Kojima Doesn’t Like “Director’s Cut” Title

Yeah, Hideo, neither do I. I played your game, and if it wasn’t the Director’s Cut already, I have to ask, who was your editor? The phrase “Give ’em an inch, they’ll take a mile” has almost never been applicable outside the microtransaction ladened tripe that 2K, EA, and Activision will roll out year on year, but with you it does fit. I have the special cardboard sleeved edition of the game which I got around the time it was released, and later reviewed for this very site. Not only that, but I also have the Legacy Collection of Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series.

I say all of this to bring to light, I might have played a few of Kojima’s games. Never before Death Stranding had I thought, “right, when did he fire the editor, or did he just not hire one?” So when the Director’s Cut of Death Stranding was revealed last month during the Summer Games Fest: Kickoff Live with a very amusing little trailer that I enjoyed, I had a few questions. It turns out, Hideo himself doesn’t like the name “Director’s Cut” either, giving his reasoning on Twitter:

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In the game, it is not what was cut, but what was additionally produced that was included. Delector's Plus? So, in my opinion, I don't like to call "director's cut".

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) July 12, 2021

The thing is, when he puts it like that, I kind of get it. I’d argue that translation doesn’t make it entirely perfect, not least of which with the English version of the tweet stating “Delector’s Plus,” while the Japanese version of the tweet does translate properly into Director’s Plus. Of course, it is a very Kojima way of putting things. Often as a game wraps up and optimization is done, the art team and those that are a little more creative within a studio end up taking some of their time to make quirky and fun extra bits for the game. So they’ve just bundled all the stupid and fun ideas made during that period and post-launch into one… Director’s Plus edition.

If you don’t know what is in this PS5-exclusive edition of the game, that might not make too much sense. So let me explain: There is a new GTA-Online-style arcade racer within this new edition of the game. Ok, you don’t create the circuits like GTA, but the Fragile Circuits are neon-lit racetracks, raced on in ridiculously out-of-place cars, on roads placed over the top of the terrain you walk on in the normal game. This alongside the cargo catapults, bots, and story missions make up the Direction’s Plus edition of Death Stranding.