After it was first revealed at the Summer Game Fest by Kojima himself with a teaser trailer, Sony has dropped a more extensive look at the upcoming new edition for what the eccentric auteur refers to as a “strand game” that stars the likes of Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and Guillermo Del Toro, among others.
What can players expect from Death Stranding Director’s Cut?
Hideo Kojima made a rare appearance at the Summer Game Fest to introduce Death Stranding Director’s Cut to the rest of the world. Death Stranding was initially released in 2019 and received critical acclaim. It won several Game of the Year awards from various publications. However, most were unsure what to make of the convoluted story as well as the gameplay. This has led fans to affectionately refer to the game as a “walking simulator.” With the Director’s Cut, Death Stranding will be getting numerous changes. The most obvious are the graphical and performance enhancements. The latest trailer showcases Death Stranding running at 60 frames per second at what we can only assume is 4K resolution on the PlayStation 5. However, the Director’s Cut is more than just a facelift for Death Stranding. Similar to what Square Enix did with Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade, Death Stranding Director’s Cut will bring more than just better aesthetics. It will add advanced combat mechanics that appear to involve dropkicks, high-knee strikes, cross-body dives, and flashy melee maneuvers. These are all very reminiscent of the CQC (close quarter combat) combat style from the Metal Gear series, which are some of the best games made by Hideo Kojima. In addition to learning a new combat style, Sam Porter, Death Stranding’s protagonist, will be getting more toys to play with in the Director’s Cut. This includes a Maser Gun that spews electricity, as well as an armored mounted machine gun. Sam is even getting a support skeleton that lets him carry heavier loads. There’s also a new Buddy Bot that Sam can ride on or use to stack up cargo. New to the game, courtesy of the Director’s Cut, is a humongous cargo cannon that literally lets you shoot deliveries too. Of course, what would a Kojima game showcase be without his signature quirkiness? The Director’s Cut will let players drop a new ramp into the world. As you might expect, the trailer includes footage of Sam riding his motorcycle and using the ramp to jump over vast chasms. There’s also a new racecourse called the Fragile Circuit that lets Sam race against other player’s ghosts and their vehicles. On top of the gameplay additions coming with the Director’s Cut, the video promised new story missions for Death Stranding once it arrives on September 24.
Are more director’s cut editions coming in the future?
Director’s Cut releases are nothing new. They’ve been around for years. However, it seems that they’re going through a resurgence, especially on the PlayStation consoles. So far, there is two upcoming director’s cuts of PlayStation exclusives coming. The first one is the aforementioned Death Stranding. The other is Ghost of Tsushima. Similar to Death Stranding, the director’s cut for Ghost of Tsushima will come with new content on top of visual upgrades. In addition, Square Enix has released Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade, which adds new content to Final Fantasy VII Remake and is essentially another director’s cut. Because this trend is becoming more common among PlayStation exclusives games, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see more director’s cut versions down the line.
