Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6369 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,905 out of 6369
  2. Mixed: 824 out of 6369
  3. Negative: 640 out of 6369
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  1. Bollywongaloid
    Sep 9, 2015
    7
    Really difficult for me to put a score on this... Mechanically, the game is near perfect and is a joy to play for the most part. Controls are intuitive, graphics are great, performs at a constant 60 FPS etc. It's a fantastic game. But, for some reason, as a huge MGS fan who's played the series since the 80's, I'm disappointed too. I hate the episodic structure to the game, the motherReally difficult for me to put a score on this... Mechanically, the game is near perfect and is a joy to play for the most part. Controls are intuitive, graphics are great, performs at a constant 60 FPS etc. It's a fantastic game. But, for some reason, as a huge MGS fan who's played the series since the 80's, I'm disappointed too. I hate the episodic structure to the game, the mother base metagame belongs on an iPad and the story is so bare bones I sometimes had to remind myself I was playing a metal gear game (twists are predictable too).

    In short, it makes too many concessions to the modern gaming world. A real shame.    … Expand
  2. AndyZ88
    Sep 8, 2015
    7
    As a new player to the MGS series, I gave into the pre-launch hype and I was excited about it, but ultimately I feel the game was overall a disappointment. The graphics are good and the lighting is masterfully done, but there's not a lot of other positive things I can say about the game.

    The world feels empty and feels like it's created just to tie together a bunch of outposts. The    As a new player to the MGS series, I gave into the pre-launch hype and I was excited about it, but ultimately I feel the game was overall a disappointment. The graphics are good and the lighting is masterfully done, but there's not a lot of other positive things I can say about the game.

    The world feels empty and feels like it's created just to tie together a bunch of outposts. The scenery looks really good, but I can't help think how lazy the devs were when 3/4 out of the surface of the Afghanistan map is made of corridors through rocks. Which, admittedly, look beautiful.. I was also surprised by how rigid the animations look, and what a lack of variety there is. They could've at least added some more animations to the close-quarters fighting & such..

    There really aren't many things to do in this game world, other than the "kill this guy" / "save that guy" repetitive missions, set in the same bases, over and over again. The gameplay is also not very deep, the whole game consists basically of crawling up to an enemy, interrogating him and extracting him with the Fulton device. There are gadgets you can use, but the open world and rigid nature of it prevent you from having any meaningful stealth takedowns & tactics. At some point I just gave up and played it as a shooter, but then I realised the shooting mechanics are also unimpressive.

    The AI is bad. Sometimes is spots you from miles away, during night time...Sometimes it can't see you a couple of meters away. Sometimes you are 20m away pointing the gun at them and they're just trying to figure out what's in front of them... Also it's very underwhelming, it's like the AI has no tactic, the enemies are just flocking to take cover where ever they can and that's it... No flanking tactics, very predictable, very easy to clean out entire bases, it makes you feel like you're the Terminator, not some special ops guy who still needs to be a ghost to survive a base full of soldiers...

    I'm not going to say anything about the story. As a first time MGS player, it obviously doesn't carry much weight for me, as it does for MGS fans. The storytelling style in MGS is not really something I enjoy, to me the cutscenes and character behavior is just weird. I'm just gonna leave it at "I don't get the artist's vision".

    All in all, I feel like if this game hadn't been called Metal Gear Solid, it would get far from the 10/10 reviews it's getting, and would receive far less attention. And it's sad to see a game with so many flaws and so many shortcomings, pull out these perfect marks in supposedly professional magazines, and get these "BEST GAME EVER" reactions.... No, it is far from a "best game ever", and it's far from GOTY 2015. In the year of the Witcher, Batman AK, Bloodborne, Dying Light, the upcoming Fallout 4, it simply doesn't have the quality to compete at this level.    … Expand
  3. carlingtat
    Sep 4, 2015
    7
    I own all the major Metal Gear Solid Releases(1-5 & Peace Walker) and consider myself a huge fan of the series and I eagerly awaited the finale of the series but now that I've played over 25 hours I cant help be disappointed by what is the last true Metal Gear Solid game and the fact its finished with a whimper.

    Pluses: +The stealth and gameplay are without doubt the best they've ever    I own all the major Metal Gear Solid Releases(1-5 & Peace Walker) and consider myself a huge fan of the series and I eagerly awaited the finale of the series but now that I've played over 25 hours I cant help be disappointed by what is the last true Metal Gear Solid game and the fact its finished with a whimper.

    Pluses:
    +The stealth and gameplay are without doubt the best they've ever been and I really enjoy trying to complete each mission and side op with the perfect stealth & no kills bonus.

    +The game looks great with the new Fox Engine and for such a big game there are little to no bugs with some great optimization.

    +Extra objectives in Missions and Side Ops give the player so much to do. I've played over 25 hours and still at only 20% complete

    +Characters and Cinematic scenes are, as always, top-notch work

    +Buddy system allows for backup on missions and side ops. Quiet is very handy to have as cover fire.

