The sizzling summer months may be slowly edging towards a conclusion, but things are heating up in the video game release calendar. And few titles come hotter than Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – a game that would be heavily anticipated under ordinary circumstances, but finds itself a likely series swansong for creator Hideo Kojima. We're still waiting for Big Boss to infiltrate Push Square Towers and deliver our copy – we're informed that it should arrive this week – which means that we're going to have to turn you over to some other sites for now. Here's what they're saying.
IGN - 10/10
The Phantom Pain is the kind of game I thought would never exist - one where every minute gameplay detail has true purpose. Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of Espionage Action, easily make it my favorite in the series. There have certainly been sandbox action games that have given me a bigger world to roam, or more little icons to chase on my minimap, but none have pushed me to plan, adapt, and improvise the way this one does. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doesn't just respect my intelligence as a player, it expects it of me, putting it in league that few others occupy.
GameSpot - 10/10
Every fan of Metal Gear has their favorite game in the series. For some, it's the unique gameplay quirks, memorable set pieces, or specific plot points that dictate their adoration for one game over another. When defining the best Metal Gear game, things get trickier, but with The Phantom Pain, that problem is finally resolved. There has never been a game in the series with such depth to its gameplay, or so much volume in content. The best elements from the past games are here, and the new open-world gameplay adds more to love on top. When it comes to storytelling, there has never been a Metal Gear game that's so consistent in tone, daring in subject matter, and so captivating in presentation. The Phantom Pain may be a contender for one of the best action games ever made, but is undoubtedly the best Metal Gear game there is.
God Is a Geek - 10/10
You would struggle to be disappointed by Metal Gear Solid V. Almost everything is close to perfect, and visually this is one of the most realistic games I have ever seen (especially the environments). The gameplay never gets old and there is so much choice that no two playthroughs will ever be the same. It isn't only Metal Gear fans who should be interested in this, everyone should be interested in this whether you have played anything like it before or not. Quite simply, this isn't just the best Metal Gear game, nor is it just the best stealth game, it is one of the best games ever made.
EGM - 9.5/10
Big Boss' supposedly final outing puts players in the middle of the most ambitious entry in the series yet, and it delivers on almost everything it promises. If this is Hideo Kojima's final game, then he is stepping out at the top floor of the industry.
Game Informer - 9.25/10
Hideo Kojima's original Metal Gear was a top-down, screen-by-screen stealth title. Compared to the massive and ambitious world of The Phantom Pain, it's hard to believe both games are products of the same creative mind. A series can't survive this long without evolving, and The Phantom Pain is a testament to the importance of taking risks. An open world, a customizable base, a variable mission structure – these are not traditional aspects of Metal Gear, but they are what makes The Phantom Pain such an exceptional game. The gameplay, storytelling, and protagonists in Metal Gear may shift with each new installment, but Kojima's ability to surprise and enthrall gamers remains unchanged.
Destructoid - 9/10
Despite the fact that I hit a few snags along the way, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain feels like a simultaneous celebration of the series, and a decidedly new chapter. It's equal parts tough and flashy, and it's fitting that if this is Kojima's last Metal Gear, he goes on a high note.
That's what the critics are saying, but are you surprised? Are you looking forward to Konami's latest sneak-a-thon, or do you think that you'll be giving it a miss? Climb into our communal cardboard box in the comments section below.
Comments 45
"Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of Espionage Action, easily make it my favorite in the series."
Hmmm. I'm not sure how to feel right now.
But.... MGS is traditionally 2 hours of FMV for every 1 hour of gameplay.... how can there be a lack of story focus?
Where is my hour+ long ending full of existential Japanese ramblings about DNA and the human race?
"Unplug the controller now" would not have worked without any story.
I do admit that the teaser release was very good and I imagine they mean it fell in line with its style, rather than 1 dimensional levels.
Gamespot 10/10.
"Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doesn't just respect my intelligence as a player, it expects it of me, putting it in league that few others occupy."
insert generic IGN reviewers can't play games comment here.
J/K.
"Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of Espionage Action, easily make it my favorite in the series."
Hmmm. I'm not sure how to feel right now.
________________________
On the flipside, this makes me think that the Phantom Pain may be the first MGS game that I can actually enjoy.
Added a few more reviews. I need to read more - and actually play it for myself - but as a game it sounds absolutely sensational. I am going to miss the 90 minute cinematic self-indulgence of MGS4, though, I think.
Trust Kojima. That is all.
Looks like it's just the US publications for now, with EU sites set to follow in the morning. I'm sure those that got access are loving the American sites lapping up all of the hits.
I'll update with some of the EU sites in the morning. For now, I'm off to bed. Enjoy the hype, peeps!
@get2sammyb Yeah, I'm not sure how to feel about less story as well. I tend to like linear games with clear, set objectives more than the "do what you want" open-world stuff with open-ended goals.
But still.
Gamespot - The Phantom Pain may be a contender for one of the best action games ever made, but is undoubtedly the best Metal Gear game there is.
Its ridiculous comments like this why mainstream game websites are a massive turnoff. A 15 hour quick run through to bring to review and all of a sudden its the best metal gear game ever? You know multiple award winning games, games that were near the best if not the best on their respective systems. Why is mgspp being the best mgs ever even a focus of the review? I'm sure it the dogs nuts, but you can have 2 dogs nuts. Even a dogs nut that's more old and doesn't look as shiny is still a dogs nut.
Wasn't expecting reviews to come out this early.
Can't wait for the bizarrely negative review on an obscure site made simply to get lots of page views as it becomes a little faddish controversy.
But anyway, I'm really excited for this game. I know I should really play Peace Walker before this since it introduces many of the characters and concepts like Mother Base. I'm just overloaded with other games.
