Review: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Will Divide Die-Hard Fans [EGMR]

EGMR writes: "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain left me conflicted as a die-hard MGS fan. It certainly has some of the best gameplay of this entire series, and it's easily one of the most intelligent, player-driven and amazing open world games this generation so far. It offers a phenomenal amount of content and runs like a dream, which is bound to embarrass other triple A titles. Yet being so deeply invested in this story and series it left me feeling underwhelmed and disappointed at how minimal the story is, and how it didn't feel like a farewell. It may leave you looking for and wanting more out of the story, which has not happened before in the history of this series. The result, despite being astounding to play, felt like a core part of the experience was missing. The Phantom Pain may not be Kojima's cinematic and narrative masterpiece, but it is close to that purely as a video game experience."

[Timesplitter14]

I think rating this game is a question of what you think a 10/10 represents.

For some people, a 10 means the game has no flaws. MGS5 definitely has flaws. Its open world is a bit lifeless, the franchise's signature boss battles were almost absent, and its story felt incomplete. If that is the way you rate games, then an 8 seems about right.

For others, a 10 means it's one of the best games available right now, and it raises the bar for future games. And in that respect I'd give MGS5 a 10. Some flawed games are just better than games with no flaws. The positive aspects matter too, not just the negative

[Tody_ZA]

Thanks for the opinion, respected and appreciated.

I'm not against giving games 10, I'm a full supporter of using the entire scale, from 1 right through to 10. I've given quite a number of games a 10 in my time, which includes God of War III, Limbo, Street Fighter IV, one of the Uncharted games etc.

MGS3 is the easiest 10 I'd ever give in my life, and it's my personal favourite game of all time. Most of the MGS games for me would have scored close to that. It's my favourite game franchise, and it's been that way since I was a kid.

Most of my issues with TPP were story related, as someone who has been invested in this series since the beginning and even played all the side games, including Portable Ops and Peace Walker, and played each game in this series multiple times over. Hell, I have access to PS3s just because of my MGS Legacy Collection, and literally no other reason.

Because story is half the reason to play an MGS game, and one of the biggest reasons this series has produced masterpiece after masterpiece, it had important weight in the score for TPP.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, TPP is brilliant, and often puts other games in the genre to shame. But the story and structure was where I felt disappointment, and with some decisions taken in that regard.

It's all explained in the review.

[HaydenJameSmith]

I've heard the same thing from many long standing fans, there will be a lot of people defending it cause there just getting into the series or cause it's a Hideo Kojima game but the flaws are apparent to most real fans...

As you said its mainly with the story, I was led to believe that this game would bring the series full circle ande explain the things fans have been asking for years... it hasnt really done that. Then there is the lack of boss fights, lifeless world, lack of closure at the end due to it being cut.

Don't get me wrong I still think the game is fantastic but your review is fair and ackoledges the flaws. Also MGS3 is my favourite one out of the series too...

[Hueynewton2012]

We also don't have a clue whats in store regarding the future of this game meaning possible story DLC that be be already completed and put aside for later release. I believe in this team and think there's more to come.

[Eterna1Ice]

Now they're gonna be mad about an 8, lol.

[Neixus]

diehard MGS fans are mostly 20+ years old, so not really :)

The thing that makes me and other MGS fans mad, is when people complain about silliness and the ''supernatural' stuff in the game. Everything is explained in the game if you listen to the tapes.

[Tody_ZA]

The 'silliness' and 'supernatural' stuff are a massive reason why the games are awesome and unpredictable.

If it wasn't for the 'silliness' and 'supernatural' stuff, we wouldn't have had some of the best boss fights ever created in gaming, such as Psycho Mantis (MGS1) and The End (MGS3) to name a few.

It's where the game series becomes more than just about a super soldier.

On top of that though, those people who complain about it are fairly warped on priorities because this IS a series where there are human clones, dodgy life-altering nanotechnology, Cyborg Ninjas and whatnot.

[Sarah_Ch]

I just finished the game and completed all missions . And I think the game deserve 9 out of 10. What I didn't like 1-boss fights were easy tho only quite one was good enjoyed it a lot.2- And it's kinda repetitive.

[oIITSBIIo]

I'm in episode 32, the game so far is 8/10 for me as well, I'm not sure why it got many 10/10 scores.

[Hueynewton2012]

An 8 is fine but some MGS fans are spoiled i.e. These same MGS fans are the same ones still complaining that MGS4 had too much story telling and long cut scenes lacking game play. Now Kojima and his team delivered in my opinion the best sandbox stealth game ever created surpassing splinter cell and offered a great but a different style of story telling IMO. He's added elements from peace walker and many more thought provoking elements to the game to keep you busy for many hours outside the main story including online and that's exactly what many MGS fans wanted!!! less linear and more diverse game play.

I agree that there should have been civilians and the lack non combatant NPC's makes the environment seem lifeless and unrealistic at times but then again this is war torn Afghanistan in the 1980's, so conducting operations in non civilian areas can make sense. The bottom line is to make an MGS game that would've pleased everyone they'd probably need a few more years and we already waited more than 6.

I'm 25 hours in with only 11% completed. Presently this is my GOTY surpassing the witcher 3.

[Tody_ZA]

I totally get what you're saying and would criticise those fans too, but I'm happy to say I wasn't one of those MGS fans.

I LOVED MGS4, it's close to perfect for me and I had absolutely no problem watching hours and hours of cutscenes. That was part of the Metal Gear experience for me, and part of what makes Kojima's stories so deep and complex and allows him to explore his themes to an insane degree.