    Negatives:
    - Huge open worlds are pointless if theres barely anything in it. Both Africa and Afghanistan are huge in area but little in content. Small outposts and bases are spread wide leaving the map with about 70-80% wasteland.

    -Side ops and Mother Base staff management become crucial without the game notifying you. I spent a long time defeating a boss only to find that I needed a Transport Specialist staff member to complete the mission, a fact the game did not inform me of. Another frustrating hour of searching the internet and the maps for this specialist ensued.

    -Narrative is badly paced. After the prologue it was hours before I progressed the story in any way. Metal Gear Solid has always been excellent example in a narrative driven game but TPP doesnt seem to have much story left to tell and it seems like its a side story to the missions.

    -Hiding is just pointless in this game. Another key aspect of previous MGS games has vanished. Once you've been discovered the only way of dodging enemies is by fleeing mainly because there are very few places to hide.

    This is really a 7.5 but for a whole number rating.

    -Health and Supplies are a huge annoyance in this game. There aren't many supplies around when you need them and the guns cannot hold a lot of ammo meaning you need to constantly call for supply drops. Old system of being able to have all the weapons is gone and replaced by a loadout of 4 weapons max. Also have to hide for long periods to wait for your health to recover instead of using rations while annoying blood spatters on screen reducing your visibility.

    -Micro-transactions. All that needs to be said about this. Anyone defending micro-transactions in a £40/€60 game is an idiot.    … Expand
  4. 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.

    (Sorry, posted this here when I meant to put it in the PC reviews.)    … Expand
  5. Cytiene
    Sep 6, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I simply cannot understand how this game is getting so much praise. I'm a huge Metal Gear Solid fan and I was really looking forward to it. But when I finally started this game, playing the opening sequence I couldn't help but feel sort of numb to everything that was happening. Sure it was cool but something was missing. Only about 30 hours later and after nights of sleeplessness where I tried to figure out why I wasn't satisfied with the game it hit me. There is no heart to it. The gameplay sure ist pretty good and it is a lot of fun. The world's are empty though and Kojima Productions had no idea how to make an open world that is diverse and feels natural. The worst part of this game is without a doubt the story. The first chapter was somehow bearable, although it felt so unfinished and things that got introduced were never explained or continued later on. The second chapter though is the worst part. It feels like they needed to throw everything they had left together just to make the story a little bit longer in the end. Quiet is an awful character and I don't feel ashamed for my "words and deeds" about her attire but that I actually defended her all this time only to learn about the utterly stupid reason she's wearing a bikini in battle. I feel ashamed for playing this game when I see her weird, hyper-sexual movements in some cutscenes and especially that stuff in the rain. The forced romance between her and 'Snake' that the story tries to shove down your throat somewhere in the middle of the game, again with no build up is so painful and cringe-worthy to look at. Also there is nothing controversial in this game that hasn't been done in other games already. Children with guns? In The Last of Us you play as a child while you're murdering people. Now I know child-soldiers are a real thing but it's so weirdly implemented in this game and doesn't really add much. Quiet being almost raped and tortured? Well that is a bad thing but the fact that men get raped too is not acknowledged at all. These scenes just feel like the game is forcing you to feel sorry for her all of a sudden. Skull Face is a silly, pathetic character that feels almost unimportant to the story. I could go on for hours. The thing that I hate most about this game is that stupid twist at the end that creates more plot-holes than it does actually explain something. It's just so stupid and unnecessary. There is no downfall of Big Boss. He doesn't become evil because of the events he has to go through. Finding out that you're playing as the medic from Ground Zeroes just makes me say one thing "Why should I even care?" There are just so many things wrong with this game's narrative that it's hard to mention all of them.

