Metal Gear Solid V: Dissociative Disorder (Story analysis + Review)

[@TheUgliestBarnacle]

“Some unremarkable medic” My guy, the medic had better stats than Big Boss.

[@fosphor8920]

So the Super soldier from the famous gene experiment gets a body double, who is a random medic who appearantly is better than the Legendary Super Genetic Soldier Naked Snake.... Well that kinda destroys about half of Snakes character lol

[@fosphor8920]

@@boogiestreet594 So what you are saying is that ANYBODY can be Snake. He is not a legendary super soldier, worthy of cloning in your opinion? And the next Metal Gear we will get will have a female lead as Snake, since 'anybody can do it' right?

[@TidalMello]

@@boogiestreet594 Buddy stop crying. You can enjoy the game anyways.

[@PredatoryQQmber]

@@fosphor8920 You DO realize that was the whole point of MGS 1's (yes, ONE) post-credits Ocelot's speech: "The inferior one was the winner after all" and all that ? And "Solid Snake Simulation" supposedly "for creating a perfect soldier out of anyone" of MGS2 ? You know, THE ENTIRE "nature versus nurture" (aka "genes versus memes") THEME of MGS & MGR ?

[@fosphor8920]

@@PredatoryQQmber So he is not special, he is just a random military dude easily replaced by another meathead. Roger that. Nothing is legendary, super soldiers are easily created. Nurture is everything? Damn all of a sudden Snake seems like the biggest Gary Stu ever seen before.. A normal dude taking down Metal Gears haha

[@trendybloke4958]

Ngl I actually knew about the twist because you needed a Russian interpreter to speak to Russian soldiers, whereas Big Boss knows Russian (he speaks it in mgs3 and is even commended by Sokolov at the beginning on how good it is).God I need a life.

[@AshleyBlackwater]

I think they hand waved that as memory loss

[@markabrian1925]

What is NGL? I'm noob

[@AshleyBlackwater]

@@markabrian1925 Not Going (to)/Gonna' Lie You can Google this UwU

[@Fuk99999]

Yeah....until you notice the big ass shrapnel in his head lol

[@NidasGlidas]

Trendy Bloke also in mission 43 where you have to clear the quarantine platform, Venom says that the platform smelled like fruit, but in MGS 3, The Boss is amazed to hear snake say that he can’t smell.

[@Levyathyn]

I had my suspicions about the true nature of the game's ending. Confirmed it myself in-game by complete accident, early on. I happened to be riding in the chopper, at night and in the rain, and I turned my camera just right and saw myself in the window. But your blurry reflection in the inside of the helicopter's window panels isn't the face of Big Boss, it's the custom character you make at the beginning of the game. And I knew then. Honestly, though, one of my favorite things about this game. It was an insane way to catch the big reveal early.

[@1Diddums]

Very cool way to get your own confirmation. But yes, creating a face at the start (with no choice for female) was enough of a giveaway, unfortunately. Still a wonderful experience.

[@makage7126]

Most Valuable Pig i just passed it off for multiplayer, or a custom character. Though I guess no female is a big giveaway

[@1Diddums]

@@makage7126 I felt as soon as the rest of the _tutorial_ kicked in, the bandaged bloke having Snake's new voice more or less sealed the deal.

[@InnanetBaby]

or you,ya know,read that in almost every single article about it

[@thebackup2121]

You know when I figured it out? About two or three years before release, during Kojima's first interviews for the game when he cited Akira Kurosawa's 'Kagemusha' as an influence for the next MGS 😂

[@thesnipingnerd]

Venom Snake: "I'm already a demon...Heavens not my kind of place anyway." Also Venom Snake:*rescues child soldiers, goes around disabling nuclear weapons and helps out a wildlife conservation effort*

[@chriscormac231]

Self hatred due to being a medic who failed to save his patient, then failed to save his brothers in arms, then mentally became a leader who failed to save him men in a very short time

[@supremeworld87]

You're missing the whole fucking point. Venom calls himself a demon because he has big boss's implanted memories. The actions he then does throughout the game are a result of his own persona breaking through, which is in conflict with the big boss persona "I have to cast out this demon inside me". The memetic cloning process was bebef fully completed because he had to be woken up early. So there are still remnants of the medics original persona. I kinda feel like this is madd blatantly obvious in the game. Dissacotiative Disorder

[@finedecision5639]

thinking there maybe cut content that explains venom's slow descent into villainy and outer heaven

[@fumu776]

@Samwisegamgee The Brave what?

[@landlockedcroat1554]

what kind of edgy white 12 y/o wrote this wait

[@nemo5335]

yeah i mean this game was deeply flawed but my PMC was called BOY LOVE and i had a chromed out helicopter that played the john cena theme so i can forgive some of that.

[@AbbasKhan9364]

DOO DOO DOO DOOOOOO!

[@Bloodhurl67]

+Abbas Khan lol

[@TheNightquaker]

You know, the fact that you can play John Cena theme on the heli is one more thing I want to play MGS5 for.

[@Bloodhurl67]

Nightquaker But not on console tho sadly

[@umbaupause]

Oh, cause he's stealthy and you can't see him... Clever.

[@elenaphisher244]

I love this game. I hate this game.

[@irmaosgam3rbr374]

fucking agree

[@ValoTheBrute]

Agreed

[@1ial691]

The phantom pain.

[@Rohrkrepierer]

MGSV was the only Metal Gear Game I played. And I agree so much.

[@wana3667]

its a phantom pain

[@alexdunn3680]

We met "Big Boss" at a very strange time of his life.

[@ThatOneTrekkieGuy]

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground...

[@NeroLeMorte]

+Mitch Taylor try this trick and spin it your head will collapse and there's nothing in it and you'll ask yourself.

[@AbbasKhan9364]

Where is my mind..

[@EC-uc3lr]

I was swimming in the Carribean

[@Ten0692]

Fight club reference, haha

[@EXHellfire]

Never had to wait for the Pequod because I always call for him while I'm far away from the LZ. By the time I get there dude's waiting for me instead.

[@jackalthethird126]

Yeah same

[@cheafmin1399]

Yeah, I only waited a few times. Every other time he was waiting for me.

[@fuzzboi]

if u ever end up waiting, just use the phantom cigar lol

[@riversandstones1644]

This. Fucking reviewers man...

[@octiantrys5090]

Yeah, I feel like this was a pretty obvious solution. If you're able to plan ahead anything you do by, say, 30 seconds, you don't really end up waiting on him, ever. Only when I was about done for the day and still had other stuff planned but didn't really feel like doing it so I called a chopper at a moment's notice instead, AND I just so happened to already be standing in a landing zone did I end up waiting.

[@rerez]

This is the best and most accurate review of the game.

[@rprkjj8730]

No such thing as a best or most accurate review. Best at what? Pleasing your confirmation bias? Most accurate at what? Pinpointing your gripes with the game? I agree that the review is very well written and uses objective facts to back up his subjective opinion, but subjective is subjective.

[@TheLingo56]

+Rerez I see this review as the most accurate review in terms of the perspective of a fan of the series. The rest of the reviews out there reflect more accurately on how people new to the series feel about this game.

[@lhi05]

+TheLingo56 "People new to the series" and "people who praise a game for giving them hours of worthless activities without a worthwile payoff" seem to interpose pretty well.

[@teamhex]

+rpr kjj What are you talking about? Even if it's not the best...it's at least fair. He's not pulling punches on this one and I like it. It's more than I can say for(and he clearly points it out) the media that only got a set amount of time with it. They gave it near perfect reviews and I personally don't feel it deserves that.

[@rprkjj8730]

+teamhex You personally agree with him? You feel he was fair? Great, I never said otherwise.

[@HOBGHOUL]

I actually got the no nuke ending accidentally when re-opening the game after not playing it for months lol.

[@awesomedude2556]

5-Second Reviews Same

[@123darkelf]

That was Konami saying fuck it and just forcing the nuke count to 0.

[@AnimeMiner57]

Is it still bale to be gotten on PS4?

[@NateRiversforRever]

Same

[@LorenHelgeson]

I knew I didn't imagine it. I had decommissioned a nuke I built and finished an FOB mission. The cutscene unlocked right after, and it really felt like a glitch. I decommissioned ONE nuke, and the world is now at peace? ok.

[@edmundblackadder2292]

I know this is a late comment, but wouldnt it have been interesting if the final mission was you facing against Solid Snake in reference to the first MSX game, he serves as the final boss. Perhaps Snake is literally unbeatable and the only way to reach the ending is to hit quit at the game over screen instead of continue?? Since i first played the game i always wished this was done, it wouldve been an amazing example of a long running game series coming full circle!!!

[@N94able]

Or you could play as Solid fighting Venom. You sneak onto your mother base. Take out the soldiers you recruited and fight Venom. Venom could even use your prefered loadout. Like a tiny remaster of the orginal Metal Gear. It would also hammer home that your the villian.

[@thelinedrive]

N94able i fully believe that this was always going to be the planned ending sequence but Konami refused to give Konima the time to iron out the script to get there while still designing the levels and presentation based off the outline.

[@o7k4vokb0ksp5n2]

DUUUUUUUDE YOU'RE SO RIIIGHT I JUST REALIZED. Imagine how epic that would've been. Young (still young!) Solid Snake confronting fucking Venom Snake!!?? AND KILLING HIM? Damn. You know Kojima was never beyond this and just didn't have the time to space it out. That would have been. Epic. Not only does it 'fit perfectly' in the timeline, it's its literal conclusion man. God. That would've been something.

[@stephenrochester6309]

edmund blackadder When I started playing this game I think I got my hopes up too much that the final mission would be you, the player, playing as Solid Snake infiltrating the base. Even now this hurts, and probably why I am watching this old video today, which ironically has made me feel a lot better with the final conclusion. Would have been one badass way to end this series, but instead... we are left with a phantom pain.

[@somaticjet2717]

@Thomas Garrison fuckin keifer sutherland m8... smh

[@onyxseal24]

I get why people dislikes this game but I really love his game and appreciate the risk that Kojima took with the ending.

[@PUBLICnoose]

@@AverageDoomer69 kojima did it to himself by using the budget to make the silent hill demo. Hes just as dirty

[@rodrigokuszek]

@@PUBLICnoose that thing was already debunked

[@thegamingwolf371]

same, I took it more as the story of the man behind MG1's Big Boss. We already know who Big Boss was, what he fought for, but we had no info on who was the MG1 Big Boss.

[@Gustavozxd13]

I personally don't really blame him or the big story problems with the games after 3. He wanted to end the franchise in 2, and then had to make 3, and then had to make 4, then peace walker etc. But obviously Konami wanted more money out of the franchise and this is what happens. I'd say we got some pretty good games in the end and even though Kojima will most likely never make a metal gear game again, he'll at least make more games with his own studio.

[@loganreed23]

@@rodrigokuszek no, it wasn't. Someone at Konami saying it's not true doesn't mean it's not true because Konami has vested interest in keeping the Kojima debauchery hushed down.

[@moonsaves]

"A feeling of something that should be there, but isn't." A... Phantom Pain?

[@HOTD108_]

@D J Yeah I don't think that's a coincidence. It's clearly international.

