OpenCritic - 84
Metacritic - 87

Gamereactor - 9/10​
This Director's Cut just makes that masterpiece better, offering a more balanced experience, fantastic 60 frames per second gameplay, a lot more content, and great new tools that increase the player's options on how to approach each situation. It might be too frustrating or "boring" for some players, but if you eventually decide to give it a shot (especially considering the second chapter is now a bit easier), just make it with the knowledge that you might only truly understand it around half-way the third chapter. It's a commitment, for sure, but one that will be rewarded in many ways.


Cogconnected - 90/100​
I appreciate it, enjoy playing it, and on this third playthrough became more convinced than ever that there's something really special here for those willing to take the time to stare at their boots.


Godisageek - 9.5/10​
For those who never played DS when it hit PS4, there really is no better time than now. A wonderful soundtrack, a powerful story, and enjoyable gameplay made better thanks to the additions mean Kojima Productions found a way to make a great game greater.
IGN - 7/10​


A long list of quality of life improvements certainly makes the PS5 Director's Cut the most feature-rich and accessible version of Death Stranding. If you're yet to experience its gorgeous vistas and general sci-fi weirdness and you're not turned off at the thought of a 40-hour fetch quest, then this is the best way to enjoy its fiction with the least amount of friction. However, by giving us powerful new cargo-moving tools that allow us to forgo heavily burdened hikes in favour of walking the path of least resistance, it diminishes frustration at the cost of any sense of hard-earned gratification. This may be called a "Director's Cut," but I can't help but feel that, for better or worse, the PS4 original perhaps more closely resembles the director's vision.



Polygon - Recommended​
Some art will, given time, morph alongside us. Some art will wait calmly, even stubbornly, for us to return with a new perspective. Death Stranding, by my estimation, has done a bit of both. It has sat patiently, confident in its mechanisms and gargantuan in its ideas, but it has also shifted — just a little bit — while we all did our best to grow. So: Is Death Stranding: Director's Cut worth playing? Absolutely. Especially now. Was Death Stranding also worth playing in 2019? I'd say so. I just wasn't ready for it yet.



Gamebyte - 8/10​
Its story and world are full of mystery. Sam is a likeable protagonist with a job that requires time and it should be played as such. Death Stranding isn't a game you try and speed through at a weekend. Death Stranding is a game you take your time with if you truly want to get the most out of it.


Siliconera - 9/10​
While I took a lot away from it the first time, Death Stranding Director's Cut affected me far more and left an even more positive impression. Regardless of whether someone likes it or not, it sticks with you. Even if the story doesn't click, the underlying concepts stay with you. And at a time when we can't easily travel or connect, having this game where you can and make a difference in strangers' lives online is very welcome.


Screenrant - 5/5​
Director's Cut is the definitive version of Kojima Productions' masterpiece. It delivers an incredibly pertinent story, with more content than ever before, to be experienced through ingenious integration of the PlayStation 5's DualSense.


Console Creatures - Recommended​
Death Stranding Director's Cut improves the flow of the campaign considerably by cutting down on a lot of the grind. If you've never played the original, you'll find a truly bizarre experience only made possible by the mind of Hideo Kojima. Is the game perfect? No, it's got some lingering issues that exist outside the gameplay but the experience itself is worth your time.


NME - 5/5​
If you're a newcomer to Death Stranding, the Directors Cut is the best way to play an absolute masterpiece, and I'm very jealous that you'll be able to engage with it in all its glory. Some of the systemic chaff has been cut out to maintain the atmosphere while making your adventure a little less punishing, and, as a result, it feels far more accessible than it was at launch. Death Stranding feels at home on the PS5 with its enhanced immersion, loading times, framerate bump and graphical fidelity, elevating an already great game into something extraordinary. Returning players are also getting a lot of bang for their buck if they upgrade thanks to a job lot of new content and lore, providing a great excuse to transfer your data, slip on your Bridges Boots and dive back in.