    Kojima you f***ed up big time. The only sad thing about it is that all these talented people dedicating their lives all these years to make this game are never really acknowledged behind all the praise Kojima is getting. The presentation is phenomenal, exceptional. Motion capture and cinematography is outstanding, graphics are beautiful. The soundtrack is so memorable and always fitting and the gameplay is pretty good, but all that isn't enough to save the game from it's poorly executed story and characters.    … Expand
  6. RavensCrime
    Sep 4, 2015
    6
    Oh god Kojima, why?
    I wanted to love this game, I wanted it to be epic and a worthwhile closure to one of of my favorite series of all time, and for the most part, I thought: "This is my GotY 2015". But then, close to the finish line, it stumbles and destroys every enjoyment I could have, instead replacing it with frustration and Game Design decisions I just cant understand.
    Metal Gear    Oh god Kojima, why?
    I wanted to love this game, I wanted it to be epic and a worthwhile closure to one of of my favorite series of all time, and for the most part, I thought: "This is my GotY 2015". But then, close to the finish line, it stumbles and destroys every enjoyment I could have, instead replacing it with frustration and Game Design decisions I just cant understand.
    Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain proves that you can never expect a good Game to stay good.
    But where do I start?
    MGSV does a lot of things right.
    +The Gameplay has never been this good in a Metal Gear Game. Seriously, the sneaking is fun and engaging, and the open world aspect makes you truly want to explore.
    +The graphical Quality is pretty good and this game runs at 60fps instead of the standard 30, while also not feeling like it sacrificed visual quality for that.
    +The Game is Gigantic, with me spending over 60 hours with roughly 70% Completion.
    +The Score has never been so perfectly mixed, every single track feels like it belongs to where it is played, and really makes some scenes really emotional.
    +The cinematics are beautiful, engaging and really great, making this one of the closest experiences to an interactive movie.
    This all sounds great, doesn´t it? So why do I rate this game relatively low?
    -While the Gameplay is great, it was never the strong point of Metal Gear Solid t begin with, at least not for me. I always played this games for the Story, and the Story in this Game is one of the worst in the series, being played completely by the numbers and an ending that makes you feel like you just wasted all the Time you played Metal Gear Solid V.
    -While the Open world is pretty Big, it also gets pretty samey pretty damn fast, making you loose interest after a few hours already.
    And my biggest gripe:
    This Game takes the Peace Walker approach in storytelling in which you have a main Chapter that is pretty basic storytelling wise, and an "Epilogue" which is aimed to complete the Story. First of all, reaching that ending is a chore. You are forced to replay Missions from earlier in the Game, just on a higher difficulty Setting.Not only does that make no narrative sense, But Metal Gear Solid V cranks it up to 11, having missions where you can get One-Shot less then 1 Second in. No Room for Error, no Fairness. That is not Fun, just Punishing.
    It is funny that i would say this about MGSV, a game in development for what feels like an eternity, but it needed more Time. The Final chapter feels like it was meant to be accompanied by Gameplay, but they had to scrap that and instead just recycled older levels.
    It is sad that it had to end like this. I truly wanted to Love this Game and for the Most Part, it felt like this would be the best Metal Gear, and a true ending to the Series, but everything it left was an awful aftertaste.    … Expand
  7. 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
  8. gongal
    Sep 6, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm really not sure where all the positive feedback comes from... Yes - the gameplay is great, but that's all what MGS is about...
    This was supposed to be the ultimate MGS STORY, THE MISSING LINK. What did we get? A convoluted story about a double without emotions, without his own personality. With a villan that means absolutely nothing to the series, who's personality is basicaly what venom should have been...
    The whole Chapter 2 is an unfinished mess, that starts with an awesome trailer when we expect the real **** to hit the fan, but nothing really happens... Then, out of nowhere, we are given the most awfully delivered ending in the MGS history. There's no build up, no interesting cutscenes. Everything happens "because reasons", and that they had no time to implement a proper storyline to the game.
    And the disguisting ending itself, where someone thought that would be necessary to target the game to suicidal teenagers and help them feel better about themselves... YOU ARE BIG BOSS LOL.

    Thank god they let Kojima go so he won't disappoint that much any more...    … Expand
  9. TixyLix
    Sep 6, 2015
    5
    Just feels like another mediocre open world game to me, it's not MGS in the slightest and I'm super disappointed.

    If you were expecting the big epic story finale to the MGS series, then prepare to be as disappointed as I was. After the first hour the story just goes away, most of what is left is in the tapes you listen to and then a 2 min cutscene is sparsely dotted around every 10    Just feels like another mediocre open world game to me, it's not MGS in the slightest and I'm super disappointed.

    If you were expecting the big epic story finale to the MGS series, then prepare to be as disappointed as I was. After the first hour the story just goes away, most of what is left is in the tapes you listen to and then a 2 min cutscene is sparsely dotted around every 10 hours or so. There are no characters like you had in the other games, everyone is largely forgettable, the voice acting for the male actors is bad, they all sound too similar. There are no boss fights as you'd expect from a MGS game, no moments like you had with The End in MGS3 or Psycho Mantis from MGS.

    The world is empty and really annoying to travel through since you constantly have big rocks stopping you from going places, it really feels more like a series of funnels. All the content is in the outposts, but they all have the same objectives of sneak past guards to get to something to either kill or extract. They never do anything clever with the gameplay, it always plays the same and I got bored quickly. The previous games were much more like Mario where Nintendo constantly finds new things to do with the gameplay with each level. However in MGSV It's like doing Hideouts in Watchdogs over and over again. I don't even see why the world is there, it serves no reason but for you to travel across, which is boring. I'd have much preferred a single location like the Tanker in MGS or Shadow Moses, at least then the map would have character, rather than the generic outposts of MGV.

    The controls are very clunky, it doesn't control well at all, there is no jump button either so you'll constantly get stuck on trying to negotiate Snake over and around them. Constantly I found myself in prone and not able to get Snake to turn around, so I'd end up just having Snake moving backwards all the time, which mirrors left and right and that is so annoying.