[@wanderin_stud499]

Oh god, what dod you just do!? Now he's coming- ack! *WHY ARE WE HERE, JUST TO SUFFER-*

[@SilentSnake1998]

@@HOTD108_ this is why kojima is one of the best video game writters ever

[@cloudsombrero]

An unfinished game more like

[@qigonglungz]

most people are so emotional about the things that they like that they will complain and gripe amidst doing the very thing that they like... they are blinded to the fact that this is Kojima's baby, not ours, and he is a clever man. And whatever the whiners (and I acknowledge you might've spent $60, you r still whining) want to say about their personal feelings and opinions of the game... 1) They still played it, and enjoyed it, and 2) he produced a very good and successful game to the masses... (this part is not always a good thing once you become a "fanboy" of something but the man does his job well and deserves respect) His "unfinished" game is waaaayyy better than most stuff out there even today... "Phantom Pain" Nope, not a coincidence...

[@Lesandira]

All missing questions will be answered in the epic, final chapter of the Metal Gear Saga: METAL. GEAR. PACHINKO.

[@sweeney665]

MGSV is simply unfinished. For me it was a huge demo as it showed me how the most perfect metal gear could have looked. I did feel empty and not fully satisfied but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment that made it on the game.

[@octiantrys5090]

And it seems like everyone assumes Kojima cut stuff from the game for shits and giggles, which is total nonsense. In fact, the deadlines and restrictions Konami put on him that forced him to ship an unfinished product that could have been perfect is suspected to be a primary motivation for his leaving the company.

[@Plasmacat1]

@@octiantrys5090 I mean the sorry he wrote is still kind of shit

[@PUBLICnoose]

@@Plasmacat1 kojima used his money to male the silent hill demo then had to shoo ground zero to have enough to continue to work on mgs5. Kojima is just as in the wrong for how the game ended

[@rjtheripper931]

@@Plasmacat1 yeah dude i agree. Like it's not explicitly stated of how big boss turns to the dark side. All of his atrocities had some justified means in one way or another. But there's not one action that big boss has taken when we can say that he's become a villain.

[@chriscormac231]

@@rjtheripper931 the whole child soldiers is dancing on the line

[@turnt_barbarian]

I just called the helicopter ahead of time. I got good at timing it to get there exactly as I did.

[@JimboDoomface]

Yeah, who waits till they're at the LZ to call the helicopter? That's not time efficient.

[@Leon_der_Luftige]

Also, you can simply upgrade it's engines for it to be faster. That's a bruh moment by Goerge right there.

[@BoTheJo]

or use the cardboard box

[@LochNessHamster]

"They meticulously explain a chronology that they also playfully disregard." I've never heard it put any better. Being a Metal Gear fan is like being in a relationship with someone who can't decide if they're casual friends with benefits, or the most complicated and needy lover in the world. The series is kind of built on contradictions like that. It's a sociopolitical historical war drama, but it's also a dumb anime with cyborg ninjas and nuclear mechs that moo like cows. That merging of those contradictions was what made Metal Gear, well, Metal Gear. As much thought and passion goes into its story, characters, and every detail of its world and gameplay, it also maintains a tongue in cheek attitude and never takes itself too seriously, and actively punishes fans for doing so. You need to be a special kind of person to appreciate all of its subtle curves and intricacies, but also laugh along with it.

[@davidstinger1134]

The problem with MGS is that it was never about the lore, and yet that's all what fans asked Kojima to work on. MGS was always about treating themes, the lore of MGS is nothing special, but since people in the videogame industry are used to stories like TLOU or COD, they rather obsess over what Big Boss was doing in the late 80s rather than stuff like what MGS2 tried to do.

[@RegAgape]

Honestly this is why I love the Metal Gear series. And sharing it with others is almost as good as your first play through. It's like Pulp Fiction meets The Room. You laugh at the absurdity while appreciating the ingenuity, and that's what makes Kojima's Metal Gear one of the best series in gaming history for me.

[@ssk58607]

@@RegAgape there is no doubt about that statement at all..great gameplay for each one in the series combined with superb visuals for their respective release time... there's not much to nitpick other than the story but then it depends on how you understood it or want to understand it..I'll always believe venom was the best version of all the snakes just coz he was the perfect soldier with utmost loyalty to his cause and the real BB's

[@caelinnis]

Well said, very true.

[@SaltyShale]

Roses are red. Violets are blue. I'm Big Boss and you are too.

[@100lolerty]

+SlatedShale [Venom snake standing in the edge of Mother Base with the ashes of his comrades] "...you are all Big Boss'es"

[@arnaraki7514]

+Bartek Sojka You're that Big Boss..

[@nathaneskin3572]

You and I are just inferior copies of the old man!

[@lordblueballs7293]

That's poetic

[@Sprightey]

+Arnar Er Besturson psycho boss??

[@g4anode]

We got what they said, a *phantom pain*...

[@Panyc333]

Ikr

[@Cloud_Stratus]

+BakedCookie It's like poetry.

[@inspirationalmemes5858]

+BakedCookie durrr hurrr it's bad on purpose guys!

[@tedpilledtonysoprano5512]

"MGSV The Blue Balls" is more appropriate

[@inspirationalmemes5858]

***** I think you mean 'best', doge is freakin epic

[@maggintons]

Still.. Not like there's many better Triple A Stealth games in this day and age..

[@kristoffer2250]

Want to piss you off? *Metal Gear Survive*

[@FAWXPLUS]

@@GianniLeonhart id say hitman is okay, not pretty fucking good- definitely not anywhere near this game

[@FAWXPLUS]

@@GianniLeonhart i wouldnt really consider myself a fanboy, i just think gameplay wise mgs5 > hitman. if youre talking about the latest hitman games, i mean

[@FAWXPLUS]

@@GianniLeonhart also, what a god damn shitty reply. fuck you

[@Frisbie147]

@@FAWXPLUS hitman 2 is the best game in the hitman series apart from blood money, and id say ghost recon wildlands does the gameplay of mgsv better than mgsv

[@BrainSeepsOut]

AFAIK the "nuclear disarmament" ending is supposed to be the lead-up to Metal Gear 1 from the MSX, where every nation has decomissioned their nukes and Outer Heaven is the only one who has ICBMs.

[@mikaelantonkurki]

But MGS retcons that.

[@Kataquan]

+Mikael Anton Kurki I guess it wasnt retconed, maybe a large nuclear arms race happened after the end of Zanzibar land?

[@hopelessent.1700]

Mikael Anton Kurki not really because in MGS 1 the 1998 nukes info was meant to mention our worlds nuclear storage. I don't recall the actual story mentioning nukes.

[@RogueDragon05]

It is a retcon but it's basicly scribbling out the word all and replacing it with most... hardly the biggest change Kojima has made to his story. Think of it like this Outer Heaven/Zanzzibar Land were the 3rd most powerful (or even most powerful) nuclear "nation" on the planet and Metal Gear just cemented there supremacy over America, Russia and what have you and thats why they sent in The Legendary Solid Snake..... with a cardboard box and a pack of smokes.

[@U1TR4F0RCE]

Isn't it MG2 which has no nukes?

[@HSN2636]

"A feeling of what should've been there but it's not" i guess this explains the title pretty well.

[@johntrains1317]

You're pretty good

[@spyrochrisgaming]

The problem is that the ending definitely doesn't feel intentionally made to cause "phantom pain" to the player. It simply feels rushed and unfinished. Quiet's departure is a prime example of intentional phantom pain for the player. The ending is not.

[@hk1371]

@@spyrochrisgaming not just that nut a phantom pain implies that something has to be there before. Quiet is a good example as we have her and then lose her. Snakes arm is a good example as he had an arm and then lost it. In this, we dont get to experience what we even lost. It's not a phantom pain because we dont then lose it later. It's gone from the get go

[@cyberbron2024]

@@hk1371 i mean you have the game and experience it so i guess its somewhat a phantom pain if you get what i mean. Like you want more of the game idk.

[@hk1371]

@@cyberbron2024 But that's not Phantom Pain That's just an unfinished game. It wasnt as if we had those missions and then we lost them. They werent in the game when it launched. Hence it cant be a phantom pain as it was never there for us to experience. We only found that out after the fact.

[@commissarsheev4132]

Helicopter arrives "Snake"What took you so long" Heli Pilot:Kept you waiting huh?

[@ssk58607]

I would instantly CQC his ass lol

[@MojaveMoron]

"snake"

[@annedrieck7316]

@@ssk58607 do it!

[@MagnaOmerta]

I thought the Big boss in the opening was a Tyler Durden esque representation of Boss' training, helping him. The unicorn and fire whale didn't help.

[@Electro21964]

Same, and I thought the Man on Fire was a PTSD-induced hallucination, as well as the unicorn and the whale just being a delusion of his

[@joe5922]

​@@Electro21964 I'm half convinced that's what they were initially intended to be (the unicorn & whale), or rather I think it was supposed to be linked with his brain injuries and Ocelot's hypnotherapy. Hypnagogia was used to imprint Venom with Big Boss' memories (especially his on-record missions) - if that's the case the entire hospital mission could have been originally scoped as hallucinatory, considering Venom's just woken up from a 9 year coma. There's a few other snippets that make me think the whole PTSD/hypnotherapy theme was supposed to be explored more but was scrapped due to time constraints; now we're just supposed to believe Volgin sprung back to life 20 years later and inexplicably has fire powers.

[@mr.s9783]

I assumed Ishmael was Big Boss suffering from disassociation due to the trauma he sustained in the crash as well as the after effects of his coma. I thought they were going for a Mason/Reznov effect.

[@lazyrmc]

The missing feeling hits hard when you find out about things like Chico being cut from the game too. He was going to survive the helicopter crash and become a "i know what you did last summer" type villain that was obsessed with Paz's death, and have a vendetta against Snake. I would pay so much to see that story!

[@viewtiful1doubleokamihand253]

Oh, wow... That might've been pretty interesting. Too bad Konami is Konami and Kojima was too fucking occupied with his tweeter feed instead of making a good fucking game.

[@lazyrmc]

I would kill to see the Chico subplot in phantom pain. And there's a lot of factors that go into a game. The Kojima-konami affair is a huge can of worms, its a shame the game had to suffer because of it.

[@lazyrmc]

I don't know about not expecting plot twists, theres always at least a few in every mgs game. Besides the story, the gameplay is honestly the best there's ever been in a mgs game. I cant hate the Kojima alone for the game. He has wanted to escape metal gear for over a decade. It makes sense that his ideas would get a little burned out after a while. Konami wouldn't let him work on anything else because metal gear prints $$$.

[@viewtiful1doubleokamihand253]

lazyrmc He could've just quit. Instead of quitting he did agree to make another one. I am really tired of open-world games. Their open-approach now looks like something developers go to when they have no idea on how to entertain the gamer through more linear means and just hand all the tools in gamer's own hands for him to entertain himself. Gameplay may be phenomenal for all I care, but the story HAS to be here !!! It has to have 10 hours of cutscenes, like back in the day !!! It is a fucking MGS game ! It has always been like this ! And now I have nothing like MGS's distinct over-long exposition ANYWHERE in ANY gaming series ! There are no more games like it with this very distinct need to meticulously explain and show as much as it can. Fuck, I am acting up again, I have to stop. Fuck Kojima and fuck Konami, they fucking ruined my fucking belief in good.

[@Jose-se9pu]

The game is what we got. Kojima just fucked up, just like he fucked up with MGS4 and PW. Deal with it.

