Metal Gear Solid Series: How to Get Started and All Games Ranked

7. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

Before releasing the final numerical entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Kojima Productions developed a sort of playable prologue in the form of Ground Zeroes. Despite being short and on a smaller scale than The Phantom Pain, the title had an excellent stealth playground in Camp Omega that was endlessly replayable with bonus missions beyond the main story, setting up what would come.

It's absolutely worth playing, even though it's at the bottom of this list. You'll finish the main mission in a few hours and be primed for The Phantom Pain, which expands the stealth gameplay for a bigger open world setting.

6. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4)

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain could have topped our list with ease, but it lacked one of the biggest hallmarks of the series: a compelling story.

The narrative works to fill in a blank space that Metal Gear Solid fans had wondered about for generations. However, the payoff was unsatisfying, and there wasn't enough meat on the bone surrounding it to provide an overall entertaining plot.

What makes the disappointment hurt more is The Phantom Pain is comfortably the best playing entry in the series, with unrivalled stealth action that lets you approach things however you want. The open world structure expands intrusion options to a whole new level, the amount of customisability in your loadout allows you to cater for any engagement, and the modes of mobility make navigation a breeze. It’s the ultimate Metal Gear Solid sandbox... that lacks a story worthy of the series to tie it all together.

5. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)

Kojima Productions adapted the Metal Gear Solid storytelling and overall structure for a handheld device when making Peace Walker, which is something it has carried over to its home console ports. This means that rather than exploring a seamless environment in the games that came before it, you choose missions from menus and the story is told through comic book strips.

It's a different kind of game, yet still considered excellent.

The story still manages to be gripping despite the loss of proper cinematics, while the gameplay sticks to the stealth mechanics of the series — just on a smaller scale. Do not let the PSP origins of Peace Walker turn you off: it's still an essential playthrough.

4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)

The concluding chapter of the Metal Gear Solid saga, in terms of its story, was one of the biggest landmark moments of the PS3 era. A title boasting beautiful graphics, the promise of closure for every story thread, and a new control scheme and set of mechanics that brought the series into the modern era, made Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots the talk of the town back in June 2008.

And, with single cutscenes stretching past the two-hour mark, it delivered for series veterans. There were surprises and heartbreak, twists and revelations. If The Phantom Pain was the ultimate Metal Gear Solid game in terms of gameplay, Guns of the Patriots was the same for its story. We doubt the hysteria surrounding Solid Snake’s final hour will ever be beaten, as a story 20 years in the making made its final bow.

3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)

Considered a masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is one of very few games that has actually become more relevant over time. The bait and switch is what most initially remember it for, but as the years go by, and the in-game commentary becomes more and more like reality, it's the concluding hours of Raiden's story that elevate Sons of Liberty to a new level.

From the Tanker to Big Shell, the stealth gameplay of the second game represented a huge leap over the original, adding first-person camera shots and more details. There'll almost certainly never be another title like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and it deserves to stay that way. A one-in-a-million kind of game.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)

After the twists and turns in Sons of Liberty, the series went as grounded as it can probably be in Snake Eater. Realism in the Metal Gear Solid world still means a man who can control bees and another who controls lightning bolts, though.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater puts Big Boss in the jungle and forces him to survive off the land, eating snakes and fighting amidst an alternate version of the Cold War. As the first game in the timeline, it's the best one to operate as a standalone story, and sees Big Boss try to destroy a superweapon and take revenge against his former mentor.

With a stealth camo system that lets you blend in with the forest environment, it's another excellent stealth title that takes breaks with some of the best boss encounters in the whole series, and emotional story beats. An outstanding experience in every way possible, it's only going to get better with the imminent Delta remake.

1. Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

Metal Gear Solid isn't just one of the greatest games of all time; it's also one of the most important. Not only did it pave the way for an elite-tier franchise in Metal Gear Solid, but it also proved cinematic storytelling could work in the video game medium. The PS1 release blended gameplay and cutscenes unlike anything else before it, paving the way for the sort of narrative-focused experiences of the modern age. Without Metal Gear Solid, you don't get the likes of The Last of Us or God of War — at least in the form they take today.

Even without its influence and implications for the industry as a whole, Metal Gear Solid stands the test of time as an all-time great. The stealth-focused gameplay, excellent cast of unforgettable characters, and gripping cinematics come together to form an outstanding story game — even by today's standards.