Twinfinite - 4.5/5​
Death Stranding Director's Cut continues to impress with its fearless commitment to fetch quests on top of fetch quests, and again, it's not going to change your mind if you didn't already buy into what it was selling back in 2019. But if you did, the Director's Cut enhances and enriches that original experience, and you'll be happy you jumped back into this one.


CGMag - 9/10​
Perhaps third times the charm, or maybe I've just played too much Death Stranding, and I have now developed the gaming equivalent of Stockholm syndrome. Whatever may be the case, Death Stranding the Director's Cut is not only the best version of the game, but it is also my favourite title to utilize the PlayStation 5's Dualsense controller.


Android Central - 4.5/5​
Death Stranding Director's Cut is a great way for new players to get into this convoluted but highly entertaining game. For returning players, it's just neat to see it play out with all the PS5's tech leading the way.


Comic Book - 2.5/5​
At its best, it's a fascinating adventure game with mechanics that almost deconstruct the open worlds of similar games. But it too often attempts to craft other modes of gameplay -- stealth, action, survival-horror -- onto it, and that only serves to dilute the core. And even that central experience lessens over time, as each new advancement unlocked makes engaging with the game on those base terms less necessary. But there's no denying Death Stranding: Director's Cut's technical achievements. It's incredibly immersive, putting every new capability built into the PlayStation 5 to the test and coming out triumphant.



Budget Gaming - 4/5​
DeepL translation:
All in all, I'm still most excited about the newly added structures, as they make the life of a package delivery person a little better and more interesting. The Firing Range and racetrack provide some distraction. Should you have already played Death Stranding on the PlayStation 4, I find that this Director's Cut adds too little to make you want to play it again, given the minimal addition to the story (therefore subtract 1.5 points from the rating below). If you haven't played the adventure with Sam yet, this is the version you want.

b0r1s wrote:

You starting over Davie or picking back up your save? I’ve finished the game, but debating starting afresh. Wondering how much those new systems affect the early game.

I restarted a few days ago and built roads all the way from north to south knot city's.

But, iv read a little that there's a hassle with save transfers so I'm a restart anyway.
Edit for clarity:
(You have to load up PS4 version and go to a city and choose export save from a monitor and it only works if you have no orders standing).

I was only really acclimatising myself to it all again but couldn't stop playing and I'm looking forward to haptics and triggers more than anything.

Also some of the map is slightly changed according to df.

Cheers. Yeah think Imma start over.

Going blind from now on. Want to experience the new stuff first hand. It’s not like I haven’t already made up my mind

Tempting, tempting. My PC can struggle in the larger towns and mule fights (although I might be able to improve that part), while the rest of game is mostly flawless.

Therefore, the PS5 version won't be as big an upgrade as someone coming from a PS4.

Still, I hate stutters so this is tempting. Just not sure I can go through any more Low Roar credits and vistas again

Low Roar are like alt-j but toned down to be suitable for sanitariums.

Fiver spent. Start the download and off to work. Happy days.

Can’t wait to get back into this. Roads roads roads.

@digi thanks for linking the DF video. I would never have gone quality ultrawide mode. But seems like a winner. Better FOV and pretty much perfect 60fps with sharper graphics.

I have double dipped!

Only tip i wish i knew first time around: once you unlock the Hematic Grenades, stock up, then when you run into a BT zone, don't stealth - make sure you get grabbed and pulled toward the mini-boss (Zone 1 is the Whale), kill the boss with 8 or so grenades and that BT zone will be clear forever.

Just try to stay out of the goo because BB gets proper stressed.

Just in the first cut scene with Deadman and getting a weird graphical glitch with a low res light overlay all over the scene. I’m running it on PS5 with the quality ultrawide setting. Anyone else getting this?

Mmm weird. May have to mix up my settings.

I’ve always bounced off the snake games. Even 5 which I can appreciate the technical side of it I just couldn’t get on. Something about this just stick with me and wouldn’t let go, even the stealth. Definitely a GOAT.

I just feel the same as I did with my first run through. The world, the characters, the limited stealth and combat, even the story somewhat, amazing, but what a boring postman job to fill it with.

Drove to northern parts today, a74 and up past Stirling (lovely drive). Pretty sure this game is based on my journey.