Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2905 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,071 out of 2905
  2. Mixed: 461 out of 2905
  3. Negative: 373 out of 2905

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  1. Captiosus
    Sep 4, 2015
    7
    The game is structurally sound and plays as one would expect a modern Metal Gear Solid game to play. Graphically it's better than most and the gameplay is pretty good. I have a few quibbles about the play, such as Big Boss' movement - he feels sluggish, almost drunk - and some pretty unrefined gunplay, but these quibbles aren't really that big of a deal. The narration is ho-hum andThe game is structurally sound and plays as one would expect a modern Metal Gear Solid game to play. Graphically it's better than most and the gameplay is pretty good. I have a few quibbles about the play, such as Big Boss' movement - he feels sluggish, almost drunk - and some pretty unrefined gunplay, but these quibbles aren't really that big of a deal. The narration is ho-hum and sometimes absolutely annoying, especially when getting harassed a bunch at Mother Base. But I could list a dozen games that are infinitely worse in this aspect.

    The problem I'm having with the game is that I'm finding it all so dreadfully BORING. I've enjoyed every Metal Gear game since its inception back on the NES, including the movie-fest that was MGS4, but for some reason MGS5 just doesn't really make me want to keep playing. So far it's missing the "WOW! DID YOU SEE THAT!" factor. The game features large terrains but they're are mostly bereft of life outside of your side ops and main mission areas. 15 hours in and I'm already tired of the samey repetition of the game's mission designs.

    The open world design doesn't seem all that impressive because most of the time is spent just traversing to predetermined destinations. But it's sure beautiful to look at. Also, the microtransactions really grate my nerves. I don't understand how anyone can defend this behavior. I don't think this is a Kojima design - I'm almost certain this was forced into the game by Konami.

    (PC Specs: i7-3770, 960GTX 4GB GDDR5, 16GB DDR3 System RAM, Win7 Pro x64)    … Expand
  2. 0235
    Sep 18, 2015
    7
    first off. i just cant give this game any higher than a 7. a game that fails to have a function save feature and will almost always throw you right back the the very start of hour+ long missions due to a tiny slip up, or poor planning from the start is not fun at all.
    Aside from that, the game is regularly boring, completely hollow, and a façade for what should have been a linear game.    first off. i just cant give this game any higher than a 7. a game that fails to have a function save feature and will almost always throw you right back the the very start of hour+ long missions due to a tiny slip up, or poor planning from the start is not fun at all.
    Aside from that, the game is regularly boring, completely hollow, and a façade for what should have been a linear game. mother base is but a tech tree you can walk around and get people to salute you, nothing more nothing less.
    the world just isn't real enough. they promised all sorts of different tactics, but nothing. there is no benefit to daytime attacks, AI can instantly report your location to every surrounding soldier, even if you shoot them before the radio reaches their mouth.
    the start was fantastic, then suddenly you are dumped into two boring maps with little going on. think farcry 2, and you will have pretty much nailed every element of MGSV: TPP, except MGS has more dart guns.    … Expand
  3. Ansatsu83
    Sep 22, 2015
    7
    This game could be close to perfect but suffers from some very MAJOR issues... these are issues I cannot look past for whatever reason they chose, most of them just poor design flaws or poor implementation.

    1. FOB missions and connection to the server, yes you will get disconnected quite often. If you are in an FOB mission, and get disconnected cause their server derps up, you not only    This game could be close to perfect but suffers from some very MAJOR issues... these are issues I cannot look past for whatever reason they chose, most of them just poor design flaws or poor implementation.

    1. FOB missions and connection to the server, yes you will get disconnected quite often. If you are in an FOB mission, and get disconnected cause their server derps up, you not only automatically fail the mission, you lose rank points and they get a location on your base, opening you up to their raids. VERY BAD IMPLEMENTATION!!!!!!!

    2. The open world portion gets very repetitive and doesnt feel like I'm getting a lot of reward.

    3. Some of the missions feel like they drag on and on for no reason. The last mission in afganistan, in particular, takes far too long, when it should only take half of the time.

    4. At the time of writing this, there is a movement bug, where your character will continue walking in one direction. The fix is to run around in a circle... but this is enough time to either a. get spotted, or b. get focused down after being spotted... its a big bug that shouldn't have made it past their play testing.

    Otherwise, the stealth concept is sound, the combat is pretty good, and its overall a good game. I would say it is not worth 60 dollars, but closer to 40. Either way ive had a lot of fun, but these issues really kill the fun factor of the game. If this changes, great, I could go up to an 8 or 9, but until then, its a solid 7.    … Expand
  4. Nomus
    Sep 17, 2015
    7
    It's an okay game in small bursts.

    I'm doing roughly one mission a night, maybe a side-op if the game hasn't bored me already.

    I think we just overhyped the living **** out of it for ourselves.

    GZ and the trailers just looked so promising.

    The open-world premise got me thinking we'd have several Camp Omegas to explore, but we got tiny boring based and Far Cry outposts instead.
  5. chrispDUCK
    Oct 19, 2015
    7
    Graphically great but ultimately shallow game. Large, open but very sparcely populated world, compared to games that do open worlds well like Witcher 3, Skyrim, Oblivion, etc there is really no comparison.
  6. ChosenOne
    Jan 25, 2016
    7
    Game felt like 10/10 until I finished it. After I realized that after 100 hours of gameplay completing tuttorial mission second time is an actual ending - I felt deluded, frustraited.
  7. Aeryx
    Jul 7, 2019
    7
    Phantom Pain should be getting a 10, but the ridiculous mobile game mechanics and stupidly long timers (3 real world days for an assault rifle or 6 days for a battle dress) are truly shameful. This should never be allowed on a $60 game. The PC port's controls are also poorly implemented. I remember manning an AA gun instead of extracting it so many times because the contextual controlsPhantom Pain should be getting a 10, but the ridiculous mobile game mechanics and stupidly long timers (3 real world days for an assault rifle or 6 days for a battle dress) are truly shameful. This should never be allowed on a $60 game. The PC port's controls are also poorly implemented. I remember manning an AA gun instead of extracting it so many times because the contextual controls were so bad. Also add to this the Perfect Stealth and Subsistence missions, which are missions you already completed BUT HAVE TO REPEAT on these modes, is a big waste of time. I finished all the missions and side missions and I found these modes to be unnecessary at best and a big waste of time at worst. I like the idea of you capturing troops and putting them on your base but they were too generic and had no personality and character whatsoever. They just became names and stats on a spreadsheet.