My excitement is dulled by Snake's voice being wrong. Hayter is Snake, anyone else is in my mind an imposter and it lessens the experience regardless of their supposed level of talent. I'm sure I will play it though at some point if it's as good as they say.
@themcnoisy you said dogs nuts quite alot there lol
Didn't think it woukd get this good reviews was gonna pick it up at some but that may have to be sooner now!
Great, just gotta finish the Witcher and Batman first
@get2sammyb Getting the feeling this one is more for the optimisers then the lore lovers if we go off that one quote / review, so for me will probably be more of a nine.
@get2sammyb @Swiket
Also from Gametrailers - sounds like MGS to me!!
I loved the long cut scenes of the previous MGs but I'm more than happy for a subtler narrative this time round.
We've had some great games so far this generation but this is what I've really been waiting for. Bring it on!!
The PVP aspect might include micro transactions.
@WanderingBullet Nor were we!
Konami: "People still like games that aren't on mobiles, whoopsie daisy!"
@themcnoisy but for Kojima's last game in the series, it's understandable that people are expecting big things and will want it to be the best yet. That doesn't diminish the achievements of the previous games by any means, but everything can be improved upon. I think it makes sense for them to be mentioning it.
In an ideal world surely every new iteration in a series would be the best in series as the team making it would be constantly learning and improving. Doesn't mean the last games weren't great, just that the latest one is even better!
Either way, this has been the final straw for me. I am now as hyped as it's possible to be for this game! So glad I have the week off for it
@get2sammyb I always thought that when developers allowed critics to release reviews early it meant that they were confident in their games. In this case, having such high scores could actually increase pre-orders for MGSV as well.
@themcnoisy
@WanderingBullet It's true, but things have changed a bit over the last few years. Generally embargoes tend to lift closer to release; I'm not entirely sure what the reason for that is.
Either way, this is a definite sign of confidence from Konami. Just a shame we didn't get access to it as early as everyone else.
I really can't wait for this game. In my mind The Witcher, MGS5 and Fallout 4 will battle for Game of the Year. Would anybody else like to see a Metal Gear 1 and 2 remake?
@get2sammyb
That, that doesn't sound right at all...
Granted, being Peace Walker on steroids showed problems. But the glowing reviews is a fitting end for this particular saga.
Gamespot has contradicted themselves by saying this go & read the full review, but they also say you'll need to play the game on higher difficulty settings for the full story. Which I like because it adds to replay value, not that it needs it as you'll be spending hundreds of hours to do everything. Cannot wait for MGSV it sounds like it could be the best MGS game to date, going by voice actors comments & game websites reviews.
@banacheck No that's not what they're saying. When playing through the game on the regular difficulty, towards the end you are forced to replay earlier missions with difficulty modifiers turned on before you can unlock the final parts of the story. It's explained more clearly in one of the other reviews linked to above, but I can't remember which one (think it was Game Informer or Destructoid).
Sounds a bit of a pain to me, but to be honest everything else about the game sounds so good that I couldn't care less!
As if I needed an excuse to play through these missions again on the higher difficulties!
Yay!! I'm glad it turned out a masterpiece, not that I had any doubt it wouldn't!
@get2sammyb "Either way, this is a definite sign of confidence from Konami. Just a shame we didn't get access to it as early as everyone else." < Why is that?
Now I just want them to sell the Metal Gear Rex head gear separately since I didn't pre-order the Collector's Edition.
If the emphasis is on gameplay over story and cinematics, count me in.
But again, I would like to see PS3 reviews to see if I need to wait or not.
@sinalefa If you got along with GZ on PS3 you'll be fine with this. That said I found the last gen versions pretty gross after playing PS4.
"Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful"
I'm quite happy about this tbh...
For me I felt the best Metal Gear game were ones where the plot was more simple to follow and didn't get dragged down in multiple subplots. It sounds like the reviewers were surprised that there weren't as many lengthy cutscenes this time.
this all sound really good to me, cant wait.
I expect(ed?) the radio dialogue to be extensive based on how much of GZ I spent listening to Paz etc. while sneaking around. But the radio in PW wasn't a separate screen, and 4 might as well not have had a radio at all. Codec calls and long cut-scenes are my favorite part of MGS, so it'd be a real pity to underutilize them in 5 just to give a few more lines of code to dusty wind or lens flare. Big Boss has never been Solid Snake so I can stomach the voice change (see MGS4 finale) especially considering they did simultaneous facial motion capture on Kiefer. This is the crazy "betrayed wolf" Big Boss too, not Naked Snake from 3 anymore. Way less confounding than Liquid Ocelot if you ask me
Really can't wait for this. The reviews were really irrelevant to that but it's still nice to see it being very well received. Honestly, one of the things I'm most looking forward to is Kojima explaining what the hell went on with Konami - and he'd better not put it all down to nanomachines.
Lack of story hmmm, ill have to play to see if thats bad or good. I love the ridiculousy long cutscenes.
Come on next monday!!
@get2sammyb Good thought I was the only one who will wait to play this based on that comment until I know more. I play it for equal parts story and gameplay. What does that mean??
Never any doubt.
@adf86
I think this will actually be to the game's benefit. I've always enjoyed MGS but the stories have always been all over the place. That's not necessarily a good thing.
Azikira: what does intelligence have anything to do with games..
Oh wait, it's IGN. never mind.
I don't like the idea that the story is open ended...with that said, I will give it a try, just a matter of how far down the road it will be when I get it.
By giving a game 10/10 is to suggest its perfect, although, with most reviewers these days using 7/10 as an average, when clearly 5 or 6/10 should mean its an average game and not a 7 means I have 0/10 faith in most reviews, aspecially ones from IGN & Gamespot.
I'll wait for Push Square to put up there review.
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