[@GoatJesus]

These are my thoughts exactly. I'm really sick of these comments. Either totally shitting all over a decent game, or praising it despite feeling empty. People care too much about scores. Anyhow, I loved the video and thought it explained how the meta wasn't as good as 2 and how the characters/pacing weren't as good as 3--but still finding something to appreciate about both while also criticizing the absolute foolishness of mass media. Thanks.

[@toomuchstarbucks6787]

+GoatJesus That has the be the cutest avatar thing ever. Anyway yeah, what you said.

[@GoatJesus]

TooMuchStarbucks Thanks!

[@Tamacat388]

+GoatJesus Its still Ground Zero(s) though. In a few years things will die down. MGS2 got perfect scores as well and most reviewers make fun of that game outright for being bad. This game will probably be remembered for being just fine and people will care more about what wasn't there than what we played anyway.

[@GoatJesus]

Thanatos388 MGS2 is my favorite metal gear though...

[@SleepingPliskin]

+GoatJesus oh hey, nice seeing you here. Man I don't know what to think. This whole game is like the amalgamation of everything right and wrong with video games and games media. This game and its critical acclaim with critics compare to the divisive consumers makes me both worried for what should be listened. In terms of this game being, well, a game, its fantastic. The long helicopter wait, the long, empty terrain, and the careful planning of your next move is what I really liked because I see it as downtime of such a large game. I get tired easily with these big open infiltration areas and the empty terrain is a break for me to collect my thoughts. Though not exactly, I thought this works similarly to Half Life 2 quiet time though it could arguably be not as good as HL2. In terms of the story, really, we should have seen this coming. It's not an excuse but this empty feeling of events not progressing comes with the territory if you're a 28 year old saga that has almost every kind of moment imaginable. You have the awesome introductions, the cool characters, the emotion death scenes of Sniper Wolf or Emma or The Boss. This series had so much meta narrative and meta interaction with the player that predates the MSX games with the Psycho Mantis fight, the last third of MGS2, the sorrow, etc. The awesome climaxes exist as well like the mgs3 climax and really, most of MGS4 as well. You have charismatic and genuine characters that one cares like Solid Snake, Raiden, Otacon, hell even Sunny, she's adorable. What I'm trying to get is that really, what else could this game could have done to impress us. We called out all the possibilities of how this game would end up so storywise, it wouldn't really surprise us, And really, you can't top MGS2 meta narrative and MGS3 emotional ride of MGS1/PW simplistic yet complexly engaging story, or MGS4 fanservice conclusion. Only thing that MGS hasn't done is do a masterfully crafted stealth game. The point of a GAME developer is to develop great GAMES. MGS story was running out of steam, but gameplay has so much depth. I am 91 hours in MGSV and it is the most fun I had in a while(more than Bloodborne and TW3 imo) Now that this game has the best stealth mechanics in the series, really, now the series has to die. There is no more that this series has to prove. It's done. That's it. And really, the only thing for a creator to do after he's accomplished most things imaginable in a franchise is really just say "Thank you", hence the ending. Enjoy the game for what it is, a really good fucking stealth game with quiet time. P.S Sorry for having long discussions of Twitter about MGSV Mikel XD

[@OverlordZephyros]

I got the definitive edition for 20$ ... Best value game i ever bought

[@otherthing5631]

same!

[@abelchavez2463]

Got it for $10 and i agree. Definitely not full price tho

[@firebreathercat133]

Got it for free from ps+ lmao

[@zyxluz4645]

I got the game. A week later they announced the definitive edition

[@boygenius538_8]

FIREBREATHERCAT one of the best ps plus games

[@iliaPayne]

Story critique aside, To this very day, I think that George would have LOVED this game if only he played with NO HUD / NO MARKERS / NO REFLEX. The amount of little details, visual and audio cues, guard animations, changes in ambience etc. makes this one of the best stealth games and one of the most immersive experiences ever.

[@66kaisersoza]

Theres still little to no story in mgsv

[@by2083]

@@66kaisersoza yeah there is, alot of subtle details. Just use your brain lol or smoke weed.

[@66kaisersoza]

@@by2083 it's a weak unfinished story. Maybe you're just easily pleased

[@kidkangaroo5213]

@@by2083 Detailed cutscenes =/= satisfying plot

[@by2083]

@@66kaisersoza not my fault you cant enjoy simple things 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@EhCanadianGamer]

Is anyone annoyed by the various weapons you can unlock, even though lethal play is extremely discouraged? It takes away all incentive to unlock all the weapons. When what you're really after is all the non-lethal weapons. Like "You want that Non-Lethal Combat Rifle? Good you can have it but it's without a silencer, so you need to level your R&D research more. So have fun with a lethal combat rifle you're never gonna use".

[@alfred0621]

Agreed totally. Most of the weapons I haven't even touched. There's also multiple versions of every lethal weapon, while there's only a handful of non-lethal ones. I often ask myself why am I developing all these weapons I won't use. Not only that but the box as well. The box is way less useful than it is in the previous games.

[@Mutant1988]

The big issue is that going 100% lethal makes you lose heroism and heroism dictates what skill levels enemies spawn with, which influence your base progress (Since you want high level soldiers to recruit), which means unlocking things take even longer if you're playing with lethal weapons. So yeah... There's more variety in lethal weapons, they're more satisfying to use but actually using them makes for a more tedious overall experience. Not to mention making your character ugly as all hell because of the unbelievably shitty karma system.

[@vicount3944]

think about it this way , the weapons you're developing will be used by Diamond Dogs , you're not developing them for you but for your PMC . And in order to get stronger DD needs more weapons .

[@RogueDragon05]

OK I've heard several people talk about how you are severly punished or discouraged from going lethal in this game and I really don't get it. I've just about 90% the game, soooo where's this punishment coming from? Sure there are consequences like a drop in heroism but thats not a discouragment or punishment it doesnt break the game or make it impossible to win or even really affect you, going in lethal is a valid option in most instances and if your worried about the price then simply do it sparingly and stratigicly and you'll minamize the point loss, I mean going in loud and lethal is sometimes the surest way to gurentee a S rank. I'm genuinly hoping that someone will explain there point of view on this. I understand that most of the time your gonna want to fulton things but that dosent wash either... because it's a choice your given not a punishment do you invest in future gains or do you cut them down, who's worth saving and who's not worth saving are you good enough to take them out without killing them and only taking the best or do you need to resort to slaughter?

[@Mutant1988]

RogueDragon05 The issue is that total heroism dictates the ranks of soldiers found. So if you keep killing enemies, you will get less S-rank soldiers, which slows down your research progression massively, making for a tedious late-game grind to increase heroism and actually get a chance to actually unlock later developments. Lethal play is an effective way to get S-ranks, no denying that. But you take a considerable hit to overall progression by doing so.

[@KalelGreece]

so you mean... THEY PLAYED US LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE?

[@johnnyzhang5333]

Konami created a weapon to surprass metal gear: -by shitting on their most famous series they were able to kill all of their consumers and successfully enter the mobile market to spread microtransaction 'parasites.' S rank. fucking, S rank Konami

[@KalelGreece]

+Johnny Zhang s rank konami. awarded the fiddle emblem.

[@sharperwhisper9752]

Pretty much

[@theotherone1668]

Kalel Greece Nice

[@Groovebot3k]

@Kalel Greece Fiddles are hard to play: They played us more like a kazoo.

[@thewarden4798]

I see a parallel between Big Boss and the United States, what Big Boss did to the medic is what the us did to the Boss exploited for their loyalty except the Boss's death was to prevent nuclear war where as the medic's death was used to cover Big Bosses tracks, could the ending have been told better yes.

[@starkiller0219]

Exactly we somehow justify it yet this is the whole reason snake ran away in the first place, it’s a classic story arc where you become the thing you swore to destroy

[@JadonLolley]

i come back and watch your MSG videos every couple years. great videos, timeless, even.

[@ik107]

Waiting for the helicopter? Just chill man, and smoke a cigar.

[@Jonifico]

LOL YES

[@m3rtak115]

That medic wasn't just a medic, he was MSF's best soldier. He had medical training as well.

[@supertacocg]

M3rtak11 to me that seemed like a dues ex machina moment. there just happened to be one of the very best soldiers there without any mention of him at any moment. it seemed kind of lazy tbh

[@m3rtak115]

a little bit but nonetheless

[@FireTrainer92]

Because he's your best Soldier from Peace Walker. The game relies a lot on the player playing that game to completion which is in a flaw in itself since the game was a "portable" game.

[@OrehBelich92]

FireTrainer92 after playing Peace Walker and GZ, MGS V feels better in terms of story

[@The_Custos]

He isn't S, A++ is rubbish.

[@tlis4724]

Still the most spot on critique of MGSV on the Internet. Freakishly well done.

[@vrapbrap]

Good critique yeah even if many of the issues are issues if his own creation. There is a reason why there are options for objective markers, reflex time and all that. If you find it too easy and something to exploit. Fucking turn it off! Missions become more intense without spotting markers and so on. I always find it frustrating when people complain about things that they could fix with a flip of a switch. Fuck.

[@loganreed23]

@@vrapbrap you can also write a great story for this game yourself but it's not gonna change the failed pacing and filling of this game's story. Stuff like this should be better thought out as to not be hidden behind options menu. That's what critique is for.

[@simulacrxm]

The reason is that Kojima was just tired of the Metal Gear franchise since 3. He just wanted to end it all and leave Konami. I can understand that, and I'm sure fans can understand it too. Even though Kojima was tired, he still managed to make some damn good games and wrap up the story the way he wanted: not vomiting every bit an piece of the story, but giving us just enough to make our own interpretations and judge the chain of events ourselves. Because, as you said in the start of the video, WE are Big Boss, and it is us, with our individuality, who can fullly understand how he feels. Because he is us, and we are him.

[@arbiter-]

I feel like the hate Kojima got for the cutscenes in MGS4 really got to him. I mean, why else would MGSV be so lacking? I have to wonder though, if Ground Zeroes was included in the game rather than sold separately (like MGS2's tanker chapter) would we have a different opinion of the game? Sure the story wouldn't change, but it would definitely increase the length of the story.

[@nicolasperez114]

I agree.

[@hanz2904]

@TheShrimpDoctor i am new to Metal Gear and i spent way too much time figuring out the backstory and i am pretty well informed about it now so here it goes. Kojima was trying to finish this up give it a big good wrap but to wrap up the entire story of this 28 yo franchise but his ambition got out of hand and he just kept pilling up and pilling up to a story with almost no end it kept getting bigger and bigger untill well even he himself didn't know what he was doing but he knew he had to do it so he tried to use elements of nostalgia (example the relationship with Quiet and Venom (which is the only that comes to mind rn) and seeing how it ended we know that kojima probably didn't want to end in such a way but he was rushed by konami to get it over with because it already went over budget at which point Kojima realised it was big but the story wasn't finished yet so he had to rush (which is why MGS4 and MGS5) both seem incomplete and unsatisfying and felt like parts of the story were cut and then Konami realised Kojimas project was way to big for him to complete and so they kinda forced him into briefly finishing it so they can finally release it. At which point the game was incomplete and scrambled unfinished that's why MGS4 and MGS5 felt incomplete and shallow. In conclusion Kojima had to develop MGS4 and MGS5 because of fan demand which he didn't want to but kinda went into it after which his story was way to big and he became way to ambitious to which point konami finnaly had enough and cut the budget on the games development which became 2 wanted but unfinished games. (Am mainly refering to 5 but some of these apply for 4.

