Poll: What Are Your Thoughts on Metal Gear Solid 5, 10 Years Later?

The overall steallth/combat gameplay mechanics in mgs5 are awesome but the story and the open world design and unfinished nature of the game make it a slog just as boring as a ubisoft game very quickly.

It genuinely brings it down so much that despite the token love the games machine heaps on Kojima, it was just an okay game for me that got dull very early on

Skull Face’s quick death was the proof of Konami wanting it rushed out.

Great game but the fact chapter 3 was unfinished and chucked on a bonus dvd still annoys me.

Great gameplay, uninteresting open world, story has potential but isn't fully fleshed out and rushed, it's so obviously unfinished that the game ends up being okay for me. If that gameplay was used in the style of the earlier MGS it could have been a masterpiece.

I was enjoying it until the last half where the missions started repeating and it was obvious Kojima was veing rushed. Never finished it but would go back if it gets a native ps5 release

The gameplay mechanics are the best in the series. And the story is the worst. So it’s kind of a mixed bag overall.

Great gameplay and graphics, but the story was all over the place, lacking and criminally incomplete.

It was a bit of a disappointment for me, and it was one of the first PS4 games I played (bought the MGS V Phantom Pain Edition PS4, so I was hyped for the PS4 and the game).

Thanks for making me feel old PushSquare, can't believe it's a decade since MGS V was released...

I enjoyed the more linear Metal Gear Solid games, so MGS5 wasn't appealing for me personally. Also with the way how Peace Walker felt somehow so bloated, I didn't care to experience the same again in MGS5.

Instead I watched all cutscenes on YouTube to see the story. Doing so it's clear that the game is unfinished with the last chapter's conclusion being a slideshow on a bonus DVD.

Great gameplay, all the rest wasnt mgs.

Like everyone else said, gameplay great but everything else nah. Changing Snakes voice actor just to have him barely speak still winds me up lol. Big disappointment for me. Tried replying it a few times and I just can't be bothered after the first few Afghan missions

Controversial opinion: The more I think about it as time as passed, the more that I am glad that Kojima was removed from MGS.
MGS 4-5 were a mess story wise. Full of convoluted retcons, nonsensical twists and the just straight up character assassination of the MGS3 cast. The gameplay was fun but there was nowhere near enough of it, sandwiched in-between LONG cutscenes.
Y'know what? Reboot it and let someone else have a go. Why not?

Story is very much unfinished and the open world is pretty bland but gameplay and stealth are some of the best out there.

Best gameplay in the series, but sadly unfinished story, which really brings it down in the end.

I should preface by saying this is the only Metal Gear I have played.

I quite enjoyed it; stealth isn't really my thing, but given how open ended the missions were, there was freedom to how you went about your missions. I quite liked the characters as well and I enjoyed playing back the cassettes in between missions, but I also feel that a lot of the tapes should have been full blown cutscenes and perhaps were intended to be, but never got around to being finished. I know about the cut "Chapter 3" but even if it were included, I don't think it would have tied off the story neatly enough for me. I know people weren't keen on it, but I also liked the "twist" ending. I do feel it would have been more impactful if they got David Hayter to voice the last scene.

Thought it was great, gameplay and story. I loved the twist in the end. I still watch the trailers for it occasionally.

It was a fantastic MGS game and it still is despite some flaws and drama behind it. And arguably it still the most advance stealth game too with Fox Engine looks better than UE and many graphic engine.

Gameplay wise, i think it is the peak of the series. So many freedom and options to do with very solid level design. Although i'm a bit dissapointed with the boss battle. I guess it's hard to top MGS 1, 3, and 4 iconic boss battle.

But story wise, it's kinda a mixed of bag for me since the final part is missing. MGS V should be a three part arc; Ground Zeroes took place at Camp Omega, Phantom Pain took place at Afghan / Angola / Mother Base, and then Mission 51: Kingdom of the Flies took place in an jungle somewhere in Africa. Mission 51 not just gonna closed down the whole arc but possibly it will circle back to MG 1, show operation Intrude N313 and Solid Snake sneaking into Mother Base / Outer Heaven. Sadly Konami fvcked up the final part with their stupidity

Oh well, at least V and Rising closed down the series for good. So Konami can do whatever they want with the series but i doubt they have creative people who can pull what Kojima and his team achieved...

One of the best feeling third person shooters out there and the fox engine was cooking, still looks amazing now imo. But sadly no one can argue that the story felt rushed.

