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. beyondtool
    Oct 20, 2015
    5
    The world, the gameplay and the sandbox nature of this game is excellent, unfortunately it is clearly a half finished vision. The second half of the game becomes repetitive rubbish, clearly padding the game for an ending that never comes. There is far too much busy work in the game that dampers the few and far between excellent level designs. The story is also rather nonsensical even forThe world, the gameplay and the sandbox nature of this game is excellent, unfortunately it is clearly a half finished vision. The second half of the game becomes repetitive rubbish, clearly padding the game for an ending that never comes. There is far too much busy work in the game that dampers the few and far between excellent level designs. The story is also rather nonsensical even for a metal gear game and it never actually reaches a conclusion. At least it runs well on most PCs, although the audio randomly drops out on my PC.

    It is bitterly disappointing that a game that starts with such a bang, ends with a whimper. Oh it's it's not really a metal gear game IMHO, far removed from the story heavy previous titles.    … Expand
  2. Muuvinki
    Nov 20, 2015
    5
    This game is a serious let down on so many levels. So much content has been cut off from the game.
    People saying this is the best metal gear solid game of the series don't know what they are talking about.

    Nobody should pay 60$ of this game, its just not worth it.
  3. suneater
    Sep 13, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Full review too large for Metacritic. Visit my Steam profile at /id/verticalcleave for more, including a breakdown of the pros and cons of MGS5.

    For a game that was supposed to bridge the gap between the original Metal Gear games and the MGS series's later titles, there is very little storytelling or character development here. The only character with real growth is Huey, who is a piece of trash that you (and everyone in the game) grows to hate. Sure, Huey might be the best written character in the series, but it doesn't excuse how everyone else is fueled by revenge and has their arc concluded with revenge. There are also few cutscenes, with most of the meat of the story being told through Codec calls- *ahem* -I mean, cassette tapes. The game also takes a sharp turn from GZ's tone, with Skull Face going from being a creepy, mysterious horror one step ahead of you to being a caricature of a bond villain (who exposes his whole scheme to you during an awkwardly long caravan ride to his "real" base). The worst part is a lot of the story is repeated; you seem to be expected to listen to all of the cassette tapes to get the full story (imagine how bad previous games would've been if you were expected to pay attention to every non-critical Codec call!) and yet the conversations on them are often repeated or paraphrased during the main game! The game also fails to conclude all of its threads appropriately; most notoriously, a cut Mission 51 has shown up on Youtube which concludes a cliffhanger that happens in the middle of Chapter 2. The fact that such an important mission was left undone makes me think that this game was unfinished and rushed out the door, despite being in development for a supposed 5 years.

    There is a lot that could be nitpicked about this game but the biggest issue I have with it is the story. The MGS games have always been known for their story, with lengthy cutscenes and frequent Codec calls crafting a believable parallel world to ours. Snake (despite being voiced by Jack Bauer) is almost a silent protagonist in 5, who doesn't respond to radio communications (the replacement for Codec calls) or even talk to non Diamond Dog characters outside of Mother Base. Even during the ridiculous caravan ride with Skull Face he doesn't say a word during Skull Face's exposition. Snake had some ridiculous writing in the past (often repeating lines and adding a question mark on the end to comical effect) but it makes no sense for him to play the mute during key story points. I understand that Kojima wanted players to insert themselves as Snake this time around... But isn't that what players have always done in this series? People wanted to play as Big Boss and watch his descent into madness as advertised, not play as a silent body double. This might've been an attempt to reproduce the twist that Kojima created with Raiden in MGS2; however, that twist was acceptable because it happened near the beginning of the game. This game's twist just seems like a big "screw you" to the fans. All of this is on top of Kojima's obnoxious handwavium of choice, VOCAL CHORD PARASITES, which have effectively replaced MGS4's nanomachines as being the cause and effect for everything supernatural that happens.