    I think MGSV is a very mediocre game, it's like Kojima got Western open world game envy and decided to copy it. It's not satisfying with the story, which to me is the biggest crime since MGS has always been about the story. Why make a big deal out of getting Kiefer Sutherland if you aren't going to use him? I swear I only heard him talk like 5 times throughout the game.

    I fully expect a backlash to happen, in the same vein as GTA IV.    … Expand
  10. Alche
    Sep 1, 2015
    5
    While I not motivate me of both a game and has managed this. Quality and content overflows do. Special mention for Mother Base, customizable and entertaining. Every thing you do feel you progress, unlock weapons, upgrades, etc. Fellow soles an amazing game that I we can deduct many hours hooked.
  11. riseinflame
    Sep 4, 2015
    6
    Metal Gear Solid 5 Review (Spoiler Free) -

    Ever since I've seen the first trailer of MGS 5, i haven't been able to contain my hype. Waiting for the long awaited GOTY 2015 has been hard and finally getting to play it as soon as it launched was a treat. However, as many times as you see his name appear on every mission, sadly, this isn't A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME! Phantom Pain's fox engine    Metal Gear Solid 5 Review (Spoiler Free) -

    Ever since I've seen the first trailer of MGS 5, i haven't been able to contain my hype. Waiting for the long awaited GOTY 2015 has been hard and finally getting to play it as soon as it launched was a treat. However, as many times as you see his name appear on every mission, sadly, this isn't A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME!

    Phantom Pain's fox engine is amazing, showcasing a new era of open world fun that can be had in the 8th gen of gaming. However, Kojima's so called conclusion to the epic saga is a big fail. MGS 5 is an open world game with mechanics picked up from Far Cry, Splinter Cell & some other 3rd person shooters. What the game doesn't pick is anything from its previous Metal Gears.

    Metal Gear Solid 4 remains my favourite game of all time not just because of its amazing story but also its boss battles. And Phantom Pain fails to deliver on both. The game's story is left on a cliched cliffhanger and the game has a total of 1 Boss Battle. The hype with which i started the game died down each moment I progressed towards the end.

    The game is divided into 3 sections - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2.

    The prologue features some amazing cutscenes with chapter 1 featuring 31 missions to the finale. While some of these missions are really amazing, most are repetitive and sloppy. The game's initial impressions make you say that its a GOTY, however by the end of chapter 1, you witness a boss battle which is nothing but a bullet sponge.(felt like i was playing a Destiny boss battle, shoot rockets till death... urgh!)

    What's even more disappointing is Chapter 2, which has 19 missions, 12 of which are basically missions from Chapter 1 on higher difficulty which need to be completed in a specific way, stealing away your freedom of open world tactical espionage. The way you want to play doesn't exist anymore in Chapter 2 which makes you question the existence of the open world.

    Metal Gear Solid 5 was the most hyped game of 2015 and Kojima does nothing but disappoint. I look back at MGS 4 and see nothing but laziness from Konami & Team in this game. A lack of boss battles, the sheer lack of the amount of Kojima quantity cutscenes & the exact same missions in Chapter 2 makes me glad that i spent only $60 on this game and no more.

    Phantom Pain from no angle is 2015's GOTY & while i am not interested in Fallout 4 as of now, i hope its much better than this.    … Expand
  12. voidsea
    Sep 5, 2015
    5
    Although all we MGS fanboys should be high.
    But this crap is just an average game with feign tactic and stupid funky story.
    Open world? Lifeless and boring repeative.
    Mother base? Distractive.
    Where is the good old story telling?
    Kojima Kojima Kojima... F*k off and stop telling me this.
  13. MooseSpoon
    Sep 3, 2015
    7
    It's a nice game. The graphics are great. The game plays well. But in all honesty it loses some points in a few areas.

    1.) The credits for every episode are annoying. I mean did you know this game was made by Hideo Kojima? Yeah it's a thing that they took his name off the box, but I'm pretty sure I knew at the start of the game it was made by him. You don't have to remind me. 2.) It    It's a nice game. The graphics are great. The game plays well. But in all honesty it loses some points in a few areas.

    1.) The credits for every episode are annoying. I mean did you know this game was made by Hideo Kojima? Yeah it's a thing that they took his name off the box, but I'm pretty sure I knew at the start of the game it was made by him. You don't have to remind me.

    2.) It feels like Far Cry. Seriously. Gather some things, craft some things, do some open world missions. Maybe it should be called Far Cry Solid.