[@dimitrifrog7845]

By a total of 1 hour. Who cares man

[@Swift_Mei_Mei]

you should def try it mang it's amazing!!

[@Crunkles1119]

@TheShrimpDoctor more like nanomachines 1.0. Eh?? Get it? Cuz the vocal parasites technically came first chronologically lol.

[@blutonic]

Overall, best video game in the Metal Gear franchise, worst Metal Gear game in the Metal Gear franchise.

[@nathaneskin3572]

0/10; 10/10

[@saysay415]

mgsv 1/10 Amazing.

[@VitalMusic217]

The game is shit. Apart from being Metal Gear. You just run around the desert doing the same stuff over and over again. You even play the exact same first and last mission.

[@theepowerful]

MGS3 was the best video game and Metal Gear game tho

[@papascoa]

MGS3 is THE fucking masterpiece of video games

[@DoctorSlash]

Everyone keeps calling this game MGS5 but it's not, it's MGSV. None of the other solid games use roman numerals in the title and considering what happens in V it's pretty clear that this game is not MGS5. Just as Venom is not the real big boss MGSV is a phantom of the solid series.

[@Dcoolguy12]

interesting

[@MikeyF102]

That's actually really cool

[@b.j.stewart7200]

I always saw the V as the split path, Venom going one direction and BB going the other. It makes more sense when you look at the dot underneath the V on the cover, the dot before the gap represents Boss' life before gz, then the space represents the coma period where there was no big boss, then the split path of the V wjen there were two

[@Bloodhurl67]

Kojima confirmed this many months ago and that this game is a side story and that the V doesn't mean mgs 5.

[@Bloodhurl67]

***** It is referring to venom snake..

[@wanderin_stud499]

Video: "...an unremarkable medic." Big Boss: "He was always the best man we had."

[@palico004]

I just wish they'd established his character better prior to MGSV. Maybe he could've been the beach instructor in PW. Now being 1 of 3 men accompanying Snake on a mission is huge especially one as big as Ground Zeroes but it's still a shame.

[@justbny9278]

Dude wasn't even officially named man No foreshadow to Big Boss having a favorite Best Soldier as his "left hand" beforehand either

[@TacticsTechniquesandProcedures]

@@justbny9278 Gray Fox was his most trusted LT.

[@justbny9278]

@@TacticsTechniquesandProcedures yeah Grey Fox was an Actual Established Character, the Medic pretty much only ever becomes relevant in Any Way whatsoever Once he gets his identity stolen and is turned into Big Boss-B Its kinda of a tragedy into itself he's just, got Nothing, no actual name, no actual face or design, we can barely infer Anything at all about his personality -- its def been shaken up by the brainwashing, whatever it used to be its def not quite the same Makes sense people would theorize the "Impostor Big Boss" was Grey Fox back in the day, and Grey Fox is also a character who's been there since the very beginning of the series alongside BB and Solid Snake and Outer Heaven itself

[@MrKrewie]

how convenient

[@bigbossproductions9289]

"Given the right situation, the right story, anyone can be shaped into Snake!" Revolver Ocelot, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of liberty. This is the quote that defines MGS V The Phantom Pain.

[@docalien4074]

thats the quote that changed my life

[@catchasmurf762]

Is it the right situation and the right story though?

[@catchasmurf762]

You trust ocelot?

[@SLAMTUCKER]

This game is the Magnificent Ambersons of video games. It's completely perfect except that it isn't finished.

[@StupidCommentaryChannel]

nah.

[@hh9852]

Though you touched upon it in the end, I'm quite convinced that the feeling of "Phantom Pain" throughout every element of the game was intentional. Ever since the 3rd game, the series was supposed to end, but time and again he was almost forced by both Konami, the industry and ,importantly, us fans, to continue the series, despite having growing tired and wanting to do something else. Not to mention his gripe with Konami goes far back. He said he was going to do something that could well may end up as career suicide, and he did, he killed off his own beloved series. Which probably Konami didn't even expect, until late stage when all the Konami trouble started dish out in the news. Now Konami, who owns the IP, can't, and is probably not going to make a new MGS (at least not a good one), as they're going mobile. Fans will probably never trust him again, publishers will probably think twice. Promised words were certainly killed it off, as the theme song implies. And kill it off he did. Both story wise, game wise, IP wise, and on the business side of things. With lacking, non-flushed out, repetitive, game-play elements and story, rendered on a beautiful, near perfect game-engine, with smooth controls and optimization. The (i.m.o) deliberate contrast is almost undeniable, you almost "know" it could have been better, which sort of reflects the authors feeling of doing the same game over and over again. You could almost predict that Konami would cut his funding towards the end. Truly a phantom pain. If you ever had someone close that died, it's not a adrenalin-pumping, intense build-up to a climax. It's a sudden, unforeseeable event that happens out of the blue, and slowly starts to realize it self as time goes by, as you get to terms with the truth. That's exactly the feeling I got in MGS 5 after chapter 31, and was further enhanced with episode 51. As a fan, I'm quite disappointed, since I really wanted to know more, and do more. However, as a critic, I really have to applaud Kojima. This feeling MGS5 left me, is something I have never experienced in any game before. The sense of total loss. The sense of a premature, un-changeable death of something I love. The death of Metal Gear Series.

[@hh9852]

+J Hen This is probably also why many "professional" critics gave it such a good score, because they're very up-to-date with the history and the state of the industry, and saw the clear similarities with Kojima's struggles being reflected in-game, and the sacrifice he went through to realize this last piece. Too many times we receive countless iteration of the same game, with little new in it, just for the sake of keeping it running and harvest the money. Like a certain Call-of game. And yet we praise those games as game of the year. This is Kojima, saying: "Look, I did it deliberately too, and you are going to hate it", but it's because we know that we can actually appreciate it. Of course, there is the argument that artwork should be considered independently from the setting it was borne and experienced in. Though I'm pretty sure no-one is that idealistic...

[@Bestgameplayer10]

Nah. Sony knew, along with the original creators of Silent Hill who let Kojima and that Del Toro guy, work on Silent Hills because they knew Kojima could make a masterpiece of it. While I always believe every MGS had a great story, even MGSV, I can understand how making a series go on when it should've ended could slightly/heavily degrade in quality or the creator not wanting to do it anymore.

[@tonkdumbledonk]

as metal goes hurtles toward the standard konami fate of the pachinko machine like silent hill, we can at least take solace in the fact that kojima has his own studio now and can make his games on his own terms. Death Stranding hype?

[@OrehBelich92]

Chapter 51 and Chico's art made me feel Phantom Pain

[@mikoajfab5417]

+plaZeHD In the official guide kojima says that it was all intentional.

[@MD_Hooligan]

For me the game ended with Chapter 1. Chapter 2 was literally Chapter 1 missions on bullshit difficulties (Except for the quarantine mission, that one hit really hard).

[@b.c.7040]

Gotta agree on that one. I deadass cried there

[@Codex_0613]

chapter 2 is easy af in chapter 1, at least the level design force you to sneak and stealth your way thru enemy bases in chapter 2, u can always just go around since everything's mostly open area with easy to traverse terrain

[@Bestgameplayer10]

Yeah, you can tell in chapter 2 they were running out of budget. RIP.

[@youdoyouidome7452]

The subsistence mission modifier? Super fucking fun, because it actually forced you to scavenge and look for useful stuff in the various bases and camps. It was brutally difficult for non-lethal total stealth. and yet, it made me so satisfied, brought me back towards mgs3

[@foxar9606]

All those 10/10 reviewers had to play the game in 48 hours. That's comparable to playing only the tanker chapter of MGS2.

[@metamofia]

+Foxar Thing is, the tanker chapter was actually so good.

[@foxar9606]

metamofia Yes but im just saying they basically played the bast part of tpp, thinking rest of game is like that, and all the plot loose ends are explained in the end.

[@Omaru1982]

+Foxar then maybe they should've disclosed that information at the start of their review and said we only had a limited time and are not able to make a final judgment on the package as a whole. Instead "it's a rich and vast storytelling experience" and nothing even close to "prepare to re-do missions over and over to grind money and earn better equipment and re-do them a final time to get that Buttlerfly S-ranking" FUck them and to every motherfucker out there: if you complain about "Ethics in journalism" next time some feminazi releases a game to positive reviews (revolution 60 for example) fuck you too you fucking stupid Hippocrates!

[@proxyone890]

Any journalist who gave this game 10/10 is a fraud

[@fuzzinator9523]

That is a ridiculous overexxageration

[@epicfail1526]

This game is honestly so conflicting because you simply fall in love with the gameplay, the characters, the cinematics, and the army that you create from the ground up. You become big boss by being able to personalize everything and make so many different decisions. The game does a fantastic job of immersing you and unifying yourself and big boss as one character. but there's so many flaws. Flaws that are there for both Kojima's bad planning, and Konami's horrible sin of not allowing Kojima to finish what he started... Anyway, There's so many things that you either lose, or don't get closure on that gives you the same exact feeling that Snake and Kaz have. A Phantom Pain. (Spoilers) I remember losing Quiet after her ending and visiting her cage almost every chance I got because maybe... Maybe she'll be there. I would visit the ruins where you first encounter her, and I would visit the tree where she says her goodbye hoping that there'd be some secret where you'd find her. I looked all over the desert to see if there was some easter egg to where I would find her... But nothing. I gave up, and I felt the phantom pain of her being gone for good. I put "Maneater" as my helicopter music in her honor, and I brought D-Dog along for my missions instead. Then I found Paz. I had a reason to play the game again. I'd come visit her after every mission to try to unravel more and more of her cute little stories that she told... And she ends up being just an illusion. Just another Phantom Pain. The same pain the Big Boss felt. The pain that the medic felt. The pain that you feel. Then it really just becomes Meta because the game itself doesn't give you closure on Sahelanthropous and Eli. The endings (which I blame Konami for) are all messy and awkward that it leaves you looking for more. Just like I was looking for Quiet. It's almost as if the game's flaws were done on purpose to give the player and even bigger sense of a "Phantom Pain" but that's impossible because... Who the hell would do that? Who would ruin the end to their game to give the player the exact feeling that they're trying to give the player? Kojima would... Especially when Konami has his back against the wall.... Perhaps Kojima got lucky, but this game's flaws SOMETIMES make the game better. Overall this game is a 9/10 for me. Definitely one of the most impactful and conflicting games i've ever played. It's perfect in it's own, fucked up little ways. But there's one thing you cannot deny. It's fun, it's immersive, it's beautiful, it's cinematic, and it's hurtful.

[@user-ip3fs9sc5b]

Hating MGSV is just the cool thing to do these days, it's a fantastic game. My personal favourite

[@hrinn]

no exagerration i had goosebumps reading your 'review', great read.

[@LMGunslinger]

I think you may be right, I feel like these "flaws" were intentional. To paint a picture of how things led to mgs1. How a hero becomes a villian through constant suffering and losses.

[@mkt8880]

they played us like a damn fiddle..