    MGS5 could've been a good game had it ended with Chapter 1, could've been a great game with better writing, and could've been an amazing game with more series staples (more & better bosses, more (!) cutscenes, more character development). Things might change in the future; Konami might just be holding out on later chapters to milk the player base for DLC money (MB coins are already disgustingly distorting the singleplayer experience). As it currently stands, I'm going to get everything I can out of this game because its money already spent and its decently playable. However, because of all the glaring issues previously mentioned, plus broken online components such as MGO3 being delayed to January 2016 while consoles get it Oct. 6th and FOBs being invadable while offline, I cannot recommend this game to anyone. Both MGR and even the "paid demo" Ground Zeroes were honestly better Metal Gear Solid games than this embarrassing train wreck of game.    … Expand
  4. Thylbanus
    Sep 3, 2015
    5
    This game's ratings has clearly played to Kojima's reputation rather than actual quality. This has all the long time fans cheering the virtues of Kojima. These are the same people that say all the other ones are good, when they really aren't. This is just horrible, but no less horrible than any in the series. You may find it odd that I went with a 5. Had I been reviewing it on it'sThis game's ratings has clearly played to Kojima's reputation rather than actual quality. This has all the long time fans cheering the virtues of Kojima. These are the same people that say all the other ones are good, when they really aren't. This is just horrible, but no less horrible than any in the series. You may find it odd that I went with a 5. Had I been reviewing it on it's own merit, it would be a 2. Given the comparisons between the others, it's average for the series. It's pretty, no doubt, but it hardly compensates for the poor story and weak characterizations. It's like watching a bad B-Movie. Horribly delivered lines. Cheesy, predictable story. I had to check to see if George Lucas was given a screenwriting credit.

    TL:DR, if you liked the series, this one is for you. If you have never played any of the Metal Gear series, or didn't like it to begin with, this will make you hate it.    … Expand
  5. Skipnipper
    Sep 7, 2015
    5
    Its an OK console port I suppose. Not worth buying if you've played lots of far cry, Splinter cell et al. This is a very similar game to these and doesn't bring much, if anything, new to the table. Wait for a 50% discount before buying.
  6. ketchupwfries
    Sep 17, 2015
    5
    +Decent graphics and well optimized for PC.
    - PC controls are alright but menus have no mouse support.
    - Repetitive beyond belief. Some missions have you returning back to the same base/camp multiple times which gets old real quick. - The map looks large but you soon realize you're restricted to travelling on roads only with extremely little room for exploring. - Environments are empty    +Decent graphics and well optimized for PC.
    - PC controls are alright but menus have no mouse support.
    - Repetitive beyond belief. Some missions have you returning back to the same base/camp multiple times which gets old real quick.
    - The map looks large but you soon realize you're restricted to travelling on roads only with extremely little room for exploring.
    - Environments are empty and completely lifeless. Guards, guards, and more guards, all dressed and behave the same way.

    Fun for a few hours if you like stealth, then gets boring real fast.    … Expand
  7. MetalRobot69
    Mar 22, 2017
    5
    This game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness have been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extrat a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the sameThis game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness have been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extrat a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the same stealth missions 50h you can like this game otherwise no.… Expand
  8. KoFChamp42
    Apr 25, 2017
    5
    The first half of the game was really good, it looked great, ran great, and played great, but the second half keeps the first two parts but completely forgets the 3rd. MGSV's not an awful game, but it could have been so much more.
  9. chatskyisretard
    Mar 7, 2019
    5
    I can't understand why people like this game.
    -empty open world
    -grind gmp
    -boring missions
    -disgusting snake
    etc.