I've restarted a playthrough of this and Ground Zeroes just recently and I am really enjoying it.

The gameplay and stealth mechanics are still top notch but the story is garbo and I hate how it takes 5 years to go from the base to the open world.

My third favourite game of all time!

Unskippable intro = 0 out of 10...

The worst MGS game ever, but with the best game play mechanics. As funny as that sound. Zero story, and as others have already said; Incomplete. It's lacking that MGS magic.

Series ended with 4 for me.

Gave it 7 out of ten. I like stealth games and sneaking around, the hospital level was far too long and boring, quiet and ddog were ok, would be interesting to see an updated fox engine and a new stealth game from Konami.

Not a great Metal Gear, multiplayer was bad, the story answers a plot thread nobody really cared about, BUT it's very fun to play and the sandbox lends itself well to experimentation. Overall, 7/10. Would have scored an 8 if the final mission was finished/included.

Time to feel old again.😞

As for my feelings on the game itself, pretty much the same as most of the comments above. Amazing gameplay, stealth mechanics, and engine (the Fox Engine that is). Almost everything else however is something I just want to forget about.

The game is excellent, but the story and missions are clearly unfinished. It's a shame, but what's there is still very good

I play games for the mechanics, not the story, so this is the best one in the series for me

I downloaded this & GZ when they were on a massive sale, but I've never booted them up yet. I loved MGS on PS1 (played it many, many times through). I played through & beat MGS2 one time only (or maybe 2 times), & while I liked the gameplay, I hated that Raiden was the main character. I just couldn't get into his character. And I thought the ending was a let down. I didn't care for the direction the series seemed to be going (& I hated the ending credits music). I never owned a PS3, PS4, PS Vita, or Nintendo 3DS, so I missed out on all the other games in the series until I finally downloaded MGS5. I just haven't tried playing it yet.

A game where the trailers told a better story. MGS5s best parts were when it was linear. The intro, the infection on Mother Boss. Kojimas games are better as linear affairs. Just look at Death Stranding, while it's enjoyable, that open world is just there to stretch out play time.

Never played it.

Played MGS on PS1 and loved it. Played MGS2 on PS2 and enjoyed it until you weren't playing as Snake (can't even recall the other guy's name), and don't think I ever finished it. Didn't bother with MGS3. Played MGS3 on PS3 and completed it, but think I got bored. Haven't played any since. They're a bit too weird for me, and don't hold my interest enough to sit through the lengthy cutscenes.

I didn't care more it at all. It was sort of dull and meandering and bloated in that way that OW games frequently can be.

One of my all time absolute favourite openings to a game - really stunning first half hour, but after that as the game opens up it just all feels a bit hollow.

I love media that plays around with genres, but the game also just had a little too jarring a mishmash of genres. Trying to show a gritty, intense story or mission while you’re zipping enemies up in balloons to go to your Animal Crossing oilrig was just a bit too odd for me.
The world was dull and samey too.

When it focused, it was superb though, but I actually prefer ‘Ground Zeroes’ - oft overlooked, very short, but absolutely incredible gameplay and story

Absolutely loved Ground Zeroes, but Phantom Pain lost me about halfway through.

I love the game, the mechanics were great, the story parts that were fleshed out were great but the fact that’s it’s unfinished does leave me bitter. I still play it every so many green because what’s there is genuinely enjoyable but it could have been a true masterpiece had it been given the time it needed in the oven.

I really don't like the phantom pain, I really couldn't get into it but I can't deny it's obviously a good game that just isn't for me

Only Metal Gear game I've never bothered to finish.

For me it was a decent game and I probably spent 100 hours on it but it lacked the magic of earlier MG games somehow.

Also how is that 10 years?! S***

Unfinished, really lame story about vocal cord parasites. Keifer Sutherland phoned in what little voice work there was for Venom Snake (sounds like he just woke up the whole game, voice doesn't fit the character at all). Villain was the weakest in the series outside the portable entries. Game is on record as missing an entire act that was cut out involving young Liquid stealing a metal gear. 75% of the actual story is hidden on cassette tapes. Bosses were not great compared to earlier entries, very copy and paste.

BUT it had the best gameplay in the series by a mile. Lands around a 7-7.5 for me.

Story wise, Big Boss's story ended on a wet fart though. Overall, I play these for the story so I was not super enthused about the cuts and direction.

@LifeGirl

Not controversial imo, Kojima really didn't do well with the story and it's clear the magic had run out. Glad he got canned, it made him move on to other things - he was trying leave the series behind since MGS2.