    3.) Micro transactions. Yes, you paid for a full game and you still get micro transactions. They're mostly for the online component, but it still seems a bit silly. If I wanted micro transactions, I can play a mobile game or something from EA.    … Expand
  14. JMARSseph
    Sep 5, 2015
    6
    Why so much hype? This game is ok, nothing more, nothing less. The graphics are pretty decent, not the best. A lot of models are poorly done and for a game of this magnitude it is inexcusable. The movement can be problematic when running or just walking, yet for some reason when crawling you are like a tank and crawl relatively problem free. The combat is above average but nothing new. AWhy so much hype? This game is ok, nothing more, nothing less. The graphics are pretty decent, not the best. A lot of models are poorly done and for a game of this magnitude it is inexcusable. The movement can be problematic when running or just walking, yet for some reason when crawling you are like a tank and crawl relatively problem free. The combat is above average but nothing new. A lot of people claim the enemy A. I. is something special.....not so much. Enemies will wonder around into the open and run directly into sniper fire. Also a lot of people like all of the micromanaging at your base...not me. An abundance of content does not make for greatness or make up for typical gameplay. I am not overly impressed at all. I guess I expected more and was let down. I feel each mission is replaying the prior mission. Repeat, repeat, repeat.....................I cant decide if I will continue or trade this game while it has value. As for so called professional critics...I never have bought their nonsense, because clearly if a company pays you a lot of money to hype their product and advertise....well you wouldn't be to objective either.… Expand
  15. Deezlar
    Sep 2, 2015
    6
    Doesn't even come close to the hype.

    If you are a MGS ultra fan, then of course this game will be "perfect" to you because it can do no wrong. For the more open minded, a few points.. The open world isn't open. There is nothing to explore. The locations all look identical / low quality textures. The missions offer very little variety. Credits at the beginning/end of every    Doesn't even come close to the hype.

    If you are a MGS ultra fan, then of course this game will be "perfect" to you because it can do no wrong.
    For the more open minded, a few points..

    The open world isn't open.
    There is nothing to explore.
    The locations all look identical / low quality textures.
    The missions offer very little variety.
    Credits at the beginning/end of every "episode" is really obnoxious.
    Stealth is badly implemented, but if you get seen you just destroyed most of your rewards.
    The entire base/army aside is just lubrication for the cash shop ramming.

    The simplest and most fundamental flaw is that Guns have no place in this game... You get majorly penalised for doing anything with a weapon other than a stealth knockdown pistol, so it begs the question, why do they even exist?

    As for the whole "Everyone will have stories" nonsense, no they wont. There will be a couple of variations on the theme but for the most part, everyone will approach things in the same way.

    The story is pretty crap so far, other than an awesome intro sequence that jarrs so heavily with you being dropped into the "open" (not open) world, that it feels like you just watched a trailer for another game instead of a build up to your own story.

    The game overall is average. Painfully average.
    But of course that doesn't matter because all that people care about is the hype train these days.    … Expand
  16. Skarwind
    Sep 1, 2015
    7
    It's a AAA title that works, so +5 for that. For the people giving it a 10/10 I feel sorry for their quality in gameplay and game design as a whole. The game is just boring. It looks great, sounds great, is optimized very well, and has the production value of a high quality AAA movie, however, this game is bland and boring as any other standard Call of Duty game or Battlefield game at thisIt's a AAA title that works, so +5 for that. For the people giving it a 10/10 I feel sorry for their quality in gameplay and game design as a whole. The game is just boring. It looks great, sounds great, is optimized very well, and has the production value of a high quality AAA movie, however, this game is bland and boring as any other standard Call of Duty game or Battlefield game at this point.

    The AI is stupid. I can't express this enough, but the AI is a sham of what previous games were. You can stand in front of them and they won't notice you (WITHOUT THE CHICKEN HAT).

    Also, and this may be a small point to point out, Kojima made it a point to say, "screw you Konami," but I have to say I do NOT ENJOY SEEING HIS NAME AT THE END OF EVERY MISSION! We get it... you made the game, you emphasized that enough with your 2014 easter eggs of Ground Zeroes, but as human beings, your emphasis on stupid **** is pointless.

    Imagine seeing a movie where the credits rolled every 5 minutes. This would be outrageous. I personally do not enjoy this game but many others do, it is a good game overall but I can't vouch for it. I don't enjoy it and I don't like it. The graphics are amazing. The story is probably awesome but I'll never know. I spent about 20 hours in and I stopped playing. I hate it. I don't like what the modern age of gaming has done to people and the medium in general. This is my protest. This is my non 10/10 review and my non 0/10 review. I give this game, in my opinion a fair score, the mediocre 7/10 that I feel it deserves. Kojima could have done better for his final game for the company but instead he decided to troll the ever living dog **** out of it. there may be 400+ positive reviews for this game on metacritic. I honestly hope that I can convince at least one person to use an objective mind before purchasing this game, however.

    It's not fun, it looks great, but it is shallow. SHALLOW to the 10/10 extreme reviews that this game is getting.

    10/10 Kojima, **** YOU. After 20 years of loving your products and story, I have to say, I hate you now...

