The Christmas day gift from Epic is Death Stranding PC, and you still have nearly seven hours to permanently add it to your library as of the time of writing.
The debut game of Kojima Productions was originally released on the platform in July 2020, roughly eight months after the PlayStation 4 launch. In Wccftech’s review, Francesco De Meo rated the game 9 out of 10.
Death Stranding PC is as polarizing as it is on PlayStation 4, being pretty much the same game. Nonetheless, it is Hideo Kojima at his very best, an extremely coherent artistic vision that is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. The best way to enjoy Death Stranding is to approach it with a very open mind and treat it for what it is: a journey into the deepest reaches of the human mind that is not always going to be pleasant.
With production values that are through the roof and an extremely engaging story, Death Stranding is among Hideo Kojima’s best games. The moment-to-moment gameplay, however, falls short due to its repetitiveness, and the long stretches without any real action make it difficult to recommend the game to all open-world fans. Death Stranding is something different, and only approaching it with an open mind will reveal the brilliance of its themes, its characters and its hauntingly beautiful dystopian world.
For the record, the free Epic Games Store gift originally allowed users to redeem the Director’s Cut of Death Stranding PC, but that was changed to the base version of the game. It was likely a mistake. Users can still upgrade to the Director’s Cut (which adds new features, including an extended storyline, new stealth missions, combat abilities, inventory, buildable structures, cosmetic options, and more) at a discounted price of $5.99.
As a reminder, a live-action film adaptation was recently announced. Kojima Production is also working on Death Stranding 2 for PlayStation 5, though it seems likely the sequel will also eventually make it to PC.