His choice of going with Sutherland over David Hayter pretty much confirmed he wasnt a good steward of the series anymore.

@UnlimitedSevens the parts he did voice were great though, especially the true ending and his Final scene with Paz.

I enjoyed the game but never finished it. The cutscenes were far too long that’s my main memory

Loved the game. The gameplay did a lot of that work for me. The game leaned heavily into weird, supernatural elements, which usually I only like in smaller doses in MGS, but for some reason the creepy vibes of like, the Skull Unit, the Man on Fire, etc. it all kept me engaged.

Was disappointed when I heard about the cut content with Eli and that whole plot. I don't think it would have saved it, but would have definitely felt a little less rushed.

The game being comparatively light on story is a big plus for me. Always been my biggest issue w the series. It's the MGS that plays well, so it's my fave.

It's the first and only MGS game I've played, and it's mostly just okay. The world just wasn't very interesting at all. Intro was great, sort of like The Evil Within.

But the rest? Eh.

Overrated game by an overrated game designer

Really wish they would use the gameplay template to make a modern VR Missions based game. It would be amazing if they would

I know I’m in the minority, but I never quite understood the criticism of the story in MGS5. I quite liked the story, and the gameplay as well. One of my favorites from last gen.

Metal Gear Solid is one of my favorite top 10 favorite series of all time and both 1 and 3 occupy spaces in my top 20 overall favorite games. Peace Walker is my favorite PSP game and since this seemed like a true follow up to that, my expectations were sky high. Ultimately, while I thought the gameplay was great, I was letdown overall because the story just wasn't there. You could tell there was more Kojima wanted to do but couldn't, probably for various that also included some of his own faults. I think it would've benefitted from being a more linear experience. Not a bad game by any means but definitely on the lower end for the series.

In a parallel universe, there’s a Kojima Director’s Cut…

The game still looks and plays amazing

@BusyOlf
“Such a lush for revenge whooooo”

Great game I loved playing it back in the day best metal gear solid game for me by a mile!!

Loved the game. Gameplay was simply amazing. Didn’t plan on going for the Platinum but I did it because I didn’t want to stop playing. Easily one of the generations best games.

Terrible game. I could not recall a metal gear solid game that I disliked more than mgs 5. What a disappointment

It took me awhile to warm up to MSG5 once I learned that Snake's voice actor was different, but once I gave it a fair go, I quickly began to enjoy it. There is nothing as satisfying as finding a great 80s cassette and then having that soundtrack echo out across the battlefield as your helicopter comes in overhead. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes was heard by many of my enemies whenever I called for air support.

This is genuinely the best playing Metal Gear game in the franchise; it's just a shame so much of the story about what Big Boss and Zero were getting up to in that time was relegated to tape recordings you have to listen to in the post-game, instead of fully formed cutscenes that fit nicely into the narrative at specific points. Full spoilers here, but I actually like that Venom Snake was not Big Boss. It makes it feel like by the time the reveal hits, we're playing our own character who became Big Boss just because we love the franchise so much. A lot of people felt burned that they weren't playing as the guy by the end, but that's the point, you are Big Boss by the end, or something so close to it that most people can't even tell the difference. You, the player, make that happen, and it's a cool concept for subverting what you think you're looking at the whole time, versus what's really going on. It's honestly very on brand for the MGS series. I'd say the real biggest stain on this game is the last chapter of the game being unfinished, then offered up as piecemealed cutscenes in the deluxe/collectors editions. It always bothers me that Sahelanthropus is taken by Liquid and Mantis from Motherbase, and then there's just nothing after that. It will always suck that the last Hideo Kojima MGS game had to be released unfinished.

Mechanically one of the best in the series but the lack of memorable locations and I stead this big empty open world really made things quite forgettable. The story was basically non-existent and the twist at the end really made the hours played feel a little futile ...

I can't believe I never played MGS after loving the first on PS1. I purchased 2, 3 & PW on Xbox and am currently enjoying 2 (still on boat at start). I'll play 3 then PW. Hopefully 4 gets re-released soon. Ground Zeroes was soo good and unbelievably addictive.

I remember going to a Game midnight launch for this one, not many people there but the staff and customers were chatting about their favourite MG games and memories which was nice. Played it until at least 4am being amazed that it was MGS in an open world. The gameplay was and still is tense and engrossing z and easy to immerse into. But some of the missions can be tedious.
I was disappointed it didn't go anywhere else except Afghan and South Africa.