    (Just my opinion do not pay attention.)
  10. sunriseofdeath
    Aug 24, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Another typical Hideo Kojima game. A whole bunch of gameplay cutouts just show their boring story for about eternity or to take a boring action that feels like its taking forever to finish(ex.- crawling out almost the whole hospital at the beginning). Easily to get bored at & no wish to replay it. Also a lot of "Kojima's" on the credit, its just annoying, feels like no one else have worked on it.… Expand
  11. jordanlearmonth
    Jul 25, 2020
    5
    The game is fun at first but it’s monotoned and visually depressing after while. It’s extremely repetitive, literally some missions are just a more difficult repeat of earlier missions, and there is essentially no story line. The gameplay is flawless and it has potentially but it’s fatally botched as the game is clearly compromised by being incomplete.
  12. CoolBR
    Jul 8, 2022
    5
    This game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness has been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extract a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the sameThis game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness has been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extract a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the same stealth missions 50h you can like this game otherwise no.… Expand
  13. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    5
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
  14. Ozimandeus
    Sep 11, 2015
    4
    The amazing intro aside. To a MGS n00b, the story is utterly impenetrable. The games systems feel like something from the 1990s and the open world is sparse and rather empty. The sections of true open world stealth are amazing, but these are interspersed with weird story contortions which result in a jarring juxtaposition which leaves the player totally discombobulated. Its a good game,The amazing intro aside. To a MGS n00b, the story is utterly impenetrable. The games systems feel like something from the 1990s and the open world is sparse and rather empty. The sections of true open world stealth are amazing, but these are interspersed with weird story contortions which result in a jarring juxtaposition which leaves the player totally discombobulated. Its a good game, but it is undeserving of all the praise. The Witcher 3 delivers a more rounded and robust open world which is far more dynamic and rich. MGS:V is just a bit bland. Unless you are an avid fan of the franchise.. avoid.… Expand
  15. Digital_Kitchen
    Sep 11, 2015
    4
    Ruined a good franchise by adding open world.

    Level design in open world games will never compare to hand-crafted levels. Now this is just Desert Horse Simulator V
  16. Voldie
    Sep 11, 2015
    4
    So-o-o, $60 AAA title console port. Muddy console graphics (not that impressive considering modern PCs capabilities).

    And... microtransactions? Really? What the hell?

    Sorry, pass on this one.
  17. Silentwalker
    Jul 29, 2017
    4
    This game could be amazing but I just can't get over the lack of love for the PC. The controls are horrible, you can't bind to mouse and you can't jump. Hugging walls almost never works and forced 60 fps limit unless unlocked by changing ini files.

    And worst of all there is no manual saving, just check points that never save when you expect them to or never save at all so you're forced    This game could be amazing but I just can't get over the lack of love for the PC. The controls are horrible, you can't bind to mouse and you can't jump. Hugging walls almost never works and forced 60 fps limit unless unlocked by changing ini files.

    And worst of all there is no manual saving, just check points that never save when you expect them to or never save at all so you're forced to start a mission that may take you 45 to 60 minutes and have to start all over again.

    If these were not an issue I'd give this game a 7 or higher.    … Expand
  18. Violett
    Feb 3, 2018
    4
    From the very beginning of the game I could say this is PC port - poor mouse support, many buttons everywhere - pick up item with one button, pick up another item with another button. Shooters for joystick is very bad idea. I bought this game due to good reviews here - on Metacritic, yet I was greatly disappointed. Weak story (20 mins of slow-walking is "fun" indeed), boring gameplay,From the very beginning of the game I could say this is PC port - poor mouse support, many buttons everywhere - pick up item with one button, pick up another item with another button. Shooters for joystick is very bad idea. I bought this game due to good reviews here - on Metacritic, yet I was greatly disappointed. Weak story (20 mins of slow-walking is "fun" indeed), boring gameplay, simple sidequests (even worse than Far Cry). I know, there was a lot of MGS games - so for fans it might be good, but not for me.… Expand
  19. jcasetnl
    Sep 27, 2020
    4
    This is basically FarCry 2 with good stealth mechanics. In every other way, like FC 2, this is utterly mediocre and forgettable. The environments all look the same (various shades of brown). The missions quickly get repetitive and there's no sense of accomplishment. The side quests are the epitome of filler. There's lots of boring travel with nothing to do along the way. When you clear anThis is basically FarCry 2 with good stealth mechanics. In every other way, like FC 2, this is utterly mediocre and forgettable. The environments all look the same (various shades of brown). The missions quickly get repetitive and there's no sense of accomplishment. The side quests are the epitome of filler. There's lots of boring travel with nothing to do along the way. When you clear an outpost, it quickly respawns, so you're better off ignoring them.

    What will make or break this game for you are the stealth and combat mechanics. If you love going deep on those you might be able to overlook all the other stuff. You have to really, really love the combat, otherwise this gets old fast.

