Death Stranding seemed to cause way more division that we thought it would when it released back in 2019. Some folk found it boring and bland, others were confused by the (confusing) plot, nonplussed by the lack of action, whilst more still just sorta thought it was way too long and ponderous.
Make no mistake, it still reviewed really well, it wasn't hard done by. It's just there was a lot of negative discourse swirling around it post-release, whilst we've never personally viewed it as anything less than one of Kojima's absolute best. We demand that Metascore be corrected to 100, if you please! Because Sam Porter's odyssey really is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing; a relentlessly bleak and haunting experience that also manages to be deeply personal, touching and beautiful in all the right ways. It sticks with you, even years later, there's parts of our brains, memories, scattered around the rugged terrain that envelops you as you boot into it. Not many games do that, mate.
We aren't gonna start explaining your Die Hardmen and all that caper here - you probably know it all already, and the plot in Death Stranding is so wild we just do not have the inclination right now. Honestly, we'd be Googling names until bedtime. But all you need to know, without spoilers, is that it does all the good Kojima stuff you expect, all the wild characters and long conversations, incredible cutscenes and best-in-class weirdness. It also has some phenomenal boss fights that are amongst the strangest and coolest things we've witnessed. It does all this, but this time around it feels so much more personal.
Sam's tale is one that demands you consider things about yourself, your future, your purpose and predicament as a human skin-bag, that you'd rather not. This isn't some post-apocalyptic tale that makes you wanna survive and thrive because it's all sexy lasers and cool shoes. It's a futuristic wasteland that bears the scars of man's mistakes, of real pain, the solitude of living in a world where connections have been torn asunder and everything you do requires a battle against the elements, alongside careful planning and perseverance. Oh, and it's also haunted AF. So prepare for some scares, too. It makes a perfect playground for gruff Sam as he goes about fixing the world, one job at a time. It also makes for one of the most unforgettable video-game environments we've yet to experience.
Why can we remember so many little nooks and crevices that are dotted about this hugely monotonous and damp landscape, whilst so many more readable and flashy game worlds pass us by in a blur of blandness? It's because Sam's mission, in both its critical and personal aspects, is one that ties you to this landscape at every twist and turn. It makes you work, forge paths, remember routes, mark points that need fixing and improving, to make a connection, directly, with the world around you.
There's the whole ingenious multiplayer aspect too; as you connect more and more of this shattered United States, you begin to open up ways to connect to other players. From leaving behind equipment and supplies, to building actual bridges and climbing supports. It brings every rock, every waterfall and stunning vista that you clamber up, over and toward, to life in such a hypnotically beautiful way.
The cast is sublime. Of course they are. The writing is sublime (when it makes sense), and although it does veer off into full-on chaos at points, the kind of chaos only Kojima can bring, it's never less than electric because there's much haunting beauty and meaning in everything that's going on at any particular moment. Yes, a lot of it is nonsensical bulls**t too, there's always that aspect to the man, but really, who cares when the bulls**t looks and tastes this good? Mmmm..., delicious bulls**t.
In all honesty, and being straight and proper with you, we were gunning to give this one a 10 as soon as we knew it was coming our way, 100% locked and loaded on a perfect score. It was all just a matter of whether or not the performance side of things held up on Xbox. Which it does! Oh yes. In both the performance and quality modes, everything looks and feels perfect, to the point we've actually settled on playing our full Xbox campaign (our third playthrough of Death Stranding overall) in the quality mode, for the all little extra shinies. You can check out our video comparison on performance too, for more deets on this aspect of the game.
But yeah, overall, this is one of our top three faves from Kojima, blasting onto Xbox consoles in top form and complete in terms of content. There's never been anything else like it. Death Stranding is, quite simply, a singular and monumental bit of storytelling and world-building. It's mechanically sublime too, not just in Sam's stumbling around and balancing of cargo, and the associated constant gauging of terrain - which is oddly mesmerising - but also in how it expertly drip-feeds upgrades and sexy new tech at a perfect rate, in how it introduces new threats just as things start to feel samey. It's a bonus that it also gives us enough demented, haunting, thought-provoking Kojima-san weirdness to last us up to, and well past, whenever it is his next joint decides to drop.
Conclusion
Death Stranding Director's Cut is a phenomenal experience that, five years on, is still as incredible, mechanically, narratively and graphically, as ever. A top-notch cast do their best with what is an admittedly bonkers story (bonkers in all the best Kojima ways, you understand), whilst this incredibly haunting world, this emotional tale and its incredible characters, absolutely hook you in for one of the most memorable journeys of the past few console cycles. It's so good to see this masterpiece finally arrive on Xbox.