I do think there is something in when people say Phantom Pain title he was maybe intentionally making you feel like it's missing things.. voice actor, empty open world, Solid Snake as a child when Liquid is there, late missions being replays etc. Obviously this bleeds into him being removed which must be the only reason why Chapter 3 was not there.

I do like the bait and switch on this one as he had only done it on MGS2 and everyone started to get a bit complacent again ha. The fact that we are all Big Boss and contributing to the legend forever more than then is heard about in all othe rmgs games is clever...but I was hoping to come across a young Sniper wolf and Frank Jeager along with other cameos that just didn't happen. Having David Hayter anywhere in it would've helped fans too.
And playing it up to the start of Operation Intrude would really have come full circle but at least he almost got there with the last few cut scenes and cassettes....

I think the immense expectations surrounding this game earned it a bad rap. I myself was hugely hyped for it when it came out and was thoroughly dissapointed to see its issues with structure, story and pacing.

However, revisiting it 10 years later and gave me a whole new perspective, especially considering the current state of stealth action games.

A lot of people see the lack of extensive cutscenes as a pure negative and a sign of laziness due to how narratively focused previous installments were. However, a part of the narrative being relegated to casettes can actually work in the game's favor so that cutscenes don't get in the way of gameplay, which is by far the game's biggest strength.

The gameplay itself is still unparalleled today. There hasn't been a single game, 10 years later, that offers such a fun and robust stealth action experience. Not even close. While the narrative elements are lacking I also think people didn't take any time to think about what Kojima was trying to achieve. I won't go into depth here, but I'll just say the game's narrative and concept are much more interesting than people give it credit for.

And, despite being unfinished, the game has HUGE amounts of content, and it's awesome how it seamlessly integrates the single player with the multiplayer and invasions, and the way you progress toward unlocking new mechanics and gadgets is so rewarding.

@TheDudeKenobi

Basically summarized my thoughts of this game perfectly. I know there's a lot of issues with the Venom Snake reveal - but I thought it was poignant actually. YOU, the player are Big Boss. I get what Kojima was trying to do there and I think he nailed it. It's real send off to you, the fan and player.

Now, that said - Sutherland sucked in the role, I don't care if there's a narrative rationale for the voice change. He still sucked and wasn't even dimly comparable to David Hayter in my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the lines were literally recorded over a phone call. To go from legendary voicework to subpar just to get a "big name," well, that's why I don't trust Kojima with these characters anymore.

Second, the vocal cord parasites plot thread was trying to tell a cool story around the interrelationship between language and culture. It was a cool idea with a lot to mine from. But the game badly failed doing that. It was so zany by the end, kind of read like a freshman college paper from a literature major. Not to mention the meat of the story was fairly hidden in optional audio tapes.

Third, as you mentioned, it was straight up unfinished. Which enough has been said about that. We'll never know how much of that was Konami's greed versus Kojima running over budget and deadline. I'm guessing both.

Anyways, I'm extremely mixed on the game. Not terrible, not great. I am very glad Kojima has nothing to do with this series going forward. This from a guy who considers MGS1 his favorite game of all time and put over 150 hours into V.

Kojima is a game director who wants to direct movies but won't admit it. He's just an insanely huge western film buff and inserted that into his games to amazing effect at first, before anyone else thought of doing that. Then in a twist of fate, this increasingly resulted in worse and worse games over time as the medium evolved past him.

People call Kojima an auteur. I agree, but for films not games. Glad he won't be involved with any MGS stuff going forward. Plus, I think he has contributions left to make in other IP. Just... stay away from Metal Gear Solid.

I mean let's be real and take off the nostalgia glasses. Look at MGS2's story. Not the gameplay, just the story. It is an absolute mess if you actually take a second look at it, half of which had been reconned by later games due to how asinine some of it was. The series was already showing cracks by then, let alone by the time the fifth main entry came onto the scene.

Kojima is the George Lucas of gaming imo. MGS5 was his cue to leave and I think it's best for him and everyone else that happened.

@somnambulance

What's your first favorite? MGSV is low on the list for me personally. I've never heard that the game was meant to make you feel it was incomplete - that's an interesting theory and very meta if true. Kojima certainly succeeded in making me go "That's it?" at the end haha.

I'll acknowledge what MGSV did right story wise. The interplay between language and culture angle to the story had some real meat on its bones, I just don't think Kojima actually succeeded in the story he was trying to tell. It all fell apart into loose threads by the end, although eliminating your own soldiers at Mother Base was impactful.

