Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Review - A Messy Masterpiece

[@KeivReviewsThings]

As of today, this review has become the first review I've made to surpass 10k views. Pretty small compared to other, much larger channels, but it means a lot to me all the same that so many folks seemed to get something out of this video, definitely makes the many many months that went into making it feel that much more worth it. Thank you all very much for your support! I appreciate it tremendously and hope y'all enjoy the reviews to come! In keeping up with stealth action genre, the next review I'm currently working on is for an indie stealth game called 'Disjunction'. I'm hoping to have it done within the next few days, beyond that, I've got quite a few others in the works so stay tuned for that!

[@foxhound91]

Much support from me man. Keep Metal Gear Alive !

[@LetsSufferTogether]

Dude, when I looked at the views, I was suprised this hadn't been seen more by the MGS community and beyond. Although there are quite a few people who do these things for MGS... Still, VERY professional and you should be proud of this content. I'm glad you view this in the context of how things can be here on YT and your own progress for yourself. great energy and breakdown!

[@bucket9486]

This review was long as fuck, but also a damn blast and single handedly made me want to finally play MGSV after delaying it for so long. Good job, man!

[@foxhound91]

@@bucket9486 by far one of the best games out still in 2021 man its worth it

[@TheGabe473]

Great video! Congrats!

[@matodragonespor5000]

"You can swap weapons mid aim as you are still shooting just by hitting square" Me with more than 300 hours in this game: "You can do WHAT??!!" Seriously, it's amazing how years later one can still discover a lot of secret mechanics and possibilities in this game

[@jezuzman78]

You deserve my like but I didn't want to change it from 69 likes..... Nice...

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

Hell yeah dude, and it also works in real life as well as it's an old trick of my own. Nah, but seriously, Kojima games where he is at the helm of development are most well known for the wildly entertaining/convoluted-in-the-best-way narratives. But, beyond that the other thing consistent with maybe all Koji-Pro games is the tight-as-hell gameplay that must take up a huge focus during the development process being worked out and fine-tuned by a crack team of corporal beings by choice group of devs picked by Kojima to actually achieve.

[@Piti2X]

Yeah. Like until this video , idk why it never occurred to me using my rocket punch to destroy communications, or generators, etc.... 3 years after this review and still learned new things.

[@mattmozgiel2111]

I personally am ok with the story not being as oppressive as it normally is in the series. It is hands down the best gameplay of the series. My only notes are I would love to have seen Kojima finish it. The recycled missions and the ending. If I were to ask for more, maybe 1 additional biome. Snow maybe? But really, gameplay wise, this is Everything I ever wanted in a Metal gear game

[@TerryKashat]

Hideo

[@OscarKesh]

2 hours long and it has a 3 second intro. Amazing

[@TheTwostepMan]

Honestly it was pretty surprising

[@joeyabbs6881]

@@uncanny-hector-1906 I agree on your side

[@iBMcFly]

4 second*

[@simonmayfair8442]

Bro jumps right into it like a fucking Boss. Nice work man.

[@raja7775]

a rarity these days

[@robinbolleurs6512]

"F*** the R&D Platform" Now that statement is food for the soul.

[@foxhound91]

Why did he say that in the 1st place ? Lol

[@robinbolleurs6512]

@@foxhound91 He said it because it's an extremely convoluted and confusing strut, and as far as i remember (has been a few years) it's the most frustrating of the shooting challenges, with all the nooks and hidey-holes.

[@foxhound91]

@@robinbolleurs6512 o ok i havent done the target practice's on morherbase yet

[@robinbolleurs6512]

@@foxhound91 yeah i straight up Bitc*ed out and just looked it up(R&D only) Because I was always left with one i just couldn't find.

[@foxhound91]

@@robinbolleurs6512 hell im having to watch YT vids to find the targets i cant find lmao

[@yorktownace8784]

46:20 “Boss, how did you defeat Sahelanthropus so fast?” Venom: “I punched it”

[@derris3989]

this game will always hold a special place in my heart despite the many flaws. great review, i agree with basically every point.

[@constantinoogrande2273]

Me too Man, i love this game, the gameplay wise and fantastic, good graphics, good optimization and a good story(but i regonized the flaws), its my favorite game of all time.

[@rishi1363]

What are the flaws i don't see any?

[@djangofett4879]

@@constantinoogrande2273 the story is so damn good.

[@ciphergamingsouthafrica8502]

Minimal flaws based on today's standards

[@lostlearning8654]

Kojima voiced frustration that the player doesn't see their action as bad when they're in control. I personally think he was talking about Peace Walker and how nobody thought twice about building a nuclear weapon in that game. Really that showed Big Boss's descent perfectly... but nobody saw it, because they were controlling Big Boss. Ok, so how do you get around that? How do you let the player control BB and still make them hate BB as a character? Simples! Have the player be a victim of BB's ruse. It's SO clever.