The gameplay of MGS4 can still put games released 8 years later to shame. It's astonishing. Even the Metal Gear boss fight - any mecha game would be proud of that in their game, and Kojima did that for just a single boss fight.

Man, I love MGS4.

I do agree that the gameplay of The Phantom Pain is sublime. I could praise it to no end. My biggest issue, as mentioned in the review, was that all of the meat, a lot of the great dialogue and the parts where the themes are explored more in-depth are all put in emotionless cassette tapes. I began savouring cutscenes because I was starved for what I've loved about this series for years.

The other problem is that you have to 'unlock' core story moments after you finish the main story, and three of these are the best in the game but there's such a wait to get to them, because you don't just continue the story and the means to unlock them aren't clear.

The structure isn't the best to tell a gripping narrative.

Those things from Peace Walker aren't welcome in my opinion.

But they certainly deserve credit for taking the gameplay of Peace Walker and perfecting it. It's an amazing, amazing game, and that's why I mentioned in my review that if you don't mind the story, and you're not here mainly for that, then the game is closer to perfect.

[flyingwombat33]

The themes are explored so much better because they leave it to you to make the connections. Finally, Kojima has learned to show and not tell, but most of his fans are too obtuse to see It. The "Phantom Pain" is a feeling that you as a player inevitably experience in response to the conclusion. The game leaves an emptiness inside the player that perfectly coincides with the themes, and that's why I think it's the best and most concise thematically. The game isn't perfect, but it is genius.

[flyingwombat33]

Hasn't every MGS been divisive? Personally, I admire that this game had the balls to reinvent the idea of an open world on the way that it did. I also think that MGSV may have the thinnest plot in terms of the actual twists and turns, but it stands as the strongest and most concise thematically if you're willing to give it the analysis it deserves. Love the game. I do feel the phantom pain of the missing ending though...

Do wish there were a couple more boss fights, but there were 5--it's not like there were that many fewer than the other games (MGS 2 had 6, MGS4 had 7, only MGS 3 and 1 had more) and, in my opinion, they are each some of the best in the ENTIRE series.

[Hueynewton2012]

Well stated brotha, bubbles for you. I really hope there's more in store for fans in the near future, and i assume this was planned to be continued based on the complaints from fans that finished the game, I'm not quite there yet.

[flyingwombat33]

The story itself is very concise and interesting, but there's one particular plot thread that remains wide open at the end. You'll see. It definitely doesn't ruin the game, but it does leave one wanting a resolution.

[bangoskank]

I've been playing Metal Gear since the NES days. I think PP is the best one I've played since.MGS on the PS.

[Gatsu]

MGS2 and MGS4 divided fans too, but both were also very well reviewed. MGSV is maybe a 10 for me. The story feels different, or oddly paced because of the open world structure.

But I still love it very much and the gameplay is pure magic. Haven't had so much fun in a while. There are things I miss from older MGS, like Snake talking more, although I think the more silent one works too. Also the more tight packed story, but it maybe worked like it because of linearity and kept running to cutscenes all the time.

Many fans had different expectations or some maybe too big, so get disappointed. There's no reason really to trust reviews too much, because in the end you have to play it to see if like it or not :). This was a good review though and few others. I loved the games ending.

[flyingwombat33]

As an enormous MGS fan myself, I've been encouraging my fellow fans to try to see MGSV's story in a different light: I understand the impulse to be disappointed by the reduction in complexity, but what Phantom Pain does so amazingly is interweave its themes between the story and the gameplay. The idea of the 'phantom pain' is explored from so many different angles. From a purely character-driven perspective, it definitely falls short of 1 and 3 (in my opinion, the best characters in the series), from a complexity perspective, it doesn't hold a candle to 2 or 4, but in terms of its structured, thematic material, I think it's the best in the series.

[Tody_ZA]

Nice comment, thank you!

I totally agree. The gameplay of The Phantom Pain blew me away. I still want to play it more after 60 hours.

If you read my review, you can see exactly why the score is lower (because story in this series is so important to me), yet it's also stated in the review that if you move past the story, are mainly there for gameplay, then it's closer to perfection.

I acknowledge the brilliance of the gameplay, but was let down by the story and its abundance of cassette tapes for vital plot info and requirements to unlock additional core story content.

I also loved the twist ending. Wish all those cassette tapes you got afterward were part of the cutscenes though.

Hence why the game will divide fans. But I doubt anyone is in disagreement that the gameplay is downright incredible.

@flyingwombat33

That's a very interesting take, and I see your point. The game certainly did weave its themes between story and gameplay.

I suppose having played the MGS games multiple times each, and being so obsessively in love with this series since I was a kid, I've expected to walk in thinking for hours on the themes, diving into complexity and feeling, by the end, that I just explore 5 books worth of story content.

That was always half the joy I got from these games, outside of the epic gameplay.

That was why it felt like something was missing in The Phantom Pain, but I did comment that the actual story is great. It's just without a chunk of its meat, that are in the cassette tapes.

[Gatsu]

Yeah some of the cassette tapes sound very incredible and I wished too they were in cutscenes :). TPP has some things I don't like, but it still is amazing game :D.

But to be honest, for me MGS3 maybe still remains the best story I've ever experienced in games. It was a bit different in TPP than I thought. I wonder how it will feel to go play older MGS later because the gameplay is much more limited in them ;).

[bharathwajravi]

I think the game would be understood if we play mgs in chronological order given in wikipedia