    This would have been a much better game in a more level-based format to anchor the story and keep the tension high. As it is, the open world does nothing but water down an already weak story.    … Expand
  20. MrBla
    Oct 12, 2015
    4
    This game is a slap in the face to all MGS fans.
    Repetitive like no other games, even main missions are repetitive, you must complete some main missions the second time just because f**K you. Story is worse than EA/Ubi games. No cut scenes. Mediocre graphics. Snake doesn't even talk except for couple of words.
  21. carnivorCactae
    Sep 6, 2015
    4
    I really really really want to like this game, and trying all I can to enjoy the extremly easy fights, but its getting old really fast.

    6-8 missions in the game you start seeing the pattern, they all look alike, and they are all on the same spots. So at the camp you just rescued a guy, you now have to find a new weapon schematic, or kill some officer. It gets really repetetive really    I really really really want to like this game, and trying all I can to enjoy the extremly easy fights, but its getting old really fast.

    6-8 missions in the game you start seeing the pattern, they all look alike, and they are all on the same spots. So at the camp you just rescued a guy, you now have to find a new weapon schematic, or kill some officer. It gets really repetetive really fast.
    (ESCORT MISSIONS!!! NO ONE LIKES THEM!)
    The traveltime in this game is horrible, you spend 40% of the game running from a to b, and the time spend flying in your chopper just seems to badly made. You have to watch yourself fly at least 1 minute either from takeoff or landing, this gets old really fast.
    It takes about 3-4 minutes to ride from one small camp to another, and the desert/mountain scenario gets old REALLY fast.

    You cant get more than 1 thing in your supply drop, so you have to wait allmost 1 minute from you order something, till it hits the ground, then buy 1 more thing and wait another minute.

    The weapon customization options are pitiful when you finally do unlock them, and most changes to the guns don't ACTUALLY do ANYTHING. I've literally found around three parts that make changes to the base gun model. It's good for nothing more than painting your guns or adding flashlights though god only knows why the **** you'd bother with those.

    It's literally Far Cry 2 with even LESS areas to explore. You will find yourself mind numbingly stumbling through the game later on taking down hostiles and picking up resources just because you've gotten to a point where you're going through the motions, the areas are totally uninspired, even if they are gorgeous to look at.

    You do openly have the freedom to approach missions in almost anyway you want,
    that is, whenever snake isn't randomly sliding down inclines that I could easily crawl up myself.

    you cant even rebind the majority of the keys or save the game (even MGS1 let you save more or less freely!).
    bad console port.
    requested a refund.    … Expand
  22. Altissimus
    Oct 22, 2015
    4
    The port to the PC is dire. It assumes xbox controller and has no key binding.

    Shooting from cover is messy and unintuitive. You end up standing in the open aiming into a wall. First fire-fight in the first mission (in prologue) my only-recently-recovered character got hit 32 times and was just fine, thank you very much. Okay then. The prologue mission is sooooooooooooo boring.    The port to the PC is dire. It assumes xbox controller and has no key binding.

    Shooting from cover is messy and unintuitive. You end up standing in the open aiming into a wall.

    First fire-fight in the first mission (in prologue) my only-recently-recovered character got hit 32 times and was just fine, thank you very much. Okay then.

    The prologue mission is sooooooooooooo boring. It goes on and on and on without being able to even interact, like watching a really, really bad movie that all you want to do is switch off.

    Sorry, I haven't got time to play games of this poor quality.

    Graphics are probably ok, yadda yadda yadda. What does it matter when the gameplay is so poor?    … Expand
  23. game_over
    Oct 30, 2015
    4
    -Check point save system

    -Completely idiotic and nonsensical backstory, even for a video game -Mandatory online phukery in my single player game. You can be attacked by other players while online/offline and lose resources. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot +Voice acting, graphics, (somewhat) open world, (mostly) fun gameplay, and multiple approaches to most situations This game is almost    -Check point save system

    -Completely idiotic and nonsensical backstory, even for a video game

    -Mandatory online phukery in my single player game. You can be attacked by other players while online/offline and lose resources. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

    +Voice acting, graphics, (somewhat) open world, (mostly) fun gameplay, and multiple approaches to most situations

    This game is almost great with good parts mixed in with wtf bad elements.

