Death Stranding Directors Cut Xbox Review

It’s finally here: a major Sony exclusive crossing over to Xbox—a landmark moment for fans on both platforms. This isn’t just any title—it’s Death Stranding, one of PlayStation’s biggest exclusives, crafted by the legendary Hideo Kojima.

Having played Death Stranding on both the PS4 and PS5, I was eager to see how it runs on the Xbox Series X. But before I get into that, I’ll give a quick recap of the story for those who haven’t yet experienced the wonderful world of Death Stranding.

Set in post-apocalyptic America, the country has become divided due to a lack of connection between zones. The catastrophe known as the Death Stranding has left the world hazardous, with BTs—supernatural entities—ready to consume you and drag you to the beach. If that happens, a void out will occur, destroying everything in its path and leaving behind a massive crater.

You play as Sam Porter Bridges (played by Norman Reedus), a delivery porter with the “Dooms” ability to sense BTs. After surviving a void out and a meeting with the last surviving president of the United States (who also happens to be his mother), Sam is tasked by Bridges (a presidential company) to reconnect America using a Q-pid and find his sister, Amelie Strand.

Along the way, you’re aided by your BB (Bridge Baby), which connects to the beach, helping you detect BTs. As you progress, your bond with BB deepens, revealing more about the mysterious Cliff Unger (played by Mads Mikkelsen).

If you’re new to this game and that brief synopsis of the story has left you confused, don’t worry—it lost me the first time as well. But the more you play and immerse yourself in this strange world filled with outlandish ideas, the more you’ll appreciate what it has to offer. Fans of Metal Gear Solid will already know how crazy Kojima’s storytelling can get, but that’s what makes it so original. Once you fully embrace it, the experience is unforgettable.

Kojima spared no expense in bringing this story to life with a stellar cast of actors, including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Troy Baker, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Lindsay Wagner, Guillermo del Toro, and Nicolas Winding Refn, among others. Even Conan O’Brien makes a hilarious cameo. Every character is performed brilliantly, thanks to lifelike motion and facial capture. The game remains one of the best-looking titles to this day.

The crux of the game is delivering items and packages to different outposts on your journey to find Amelie. By doing this, you increase your Porter reputation and reconnect outposts to the chiral network. So yes, it’s essentially a walking sim—something critics like to point out—but it’s one of the best in its class.

While there’s a lot of walking, that’s primarily in the first few hours. As you progress and reconnect outposts, you gain access to vehicles to assist with deliveries. The futuristic motorbike offers speed and versatility but limited cargo space.

Trucks, on the other hand, allow you to carry more, making them the best choice for larger deliveries, though they lack speed. Uneven terrain is another challenge, but the game provides plenty of tools, like ladders for climbing cliffs, ropes for descending, and bridges for crossing streams and canyons. Better yet, in online mode, you can access equipment left by other players, such as ladders or lost packages, and even thank them with a “like.”

The Director’s Cut offers many quality-of-life changes over the original PS4 version, including a steady 60fps, ultrawide mode, and refined combat. It also introduces new content, such as story missions, cargo delivery tools like the cargo catapult, a racing circuit, and new music. This is the definitive version of the game.

Overall, the Xbox version of Death Stranding Directors Cut closely mirrors its PlayStation counterpart, but the novelty of playing it on Xbox is exciting in itself. The inclusion of Xbox Play Anywhere adds even more value, letting you play on PC or on handheld devices like the Asus ROG Ally. The game runs excellently on the lightweight, go-anywhere ROG Ally: at 1080p with FXAA and its default settings, you can expect a solid 50-60 FPS experience, which feels perfectly smooth thanks to the FreeSync Premium display.

If you’re already a fan, seeing how it plays on Xbox is a must. And if you’re new, I urge you to give it a try—you won’t be disappointed.