[@emulation2369]

you do the same and even more things in peace walker...mgs v is just the same and worse

[@The4thSnake]

Were the critics all infected with a vocal cord parasite attuned to legitimate criticism?

[@afterpasthours7504]

Replaying the game for the third time now, the boss fights really are the most disappointing parts of this game, because they’re not clever enough and take advantage of the games combat and stealth mechanics at all, Quiet is the only one that comes close with how she gets an entire empty are for her own fight but even then she barely stacks up to The End in terms of how easy she can be dealt with. In retrospect Skull Face is treated so poorly as an antagonist, he has a super cool design and his voice acting is superb and yet he feels like a non-threat the entire game, with how you’re only facing off against his lackeys and goofy henchmen instead. It hurts even more when you’re shown he wields a unique shotgun that can’t be acquired for yourself, heck I propose he would’ve made a super cool playable villain in MGO if he was given a unique skill set. I believe that the mission in which you’re taught the mechanic of MB invasions should’ve instead had Skull Face there instead of a faceless nobody MSF soldier. You’re interrupted on a mission and told Mother Base’s R&D platform has been overtaken and Kaz tells you it’s Skull Face and XOF and they have your men hostage, you arrive on the helicopter and can immediately hear Skull Face over an intercom taunting you, he knows you’re here. He spouts some monologue about his ideals and after an invisible timer actually starts to execute your men one by one the longer it takes for you to reach the top of the platform, losing heroism and maybe a few levels in each category if enough are killed. Eventually you reach the top and a cutscene plays, he congratulates you on making it past his men and chastises you for how easy it was the second time to once again threaten the entire foundation of what Big Boss has built, then you have a boss fight with him with two phases, phase one has him command two XOF attack choppers to attack you and you do something akin to the Peace Walker fight and use Mother Base’s defence systems and skills to eventually take them down and then confront Skull Face himself, where he challenges you to a fight here he shows off his powers if he has any from the parasites inside him or he has Mantis use powers alongside him to fight you in a one on one. If you beat him he eventually retreats before he can be defeated, ordering all of his men to evacuate Mother Base as well, hinting at the fact that this was his plan all long, a threat to show you that he can still do what he did 9 years ago if he wanted to, and that leads in to the defence tutorial for your FOB’s or whatever.

[@mooganify]

That is actually an amazing idea, it'd put to good use all the turrets on Mother Base as well, but thats what we have mods for I guess hah.

[@TheEnigma271]

Most frequently used words in this game revenge, fiddle, copulation, vocal chord parasite

[@Jakeltons]

Lol

[@RafaelCarballo]

+AlbertElijahSag101 lol indeed

[@yami5103]

lmao tru

[@danieln6613]

+Efraín Ram Don't forget Kikongo.

[@TheEnigma271]

Daniel N yea I forgot a few. I also forgot diné

[@THEGREATMAX]

They make it clear in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, that Big Boss saved children from warzones. You talk to the children. They say it themselves. The whole point is that Big Boss is a bad guy, but he's not a *bad guy*

[@SteelBallRun1890]

THEGREATMAX Yeah, but how much of that was Big Boss playing nice to kids to earn their trust? Waiting for them to be at the right age to be fed to war? Remember, Big Boss at MG2 was still not a developed character, so why give him a "maybe he's not sucha bad guy" backstory when he's played up through the game as a clear villain. But taking the entire series into account, he will still use them for war, maybe against the Patriots but a war nonetheless.

[@THEGREATMAX]

I mean.... At least he would wait until they were of age then... Can't say the same for Solidus Oh no, he's not a villain. This is why the ending to MGS4 just has him and Snake talking. Skullface is a villain who does some fucked up shit just to do it/for revenge. Big Boss was just fighting for his own ideals. I can't consider him anymore of an actual villain than the Boss... who isn't at all a villain. Also, Big Boss never ONCE threatens to launch nuclear weapons in the series. He's fighting AGAINST the people who control the entire world. They only *paint him out to be a badguy* in Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, because you don't know *WHY* he's doing what he's doing. To a normal person, on the surface, it looks evil, but that's why we played through *EVERY SINGLE GAME IN THE SERIES*, so we would realize that *it's not really evil. It's complicated* He only appears to be a villain, like The Boss, but he's really just a very ideological person, however, unlike the Boss who simply followed orders to save her child/country, Big Boss is doing it to save the world from the corrupt illuminati ruling class

[@SteelBallRun1890]

THEGREATMAX Uhh, his ideals are to wage war. He realized this in Peacewalker, he's alive on the battlefield, can't have that without conflict. He even said The Boss betrayed him because she chose loyalty (to acquire peace) over her soldier's pride. MGS3 up to Peacewalker was to show us that he wasn't flat out cartoon evil, but Phantom Pain also shows us that a person can become overshadowed by their legend. Case in point, him using a supreme loyalist to be a prime target while he hid in the shadows and the target bolster his fame, it was pretty much the same as using The Boss to take the fall to further a government's agenda. The Patriots are just another reason for him to keep doing all of this, they're not his end goal. He didn't build nukes just to combat them, he has that for stalemates with every nation, because what united nation wants a lawless army that acts against international politics? Big Boss didn't start out evil but he was extremely far from a "good guy" by the time Phantom Pain rolls in.

[@THEGREATMAX]

+Rohan Kishibe - I don't think you understand his ideals at all. I disagree. It would be like sacfrificing the government for The Boss, not The Boss sacrificing herself for the government. He does the opposite of what The Boss did. And honestly, you really are forgetting Zero and his whole Big Brother/Illuminati/Control the world scenario. Big Boss was doing what he was doing, *because* of what Zero decided to do. Not in spite of it.

[@SteelBallRun1890]

THEGREATMAX I understood his ideals correctly. Even he at the end of MGS4 was like "oh welp me and Zero both fucked up". Big Boss did exactly to Venom, what the government did to The Boss. Supreme loyal soldiers who were used to further a means to an end. The Patriots was just Zero's plan spinning out of control. Patriots or not, Big Boss would still be creating Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land because that's his interpretation of The Boss' will, a unified haven for soldiers to fight for their beliefs not for politics, soldiers thrive on war and conflict. At the start of Peacewalker he was managing MSF but their goal wasn't fucking with Zero, it was just, as I've said before, participating in war and conflicts.

[@88fibonaccisequence]

25:55 After about 75 hours of gameplay, I didn't know you could stun a guard by throwing a body at him. Incredible.

[@MirrorsEdgeFan.]

Trigger reflex mode. Now you stun each guard (even armored ones) by throwing a magazine on his head.

[@zyxluz4645]

The things you can do in this game still amaze me after over a hundred hours of gametime

[@spades6100]

Zyx Luz yeah I agree with you honestly a few months ago I didn’t know you could take over an entire base with just magazines

[@tbrown5836]

MGSV is strange half of the fans either love it’s narrative or hate it (nobody’s saying it’s a bad game, you’d be an idiot to think this gameplay isn’t a masterclass in design and freedom) it’s easily one of the strangest story’s on a game and its “predictability” comes from its use of themes and it’s incomplete nature, that being said it might be the only story (and I’ve seen a lot from every medium) to actually get away with this because of its expertly crafted way of hiding them through little things like the dialogue Ishmael gives like “your talking to yourself” to the entire game being almost a simulation orchestrated by ocelot to keep the illusion of you being big boss when your nobody, like the player. It’s so brilliant and well executed that the chopped narrative is redeemed and e ya Ed because of this, stuff like this is why MGS4 was so controversial and split, because 75% of the game was cutscenes, the gameplay was good but if you didn’t like that story (where a lot people didn’t) you were screwed because it lacked the gameplay loop MGSV had

[@sdgundum990]

Venom doesnt see the world as a crazy action movie/game. Venom see's the world in comic book style just like in Peace Walker, where the stories are more simple. There's a clear hero. He's militaristic and functional which explains the structure of missions. The reason it ends on such a shit note is because Venom isn't an altruistic, innovative and silly action hero like Big Boss. Which is why were seeing the stories through what seems like two different filters. One through an action hero and the other through a Diamond Dog. It's why Venom just doesnt respond with a funny quip or a cheesy action man line. Miller feeds him these lines expecting the old Boss. But it's never the same. Even Ocelot gets caught up in it when he tries to have fun with Venom forgetting it's Snake. And think about the effect that has on a CLONE of a crazy action hero. Solid, Liquid and Solidus are seeing the world through a cloned genome. Which is why later games have such a crazy action movie look and feel to them. I don't know to me it makes sense.

[@bigfloppywithasideoffries6547]

+sdgundum990 That's a really interesting way of looking at it. I'm not a big fan of the story but I can appreciate it on some level after reading that. Thanks!

[@Bestgameplayer10]

Also, after rescuing Miller and you almost arrive at Mother Base. Snake says, "What should I do?" Miller replies confused then Snake goes on to say, "Tell me. Tell me like you use to." This is because even though he believes to be Big Boss, he still doesn't know exactly what to do as Boss. That's why we're told what to do by Miller and Ocelot throughout the game. Venom only ever says anything or makes decisions if he absolutely has to except in one moment, if your GMP is in the red, when Ocelot is telling the 2 fighting soldier they have deck cleaning duty, Big Boss stops him and instead tells the 2 soldiers that they're gonna get a CQC lesson they'll never forget. In other words, an ass whoopin'.

[@sdgundum990]

It's sad, because I was overly cautious with my money I never go those cutscenes. I wanted to know their context from the trailer.

[@JZStudiosonline]

+sdgundum990 I was hoping it was actually part of the game. It just sucks that I feel like 2/3 of the game isn't there.

[@Bestgameplayer10]

JZStudiosonline That because 2/3 isn't there lol. A lot of chapter 2 was cut and according the the game files, there was suppose to be at least 3 chapters.

[@christoptheillusiveman9875]

The big boss story was finished in mgs 3 when naked snake didn't shake the dci's hand. For me that was enough to show that he became big boss. But we got 3 other games anyway!

[@uncleethan7488]

Not really I mean kinda is strange to go from becoming BigBoss to this apparent war monger thirsty for endless war for soldiers in MG1. PeaceWalker and MGSV do some good work to build Adam and Millers going on as well as some Cipher stuff but as far as Big Boss we now see he is learning to ‘understand’ Boss’s will that leads him to OuterHaven

[@Bertiebaby]

SUCH A LUST FOR CRITIQUE

[@queipazzoidi7200]

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@Nixel85]

"I was invaded by words..."

[@noobishmacgaming]

The only funny thing to come out of the damn story is that line and the amusing ways people twist it.

[@stinky9259]

+noobishmacgaming cmon, Huey yelling "REVENGE!" had me on the floor

[@geodude12799]

Whoooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Jakynast]

Zero's accent isn't "Cockney British" it's Southern RP English.

[@duroorud527]

Bond English

[@teaz3139]

It's Recieved Pronounciation

[@jacquelineess1141]

*Zero's

[@MaddBadgerr]

It's also an upper-middle class accent, the Cockney accent is generally associated with the working-class.

[@TheLanguageSponge]

Zero’s accent is Received Pronunciation. He is from Exeter, and his accent is definitely nothing like that local accent.

[@twistedoperator4422]

Thank you for releasing this on my birthday George. It was the best inadvertent bday gift ever.

