During the Summer Game Fest, it was announced that Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding was going to be getting a revision. Dubbed Death Stranding Directors Cut, it was only given a bit of a tease with the parody video of Sam Porter Bridges using a cardboard box, presumably to sneak around like Solid Snake from Kojima’s other popular franchise, Metal Gear Solid. Recently, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) gave the title its official rating site, with the obvious M for Mature rating. One thing that was noteworthy is the listed platform that the game will be playable on when it arrives, the PlayStation 5.
It’s important to note that when Death Stranding Director’s Cut was revealed it was announced for the PlayStation 5. However, it was not announced as a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Thanks to the ESRB rating listing, the game’s standing has caused the video game community speculate that it will in fact only launch for the PlayStation 5. In fact, some publications, including Game Informer, have already given it the exclusive moniker. Neither Kojima, nor Sony have commented on this situation, and likely won’t until they are ready to confirm or deny this.
In addition to this, the ESRB rating hints at a new potential stealth feature, on that is extremely prevalent in the Metal Gear Solid series. In the rating it states that “Players can perform stealth takedowns of enemies (e.g., strangling characters from behind).” While takedowns themselves are not a new mechanics in Death Stranding, it’s possible that a brand new mechanic will be introduced here, with an emphasis on stealth as opposed to a frontal assault.
Death Stranding was a several-year long passion project of Hideo Kojima. Initially launching as a PlayStation 4 exclusive, Death Stranding was a massive success and became Japan’s biggest launch of new IP for the previous generation. It went onto be nominated for several awards, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards. The game has since been ported to PC with numerous updates including 60 frames per second support, ultra-wide monitor support, and the photo mode which was added to the PlayStation 4 version.