    This game aptly named as The Phantom Pain. A phantom pain in the rear end    … Expand
  24. braindamage
    Sep 21, 2015
    4
    its a sad state of affairs that so many people rate these games so highly and attack anyone who cares about gaming in general, ,the simple fact KOnami will not make AAA games like this anymore is proof enough that these games don't have mass appeal

    these 3rd person open world game are a dying breed and good riddance, Ill give the first mission a 8 the rest of the game is    its a sad state of affairs that so many people rate these games so highly and attack anyone who cares about gaming in general, ,the simple fact KOnami will not make AAA games like this anymore is proof enough that these games don't have mass appeal

    these 3rd person open world game are a dying breed and good riddance,

    Ill give the first mission a 8 the rest of the game is between a 3-4, its just poor ps3 level quality open world garbage    … Expand
  25. Iluvatar21
    Jan 3, 2016
    4
    -Metal Gear from 1987 was NOT the first stealth game. Castle Wolfenstein from 1981 was.
    -Metal Gear Solid from 1998 was NOT the first game to feature cinematic story telling. Wing Commander from 1990 was.
    -Metal Gear Solid 5 has non-connected gameplay elements that rank it as a typical sandbox with an incoherent story than a stealth title like Thief, Hitman or Deus Ex.
  26. PrincessRose
    Jun 15, 2022
    4
    The start of the game was interesting. But after that it's just boring, repetitive missions that all seem the same. It feels like such a boring and empty world, it's not at all interesting. I hate games like this, I should've stayed away when people have said it's like Far Cry as I also dislike Far Cry. This game is over rated.
    A very disappointing game. Not fun for me.
  27. lexblow
    Dec 11, 2016
    4
    Way too repetitive, missions make no sense at all, poor AI for enemies, no compelling storytelling, games feels disjointed, and lost all magic from previous games of the series.
    For me it was a total disappointment.
  28. ManGuy
    Sep 27, 2015
    4
    Main Points Summary:
    *Simple and repetitive core stealth gameplay, missions and objectives amount to "rescue that guy, kill that guy, pick up that thing".
    *Most weapons are geared towards non-stealth gameplay leaving you with the same old stealth arsenal and tactics throughout the game *Dull uninteresting desert environment coupled with boring enemy outposts that consist of a few tents,    Main Points Summary:
    *Simple and repetitive core stealth gameplay, missions and objectives amount to "rescue that guy, kill that guy, pick up that thing".
    *Most weapons are geared towards non-stealth gameplay leaving you with the same old stealth arsenal and tactics throughout the game
    *Dull uninteresting desert environment coupled with boring enemy outposts that consist of a few tents, crates, and cardboard houses
    *PC controls need work; horse jerks left/right instead of just turning, snake has to stop fully when exiting sprint, you have to hold buttons a lot when doing stuff instead of them being toggle buttons. On-screen key tutorials still use console controller icons.
    *Motherbase meta sounds fun, but is ultimately a GUI screen/simple econ management with no integrations into the core gameplay experience.

    The core gameplay is simple and solid and mainly involves you sneaking around corners and tranquilizing clueless guards in the face. The game doesn't really build on that much as you play it, repetition is a very prominent theme in MGS5 which is not what you would expect from a MG title. Snake go rescue this hostage, now sneak in and kill this guy, now sneak into the same base you just were in 2 missions ago and steal these documents. Rinse repeat, at least for the 20 hours or so that I played. I kept holding out, expecting there to be more, but it just kept being the same old boring routine. You unlock various weapons/items of which 80% you don't use because they're not stealth related. The game actively punishes you for "going loud" and yet you have grenades, rockets, attack helicopters, mortar strikes, snipers, assault rifles, etc. Meanwhile stealth gear mainly consists of your hands, your tranq gun, and your limitless empty magazine stock. Your approach is always the same; sneak around some corners CQC the guards you lured towards you with magazines/sounds, and tranq gun the rest. No long range engagements, no traps, no clever uses of the environment, no change of pace.

    The environment is literally the dullest environment you could possibly base a game off of. Why would you pick a dessert for your open world? It sounds boring because it is, between bases there is nothing but sand and rocks that you can't traverse over. Calling this open world is a stretch because you pretty much are forced to take roads in order to get anywhere because there are rock formations blocking your every path. Capturing animals gets boring after the 3rd time you do it, it's just a meaningless number that you increase. Enemy bases are pretty much a tent, a few cardboard houses, and some crates. Gets really old really fast.