[@Pan_Z]

You know what would of made the twist better? If they had Hayter to voice the true Big Boss. I'm sure many fans would've been overcome with a smile from ear to ear, perhaps laughing Having Hayter voice the real Big Boss would reinforce the plot twist, and also somewhat satisfy the hardcore fans Kojima disappointed in this game. Also, another reason Hayter should've voiced the real Big Boss, is that having Keifer Sutherland voice both Venom and Naked Snake made for an obvious plot twist. The plot twist in MGSV is like if finding out Snake and Plisskin were the same person in MGS2 to be a plot twist. If Hayter had voiced the real Big Boss in the opening, or when Venom Snake remembers the opening scene, it would've made the surprise a lot more rewarding, less obvious, and/or more interesting.

[@TheLingo56]

+Pan Z It would've made the twist even more obvious. I was personally expecting some sort of moment with Solid in it, and Solid being voiced by Hayter.

[@seonaidhkennedy6784]

+TheLingo56 I would've loved an ending where Venom gets a FOB warning at your maxed-out base, and when you arrive you have to fight (and will lose to) Solid Snake. But really I wanted TPP's ending to touch on Big Boss turning back to Cipher/Zero and leading FOXHOUND until 95, with the formation of Outer Heaven brewing in the background, leading to MG1. Grey Fox would have been a great addition also.

[@gwardojones]

+Pan Z I completely expected that to happen and was sorely disappointed that it didn't.

[@tltar253]

+Pan Z 100% agree on that

[@kabliekke]

+Seonaidh Ceannéidigh That ending should have the real Big Boss look at Venoms dead body. It would be a much better twist.

[@CUniverse]

"Who is this reviewer?! Such a lust for insight... WHOOOOOOOO?!?!"

[@thegamingwolf371]

Even though he barely talked, I love Punished Snake. He was nothing more than a medic in Big Boss's army, doing his job and because he was in the same helicopter as Big Boss and survived, he was tasked against his will to fill the role of a proxy Boss. What I loved about him was how he filled that role. He didn't follow a script, he made his own choices, followed his own creed and beliefs. The only thing he and the Boss had in common were the face and the mission, aside from that Punished Snake was his own Big Boss while loyal to the mission and to Big Boss himself. He did what he could to also shape the world in his own vision (the nuclear disarmament ending), but eventually the demon would come out leading to MG1. It's the story of a man made to play a role he didn't want and yet he played it on his own terms. To me that is something to respect.

[@pretor92]

21:30 the best use of video editing software in the history of video essays

[@laurenceharper2037]

It's not a good MGS game but it's a fucking great stealth game.

[@henrys2526]

IT IS A GOOD MGS GAME!

[@rjtheripper931]

@@henrys2526 not really. Like the story that we were promised in ground zeros and the story that we got out of phantom pain was just a weak attempt to see big boss turn into a villain.

[@jkhaokip9447]

Dat profile pic tho

[@FraserSouris]

@@rjtheripper931 The story still links into the other games, especially MG1 and 4. We see the context for Big Boss as well

[@by2083]

smoke some weed, chill out quit trying to expect more and just enjoy it. And if you cant keep your loudmouth shut.

[@brandondavis5495]

Videos like this are why i cant read a review from ign, gamespot, whatever big name website. When i can find a thorough breakdown of a game from someone who spent their time exploring and experiencing a game instead of someone who played a game in a weekend and condensed it into a 3 minute video to meet a disclosure date, why waste my time and potentially money listening to "game journalist".

[@StillAtMyMoms]

Brandon Davis Video game journalists are merely marketers, cheerleaders of the industry.

[@TheVagabondGadite]

Brandon Davis Somebody needs to call in a bomb threat to IGN.

[@riversandstones1644]

Yeah, the guy who couldnt figure out he could call in a chopper before getting to the LZ so he didnt have to wait for it every time...

[@donbionicle]

@@riversandstones1644 Pequod calling-ahead skills aside, it's hard to disagree with Bunny's conclusions even knowing now exactly how much of a development hell this game went through. I'm impressed it wasn't a bigger mess than it was.

[@PoliticallyDonutTasty]

@@riversandstones1644 I love playing Uber simulator

[@chibbertooth5521]

This video is mainly what prevented me from getting into Phantom Pain for 6 years, and that’s why I kinda hate that it exists because Phantom Pain has been an immensely rewarding experience going through it in 2021. If you look on the surface you can see repetition in the Side Ops but if you’re constantly developing equipment you always are coming up with new ways to solve problems that make things like eliminations and extractions vastly different from how you started handling them in the first few hours of the game. Not to mention the enemy preparedness level constantly raising as you fulton or kill enemies in free roam which in turn encourages you to experiment with different play styles by the game equipping enemy soldiers with things like helmets, body armor, and heavy firepower. From how you talk of it it’s kind of telling you don’t have a complete understanding of the game when you don’t even consider using D Walker to take out the skulls swiftly and how your weapons are at all points under leveled in relation to where you are in the story (I mean hell you’re still using the hand loaded tranq pistol you start out with in the beginning of the game as late as the code talker mission.). Also if you’re constantly waiting for your helicopter just use a phantom cigar those are the kind of situations the cigars are made for, to accelerate the passage of time. This is pretty disappointing content all in all, barely scratched the surface of the gameplay (didn’t even mention combat deployments and how you can just choose to play as different characters if you desire) which is something you deal with far more than the story so it should follow that’s what you should pay the most attention to in your video but you just kinda say a thing is bad and move on without fully considering the counters to what you claim barring a few exceptions.

[@chibbertooth5521]

@@bruhcoin2361 You’re not being harsh at all dude, you’re providing a counter to my points rather than just insulting my intelligence which I appreciate. In regards to the tranquilizer there exists semi automatic tranqs which is something you can get access to before the code talker mission. I’m not implying he should be using a stun weapon when I make that point. The cigars are useful if your helicopter is not fast enough and thus you’re not going to miss extraction by using that method, of course when you have a fast helicopter there’s no need to wait at all for extraction. I will be clear when I say that I have only watched the story of all the games rather than playing them myself, with the exception of MGSV which I have over 1000 hours in across 2 play throughs. I tried Snake Eater but realized it was an entirely different control scheme and generally a different beast than Death Stranding or MGSV which are the only Kojima games I have played to completion. With Phantom Pain being a prequel to the Solid Snake era games while at the same time being set after the events of Snake Eater and Peace Walker I knew there were things I would not understand completely but it will be a fun game regardless. When looking to buy games I do not care about spoilers, so getting the details of what I can expect especially for a game notorious for being unfinished due to the Konami and Kojima breakup is useful. In my original comment that is why I never bring up the story at all, I have not played them myself I have just seen the cutscenes which I imagine is not super compelling to people as an argument of the other games’ value. If he wants to make a video about the game’s story, that is fine. However, the moment he mentions gameplay then I have something to say. When the title reads story analysis and he is talking about gameplay that’s where I begin to take the video as a review rather than what it says on the tin. Once he presents arguments about the gameplay and has footage where it seems he is not making that much use of specialized equipment to optimize his efficiency it instill doubt in me that he knows the fullest extent of the content, and it also makes it hard to take his criticisms of the story at face value. Keep in mind, I don’t believe this is the most egregious video out there on the subject of MGSV, I think that goes to Writing on Games’ video on the gameplay. He legitimately wants you to believe Phantom Pain is the most restrictive Metal Gear game and the evidence he presents for this being true is unbelievably lackluster. Nevertheless, this video stuck out to me for my reason why I never picked up MGSV for years so I decided to make my comment so I could have this sense of finality on the subject. I will admit when I say that there were things I was straight up wrong about how I remembered the video being for years so I cannot entirely say that is on the creator but the gameplay side of things is definitely something I have problem with. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate the discussion, have a nice day!

[@matchesburn]

@@bruhcoin2361 "I think the video is supposed to be taken less as a review and more as a rant over the games story, themes and atmosphere in comparison to the other games in the series, as evident by the fact he didn't name the video 'review', it was just tagged on to" Let's test that theory: "Metal Gear Solid V: Dissociative Disorder (Story analysis + Review)". So... He's doing an analysis of the story... *_plus_* a review. Hmm... Seems like cognitive dissonance on your part to me.

[@mooganify]

Bruh did you really watch this before starting the game lol

[@LloCiDul]

The video is mostly an accessment of the story though... and while not everything he said has aged well, it was also released within a month of the games release. Considering that, you look pretty foolish for holding off on a game franchise I assume you love because of one lone video. But a lot of the stuff he says does hold up. The story, whether intentional or not, is bad, and this whole game is an unnecessary addition even if I do love it for the gameplay.

[@WarMomPT]

Thank you for this. I agree with a lot of what you say; I like what a lot of the ending *does* but there is a lot of stuff that it just *didn't do*. It throws a lot of potential to the wind to solve *one* silly twist from 1987. It solves convolution with even more convolution; so which Big Boss saved Gray Fox if Portable Ops is no longer canon? And yet, this game has some great set-pieces and tackles some great tones and themes, with that twist touching on identity, auteur / hero worship, and the strain of 24 years of having to drown in your own absurd canon. Until I saw the twist, I thought Peace Walker was planned to lead up to it, and now I see that even that, like every game before it sans Portable Ops, was meant to be the end. And the fact the twist exists at all, partly for the sake of having a twist, is one more reminder this series and story arc could have and maybe should have ended with 3. It's evident more than ever that Kojima wants - needs - to make something driven by tone, theme, and creativity, but he's hamstringed to his franchise, and when he works on that, Konami hamstrings his time and budget. I don't know. I feel bitter but more because some more months would have helped so much rather than the quality of what's there. Sorry, I'm rambling.]]

[@TheBigBovy]

+PoliteTimesplitter It's got this real Star Wars prequel feel where Anakin effectively is evil at the end of Episode 2 but you just kind of see the plot wandering about confused in the third. They make it that BB is evil by the end of 3. It's unsatisfying.

[@WarMomPT]

TheBigBovy That's actually a great way of putting it. For all the flaws Attack of the Clones had, it ended with a great 'oh shit' moment seeing the clone troopers behind the giant cruisers that now looked like Star Destroyers and seeing Palpatine start to resemble the emperor. Episode 3, not too dissimilar to TPP, has some great technical aspects but it doesn't trust the fan's ability to interpret and deduce the rest of the narrative.

[@tltar253]

+Jaqen HUN Lol, yeah, KOjima had 5 years and a 100 million dollar budget, but Konami has the fault.

[@WarMomPT]

Jaqen HUN yeah, true enough, I phrased that poorly. Maybe just his work / writing process isn't a good one and he should have prioritised getting a better ending out.

[@Tamacat388]

+Jaqen HUN Most of that time was just building the FOX engine though. His studio was in the red during that whole time and took forever. MGSV was not properly in development since 2010

[@king0fgam3z]

the thing I hate the most about this game really are the conversation tapes, altogether they go for a few hours but I would much prefer cutscenes in there place instead of this cheap way of story telling.

[@BlazefireSaber]

Are you dumb? The cassettes are the "modern" version of the codec convos, where you can still resume playing rather than watch a few minutes of two people moving their faces while disregarding the overworld.

[@king0fgam3z]

+Not Todd Howard nope, the 'codec' conversations are the ones when they're taking to you live via microphone.

[@nessesaryschoolthing]

Those are the plot-critical codecs. The kind of codecs where you call Signit or Otacon and talk about cardboard boxes or weird dreams you've had are the tapes.