    Rant/Over. Metal Ger fo LIFE. (but not really)

    P.S. the most not realistic review I've ever made while still being serious.    … Expand
  17. shundog
    Apr 10, 2017
    5
    This is an average game at best, which is hugely disappointing for such a great series. There are a lot of side missions, but they are very repetitive and they get old in a hurry. The levels are mostly barren deserts which are very bland to run through. I got about 3/4 of the way through the game and I couldn't bring myself to finish it, which was a first for me in the series.
  18. theche
    Apr 3, 2017
    5
    The Metal Gear series has always excelled in combining great stealth action game play and state-of-the art graphics with a complex, enthralling storyline featuring fascinating characters. Unfortunately, this latest part of the series only excels in the technical and mechanical aspects. Moving the series into an open world sandbox, it offers more content than any former part - however itThe Metal Gear series has always excelled in combining great stealth action game play and state-of-the art graphics with a complex, enthralling storyline featuring fascinating characters. Unfortunately, this latest part of the series only excels in the technical and mechanical aspects. Moving the series into an open world sandbox, it offers more content than any former part - however it does so by heavily recycling content, forcing players to visit the same outposts over and over again. Uncharacteristically, the game also fails to narrate a meaningful or even comprehensible story: The motivations of major protagonists and antagonists remain unclear until the very end, it all just seems to serve as a cheap excuse to send the player onto random missions.

    Fans of the stealth action genre should still check the game out due to its unquestionable great mechanics, but compared to its predecessors, Metal Gear Solid 5 is a huge step down.    … Expand
  19. DonManias
    Oct 25, 2017
    7
    Highly overrated.
    Despite the game play mechanics and production values being sky high, like most Metal Gear games, the switch to an open world destroys the most important aspect of the Metal Gear series: the fantastic storytelling of its genius creator, who has managed to innovate gaming time and again.
    This time, however, the innovation is replaced by repetition. Multiple missions in    Highly overrated.
    Despite the game play mechanics and production values being sky high, like most Metal Gear games, the switch to an open world destroys the most important aspect of the Metal Gear series: the fantastic storytelling of its genius creator, who has managed to innovate gaming time and again.
    This time, however, the innovation is replaced by repetition.
    Multiple missions in the same location may be the idea of great fun of many people, but it sure isn't mine: I love open world games, but I also love straight stories, and Metal Gear games were their best version. Imagine a fantastic Grand Theft Auto that takes away open world roaming and replaces it with a straight story, moving you from one location to another once you complete a stage...
    All in all , the game does not lack in any aspect, with the notable exception of stealth, which at times looks quite laughable, with lots of noises and other impossible events that would wake up a person from a bloody coma.
    However, this is a game, so suspension of reality is something to be expected to a certain degree, although this is cutting it close.
    Stealth aside, it would be unfair to criticize anything else.
    However, switching to a sandbox world is pretty massive, and although I am more than certain that the majority of people will not mind this change, as far as my personal taste goes, this was a disappointing change of direction.
    Do give it a short, particularly if you love open world games. They have made one of the best ones out there.
    But, Metal Gear fans, this is what Dragon Age 2 was to Dragon Age Origins: better graphics, same locations all over, and that weird feeling of "what happened to the game I love? Why am I playing another GTA clone, dammit"?    … Expand
  20. BIGMIK80
    Oct 29, 2017
    5
    I. Cant believe this game got such a high rating. Yes the mechanics are near perfect and the graphics are amazing but its very repetitive. Exploring the same areas over and over. Then halfway through it forces you to do online FOBs, which is a total waste of time. Then after mission 30 your just repeating the same missions but on a harder setting. The load in before EVERY mission in theI. Cant believe this game got such a high rating. Yes the mechanics are near perfect and the graphics are amazing but its very repetitive. Exploring the same areas over and over. Then halfway through it forces you to do online FOBs, which is a total waste of time. Then after mission 30 your just repeating the same missions but on a harder setting. The load in before EVERY mission in the chopper is pointless and cant be skipped. I did enjoy the challenges and tasks but some are bugged and are annoying.… Expand
  21. B0rn2_w1n
    Jul 17, 2019
    7
    Amazing mechanics, but the game has no soul.

    MGS1 is my favorite game of all time, MGS2 is in the top 10. These games where great not only because of the mechanics, but also because of the story/music/script/final bosses, etc.