    Now that's out of the way, the gameplay is great. The weapon customizations are very nice and the graphics are spot on. No crashes for me in Windows 7 and the game is very stable with very few bugs, apart from the annoying early level troops "Silent Basilisk" and others being low level and you cannot dismiss them. Which is very bad for leveling up your FOBs. The story could be better as there are many plot holes, but it is long and has plenty of substance. The plot is silly at times and the fake gun names are annoying. I can't imagine a bunch of kids outsmarting Miller, Ocelot and the Boss. Really? That's just plain dumb. Emmerich is also an annoying self-righteous cuck. It doesn't fit his character and was poorly executed. Additionally, why do I need to extract myself via helicopter when I have a fulton or a portal extraction device? Why can't big boss just fulton or portal himself back home? The tapes are good to listen to but still left many holes. I think Kojima did this game justice, but Konami ruined it with all of these mobile game mechanics. I don't like Hideo Kojima's decision to drop David Hayter. Overall, this is a great game, but it has many issues that may annoy you. I like Kojima and I want to give this a higher score but I think fanboyism ruins everything it touches. 7/10.    … Expand
  8. georgio
    Sep 18, 2015
    7
    Now to preface the whole review - I have never played any MGS game. I just saw stellar reviews and bought the game on impulse. I do not regret the buy, but I have to say that my expectations definitely were not met. Also to note - I have around 25 hours clocked in the game, so I cannot really comment on late-game stuff. But I think I can still reasonably evaluate the game experience

    +    Now to preface the whole review - I have never played any MGS game. I just saw stellar reviews and bought the game on impulse. I do not regret the buy, but I have to say that my expectations definitely were not met. Also to note - I have around 25 hours clocked in the game, so I cannot really comment on late-game stuff. But I think I can still reasonably evaluate the game experience

    + Graphics, scenery and everything is top notch.
    + Combat system and movement is a little bit clunky, but it is not terrible
    + The story I actually do not mind that much. There are some weird things going on, but I get the gist of it. You were once glorious private army leader who fell hard due to some powerful enemies, you are now trying to rebuild and have your vengeance along the way. All in all I think the starting story sequence in the hospital was well done and a really well done
    + Base management is a plus. It fits with the whole rebuilding theme and I like it. I think it is done as well as it could given it is a console port

    Now unfortunately we get to the first and big minus: sandbox mode. At least for me it is very repetitive and boring. Sneak into the guard post/base/village, put everyone to sleep by tranquilizer/takedowns, chute everybody and everything out and rinse/repeat. I am not that far into the game and I cleared all the villages/guard posts several times over. I know where the guards are, I know the layout of everything by heart. Now you get something new every now and then (blow up some tanks and such), but it is not enough.

    Now I have to say that I am a little bit spoiled by having over 100 hours of Witcher 3 played. But the comparisons are not misplaced. While witcher lacks basebuilding concept, it gets everything else right. The world is large but also alive. You get separate story-lines that do not feel repetitive. You get a change in scenery (caves, open world, city streets even water) - in MGS it is same old.

    I am in a state where I still thing MGS is a good game but I now play it in bursts - log in, do one or two missions for hour or so, get fed up with doing same stuff, log out and go play other games. The game is not compelling for me, it lacks the element where you are curious what is over there or where this quest leads.

    If there is any comparison, I would say MGS V feels like FPS version of "Mount and Blade", only without Mods that freshen the game up and with less compelling combat (at least for me).

    PS:

    - Also a minor point, what the hell is this business with the crate? I can totally eat floating girl-ghost appearing from nowhere and hurling large boulders around with her mind. I can enjoy indestructible guy set on fire going around and killing everyone or packs of some cyber soldiers pursuing me in Afghanistan. I can even eat sending T-72s on a parachute to stratosphere while listening to Phil Collings from my walkman. But I refuse to go around in hidden in a crate lunging attacks on unsuspecting russian soldiers. It totally breaks my suspension of disbelief (fortunatelly I don't have to use it).    … Expand
  9. LostAnkh
    Dec 23, 2015
    7
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the most odd entry into the Metal Gear franchise, as it's franchise storyline is now complete with this entry. With it being Hideo Kojima's final Metal Gear game, how does it hold up?

    The story takes a backseat for several chunks of the game, awkwardly appearing here and there without warning or proper pacing. It's not entirely bad, as I enjoy the    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the most odd entry into the Metal Gear franchise, as it's franchise storyline is now complete with this entry. With it being Hideo Kojima's final Metal Gear game, how does it hold up?

    The story takes a backseat for several chunks of the game, awkwardly appearing here and there without warning or proper pacing. It's not entirely bad, as I enjoy the several topics presented and some of the events in the game, but it felt like there was more to expand on that didn't see the light of day. This is the case of gameplay taking precedent over the story.

    The gameplay of this game is the best the series has seen, with a lot of external factors that come into play to make a great stealth action experience, so that everyone has a different story to tell. While it is great to play, the objectives become more tedious and repetitive, which is actually a good chunk of the game. Later segments of the game feel uninspired and dull, which brings the second half of the game to a drag.

