Gaming

‘Death Stranding: Director’s Cut’ Walks the Walk Onto Xbox

‘Death Stranding: Directors Cut’ makes the long journey from PlayStation to Xbox, randomly shadow dropping on a Thursday morning.

Sam speaking with Lisa in Death Stranding: Director's Cut
Screenshot: KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS

Depending on who you ask, Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is either the greatest game Hideo Kojima has ever made or nothing more than a glorified walking simulator. I’m much further in the former camp, with Death Stranding being one of the most unique and interesting games in the past few years. And wouldn’t you know it, another random day of the week brings another random shadow drop onto the Xbox family of consoles?

Sam Bridges in Death Stranding: Directors Cut walking through the environment
Screenshot: KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS

‘Death Stranding: Director’s Cut’ Is the Best Way to Experience the Game

Death Stranding: Directors Cut is the most feature-rich version of the aforementioned game, and a random shadow drop onto a new console was not on my bingo card. With Microsoft pledging to be more open to multiplatform hits, maybe PlayStation will play ball and let the sequel come out on Xbox sooner than expected. Even if the Director’s Cut eliminated the Monster Energy drinks that were hilarious to me in the original, the added extras make this quite appealing to pick up.

Videos by VICE

While I’m still firmly in the camp of Monster Energy emerging victorious over Bridges Energy, everything else is a major step up in quality. The additional gadgets that Sam has in his arsenal, alongside the improved visuals and framerates make Death Standing: Director’s Cut something that belongs in the history books.

Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is a very unique experience. When it came out, it was slightly understated. Who would want to play a game where you have to deliver things by yourself, nobody else around? Then the pandemic happened. People thought Kojima was a literal genius once again for predicting this type of event, and the rest is history. Death Stranding is a game that everyone should play at least once. Lose yourself in it.

And the best part of it all? It’s $20… at least for the next two weeks or so. After that, Death Stranding: Directors Cut jumps back up to its normal price of $40. You could either download Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete for the same amount or jump into one of the most unique and pivotal stories told in recent years. I know which camp I’ll be going to, and it’s not the adorable one.