranding in this Director’s Cut are an optional Racing Game and a new Stealth-Focused mission (very reminiscent of MGS). Both are fine, not mind-blowing, but fun enough if not short-lived. The Stealth was never the greatest aspect of Death Stranding, even in the core game as stealth is not as refined or fleshed out as in any MGS game, due to a few exceptional limitations (i.e., no radar and heavy reliance on BB for when enemies are nearby). And the racing is simple, and fun but lacks any real conflict. It’s a nice add-not, but I had hoped for something more dynamic.

Yet the small additions and tweaks make Death Stranding a much more approachable game and these are what matter the most.
Also, the biggest change of the game ….


Overall?


My thoughts have not changed at all since playing Death Stranding back in 2022. I appreciate this game even more than ever, down to its weirdness, compelling outlook and differing from most games on the market. I will admit, the story elements which I found silly and “Too Kojima” came across a little more wanky than before, but the performances and world-building were even stronger for me this time round.

The lateral tests for traversal are some of the most stressful, enjoyable, challenging, relaxing, and wholesome fun I’ve had as a gamer now in his late 30s. I get that many people won’t like this, and that’s a shame, as Death Stranding is a beautifully unique game with charm, wonderful weirdness and a soul that shines through.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself yet again playing this and yet again, I strongly feel you should play it too.

++ Engaging and rich storytelling
++ Awesome world to explore and venture through
++ Lots of fun and memorable gameplay moments

- May not appeal to everyone
- The major additional content could have been bigger and better

A review code of Death Stranding Director’s Cut was kindly provided by the publisher.