Metal Gear Solid V
If you want more: Third-person stealth action, narrative themes that get stuck in your head
Notable Differences: Less traditional form of storytelling, more combat, more nuanced stealth, base-building components, open world environments
Availability:
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes: Windows (Steam Deck OK), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS3, PS4, PS5
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Windows (Steam Deck surprisingly not OK) Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS3, PS4, PS5
While Metal Gear Solid fans such as myself might’ve found Hideo Kojima’s final statement in the series to fall short of the narrative standard the games have been known for, few would deny that this entry contains some of the best stealth action in the franchise. If The Last of Us’ stealth challenges really drew you in, Metal Gear Solid V (both Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, or as a combo package in The Definitive Experience) has sneaking as one of its main courses, featuring an elaborate set of equipment and mechanics to learn and master.
MGSV’s story is, disappointingly, mostly told through collectible cassette tapes. But what it lacks in the story department, it more than makes up for with a lovely sandbox of stealth encounters, offered to the player as replayable missions. You can go back to try out new techniques, new gear, and there are ranking systems and challenges.
But let me not throw MGSV’s narrative completely under the bus. Though sometimes hard to parse, it is a story about the intersections of identity, culture, language, military expanse, imperialism, and, as the series has been known for, nuclear war. It aims to tackle some rough themes, particularly in the opening Ground Zeroes chapter where it’s hard to ignore the parallels to real world conflicts and themes of detainment and interrogation. MGSV aspires to handle these with more maturity and a sense of criticism more so than Call of Duty certainly will. Whether or not it all works will be up to you. But like The Last of Us, it will give you more than a few things to ruminate on long after the credits have rolled.
There’s also a horror element that comes around every now and then. MGSV isn’t a survival horror game by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not afraid to get a little spooky.
