Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Reviews

I must also praise Kojima for offering up a game that is not simply engaging and cinematic, but is one that also grants the player some agency in how the story plays out. From the start, I was hooked, despite this being my first foray into the Metal Gear franchise. That being said, while the game serves as a sequel to Ground Zeroes, it works equally just as well as a standalone.

There may be some issues with it, but Metal Gear Solid V is a beautiful game with a story that is fairly interesting.

As it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end.

It would be impossible to talk about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain without mentioning the whole Kojima-gate. A few months ago, rumors started to circulate about Kojima parting ways with Konami after the release of MGSV. These were eventually confirmed and the publisher even went as far as removing Kojima's name from all marketing material, which angered some long time fans of the series.

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Big Boss uses his trusty cardboard box one more time.

Convoluted stories and top notch stealth mechanics have been staples of every Metal Gear release. My first contact with the series was back in 2002 when I saw a used copy of Metal Gear Solid 2 for sale at Blockbuster Video. At that time I knew nothing about the series other than the good reviews and TV commercials. I decided to give it a shot and I was blown away by what I experienced. Engrossing story, fun stealth mechanics and beautiful visuals hooked me instantly. The game oozed influences from one of my favourite movies of all time: the 1996 action thriller The Rock. To this day, Metal Gear Solid 2 is still one of my favourite games of all time. When I was offered the chance to review the Phantom Pain I jumped at the chance.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an ending to a massively popular series, and it's excellent. It takes chances that have never existed in the Metal Gear franchise without compromising any of the qualities that are beloved by many.

The Phantom Pain makes a major departure from the gameplay of the earlier home console games, but it’s brilliant for it. The story loses its momentum half-way through and the boss fights can fall flat, but those are minor points compared to the outstanding open world that has been created for you to play in and the freedom to do so.

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Such player-driven drama, comedy, and action eclipses anything in the disappointing scripted narrative. The Phantom Pain is one of the worst Metal Gear stories ever told. It functions neither as a standalone narrative nor as worthwhile insight into the series overall. And yet, The Phantom Pain is the best stealth-action game ever made, one where playing flawlessly is just as thrilling as outright failure. And boy - what a thrill.

Despite the fact that I hit a few snags along the way, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain feels like a simultaneous celebration of the series, and a decidedly new chapter. It’s equal parts tough and flashy, and it’s fitting that if this is Kojima’s last Metal Gear, he goes out on a high note.

A celebration of everything that makes MGS so brilliantly unique, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain heralds a new stage in Kojima's stealth opus that might sadly be his last. Should the Metal Gear series continue without Kojima Productions, we'd be surprised if it's anywhere near as superlative as this. The Phantom Pain is sensational.

You creep into an enemy base inside a cardboard box that, when stationary, the guards don’t seem too suspicious of.

The Phantom Pain is the kind of game I thought would never exist - one where every minute gameplay detail has true purpose. Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of Espionage Action, easily make it my favorite in the series. There have certainly been sandbox action games that have given me a bigger world to roam, or more little icons to chase on my minimap, but none have pushed me to plan, adapt, and improvise the way this one does. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doesn’t just respect my intelligence as a player, it expects it of me, putting it in a league that few others occupy.