One of the more unexpected announcements at Summer Game Fest was that Death Stranding is coming to the PS5 as Death Stranding: Director's Cut. Fans have been wanting the game to come to Sony's next-gen console for quite some time. Rumors of an upcoming collaboration between Kojima Production and Xbox left many wondering what such a partnership could mean for Kojima's fresh new PlayStation IP, but it's coming to PS5 "soon."
While the question of Death Stranding 2's existence is as of yet unanswered, Death Stranding: Director's Cut makes it apparent that PlayStation and Kojima Productions aren't entirely done with the franchise just yet. Details are sparse regarding this new version of Death Stranding, but it seems like an almost sure bet that the game will boast a few features to make it a worthwhile purchase for veteran porters and newcomers alike.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut - Enhanced Visuals and Performance
Death Stranding already looked great on the PS4, but now it's poised to be even prettier. The footage shown in the trailer was captured on a PS5, and suffice to say, it looks impressive. It probably won't surpass the visual fidelity of the PC version when running on high-end machines, but those who previously played on PS4 will undoubtedly get to experience higher-quality graphics courtesy of the PS5's advanced hardware.
Additionally, the trailer was running at 60 FPS, indicating there's a good possibility the final game will too. However, it's not known if what was shown is an example of a Performance Mode, or if it's the only graphics option available in the game. For all of its graphical improvements, however, fans shouldn't expect Death Stranding on PS5 to have ray tracing. The more-than-likely graphically superior PC version notably lacks that feature, so it's probable that the PS5 version will not as well.
Death Stranding With DualSense Feedback
While it hasn't yet been confirmed, it's hard to imagine a world in which Hideo Kojima doesn't incorporate the advanced haptics of the DualSense into Death Stranding. Keep in mind, this is the same person who previously worked on Boktai, a Game Boy Advance game shipped with a solar sensor that literally forced players to go outside to use certain gameplay features. Additionally, Kojima's early Metal Gear Solid games made extensive use of the PlayStation 2's pressure-sensitive buttons — an oft-ignored feature of the iconic console.
All that said, it seems like a no-brainer that Kojima would opt to implement the DualSense controller's advanced haptics in his PS5 games going forward. Of all of the DualSense's features, the adaptive triggers seem like they would fit Death Stranding's gameplay the best. Sam Porter Bridges is constantly struggling to maintain his balance, and players regularly have to use the shoulder buttons to level out Sam's weight, lest he topples over. Adaptive triggers can have varying levels of resistance, so if Sam is only a little off-balance, it would make sense for the trigger to be less resistant than if Sam was on the verge of falling over sideways.
Again, it's important to note that DualSense features have not yet been confirmed for Death Stranding: Director's Cut, but there's no denying that the DualSense and Death Stranding practically feel like they were made for each other.
Will Death Stranding: Director's Cut Have New Content?
The subtitle of "Director's Cut" seems to imply that Death Stranding on PS5 will be much more than a prettier port of the PS4 version. However, how it distinguishes itself, content-wise, remains to be seen. The trailer shows Sam seemingly sneaking through an indoor facility. Considering the majority of Death Stranding is set outside, this is a fairly uncommon occurrence, and the area depicted doesn't appear to be one previously accessible in the game.
Could this imply the inclusion of some stealth-based challenges, à la VR Missions in Metal Gear Solid? The answer is unclear. However it should be noted that Kojima is no stranger to making trailers solely for the sake of jokes, and given the heavy-handed, comedic references to Metal Gear in the new Death Stranding trailer, the content shown could very well just be one big joke.
In regard to the prospect of new story content, fans shouldn't hold their breath. Death Stranding's ending saw Sam hang up his hat as a porter for the UCA to go live a quiet life with his newly-adopted daughter, Lou. With that said, unless there's a new playable character, it seems incredibly unlikely that new story content is on the way. A slightly more reasonable expectation is that the PC-exclusive content could finally be making its way to consoles. The PC version boasts an extra difficulty mode, as well as missions, equipment, and weapons via cross-promotions with Half-Life and Cyberpunk 2077 that simply do not exist in the PS4 version of the game.
There are still questions swirling about the new version of Death Stranding, but for now, fans can expect with certainty that the game will look at least marginally better when it launches on PS5, and that some form of new content will likely be included. But what exactly that content is remains to be seen. Additionally, compatibility with DualSense features seems like a pretty safe bet as well, but there hasn't been any official word on that. Either way, Death Stranding: Director's Cut seems to be shaping up to offer a greater package than the initial release.
Death Stranding is available on PS4 and Windows, with a Director's Cut in development for PS5.