    Outside of it's stealth-action gameplay, Metal Gear Solid V incorporates a metagame in the form of Mother Base, a military base platform that opens up a new ways to create and customize your experience. Alongside with the two main large maps, having something like this adds to the scale of what Metal Gear Solid V is, and how big of a game it really is.

    Visually, the game looks and feels like a cinematic experience, having facial and motion capture to add. And the game is well optimized for the most part. Some of the visual effects and coloring could look better, since the game isn't demanding, but it looks great overall.

    Overall, Metal Gear Solid V tried to become the biggest Metal Gear game it could be, and fell short along the way. It felt like there was going to be more to add in all aspects of the game, but couldn't be realized with the time spent during it's development. It might have been too ambitious of a project, and has disappointed fans, including myself. I can only think of what The Phantom Pain could have been, but for what it is, I enjoyed the 180+ hours I spent with the game.    … Expand
  10. TenchuuKhan
    Sep 15, 2015
    7
    Simply unfinished and unpolished game. What saves it is that it's super fun to play.
    I'd recommend the game to anyone but there's simply things that are so criminally bad and awkward in this game that one should know before purchasing it.
    Now, to begin with, what are you in for? Before you can do anything you are in for a ~90 minutes intro mission with various cutscenes and not much    Simply unfinished and unpolished game. What saves it is that it's super fun to play.
    I'd recommend the game to anyone but there's simply things that are so criminally bad and awkward in this game that one should know before purchasing it.

    Now, to begin with, what are you in for?
    Before you can do anything you are in for a ~90 minutes intro mission with various cutscenes and not much fun in terms of gameplay. Afterwards the real game starts.
    Basically you have an open world with various main and side missions that tell you to infiltrate some base, however you'd like to do that then, finish an objective, and get out again.
    In order to get in and out you can call in a heli that can pick you up and drop you off at various locations around the target - which is pretty atmospheric, even after doing it a hundred times.

    On top of that you have the opportunity to upgrade your mother base and compete with others online. You hire soldiers that defend your base, and you can attack other bases. Never tried that though.

    Now, if that sounds fun to you, and it is, here's the problems:
    Controls:
    The controls are basically good, the problem is more the reaction your controls have in the gameworld.
    For instance, if you push forward against a wall, like only 30% of the time he actually attaches to the wall. It doesn't work with all walls either. Some do, some don't... some sometimes do.

    The other issue is with climbing terrain. I'm not talking Skyrim laziness level: I'm trying to climb High Hrothgar from the Northeast in a straight line. I'm talking: there's a 20% angle upwards, you can't go... sometimes you can though. Also sometimes you can hit E to climb up a wall, sometimes you can't.

    Missions:
    If you thought Skyrim was lazy in terms of recycling locations you better fasten your seatbelt because this game brings a whole new quality to this.
    To begin with, yes - locations are recycled and used for various missions and side missions. No problem.

    But, even missions themselves are recycled. To be perfect, pretty much everything in the second chapter is doing chapter 1 missions (same cutscenes btw.) on ridiculously hard. Like: you can't get detected or, we just make that really hard bossfight a tick harder to make the game longer. Where we are at it...

    Bossfights:
    This is the number one atrocity in MGS5 Phantom Pain. I've never seen anything like it. The last MGS I played was the first MGS on the PSX. And those bossfights were hard, but original and had some tactic to them.

    Here though the tactic looks like this:
    Skulls: 4 guys jumping around that take ~30 Bazooka shots each that will grant you hours and hours of frustration. (On Extreme (Mission 42) - one mistake, you're dead... which sets you back around 30 minutes if you almost just made it)
    Quiet: That one was fun actually, basically it was a sniper duel in a valley. Even on Extreme I enjoyed it.
    Sniper Skulls: That one was okayish, basically you fight against 4 weaker versions of Quiet. Still not fun. Just aim at them, let them shoot, dock, then aim - take your shot. They'll run, and after a few seconds they go back to their old position. Rinse and repeat.
    Sahelanthropus: Yea, basically shoot your bazooka in his chest for 20 minutes... towards the end a single shot from him instakills you though.
    Eli: Since you're also in Africa there ought to be child soldiers... with a white kid commander that is a boss.... basically he jumps around, attacks you, quicktime... then he runs away again. Chase after him, rinse and repeat. Oh and hit him with your tranqus in between. (For whatever reason kids are almost immune to tranqus and take 3 headshots (regular kid soldiers, not this one))

    Story:
    The story is badly implemented into the game. The fact that there is a chapter 2 and that it sends you back to story missions from chapter 1 on hard should be proof enough for that.
    Still, whenever the story progresses, it's interesting.

    Quiet - yes she deserves her own section:
    Basically she's a a really likeable, but underdeveloped and hypersexualized character that deserved more. It feels more like after the sniper battle you tamed her.
    Having done her whole storyline it feels like this character was written this way solely for the purpose of trolling Anita Sarkeesian.

    Quiet is still a great buddy and I wished they did more with her.

    Small positive stuff:
    Soundtrack is great 80's music and you can collect tapes you can then listen to on your walkman.
    Extracting persons and animals is a fun, comical feature.
    AI will adapt to your tactics - in my case they now all wear helmets and there's heavy units all over the place.
    Game is 100% worth replaying and you can always just replay single missions.
    You find a stray pup at some point that then gets bigger and trained and he can accompany you at missions.

    Bottom line - buy it, play it - it's great. But oh so flawed.    … Expand
  11. Negativvv
    Nov 16, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wanted to love this game.

    The trailers basically promised too much and so did Kojima's constant PR.