[@magnasupreme]

so you hate them in peace Walker

[@king0fgam3z]

+magnasupreme no I saw it as a added bonus in it even though I missed most of them coz they seemed hidden

[@joe5922]

I'm fairly certain there was supposed to be a twist in which Kaz is revealed as an agent of the Patriots. We're supposed to believe from the ending that Kaz was so pissed at being manipulated that he vows to aid Venom Snake & the clones in the vague hopes that they might one day fight and defeat Big Boss... This just seems like such a roundabout way of getting revenge and it strikes me as a quick ammendment they added to cover a plot hole that formed when they didn't have time to explore Kaz's storyline further. There's a fair bit of evidence to suggest Kaz might be up to something. Code Talker's "Eyes on Kazuhira" quote doesn't seem to pertain to any in game event and may have been foreshadowing for a cut revelation; I've seen some people suggest he's talking about the events of MG1 (where Venom is killed by Solid working for Foxhound) but Kaz isn't introduced until MG2 and that also doesn't explain Code Talker's suspicions towards Kaz during 'Shining Lights, Even in Death', in which he describes Kaz's actions before the outbreak as "Fishy. Very fishy." Then there's the confirmation that the voice saying "Give her the shot!" (refering to Paz) that we hear in Chico's tape in GZ was in fact voiced by Kaz's voice actor, both in the English and Japanese translations of the game. If that is supposed to be Kaz in the tape, then he was in the very same room as Skull Face. I can't help but think that Kaz was originally intended to betray Venom, or at the very least be in some way involved with Cipher, but the storyline was cut short due to time constraints. That would give his character much clearer motivations when it comes to his betrayal of Big Boss in MG2.

[@24fretsoffury]

I don’t care what people have to say about the game, for its flaws and incompleteness for the story, the gameplay was so goddamn tight that it made up for it imo. Over 250 hours, and I never felt bored with its gameplay, if you get bored, it’s your fault, try something new, they give you so many options for tackling objectives. For a Splinter Cell fan since the first, MGSV is the best stealth gameplay I have played. Just so mechanically tight. Death Stranding evolved the gameplay from MGSV, shows that Kojima’s team is incredibly skilled in understanding gameplay.

[@SilentSnake1998]

17:29 i think the reason for the car scene being so long is to subvert that usual type of scene you would see in a game, remember venom is a vecter for the player which is why he is so bland and barely talks in the car scene instead of skull face explaining his plan in one long speech he stops expecting venom to say something but because venom is the player and the player expects the villain to talk the hole time venom waits for skull face to continue leading to an awkward moment of silence, i don't blame you for missing this it's a very small detail i'm suprised that i noticed it this type of stuff why i like mgsv's story despite it being an unfinished game i think mgsv could have had one of the best stories in the series if konami hadn't rushed it

[@Wesinhuman]

That is just a bad translation: "I don't think the infection's airborne but..." is classic Japanese ending with ですが or けど without reason. That by itself is a complete spoken sentence in Japanese. It's more to show uncertainly. A better translation would have left that "but" out. Amazing video man, had to re-watch it, since I still haven't played MGS5 and likely never will.

[@lexbaldwin5613]

It’s worth it, bro. Get a used copy if you have to. Then you can sell it after and get ya money back.

[@Wolagio]

Got it for PS4 if you pay the shipping you can have this dumpster fire of a game

[@Rotinaj37]

Mechanically the game literally sets the bar for stealth games. It's also incredibly well optimized and just fun to play. Story wise, expect disappointment.

[@loganreed23]

Actually, it's not. He supposed to say "but we have to close the door after you" right after. I dunno why he didn't, smth bugged I guess.

[@mimimimeow]

actually this is the first Metal Gear game written and voiced in English first. i think this is deliberate.

[@ashamberfilms]

George, just for future reference - Zero doesn't have a cockney accent in either this or MGS3. Michael Caine has a cockney accent. Zero speaks more in received pronunciation.

[@sixty8403]

It's called the phantom pain not because of the pain from missing limbs, it's because the player feels pain from the missing story of this game, the true phantom pain.

[@devduthk3816]

Well thats one way of saying it

[@retrogamer7965]

@@devduthk3816 It's a good way of admitting to being filtered.

[@ct-hv1uz]

The game is finished most people just don’t complete it because it’s too much replayed missions The real phantom pain is spoilers V’s identity stolen from him his entire life only revealed shortly before his death (and liberation from false identity) at the hands of Solid Snake. the phantom pain in other words of realizing that this massive betrayal and theft of identity (and of the meaning of the experiences) of medic, all just to throw off an assassin and to explain his retconned survival. The phantom pain of not knowing who to blame, being tortured and victimized by the hand of the system detached from the systems guiding minds, becoming paranoid of each other in a big smoke screen, a stage production Mother Base. All because Zero was too paranoid to meet Snake peacefully and explain himself, he waited too long and was poisoned by Skull Face allowing all this terrible stuff to happen.

[@sixty8403]

@@ct-hv1uz you are replying to a comment from 2 years ago, but have you played the game till the end? There is a to be continued... on the liquid's story arc. He kidnaps soldier and runs off. There are multiple videos about the making off of the continuation that was scrapped off because of the delivery time.

[@ct-hv1uz]

@@sixty8403 forgive my oversight abt replying to a 2 years old comment, and I get that there's an unreleased chapter too, but in my opinion the game can still be considered finished because of its resolution of several other things, like Venom finally coming to terms with what happened and moving on to his duty "Just another Mission boss" and also that things like the Paz photos completion and recovering Volgin's body aren't neglected. I will say though. Sorry to make you think of this game more than you had to . And where its undoubtably unfinished... the whole logic behind how snake gets a lot of these cassette tapes and where they come from...

[@Solid_Seth]

This game really has polarized the MGS fan base.

[@adriansandoval2331]

+Seth Varisco It´s been polarized since 2001

[@Exigentable]

+Seth Varisco not really, the fans who don't want to believe it's over are desperate for more content, which they won't get. the fans who have accepted it enjoyed the game, and the ending, very much so. basically, don't listen to the retards on reddit or steam forums whining. they just are in denial.

[@Ephabia]

+Exigentable You're cute.

[@JLCL01]

+Exigentable Even if either Kojima had a chance to make another game or whatnot, I would have just left Konami either way. Instead of dealing with frustration during production and the BS going on there.

[@Solid_Seth]

+Adrián Sandoval Well I can agree with that. What I mean is that this reminds me of how MGS2 polarized the fans. I'll agree it wasn't great on story, but I've just accepted the ending we got. It's Kojima's last Metal Gear, and I appreciate the work he and his team put into it.

[@nicolasp9473]

8 years later, this is still the best MGSV review I've seen. It covers most essential aspects of the game in a very concise way

[@rv142905]

In response to "You're Big Boss, gold star buddy!" This message is followed by the death of Venom at the hands of Solid, to clean up BB's mess and uphold his agenda. I read it as in line with the make-your-choices/live-your-life message in MGS2 by way of demonstrating that you should NOT be a loyal obedient tool. Something Raiden overcame but Venom did not.

[@greyEAX]

+rob vyo This. I didn't take it as an insult, I took it as kind of like a goodbye from Kojima, even though it was presented in such a sudden, bizzare fashion.

[@mattjindrak]

Venom Snakes aren't born into this world fumbling around for meaning, Jerry!

[@devildavin]

i've always wondered that. Big Boss says he sent Solid Snake on that mission to fail, Big Boss though that Phantom Boss could handle everything but it turns out Solid Snake was better than they thought and the unfortunate event of Snake killing Phantom was an accident. or you OP said. Phantom's usefulness was done and Big Boss didn't need him anymore. which is perfect for making Big Boss the villian but i always felt that would be some thing Big Boss wouldn't do. after what happend to the Boss you would think Big Boss would not do that to a fellow Solider since he was a Soldier and was for Soldiers. i thought what made him a villain to the world was his view of how governments use Soldiers since they would think that soldiers would be the biggest threats to peace. having a PMC, a large one taking in Soldiers from everywhere that wanted to feel like they still had a purpose, that also has nuclear capabilities. with the AI's using information to control the masses would tell people "This big Boss guy is the bad guy, Listen and believe" last thing. if Big Boss did send in Solid Snake to get rid of Venom, why would BB have warned Venom of operation intrude. if it was me i never would have warned a target that some one is coming to kill them

[@MysticalRK]

DevilJin What I understand that Solid Snake was in fact a clone of double B, the next gen of perfect soldier that supposed to be a successor to new Big Boss title. I believe that Phantom Boss knew about this and he'll be soon replaced, so fake boss wanted to kill Snake to make sure that he's not going to taking his place. And of course Solid Snake's gone rogue after killed Big Boss(es).

[@TBrizzle01]

MysticalRK Sorry guys but there's really not that much to it. BB and Venom were in cohoots. BB fully expected to fail and die. BB gave Venom the reigns of Outer Heaven while he went back to FoxHound to take eyes off of Big Boss's mercenary activity.

[@_MrTrue]

Wow, years later here I am since the game went on sale recently. First MGS game I've played after the astonishingly great mgs2. Yes there are so many things about mgs2 that I miss and wish were in this game. Specifically, the actual need for stealth. Ironically, guns blazing is often both more effective and the way to get an s rank. But you don't have to play like that. Even though I haven't played all the games I do know the story quite well. I also was able to deduce that Venom wasn't the boss. The game actually really doesn't hide it that well. 1. You can clearly see big boss in the ambulance in the very first mission. 2. DNA comes up negative for Eli. You should know that he is liquid. That right there was the nail in the coffin for me. 3. You're not referred to as boss in the credits during missions. 4. You're often called snake by Ocelot and Kaz. Could be looked over but imo it was off. 5. I admit I didn't catch this but you can see your reflection and it ain't the boss. 6. I forgot to add this. The ai pod talks to you like it knows you're not actually the boss. If you read between the lines that's a really big tell. There are other little hints. But to me all of the story was great and felt like an MGS game. It is unfinished but despite that it has so much content it's kind of ridiculous. I consider the game to excellent. And the hate is just weird to me.

[@phantom5757]

Your points about venom's twist is what I always thought

[@fgdj2000]

Also, Upon meeting Huey, he doesn’t quite recognize you at first as Snake.

[@jared1932]

It is an excellent game. I have a feeling that the haters are just Hayter fanboys and Sony fanboys because the game that they liked released to Xbox and another consoles

@@jared1932 Or you could realize that not everyone shares your subjective opinion and that doesn't mean all who disagree with you are just fanboys...

[@Thonato420]

I could understand a hardcore mgs fan not liking the story (I myself, who is still a new fan kinda enjoyed it) However when they come up with "the gameplay is repetitive and bad" and just not really provide a good reason why, I'm left confused, if you keep tranqing enemies at night, they will have thermals at night, if you keep shootin enemies in the head, they get helmets The more missions you do, the more preparations these enemies have tbh it's kinda like watch dogs, haters be hatin it because of aiden being boring graphics don't look the same as the trailer, or simply stuff cut from the game, but the lovers gon love the story, tone, atmosphere and gameplay of the game I guess a game can somehow have a side where people absolutely love it, and a side where people just fucking hate it the hell of it

[@justafan7549]

I rather wait to 2016 or 2017 for the game when development is complete

[@TheTankbus]

+Eric Jonh The thing is, I don't think Konami would have wanted to. Its clear they want out of this industry.

