So, right up top I think it needs saying that yes, this game is technically unfinished for lots of reasons and there is at least one mission missing off of the end of Chapter 2. Now, I personally don’t think that extra mission would’ve done much for the overall pacing or experience, but I’ll get into that in a bit.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain kind of rocks. But only kind of. Waking up from a coma after 9 years, you are “Big Boss” AKA Venom Snake - legendary soldier. You’re tasked with rebuilding your private military and hunting down Cipher, the shady government organisation suspected to be responsible for the destruction of your old mother base and the reason you were in a coma in the first place. Along the way, you’ll encounter some… interesting narrative decisions and some even more interesting character designs, but before we get into that, the most important question: How does MGSV feel to play?
I’m a huge fan of movement in video games and deep, rewarding movement systems do a lot of heavy lifting for me in my enjoyment of them. As a result, I loved playing this game. There are 2 major ways you can engage with missions in MGSV: combat and stealth. I chose stealth as it felt the most rewarding and it gave me a higher letter grade at the end of each mission, which was far more motivating than I expected it to be. The core gameplay loop of surveying, planning and executing was incredibly satisfying. This is greatly aided by the way Big Boss feels to control.
For example, you can perform a dive to get into cover that comes packaged with some nice camera shake and vibration that really sells the heft of your bulky, weapon laden frame. This feeling of tangibility is created in everything. Everything is a really important word here because there are A LOT of different ways you can move as Big Boss. Inside what may seem like a pretty simple movement toolkit are all these little nuances, like how Snake’s position on the ground when prone will affect how he positions himself when you aim at enemies. While movements like this aren’t always a direct result of player interaction, they do a good job of grounding you in the landscape of the stealth sandbox Hideo Kojima has created.
This isn’t even to mention the mount movement systems - the walker gear and the horse. I didn’t play much with the walker gear as I was playing stealth, but it feels just as punchy and weighty as normal movement. In both the horse and walkers footsteps there is a punchyness that feels almost tangible, like you’re really driving your feet down into the earth as you move.
The only real complaint I have on the movement here is that sometimes things just… wouldn’t work. For example, several times I would try and vault a small rock face only to hit a wall. While these were few, they did stick out more towards the end of the game when my enjoyment was starting to be tested.
Weaponry is naturally a huge part of MGSV and the weapon handling here is what you’ve likely come to expect, with all the standard mechanics accounted for. What really sells it here though is the sound design. I’m particularly fond of when you line up a perfect headshot on an unsuspecting enemy and a nice metallic ping rings out as your bullet ricochets off his shiny new helmet. This sound is different whether you use lethal or non-lethal (rubber) bullets. It makes what could be a fairly standard gunplay experience really stand out.
I also love the little clunky, cassette recorder sounds of the iDroid, and the metal rustling against fabric sounds of switching weapons, or getting out your scanning scope. I think every little sound is amazing and really boosts the experience here.
This attention to detail isn’t just present in the gameplay, the voice acting here is also top notch. He doesn’t get the most to do but Kiefer Sutherland gives a great performance as Snake and both Robin Atkin Downes and Troy Baker are so much fun to listen to as Kaz and Ocelot. Unfortunately, a large portion of their dialogue is experienced through cassette tapes, not through direct interactions with Snake. For me, It constantly feels like you’re too removed from large parts of the narrative to engage with it directly…
…The narrative is where things get a little iffy for me. Kojima said in an E3 interview in 2013 that players should “...think of Metal Gear Solid 5 as a TV series.”, which is reinforced by the episodic structure of the missions. Many of these main missions are what you’d call filler episodes, those episodes of tv where the plot doesn’t advance but you see your favourite characters in situations you wouldn’t normally. Sam gets caught in a time loop or Mulder, Scully and Skinner take a split screen bubble bath. They really work because they allow breathing time from the main narrative, the building of a deeper relationship with your cast of characters and they often end up as fan favourite episodes.
Unfortunately, in MGSV these episodes do not have this effect. Instead, they end up suffocating what little tension this already light narrative manages to stir up. The main story culminates in missions 28-31, giving the pacing a shot of adrenaline it sorely needed. It was probably too late to save it for me, though. This was the first time in a while I felt like I was fully engaged in the story, but it came about so suddenly I failed to clock that the endgame was happening right away. The game has an interesting premise, for sure, but it feels as though the mission structure and overall narrative design are more occupied with looking like a tv show than being a compelling one.
Before finishing up, I would be remiss for not mentioning Quiet, the enemy turned companion sniper who dresses… minimally. Due to narrative contrivances, she is required to dress in a bikini and fishnets and is unable to talk. While there goes on to be character development surrounding her past, her actual presentation in game does not change and she remains an object of the male gaze in the way she is designed, written and framed in camera. Outside of maybe one other character, who I won't spoil here, she is the only significant female character in this game, which felt important to bring up. This could be greatly expanded, but I’ll leave it there for the sake of this review’s length.
All in all, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is undoubtedly a good game, but I think it falls short of being a great one. It still has some of the most engaging gameplay I’ve experienced almost 10 years later and the bones of a great narrative. But unfortunately, those bones aren’t supported by enough connective tissue to develop effective tension, compelling character arcs or convincing pay offs. If that gameplay is enough for you, this game comes highly recommended, but if a strong narrative is what you’re looking for, this game gets a C, and neither I, nor Big Boss, would be happy with that.
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