After months of rumors, Kojima finally revealed the Death Stranding Director's Cut trailer at this year's Summer Game Fest. While the details about this PS5-enhanced version of the game remain scarce, there are plenty of things this Death Stranding PS5 version could offer to make it a worthwhile experience for returning fans.

However, whether this Death Stranding Director's Cut will be a free upgrade for existing users, or a separate release entirely, is a different mystery. While most third-party developers are offering free next-gen upgrades to games for existing players, Sony seems adamant in charging for native PS5 updates for its first and second-party games. Granted, these upgrades come alongside new features as well. The recently announced Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is a reasonable way to do it with plenty of new offerings, and Death Stranding's Director Cut should follow suit.

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Death Stranding's Director's Cut could learn a lot from Ghost of Tsushima's Director's Cut. The latter comes along with a brand new story DLC that takes players to the Iki Island. While Sucker Punch didn't reveal how much new content is in the Iki Island expansion, it could be similar in length to the Infamous First Light DLC.

The Director's Cut on PS5 offers plenty of other features that include 4K resolution, 60 FPS, DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support, full Japanese lip-sync for Japanese voiceover of the main game and the Iki expansion, 3D audio support, and improved load times. Ghost of Tsushima's PS5 upgrade for existing owners seems to offer plenty to justify its $30 price tag. Death Stranding's Director's Cut needs to offer a similar amount of content as Ghost of Tsushima's Director's Cut, if not more.

Death Stranding was released eight months before Ghost of Tsushima on the PS4, which means that the developers have potentially had more time to work on a meaty story expansion, if one is potentially coming in Director's Cut. Moreover, unlike Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding on PS5 hasn't received a free performance update that boosts the game's FPS. In fact, Death Stranding on PS5 hasn't received any significant updates that could distinguish the PS5 version from its PS4 Pro variant. As such, there's a lot more potentially in store for Death Stranding Director's Cut.

Death Stranding is already a gorgeous game on the PS4, but it can be even more gorgeous thanks to the power of PS5. Native 4K resolution, alongside a 60 FPS mode, could do wonders for the bleak Icelandic open world of Death Stranding. Moreover, Death Stranding could especially benefit from haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support. In a game where traversal is the most important aspect of gameplay, DualSense support for Death Stranding could intensify the core gameplay loop. All of this with reduced loading times between booting up the game and fast traveling could really make Death Stranding Director's Cut a true next-gen experience.

While a story expansion was teased in the announcement trailer of Death Stranding Director's Cut, this upcoming remaster should go beyond just adding a new DLC and quality of life upgrades. Death Stranding brought plenty of unique gameplay features to the table that made the core gameplay loop far more enjoyable than many would have initially expected.

However, there wasn't much variety in weapons and traversal tools it offered, especially when compared to Metal Gear Solid 5. It goes without saying that Kojima's focus was on the game's narrative, and the gameplay was often maligned by critics, which is a shame because Death Stranding is inexplicably satisfying and fun to play. Staying true to its name, The "Director's Cut" could add some more crazy innovative tools that didn't make it in the main game. It could make replaying its 50-60 hours long campaign all the more fun.

While Death Stranding 2 is in an awkward position right now, given all the rumors about Kojima partnering with Xbox, Death Stranding Director's Cut should offer enough content to keep fans busy until Kojima's next big game arrives on PlayStation consoles. It's also an opportunity for it to make up for its underwhelming initial sales, and the best way to do that is to offer a substantial upgrade with necessary tweaks and improvements from the main game, alongside additional content, that could justify its price tag.

Death Stranding: Director's Cut is in development for PS5.

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