4/5 ★ – juhogr's review of Death Stranding: Director's Cut.

Okay. I finally finished the main story two-ish weeks ago, and have been enjoying the after-game (Episode 15) now. At this point, I’m ready to say that I do love playing this game. I didn’t love every moment of it during the course of the story — I am still critical of some of the ways the plot was structured, the level/mission design in some episodes, and especially the combat mechanics. But I am completely infatuated with the world, many aspects of the backstory, the main characters, and first and foremost, the main gameplay loop: navigating the terrain, delivering, managing cargo, and building the infrastructure socially with other players. I’d say that’s what this game is really about (for me, anyway), and what makes it unique — and that’s what I can completely concentrate on in the after-game. It’s a game that I hope will influence a lot of other games in the future, and that’s saying something. Some of its flaws still prevent me from giving a full five-star rating, but I do find that in many ways it is a masterpiece. One of the things I love the most is how tired Sam feels during the course of the game. It really feels like carrying all the loads and doing all he does is taking its toll on him. Even though he has a few superhuman-like powers and helpful equipment, it feels like he is constantly close to his limits, almost collapsing under his burden. That’s one reason why playing Death Stranding feels very physical, and that’s one aspect I would like to see in more games.