    It doesn't deserve to be called an "open world" as there's nothing in it apart from enemy soldiers and the odd animal.

    Gameplay itself is very nice, however it's rinse and repeat. To get the best score and soldiers you essentially need to go non-lethal most of the time so your play method will be largely similar most missions. Quiet is a completely broken addition to the game though, she makes you lazy once you've skilled her up. She essentially does your job for you about 75% of the time.

    Storyline is essentially an in-coherent mess. After Skull Face is killed, the rest appears to be some sort of cutting room floor extras scraped onto a number of missions, some new missions, some subsistence (no equipment) some ultra stealth with no order.

    Parts of the storyline are genuinely touching, Quiet's arch made me sad somewhat. And the presentation for the parts of the game that are finished are triple A worthy.

    Kojima seems to have wasted $80 million on this game, Witcher 3 Wild Hunt cost half that but is far more polished and doesn't feel like the plug was pulled on it. I don't want to compare it to Witcher 3 however these are two of the biggest hitting sandbox games this year and comparison is inevitable.

    Konami trying to force FOB upon everyone was idiotic too, I played in offline mode only to prevent this.

    They should have made it mission based with no open world and no multi-player. Had so much potential but fell down.

    And there I was thinking that Phantom Pain simply couldn't fail because Ground Zeroes was so good :-(    … Expand
  12. DanielCorfour
    Sep 14, 2015
    7
    Pros:
    -Best and most polished gameplay I've seen in a long time.
    -100+ hours worth of (mostly) worthwhile content. -Great Chapter I, story is mostly nice. -Excellent, meticulously crafted cut-scenes, even if the cinematographer at times tried too hard to make greatness and ended up botching some scenes. -Amazing graphics, great environments, and surprisingly good level design for an    Pros:
    -Best and most polished gameplay I've seen in a long time.
    -100+ hours worth of (mostly) worthwhile content.
    -Great Chapter I, story is mostly nice.
    -Excellent, meticulously crafted cut-scenes, even if the cinematographer at times tried too hard to make greatness and ended up botching some scenes.
    -Amazing graphics, great environments, and surprisingly good level design for an open-world game.

    Cons:
    -Missing a lot of story. Lots of plot holes, unfinished stuff. Half of chapter 2 and the entire chapter 3 missing from the game.
    -The story, even without the cuts, is often times contradictory and nonsensical. For a game that's supposed to explain the Big Boss's fall from grace, it does nothing of the sorts. Instead of acting as a bridge between Metal Gear and Peace Walker, it acts as the bomb that blew up the hypothetical bridge: it creates more plot holes than it solves... actually it doesn't solve any, it just creates new ones.
    -Some important story points are told trough audio logs. It's jarring. A cutscene would've been better.
    -Motherbase is gigantic and completely empty. Outside of some cutscenes, there's nothing going on there. There are only 2 indoors locations, and only one of them has anything interesting going on.
    -You build an awesome tank, and do nothing with it. Yeah, there was supposed to be something there, but it got cut from the game, like so many other things.
    -Controls are wonky at best. Shootings' fine, great even, but free-running, climbing, stances, cover are all horrible. Often times Snake gets up, instead of crawling, he goes out of cover, instead of moving a bit to the side. etc. There's also no mouse support in menus, which is a pain, and for some reason or the other, the button prompts are some time for the controller and some time for KBM. Oh and every single action in the game is bound to the "e" button. So a lot of times you'll struggle to get the guy to do what you want him to do.

    All in all, the game has a lot of problems. I could sit here all day listing them. But the short version of it all? I've had a tone of fun with it. It's dumb, and you'll get angry when you finish it, but the journey there might just be worth it.    … Expand
  13. dunnyone
    Oct 11, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I must say, this is quite the fun game but its end-game suffers. The positives are the gameplay, graphics and sound, while the negatives are the story (which is utter crap).

    Gameplay is best of the lot, open-ended and tons of fun. Graphics are well optimised and never sunk below 60fps.

    For a Kojima game, the story sucks and is delivered in hour long chunks at the beginning and end of the game. Also, there is a missing chapter, so most of the plot points are never cleared up, and never will be. RIP Kojima.

    As for the end game, once you get the best suit (the cyborg Ninja) you are running around at light-speed, popping off headshots in super slow-mo and are basically a god of sneak. No one and nothing can touch you, so replaying the game becomes pointless as it become way too easy.

    Anyway, some tart showers in front of you, so there's always that.    … Expand
  14. Tylaris
    Sep 21, 2015
    7
    +Great performance and a very polished game...a lesson to almost ALL developers
    +Overall great visuals, animations, voice acting, music and sound design...very high production values
    +Excellent game play with amazing flexibility that allows you to tackle missions in a number of different ways...action stealth at it's FINEST +Intense intro and fantastic cinematics +"Thematically    +Great performance and a very polished game...a lesson to almost ALL developers
    +Overall great visuals, animations, voice acting, music and sound design...very high production values
    +Excellent game play with amazing flexibility that allows you to tackle missions in a number of different ways...action stealth at it's FINEST
    +Intense intro and fantastic cinematics
    +"Thematically strong", but only at certain( and very sparse) points within the game
    +Plenty of content, good replayability, interesting motherbase building concept
    -Convoluted, unfinished main story that fails to provide a sense of direction through majority of the game, plot holes, badly written dialogue at times, mute protagonist and little character development
    -Bland and unimpressive environmental design and world setting...game would hugely benefit from a change of scenery, especially later on in the game
    -Same applies to overall mission design, which can also get very tedious and repetitive
    -Typical MGS silliness that completely feels out of place with a more serious tone and setting of the game
    -Misc: Undeveloped motherbase, lot of unnecessary waiting periods, At times (Noticeable, but not frequent) buggy AI, "Kojima intrusion on the game"( you will know it when you see it, and you will...a LOT), credits rolling after each mission, at times glitchy controls, some minor graphical issues
    - In game Micro transactions, PC copies sold with nothing but a Steam installer on it, DRM...little respect for customers
    With finishing it, I can safely say that MGS V is a VERY polarizing title...if you are the sort of player who loves games that offer you amazing depth in game play mechanics and creating your own scenarios, then stop reading this and go buy this game...you're in for one hell of a ride.
    But if you're more interested about the story, characters, atmosphere, world or exploration...you won't regret passing on this one.
    Overall, don't listen to either "fanboys","haters" and ESPECIALLY to the majority of professional "journalists"...neither shows the full picture here. I recommend reading "yellow" reviews here and watching more detailed videos soon coming from independent and mature youtubers.    … Expand
  15. LoneWolfSones
    Nov 2, 2015
    7
    MGSV on PC is proof that PC ports don't have to have a 30 fps cap. The fox engine runs like a champ and the game has been incredibly well optimized for PC. The game boasts high production values overall and offers some of the best gameplay in the series to date. The variety of ways you can tackle a given mission allows for great moment to moment gameplay.