[@otakuwarrior4737]

+TankBus I wish Kojima could have at least put up a kick starter to finish it. I would have waited years to see the complete version. I hear it was supposed to have 5 chapters, but we get 1 chapter with an incomplete chapter!?

[@justafan7549]

+Otaku Warrior So sad :'(

[@consumedbyplaid]

+Eric Jonh yeah what Tankbus said, and from sources I've seen, the CEO of Konami really hated Kojima, and wanted his game finished and ended as quick as he could. They fired him as a Director and renewed him as a contractor without his permission and was due to end this year in December so konami could focus entirely on mobile games. This forced him to put out his game early, unfinished with the 3rd chapter cut out of it. :c

[@freshpri1]

+Eric Jonh Konami's fault on that one. Kojima wanted to delay it to make it complete, but they didn't want to delay it any further. That's the 1st real fight that both of them had that caused Kojima to leave Konami. I absolutely love this game, still consider this my favorite game overall due to the fact that there is seamlessly limitless things to do in this game (got like 180 hrs with only 86% completion), but story wise, I would still give it to MGS3 & 4.

[@horsemask]

Completely agreed. I was dumbfounded that the game got 9s and 10s from literally everyone. I gave it a 6.5/10. The game isn't even finished for fuck's sake!

[@TylerEdlin84]

+Bad Voodoo mhmm

[@callmesuspect]

So it will deserve a 9/10 after October 6th?

[@CapriSonku]

+Suspect Robot WHAT THE FUCK DID THE PATCH DO SO GOOD??? All it did was added super small details and update for MGO3

[@SolidMike84]

+Bad Voodoo Couldn't agree more.That with uncharismatic characters (like Ocelot, holy fucking snoorfest)Repeating side missions, main evil guy leaving no impression, that "twist", unsolved stuff like Eli and Man on Fire etc.(my opinion)

[@SolidMike84]

Allah Akbar Could've, would've, should've been.

[@willdurfee4211]

I felt as cheated and let down when i first played it...but over time i love this game. Its pure stealth gameplay porn.

[@SB-zb7sf]

It's been 5 years and I'm still kinda sore over the incompleteness of this game.

[@cyberbron2024]

Phantom pain.....

[@Kitamora]

I remember saying to a friend at the time that The Phantom Pain manages to feel like half a game and still overstays it's welcome by a large margin. What a strange game it is.

[@cyberbron2024]

@@Kitamora youre right. Gameplay tho is the best ever in a videogame imo.

[@seanfrance3182]

@@cyberbron2024no doubt, that’s what makes it hurt so much

[@carlosortegaart]

606 people speak kikongo

[@dm3402]

1k staff members do now... Holy shit mother base is fuked

[@golDroger88]

Almost as much as the ones I had to quarantine. Stupid fucking game, I swear.

[@Adam-cj2jg]

It's okay I have a translator

[@Lasersniper15]

......I just got hit by a brick-o-story I was not prepared for.

[@BARMN89]

+Lasersniper it was an amazing brick

[@gustavo13k]

+Lasersniper I was going to say the same but with different words, involving brains, male genitalia and the act of sex. I like your comment better

[@jackarnott6120]

+Gustavo Kaplon (GK) not sex, rape.

[@seroccoprime2774]

+Lasersniper Somehow, the brick-o-story made a lotta sense.

[@Joshiepoo2525]

This video is one of the best pieces of game journalism I've seen. Well done.

[@jk17913]

watched this video twice, such a good analysis. I feel like this really helps put the way I feel about the game into words, thanks!

[@mdiaz033]

Fantastic. One of the best reviews of any entertainment product I've ever seen. I believe most of the phantom pain Kojima wanted fans to feel was unintentional, despite this, I love this game.

[@Korounet]

OMG, I picked the name John when I started the game because that was the name Naked Snake gave Ocelot. When Venom turned the picture, I didn't understand, I thought maybe it was Ocelot or maybe Miller sending a picture to Big Boss. Thank you for this video, this ending makes more sense to me and I'm a little less disappointed by the game. I'll have to watch MG2 again, and maybe play PW one day instead of just watching a playthrough.

[@di333]

I made my name snake lol I thought they were actually gonna call you by the name so I wanted it to be snake

[@Korounet]

And we probably weren't the only ones. I would've loved to see my own name in the ending.

[@di333]

thats so funny lol imagine if big boss had to use a girls name

[@Korounet]

Maybe some people said "Hideo" like the name entry cheats of MGS 2. It would've read "Good Luck Hideo", like "good luck now that you're fired"

[@Law0fRevenge]

This just made my day lol

[@hatemonger8902]

I wasted the first year playing V "waiting for the helicopter" before I realized I could just select Return to ACC from the goddamn menu and instantly zap back to the chopper.

[@spades6100]

Hatemonger wait really? I would just call the chopper before heading to the LZ so I wouldn’t have to wait for it

[@SirCrusher]

You got played like a damn fiddle lol

[@landlockedcroat1554]

fiddled like a damn play

[@TheNuGeekz]

Three years late to this vid but right on time. This was an excellent analysis. I told friends that it's one of the greatest games ever made but by far not the best Metal Gear game ever made. Thanks for taking the time to do this!

[@BigGeekEmpire]

MGSV did fill the missing link. It filled the link of there being two Big Bosses in the original MG games. This was never meant to be Boss's decent into darkness. Especially in MGS4 we learn Big Boss was never the bad guy. Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land was him trying to save the world from the Patriots control. Sounds like a whole lot of butthurt and over the top expectations.

[@rodrigopacheco12]

+BigGeekEmpire even if thats the case, its bad storytelling, no way around that my friend.

[@RhiannonKrausz]

+(O_o) Keiran Black (o_O) This seems unnecessarily hostile, but knowing Kojima fans this could actually happen in real life

[@BigGeekEmpire]

Hattori Hanzo People are surprised now MGS has bad storytelling? You're all idiots. It's a fucking game. Enjoy the gameplay.

[@rodrigopacheco12]

BigGeekEmpire im sorry, but i think you havent played the same games I have. talk all you want about tone shifts, bad voice acting, retcons, tons of exposition and info dumps, but if there is something that the first 3 MGS dont have, is bad storytelling. Also, the gameplay is highly overrated on this one

[@thejohnandrea6100]

+BigGeekEmpire Because this game totally wasnt advertised as Venom/Big Boss' downfall. Hideo didnt even have to make big boss evil, but couldve shown venom go crazy after he discovers the truth. Everyone had these expectations because Hideo and the trailers misled us.

[@DagothDaddy]

It sounds like they finished up all the gameplay aspects of this game so Konami pushed it out the door while Kojima wanted to spend another year just working on writing the story.

[@AydarBMSTU]

Doubtful, gameplay wise it still has tons of issues

[@hk1371]

Even with the use of the name "Ahab" is another example of how the game fails to use it's own set ups and themes in actual on screen and interesting ways. For those who dont know, Ahab is the name of the captain who was on the hunt for Moby Dick. He becomes fanatical and makes his crew partake in a lot of cult like scenarios whilst they pursue this goal until it drives them to their deaths. Now tell me, does that sound anything like Venom that we see? In MGSV, hes saving children and looks to re educate them, he rescues animals, spares Huey despite the man betraying them multiple times and killing a ton of Venoms people in the process. We see no correlation to the codename "Ahab". He isnt paranoid, angry or fanatical. Hes just... there. Yet ironically, it fits the new character of Miller far better. He acts like Ahab: inciting paranoia, driven by a lust to destroy anything cipher, is willing to kill those that betray him. That's who Venom should have been. We should have seen him become a demon as not just the trailers suggest but his own dialogue his design, his role and names (Venom and Ahab) suggest

[@justbny9278]

Hell doesn't that sound like the Real Big Boss?

[@jonasbravo7642]

@@justbny9278 it does, what if venom AND skull face are Big boss phantoms...the 3 are the same person, like in the movie fightclub

[@Boss.X5]

@@jonasbravo7642 venom snake is skull face

[@Jason-ek6gc]

The quote was, “We’re going to have to close the tent behind you, don’t think the infections airborne, but...”

[@kralalrulz]

this series is just a phantom of its former self, and the phantom pain that the players feel.. phantom phantom phantom...........SHE WORKS FOR CYPHER

[@mercury2157]

this sounds like a Hiimdaisy thing.

[@nikodemvankenobi]

+ainsley toledo God i miss her MG comics...

[@thinkingthoughts6079]

+NikodemVanKenobi easily the best comics related to mgs

[@nikodemvankenobi]

Thinking Thoughts True!

[@Therealmadkong]

+Thinking Thoughts What comic are you talking about? I read the megar gear solid comic from years ago, did they make a sequel to it?

[@pospa7855]

Hands down, this is the most accurate review I have seen.

[@shadowwhowalk]

+Martin Pospíšil More like a critique (to counter blindly positive reviews) than a review that gives a balanced picture. Also, it had poor points, like being unable to use box delivery fast travel while in Alert status is a bad thing (having to escape or hide is bad in a stealth game)? Also you can easily strategically call the helicopter just about when you are going to escape the base; you don't have to go to the extraction point and THEN call the helicopter. Bullet sponge bosses require strategy like using weapon emplacement or setting traps (sniper bosses are an exception and aren't bullet sponge).

[@Pinklewilly]

+Shadow Who Walks The problem isn't so much that the bosses are just bullet sponges. It's that they make up a not insignificant chunk of bosses in a series famed for interesting and unique boss fights. Not that every boss fight needs to be super interesting but it was a bit of a letdown to keep running into those shambling bastards so often. And I think he meant that the shipping areas are not exactly easy to come by or access. It only showed the alert bit in the video footage, not in what he was actually saying.

[@firewallXXL]

+Martin Pospíšil amen dude

[@JCity17]

MGS V was a console version of the Peace Walker game structure. Needless to say it's a great game, but not perfect. 9/10

[@SpardaSon20]

"Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel the unused MGSV Skull Chico Concept... And the cut lines from venom such as "Chico(to Paz and to Chico being a buddy like Quiet)", "CONSECUTIVE CQC", And the line to be able to to able to tell soldiers to pick up their fucking radios and tell them we aren't here... Even the unused Battle Gear we get to see but NEVER use... The excitement I've lost... The comrades I've lost... Won't stop hurting... It's like they're still there. You feel it, too, don't you? I'm gonna make them give back our cut content and unused concepts."

[@stagger9660]

What im about to say comes from someone who has played dozens upon dozens of games and never played a metal gear solid game until metal gear solid V and i have to say mgsV is probably one of the best videogames in existence. Everything down to the tiniest detail is nearly perfect. Everything is polished and excedingly fun and the gameplay is super rewarding.

[@sergeantbadass7627]

personally, it was this game that made me love the mgs series.. it was the first I played and this game made me want to play all the others. I love the soundtrack of the game, its my favorite.

[@Sixioxis]

I take it to face value. Wasn't the greatest MGS but I still enjoyed it for what it was.

[@casitro]

I really like the interpretation of the ending scene and Venoms "vision" of the future of the original Metal Gear. Sounds rational and explains a lot of me concerning the machines on that table. Thank you!