    The motherbase feature sounds like it'd be really cool; collect soldiers you find in the battlefield and build your own personal army with them. You would only select the greatest soldiers you could find and maybe you could all go out to the bar and hang out or, even better, infiltrate bases together, like "you take those cardboard houses and I'll take these" or something. Nope. Motherbase is pretty much a GUI interface that says "hey you have these soldiers, click this button to research stuff, now click this button to send them on a timer-based dice-roll mission that gets you money". You can walk around the physical motherbase, however, there is no actual interaction with anything there so it adds very little to the experience.

    The character controls are pretty questionable for on foot and on horse, not sure if this is a PC port issue or if it's like this on consoles as well. Snake awkwardly transitions from run to walk; he must come to a full stop from sprint before he transitions into walking again. A lot of the times you have to hold a key or multiple keys down to do stuff when they should just be toggle keys. I've let a few enemies out of a choke hold because of this which cost me a lot of time due to the nature of being spotted and having to restart from checkpoint.

    Graphically it's just "meh". It's not bad, it's not good, it's just a plain jane kinda game. It ran fine on my highend Nvidia gaming rig. The artistic choices are weird too, but it is MGS. Snake is part sci-fi robot that can shoot lightning out of his robot arm and has a holographic scannermatron but everyone else is listening to cassette tapes and doing 80s stuff.

    Would I recommend you buy this game? Nah, save your money.    … Expand
  29. Wiebe
    Feb 27, 2020
    4
    Boring strange story, un-interesting open world, weird mechanics, playing felt meaningless
  30. Renovatia
    Jan 10, 2017
    4
    So this is the famous Metal Gear Solid eyh? I never played it before, until I got my hand on The Phantom Pain. Boy let me tell you it's kinda a fruitless endeavor: i.e. repetitive missions, a messy story-line development, lack of even some basic logic and lack of consistency.

    I'll tell a bit on the lack of consistency. Basically you can develop new weapons and gear as you progress.    So this is the famous Metal Gear Solid eyh? I never played it before, until I got my hand on The Phantom Pain. Boy let me tell you it's kinda a fruitless endeavor: i.e. repetitive missions, a messy story-line development, lack of even some basic logic and lack of consistency.

    I'll tell a bit on the lack of consistency. Basically you can develop new weapons and gear as you progress. However, this game rewards stealth/non-killing style. But the things you can develop are almost all meant for killing, often with a loud bang. So throughout the game you're stuck with the few basic things if you want to go the non-lethal way. But then... you have missions where you practically have no choice but to kill massively, often with loud bangs involved. So what's the point right? You can't be consistent as in, say, the Deus Ex franchise.

    Then there's the repetition. You can't develop meaningful things for a long time, so you're doing repetitive missions with the same old tranquilizer pistol (if you go non-lethal) for a quite a while, whether it's a level 1 or an upgraded level 2 pistol. Nothing changes really.

    Look, the graphics and motions are done nice. But it's the one and only good thing. But frankly it's a big grindfest in a neat environment which demands too much time to travel from one spot to another. Finally there's the controls, it's a bad port (unfinished) from a PlayStation system. For example the mouse doesn't even work in the Menu UI (only keys can be used to change settings) and in-game you need to press awkward key-combinations to get things done, like making cool moves. There are a lot of annoyances like that,including unfinished walk-paths and hiding spots. Even hiding is weird implemented: for some reason hiding crouched behind a wall is more hidden than just being crouched behind a wall (lol wtf?). But some spots aren't finished marking by the programmers as hiding-places, so you're wondering why you can't "hide" behind this massive boulder for example - but you can hide behind this tiny wall.

    There's a storyline, but for the un-initiated it's almost entirely un-penetrable.From what I understand, even for die-hard MSG fans the story is nonsensical. One has to listen to endless audio-tapes (no video), and then try to make something coherent out of it.

    What can I say, this game really needs to move up 2 good notches before I could give it an minimal acceptable 6/10 rating. Hence the rating of 4/10.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2015
14
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Critic Reviews

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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.
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  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]
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