    The open world feels a bit    MGSV on PC is proof that PC ports don't have to have a 30 fps cap. The fox engine runs like a champ and the game has been incredibly well optimized for PC. The game boasts high production values overall and offers some of the best gameplay in the series to date. The variety of ways you can tackle a given mission allows for great moment to moment gameplay.

    The open world feels a bit sparse in that there are outposts dotted about the map. Getting to those outposts is usually uneventful with the exception of a few instances where you find a patrolling jeep or something. But its once you reach those outposts where the mechanics are given a chance to shine.

    New mechanics like the reflex system allow you a certain element of forgiveness prior games didn't have. But at times it can make the game a bit too easy. This gives MGSV a greater level of accessibility though that earlier games didn't have. You aren't punished by going loud. Your play style is reflected in the world as soldiers wear gear to counter your tactics.

    The other area where the game falls short is in its story. Act 1 is entertaining enough. But it seems the criticism of previous entries has caused Kojima to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As a long time fan of the series, the longer exposition and cutscenes was something I always enjoyed in a Metal Gear title. Of course this is made worse knowing that a significant portion of the story was cut. Much of the story has been put on cassette tapes which is better than nothing but I would have appreciated more exposition given by the characters themselves overall. "Venom Snake" is practically mute which makes everything come across as a bit awkward.

    However the game quickly falls into a cycle of repetition that can quickly become stale. This is exacerbated by recycled missions. I currently have played 140+ hours spanning both main missions and side-ops. By the time you get to act 2 you start to see "Extreme" versions of main missions you have already completed. These wouldn't be as egregious if they were optional. But in many cases you have to complete these missions or variations of side-ops you already have done to open up new story missions. They break the pacing of the game and are the worst kind of padding in a video game.    … Expand
  16. Arkunsaas
    Sep 23, 2015
    7
    Positives:

    + Amazing new and fun gameplay features + Good graphics on 60fps + Buddy support system + Some serious issues touched upon in the story + New stealth mechanics with open world freedom + Awesome classic soundtracks + Day/night cycle + Dynamic weather Controversial elements: +/- Motherbase (for some it might be a distraction for other it might be a    Positives:

    + Amazing new and fun gameplay features

    + Good graphics on 60fps

    + Buddy support system

    + Some serious issues touched upon in the story

    + New stealth mechanics with open world freedom

    + Awesome classic soundtracks

    + Day/night cycle

    + Dynamic weather

    Controversial elements:

    +/- Motherbase (for some it might be a distraction for other it might be a cool new feature)

    Negatives:

    - No closure for MGS fans

    - Pacing sucks. The game revolves around gameplay only and the story has been sidelined to such an extent that it doesnt really matter how good the story line is. Cutscenes have been replaced by audio tapes that you listen to when you want. Do the first 20 missions and ask yourself how much has the actual story progressed and how it unfolded.

    - Forgettable villain

    - Repetitive main/side quests (Extract targets or Kill them thats pretty much the whole game). And sometimes you will find yourself doing similar missions at the exact same site. Whats up with this sh*t.

    - Lack of indoor stealth

    - Forgettable boss battles (Final boss is like a bad joke. Infact all the boss battles is this game are nothing compared to the battles from previous MGS games)

    - It is obviously a work in progress

    - Bland open world

    - First ever game i have played that asks you to replay the story missions on hard mode as a part of the main campaign

    - O and the "Boss" feels like he is Kaz's errand boy. All the high hopes of MGS fans to meet the legendary boss will be crushed to mush. His attitude shows that he really doesn't care about the story or the events of GZ because.....(the answer lies in mission 46).

    - The secret ending is a big Fu*k You to all the MGS fans. I am sorry but i cant see it any other way.

    This game doesn't deserve to be a part of the MGS series. One cannot just possibly praise this title as an MGS game simply because the gameplay is awesome while everything else great about the series is sacrificed.

    In short:
    Would i recommend this game: Yes (purely because its ultimately Kojima's MGS and the gameplay ofcourse)
    Is this game a disappointment: Yes (because of pretty much everything else)    … Expand
  17. Wegnas
    Sep 18, 2015
    7
    Easily the best stealth game I've ever played, amazing gameplay. That being said, MGSV has the weakest storyline in the series. There are a lot of plotholes and inconsistencies. Story is not coherent at all. Storline seems rushed and narrative is the worst of them all. There were parts which made me stop playing for a while. Skull Face is the worst antagonist in the series, can't even callEasily the best stealth game I've ever played, amazing gameplay. That being said, MGSV has the weakest storyline in the series. There are a lot of plotholes and inconsistencies. Story is not coherent at all. Storline seems rushed and narrative is the worst of them all. There were parts which made me stop playing for a while. Skull Face is the worst antagonist in the series, can't even call him an antagonist he is more like a simple, generic and dull villian. Story starts interesting but it goes from interesting to boring very quickly and ending didn't satisfied me.