I think he had a really, really good idea and failed at implementing it with MGSV with the vocal cord parasites dealio. I just see the potential greatness in this game, which makes how it all turned out more disappointing.

Phantom Pain indeed, haha.

@UnlimitedSevens I liked MGS2's story and it funnily enough is predicting the future. MGS without Kojima is weaker.

@UnlimitedSevens "Glad he won't be involved with any MGS stuff going forward. Just... stay away from Metal Gear Solid"

Kojima definitely will stay away from MGS. There's no reason for him to go back to a dead series that he already completed and buried a decade ago.

Right now Konami is digging the grave and f*king the corpse with re-release and remake to satisfy people who fully believe Kojima isn't a genius and they think there's someone out there who are capable to revive MGS and make a new and better game than Kojima and his team. I can only say good luck to Konami and those people.

"I mean let's be real and take off the nostalgia glasses. Look at MGS2's story"

I'm taking off the nostalgia glasses and i see MGS 2 story was and still a masterpiece. I'm probably one of the few MGS fans who loves and adore MGS 2 story.

Now many people has realized that MGS 2 story is deeper than they thought. Plenty of videos explained what exactly the story is and why it's relevant to this day.

@somnambulance @JohntheRaptor Hey, it's nice to see people who loves and appreciate MGS 2 story 🤝

@somnambulance

Yeah, I can't say I'm on the Kojima conspiracy train as far as all that goes though it is interesting. But he is the guy that did a whole fake marketing campaign for Metal Gear Solid V, so who knows. Maybe the guy intentionally sabotaged the game to get out of doing MGS finally. I've seen the Kojima interview where he says the game was meant to evoke a feeling of something missing, but I didn't take it to mean he intentionally cut out a whole act of the game, on purpose. I know things are wacky in Kojima land, but I just can't believe that wacky.

I like most of his games, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't describe any, including MGSV, as outright bad. Death Stranding is on my play list if I can ever find the time. I just think his course with MGS ran out.

And I am just intensely curious, what thematic overlap is there between PT and MGS? This is a whole other level of analytical deep dive I have never encountered. All interesting though. I guess that's a testament to his work.

@PuppetMaster

I gotta disagree. MGS2 from a nuts and bolts perspective was nonsensical. The prophetic message about AI and the themes of 'meme, gene, and scene' were awesome. Raiden's story arc (the entire narrative thrust of the game) was so bad and ridiculous they retconned it by MGS4.

I'm referring to (spoiler, but not really a spoiler because it was retconned) the whole Big Shell incident being an elaborate ruse constructed by the Patriots to turn Raiden into the next Solid Snake, by basically fabricating the whole central conflict of the game. The S3 program or whatever it was called. That was so dumb even me as a teenager couldn't handle it, and I'm all there for Kojima's weirdness normally.

Then you have a samurai sword fight with the former President of the US on the roof and well, yeah. I think they retconned the US President part of Solidus' backstory too, someone correct me if I'm wrong on that. And somehow Raiden is an ex child soldier who fought under that same ex President... in Africa? I mean, what? Maybe I missed something in my couple playthroughs haha. And oh yeah Ocelot is possessed by Liquid's arm (retconned).

The themes (AI, identity) were cool. The actual narrative, the story being told, was... straight bonkers to the point even later MGS games, being as crazy as they are, said nah to all that. MGS4 spent a decent portion of its narrative trying to un-screw all the insanity from MGS2's plot and turn it into something cohesive. Had to turn to a macguffin (nanomachines) to undo the damage created by bisexual immortal vampires and possessed arms.

I like MGS2 overall though as a whole. But let's call a spade a spade on that plot.

@UnlimitedSevens The S3 Plan is Selection for Societal Sanity not Solid Snake Simulation. It was explained in a long codec conversations with the AI Colonel & Rosemary. The program purpose wasn't to turn Raiden into Solid Snake but it was a program to manipulate the world events as well heavily influence individuals decisions & thoughts. It's pretty much a brain wash program but in big scale.

And the nanomachines always been used as a macguffin since MGS 1. Did you forgot what it can do in MGS 1? Nanomachine can recharge CODEC battery, it can supply and administer medicines, it can restrict the host action like stop them from firing a gun, and it can also infect other people with a deadly virus. So i'm not surprised when MGS 4 revealed the truth about Ocelot-Liquid and Vamp has advanced nanomachine that explained their abnormal conditions. That twist already build up from MGS 1.

I think you need to replay MGS 1, 2, 3, and 4 again.