    This game, with it's episodic structure and repetitive missions is dull and lacks soul. First 2 hours are great, then the game becomes just average.
  22. Umbrella-17
    Mar 22, 2017
    6
    MGS V is a Deception. The Story is a mess and Kojima attempted a Too Deep for you story with a lack of cut-scene and information even a certain part in the story which i won't spoil end with a cliffhanger and the real ending is an unfinished cut-scene in a bonus disc from the collector edition. While we have a lack of good story missions and cut-scenes they make it in useless repetitiveMGS V is a Deception. The Story is a mess and Kojima attempted a Too Deep for you story with a lack of cut-scene and information even a certain part in the story which i won't spoil end with a cliffhanger and the real ending is an unfinished cut-scene in a bonus disc from the collector edition. While we have a lack of good story missions and cut-scenes they make it in useless repetitive Ops that feel like a chore to play. Go there extract that dude. Go there kill or Fulton those Commanders, go get those supply containers. Eliminate or Fulton those Tank and APC. Without forgetting the development time for many weapons and Equipment lets say i want to develop that amazing assault rifle it will be available in 2 hours in game or later in the game the Gold weapons which are the strongest take around a week without playing at least to develop unless you use MB coin which you will want to keep for buying more Platform for your base which take 1 day or more to develop. I give it a six because the actual Gameplay is Solid the game has almost no bugs and the weapons Item variety is there. MGSV is exactly the case of a **** of mediocre content. I never wished to have story content as DLC's so much than with MGS V if Kojima had in is mind to make us feel the phantom pain with MGS V he did great with the lack of story content for the last MGS game. As i am writing this review Ghost Recon wildlands is out and its an amazing Stealth open world done right.… Expand
  23. OBrien1510
    May 13, 2019
    6
    Bloat. This is the word the summarises this game for me. I should note that I never make reviews like this because something really irked me about my (admittedly brief) time with this game and that's that I really really want to like it. It's so obvious that a lot of time and effort went into making this game and this can be seen by the sheer quantity of often frivolous gameplay mechanicsBloat. This is the word the summarises this game for me. I should note that I never make reviews like this because something really irked me about my (admittedly brief) time with this game and that's that I really really want to like it. It's so obvious that a lot of time and effort went into making this game and this can be seen by the sheer quantity of often frivolous gameplay mechanics that have been worked in. Herein lies both the strength and weakness of Phantom Pain. It seems to take a needless long amount of time to do anything in this game and it only serves to bolster and bloat a users playtime with empty hours. I would imagine that an average play through my spend almost 10 solid hours either being ferried to your next location in a helicopter or waiting for said helicopter. The lack of loading screens is very nice I will admit but I wish there was something else to fill that time than just staring at the drab grey and browns of the landscape.

    I really can't comment on the story because I didn't see very much of it. I could bring myself to play very far into the story because I would find myself getting visibly agitated at the amount of 'red tape' surrounding the actual game. I just want to play the game, why does this highly complex mother base metagame exists? Is it neccesary? Can I skip it? Honestly stuff like that seemed to just ramp up my anxiety because I constantly felt like I was missing out on something by ignoring all these auxiliary content. I've attempted to go back to this game multiple times hoping that eventually it'll 'catch' and I get hooked but I end up rage quiting and deleting it again after half an hour everytime. It feels like the type of game that require 10's of hours of gameplay to actually get used to all the little mechanics in the game and honestly, these days I just don't have the patience for it. The migration to an open world really hinders the game as well I feel. I would prefer set missions that were mostly relevant to the story opposed to the current scattergun approach. It falls into the same trapping of many open world games and this is a lack of direction. Let me just ignore the main story for 10 hours because there's a few 'highly skilled solidiers' I need to spend an inordinate amount of time finding so that I can extract them for this mother base mini game that I don't even really understand.

    I would be remiss if I gave this game a score any lower than I did because mechanically it is near perfect and it's clear a lot of care was put into the game. But the "Throw enough **** at the wall and hope something sticks" approach it one that has left a sour taste in my mouth every time I try to play. It always feels like the game could be streamlined better in almost every way, but that would make the game too modern and would probably shave 10's of hours of game time from any one save. Being a Japanese made game, playtime really is everything (believe me, I played persona and loved it btw)

    I'm going to stop know but I needed to vent a little bit because I honestly don't think I've ever been more frustrated with a game. Mostly because I feel like I'm missing something, like there's something wrong with my and not the game (this very well might be the case) but as hard as I have tried I just can't bring myself to enjoy it    … Expand
  24. CoreGamer1408
    Aug 9, 2019
    6
    MGS1/2 and even MGS3 was a good balance between stealth action and story,. MGS4 was way to much story and not enough game. While MGSV feels way to much of a empty padded out game and not enough story (barring the intro section). Then the game switches to a resource collection and management game. I have spent tens of hours going into the same looking areas coming up against the same numberMGS1/2 and even MGS3 was a good balance between stealth action and story,. MGS4 was way to much story and not enough game. While MGSV feels way to much of a empty padded out game and not enough story (barring the intro section). Then the game switches to a resource collection and management game. I have spent tens of hours going into the same looking areas coming up against the same number of enemies. To ether assassinate, capture personal, steal some intel/tech or blow something up.

    In all the previous games Solid Snake and Big Boss in MG3 was voiced by the same actor David Hayter. So it is quite jarring to hear another actor Kethier Sutherland with a totally different distinct voice play the same role as which David Hayter did. New to the IP then this won't even matter.