    Even though gameplay is great, story is the worst in the series. Since I value story more than gameplay MGSV is slightly disappointing to me.    … Expand
  18. Bane2087
    Sep 4, 2015
    7
    + Good graphics, well optimised
    + Gameplay is fun when not fighting the controls
    + Tons of content - Bad glitchy controls, movement and cover system - Completely nonsensical plot and backstory - Dodgy PC port with no mouse support in menus Seems people will rate anything a 10 with Kojima written on it, because this game is by no means perfect. The worst offender here is the    + Good graphics, well optimised
    + Gameplay is fun when not fighting the controls
    + Tons of content
    - Bad glitchy controls, movement and cover system
    - Completely nonsensical plot and backstory
    - Dodgy PC port with no mouse support in menus

    Seems people will rate anything a 10 with Kojima written on it, because this game is by no means perfect. The worst offender here is the glitching controls that fight you at every turn whether it's something as simple as opening a door that takes 3 attempts or trying to take cover behind a wall the game developers forgot to mark as cover. In those times you aren't crawling backwards instead of turning around, or climbing on a ledge you are actually allowed to climb the game shines and makes you wish they'd spent more time polishing the terrain traversal instead of the cut scenes because it could have been much better than it is. Also Assassin's Creed (yes the first one in 2007) did a better job of implementing horse movement.

    Other than that the story is barely coherent, extremely disjointed and nonsensical, If you haven't played the previous games in the series be prepared for a rough time because very little is explained and the game expects you from the outset to care about characters who you've only just been introduced to. There's very little to explain wtf is going on really apart from a bunch of audio logs.

    Finally this game is a jarring blend of seriousness (like witnessing graphic cold blooded murder of innocents) and the completely ridiculous (such as stealing enemy troops by sending them into orbit via a balloon). It does not blend well at all.    … Expand
  19. RustInPeace
    Nov 10, 2015
    7
    Nice gameplay but clearly the controls are made for consoles. At least try show which button does what on the PC version instead of showing a xbox controller.

    The world felt bland and empty and the story was all over the place. But the gameplay holds the game up. It was definitely fun.
  20. jecomans
    Oct 1, 2015
    7
    Some great gameplay mechanics and systems are wasted on this mess of a game. Manages to be very bloated, but also unfinished and roughly stitched together, especially at the end. The series has fallen hard since MGS3, and it is a shame that it finally just kinda ends with the whimper it does.
  21. Amerika
    Sep 19, 2015
    7
    Well, it's a good game - but not more. This is my first MGS, but I've known about the series for a long time, and I've heard that all the games are very, very good. There are a lot of good points: optimization, decent stealth, good (with some unexplained and plain stupid parts) story. And a big minus - it's surprisingly repetitive:
    1. "Good luck, boss".
    2. Put everyone to sleep (some    Well, it's a good game - but not more. This is my first MGS, but I've known about the series for a long time, and I've heard that all the games are very, very good. There are a lot of good points: optimization, decent stealth, good (with some unexplained and plain stupid parts) story. And a big minus - it's surprisingly repetitive:
    1. "Good luck, boss".
    2. Put everyone to sleep (some variety included)
    3. Fulton everyone
    4. Mission complete.

    Of course, there is a good amount of variety, bot core parts don't change a bit. And you'll have to replay the story missions again. They will be more difficult: remember that there are no difficulty "sliders" and no quicksaves.

    Sandbox, base building, online (fob part): it's bad because it consists of 10% chopper, 25% fulton, 15% boring objectives, 40% boring terrain, 10% gameplay. Grinding soldiers for motherbase feels like mmo.

    In the end I want to say that if we'd excluded repetative parts it would've been very short game. 7/10 is the maximum for this Hideo Kojima game.    … Expand
  22. corvettee01
    Sep 27, 2015
    7
    The game was amazing for the first half, but not so much the second. The second half of the game is pretty much just taking missions from the first half and making them a bit more difficult.
  23. GuardianGunner
    Sep 28, 2015
    7
    ok let me first start out by saying that the game play is fantastic if you've never played a metal gear this si a great one to play you can either stealth or go loud and there's plenty of variations to ways of tackling missions, but....while the gameplay itself is nearly perfect its the story that falters. The story of mgs has been one of the driving forces of the series since theok let me first start out by saying that the game play is fantastic if you've never played a metal gear this si a great one to play you can either stealth or go loud and there's plenty of variations to ways of tackling missions, but....while the gameplay itself is nearly perfect its the story that falters. The story of mgs has been one of the driving forces of the series since the beginning, and now that some time has passed it is clear that quite a bit of content has been cut from the final game in order to push it out the door. data miners have revealed there was supposed to be an entire third chapter as well as some unused textures (some of which have been included as upcoming dlc) a lot of the cut scenes from trailers presented though the years also make a noshow in the game. so while the story was great for the first chapter it quickly falls apart in the second ending so abruptly you dont even have time to realize its ended. weve waited so long for this metal gear to come out but we got something so lackluster that i cannot in good conscience say its worthy of a high score at all and im a huge metal gear fan so that's hard to do.… Expand
  24. xavia91
    Oct 19, 2017
    7
    Pro:
    Great Graphics with no lag at all.
    Overall the game works pretty well, no real bugs.