    The gameplay is fine polished, but nothing ground breaking or that exciting really. The older MG games and controls were kind of tricky, because honestly how the limited 3D technology worked at the time. MGSV is a breeze to play and I felt at no time challenged on default difficulty. While the optional use of the iron sight addition makes the take downs even easier. How to recruit people is silly fun, but also so super dumb.

    A open map with a padded travel system and rinse/repeat missions is so boring in stealth. I get the feeling this game was supposed to have more maps? Or that maps were supposed to only have one mission per local.? They padded this game to hell and back for sure. Returning to the same place the third, fourth or filth time do the same thing for the third, fourth of fifth time in stealth mode.

    This game has a extensive tiers for lethal gear that take ages to grind to unlock lock, but the game penalizes you if you go loud and/or kill stuff. The most fun I had with this game was when I was going loud and getting crappy ranks.    … Expand
  25. Sveta7
    Jul 18, 2018
    6
    First tim playing a mgs game so im not a hyper fanboy and will give a 10/10 to anything...With that out of the way the game runs good has good mechanics and graphics but has a lot of short missions which get boring and repetitive and doesn't really have something special or intriguing for me to keep playing it just an average shooter with traces of asian culture and also the recruitingFirst tim playing a mgs game so im not a hyper fanboy and will give a 10/10 to anything...With that out of the way the game runs good has good mechanics and graphics but has a lot of short missions which get boring and repetitive and doesn't really have something special or intriguing for me to keep playing it just an average shooter with traces of asian culture and also the recruiting part is a pain in the ass ...… Expand
  26. Arctic_Kurioshi
    May 28, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's was a HUGE let down for me in many ways. Gameplay wise is good but not a master piece. I found myself bored often. I've played all the Metal Gear games and this was the weakest by far. I liked Survive better and that's saying a lot.… Expand
  27. ilx4ever
    Aug 26, 2020
    6
    When you finish the intro, which is roughly 2hrs you could rate this game really so high. But that's not the case with the rest of the game. After the 5th mission you are done with the game. Its literally the same again and again, mission after mission. You just hope to end sooner. This guy Hideo Kojima is either the most overrated game dev ever or he has just made the intro of the gameWhen you finish the intro, which is roughly 2hrs you could rate this game really so high. But that's not the case with the rest of the game. After the 5th mission you are done with the game. Its literally the same again and again, mission after mission. You just hope to end sooner. This guy Hideo Kojima is either the most overrated game dev ever or he has just made the intro of the game and left everything else to his team. The game is at most 6 out of 10.… Expand
  28. SuperDuck23
    May 28, 2017
    7
    Despite the fact that there are many positives in regards to presentation and controls, I found the rest of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain to be a chore to get through. The lack of a good story also adds to the frustration. Like Ground Zeroes, it’s very well realised but carries no weight.
  29. SolidXSteak
    Feb 23, 2017
    5
    Man what a **** disappointment. True there are aspects that work. The graphics are fantastic, and the mechanics are perhaps the best in the series. The game is crippled by a story that is incomplete and confusing even by Metal Gear standards, boring level design, repetitive missions, an open world so empty and pointless that you wonder why they even bothered, and a base building/onlineMan what a **** disappointment. True there are aspects that work. The graphics are fantastic, and the mechanics are perhaps the best in the series. The game is crippled by a story that is incomplete and confusing even by Metal Gear standards, boring level design, repetitive missions, an open world so empty and pointless that you wonder why they even bothered, and a base building/online competitive aspect of the game that is just annoying to say the least. The sad part is that I can see the potential this game had. Simply put; Kojima wasn't able to properly finish the game and it shows… Expand
  30. MasterGames
    Jan 8, 2019
    7
    A great Stealth-Action game but as a Metal Gear title it's kind of disappointing. The story seems unfinished, there are no major bosses and the cassette tapes are a the real phantom pain... in the ass.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS4 Game of 2015
4
#4 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
3
#3 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 86
  3. Negative: 0 out of 86
  1. Polygon
    Dec 3, 2015
    90
    If this is where Kojima does finally leave the series he created, it will be a bittersweet send-off, both for Big Boss and one of gaming's most intriguing auteurs.
    Read full review
  2. Time
    Nov 10, 2015
    100
    The holy grail of world-building games, it’s argued, is a black box that lets players do as they like with minimal handholding. Pliability with just the right measure of accountability. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a tactical stealth simulation wrapped in a colossal resource management puzzle inside a love letter to theatrical inscrutability, comes the closest of any game I’ve yet played to realizing that ideal.
    Read full review
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Nov 5, 2015
    91
    There’s no denying the Game of the Year potential of The Phantom Pain. The campaign is absolutely massive, it’s almost too much to cope. That being said, Chapter II is a huge let-down and feels like artificial padding. Still, this is about as good as tactical espionage operations can get in a video game. [Oct 2015]
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