    Con:
    Repetitive repetitive repetitive.
    The concept of basically being forced to extract people totally disturbs the stealth part for me!
    Range of some weapons seem pretty low.
    Story?
    taking cover has a kinda weird mechanic.
    controls on pc is badly ported.
  25. AlternActive
    Oct 7, 2015
    7
    Could've easily been game of the year, and you'll probably have this feeling before getting to the end game. Then, it's just a shell of what could have been. Not cool, konami. 100+ that could feel like "OH MY WHAT GREAT GAME" turned into "i just feel cheated on this story". And i don't mean the plot twist, but how the build up went. Major disappointing from a GREAT GAME (gameplay wise).
  26. samhayne
    Oct 17, 2015
    7
    After 150 hours of (mostly) grinding the game just fell apart.

    It's a pity. All the finished puzzle pieces are brilliant... but it's obvious that half of the pieces didn't make it into the package in time. Like in Peace Walker the lack of content was solved by duplication. And so the missions become highly redundant very soon and the game starts to feel like dull work. Especially if you    After 150 hours of (mostly) grinding the game just fell apart.

    It's a pity. All the finished puzzle pieces are brilliant... but it's obvious that half of the pieces didn't make it into the package in time. Like in Peace Walker the lack of content was solved by duplication. And so the missions become highly redundant very soon and the game starts to feel like dull work. Especially if you are a completionist type and want to finish all the 167 (!) side missions like "Save the prisoner 1-15" which bring you back to the same game areas again and again.

    On top: After some time the game wants to be played online... and its constant reminders to do some online grinding start to become an annoyance.

    The biggest problem is the story though. While it manages to squeeze between "Peace Walker" and the MSX classics Metal Gear 1&2 it ends very abruptly with a trolling finale and many unfinished story arcs started within the game. Today we know that many important (but costly) missions, cutscenes and even the final third chapter were cut from the game as Konami obviously pulled the plug from a game which had become too expensive to develop further.

    So... after investing so much livetime in this game I'm really disappointed.
    I dived into the Metal Gear series only recently... in the last months I played Metal Gear 1&2, MGS1-4 and I adored every single one of them. Just Peace Walker was a let-down as it was already a livetime killing grind-fest like now Metal Gear V - but at least it felt complete at the end.

    Maybe producing and game design shouldn't be done by the same guy, Hideo-san.
    In this case it feels like the designer in Hideo Kojima won over his role as a producer and the designer wouldn't let go of his dreams... then time and money ran out and so his "Magnum Opus" stays unfinished now.
    A pity. :(    … Expand
  27. DKR
    Sep 26, 2018
    7
    FROM THE COMPANY - THAT'S RIDING ITS LAST DECENT FRANCHISE TO THE GROUND - COMES A SLIGHTLY-ABOVE-MEDIOCRE OPEN WORLD GAME that totally p**ed off moral-authoritarian celibates, married men with buyer's remorse, and feminists.

    It's just boobs, guys. Try going to the beach. METAL GEAR 5: THE PHANTOM PAIN. EMBARK ON AN UNEXCITING JOURNEY WITH Boss...uh Big Boss? Snake? Who doesn't    FROM THE COMPANY - THAT'S RIDING ITS LAST DECENT FRANCHISE TO THE GROUND - COMES A SLIGHTLY-ABOVE-MEDIOCRE OPEN WORLD GAME that totally p**ed off moral-authoritarian celibates, married men with buyer's remorse, and feminists.

    It's just boobs, guys. Try going to the beach.

    METAL GEAR 5: THE PHANTOM PAIN.

    EMBARK ON AN UNEXCITING JOURNEY WITH Boss...uh Big Boss? Snake? Who doesn't have a whole lot to say this time around; maybe for the better. "Card Keys? Metal Gear? Psycho Mantis?"....and is joined by some other cardboard quest dispensers with familiar names.

    BE IMMERSED IN BAD KOJIMA FAN-FICTION, WHERE THE PLOT'S ONLY ELEMENTS ARE BEATEN TO DEATH MORE THAN A MAN FALSELY ACCUSED OF HARASSMENT. Something something, NINE YEARS AGO. Something something, MOTHERBASE. Something something, CIPHER...SKULL FACE. Kojima must have wrote the first half of the plot in a Tweet.

    ARM YOURSELF TO THE TEETH WITH BOSSBIGBOSSNAKE'S MASSIVE INVENTORY OF SADISTIC TOYS TO TOTALLY F*** WITH THE MINDS OF YOUR 1 ENEMY: CLUELESS GUARDS. Ha! I never was a hot-chick taped to a cardboard box! RESEARCH AN IMPRESSIVE ARSENAL OF GUNS, ROCKETS, ROCKET ROBO ARMS, to massacre waves of defensless NPC's. We've done that to death since GTA1 in '97; aren't we bored of that by now? OR SUPER BALLOONS THAT CAN LIFT ANYTHING OFF THE GROUND WITH ENOUGH UPGRADES. Did I seriously just pick up a TANK? FREAKIN' AWESOME!

    TRY TO HAVE FUN AS YOU FIGHT THE GAME'S TOUGHEST BOSS: THE CONTROLS; GIVING YOU PROBLEMS LIKE: GETTING STUCK ON COVER, CAN'T TAKE COVER, DOING A FULL 360 BY PRESSING "up", FAILING TO CRAWL OVER A ROCK MAKING YOU STAND UP AND RUIN YOUR MISSION, SLIGHT INCLINES THAT YOU CAN NEITHER RUN OVER NOR SCALE, AUTO AIM THAT PREVENTS HEAD-SHOTS, VEHICLES WITH 2 SPEEDS THAT CRASH INTO EVERYTHING, AND COVER. THAT DOESN'T COVER YOU. Oh, come on! What'd he spot, my ponytail??

    STRUGGLE IN FUTILITY AS YOU TRY TO DECRYPT THE MISSION RANKING SYSTEM AS YOU TRY TO NOT GET SPOTTED, TO BE QUIET, NON-LETHAL, AND SPEEDY, only see some d*** bag on youtube ride the horse right into enemies and gun them down with unsilenced weapons and set off 4 alarms all in 6 minutes AND STILL GET S! WTF?? THAT TOOK ME HALF AN HOUR FOR A C!!

    SO STRAP ON YOUR EYE PATCH, CHOMP ON YOUR TIME-TRAVELING CIGAR, and get ready to crawl on your stomach for 700 meters, rescue some guy, run back out, something something CIPHER....9 YEARS AGO....SKULL FACE.... ad infinitum in Kojima's worst story telling yet, but then you can to do side missions without rules! Hehehe, hands up!...now stay still...I'm...aiming this...mortar....BOOM! HA SUCKER!

    STARRING:

    MIDGET MANTIS
    FIREY STOMACH ACHES
    REVOLVES HIS PERSONALITY-A-LOT
    9 YEARS AGO....CIPHER...SKULL FACE....You destroyed their anti-air radar?
    Quiet-ly showing her boooooooobs
    POORLY NAMED BAD GUY (for real, Kojima, stop describing your characters in one word names. THE PAIN. THE SORROW. THE END. QUIET. SKULL FACE. What's next, The Protagonist?)
    THIS IS THE TUTORIAL THAT NEVERRR EEEEEEENDS......
    Thanks for getting me out of the hospital, Cut-scene Man! See you in the next console shooter!
    COM-LINK STORY TELLING...and....
    THE PROTAGONIST

    METAL GEAR VEEEE: THE PHANTOM GAME

    A dev for Halo called Quiet "disgusting". Bold move from the team that made Cortana.    … Expand
  28. mikemaza9
    Jan 10, 2016
    7
    First of all, it wasn't a complete game. Having said that, I have to say that the first 20 hours of this games were very fun but after the First Chapter, the game starts to fall apart. To sum up, a decent and fun game in the beginning and after that, just an insult to the buyers.
  29. ablock
    Dec 1, 2015
    7
    Game play wise, it's beautiful and plays well. Eventually it gets repetitive with the same old "save this prisoner," and "kill this unit" missions, but that's not the big flaw with the game.

    This does not feel like a Metal Gear Solid game. The music is forgettable and the story is the weakest in the franchise. The plot is almost nonexistent and does not develop the character of big Boss    Game play wise, it's beautiful and plays well. Eventually it gets repetitive with the same old "save this prisoner," and "kill this unit" missions, but that's not the big flaw with the game.

    This does not feel like a Metal Gear Solid game. The music is forgettable and the story is the weakest in the franchise. The plot is almost nonexistent and does not develop the character of big Boss in any significant way that the saga has demanded. Hardcore MGS fans will not like this.    … Expand
  30. MacMarrik
    May 20, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - изодранная игра, с дырявым сюжетом.

    Положительный момент - геймплейная составляющая самой игры. Эта игра из серии MGS самая богатая на геймплей. Имеется огромный арсенал снаряжения, которым можно воспользоваться для прохождения той или иной миссии. Для прохождения одной миссии можно подобрать не одну тактику её прохождения. И это радует.

    Имеется две большие открытые карты, где все эти миссии выполняются. В общем, мир на этих картах мёртвый. На них ничего толком не происходит, не считая самих миссий. Это, конечно, можно всё списать на пустынный мир Афганистана/Африки, но можно было бы хоть постараться.

    Имеется та атмосфера, которая присущая серии MGS. Это проявляется в диалогах, кат-сценах, в сути геймплея.

    Хороший и интересный сюжет всегда был неотъемлемой частью серии MGS. В этой же игре он ужасно рваный. Особенно это заметно во 2 главе, в которой сюжетных миссий всего лишь 5 штук(из 19, КАРЛ!!!), а остальные просто те же миссии из 1 главы, только с условиями усложняющие их прохождение. Есть, конечно, шикарный Пролог и 43 миссия, также не плохая 31, 45 миссии, но это крайне мало для такой игры. SPOILER!!!! Эпилог - Facepalm. Тот же пролог, только под другим углом. Да и с такой развязкой.

    Ответ на такую наглость приходит только один - незаконченность самой игры. Это проявляется в разных аспектах: нахождение вырезанных диалогов, кат-сцен в файлах игры, чрезмерная молчаливость ГГ, больше похожий на безразличие, рванность повествования самой игры.

    Для нового игрока, незнакомым с серией MGS, будет сложно понять, что происходит в серии, но если убрать сюжет как основу, то выходит довольно добротная игра. Но тем, кто играл в другие части будут чувствовать пустоту и недосказанность.

    Мой вердикт: игра бы могла стать лучшей в серии, были все предпосылки, но что-то пошло не так и игра вышла не законченной. Если её рассматривать как не MGS, то получится хорошая игра, но для меня "Разочарование 2015".    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2015
14
#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
24
#24 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Riot Pixels
    Oct 8, 2015
    77
    Metal Gear Solid V is amazing at times, and I enjoyed playing it, but there are so many embarrassing blunders and contradictions. Rich tactical gameplay vs an almost dead world. Fun HQ management and interesting characters vs an unfinished narrative and boring side quests. In some regards, this is a huge step back from previous Metal Gear games.
    Read full review
  2. PC Gamer
    Oct 6, 2015
    93
    A generous stealth sandbox masterpiece that will delight both new and existing fans of the long-running series. [Dec 2015, p.50]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Sep 30, 2015
    90
    It might not be the best Metal Gear Solid game ever released, but it's certainly the bravest and most interesting. [Oct 2015, p.53]
See all critic reviews »