[@josephspurgis9700]

​@Garland846 I choose to believe snake gave me the opportunity to make my own communist motherbase

[@supersnow17]

I have nearly 2000+ hours in this game and I feel like I've only truly experienced half of what it really has to offer.

[@DiegoRYT]

i wonder if the missing feeling was intended...you know..the whole gimmick of the game...

[@leonardolf6974]

it's like a.... phantom pain

[@Keckegenkai]

this game has at most 300 hours of content. What are you doing??

[@supersnow17]

@@Keckegenkai You clearly haven't maxed out your FOB's with S++ soldiers and developed every weapon.

[@vicwaters87]

@@Keckegenkai I've logged 1,500 hours so far. I have a lot of fun replaying it from scratch or playing missions in extremely different ways.

[@EPIzen24]

Any jackass can massacre children and threaten the world with nukes. But it takes a special kind of narcissist to do what Big Boss did to Venom. It took me awhile after finishing the game to piece this together, but it ended up being so much more impactful as a "fall to the dark side" story than what I was expecting.

[@MargraveFel]

well, it wasnt his idea but Zeros, Big Boss just used what he woke up to. But yeah, still ruthless.

[@irregular_banana]

I play for the gameplay what did he do

[@rishi1363]

Yeah mgs5 is my first mg game i wanna know too.

[@EPIzen24]

@@irregular_banana skip to 1:48:35 - 1:55:33

[@EPIzen24]

@@rishi1363 skip to 1:48:35 - 1:55:33

[@mrm0n3y96]

Thank you for not having an hour long intro about Moby Dick

[@frogglen6350]

I agree. I hate when pretentious critics do that.

[@leonseuropeanislandadventu7398]

​@@frogglen6350Dont see how giving background and similarities is considered pretentious. My only assumption is that they didn't say what you wanted to hear fast enough.

[@frogglen6350]

@@leonseuropeanislandadventu7398 Hearing someone say the exact same comparison in every video gets old. We get it. Kojima likes using metaphors. Talk about the game already!

[@vorpalweapon4814]

​​@@frogglen6350 Is it really pretentious when the game's themes heavily reference the novel? The game actively wants you to think about Moby Dick.

[@Fox_Pajama]

There’s points I disagree with in your story analysis, but overall, this is an amazing review. I can tell you absolutely adore this game as I do, and your ability to honestly critique shows how you love it. Everything is covered, with personal reasons why you loved or didn’t like something. It’s really refreshing and thanks for your hard work in this flawed masterpiece. One of the most creatively ambitious games ever, in gameplay, themes, and story. For better or worse.

[@Moister356]

This game is great, just they didn't reach the real full potential that this game have

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

@@Moister356 I used to feel the same way, but now after recently finally beating the game (after around 350 hours) I'm not so sure. I think the pacing issues are still there in a few parts as far as the narrative is concerned, but the gameplay is still meaty as hell with so many ways to infiltrate the enemy. And now I'm seeing all the videos pointing hour the subtle nuances in the story (Michael Saba's vid is great like the man said, also Futuresound Productions makes GREAT MGS documentaries) and what few problems I thought I had with the game have all disappeared save maybe one or two minor things. This is something I've given quite a lot of thought towards because it isn't often a game manages to completely change my perception in this sort of way. When the game released it was branded as being incomplete in some key ways and this cast a shadow over public perception that still haunts it to this day, and I really hate to see a game with so much care put into it receive such a fate despite scoring rather high in reviews. That said, I can definitely understand how it isn't for everyone. And I'm happy as hell to see so many people still talking about it. I imagine the same will go for Death Stranding a few years down the road and finally be unshackled from descriptions as being a "walking sim". Sorry, I went on and on there lol. Nothing can make a man yap more than the work of Kojima. It's like the 5 stages of coming to terms with a Kojima Production hahaha.

[@GuyOnAChair]

@@johnnybensonitis7853 The issue with Futuresound is he can say a lot about nothing and when he's not doing that he's mostly cheerleads under the surface level appearence of review but the content of the videos are often the antithesis of analysis or critique. :(

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

@@GuyOnAChair Yeah, I agree with that. Still, his vids are high-effort as hell. I don't even know if he disguises them as being reviews since they pretty clearly come off with the intent to show appreciation on a deep level. I think his vids would be most easily enjoyed by people who are fans for the MGS franchise and understand going in that they are presented from a place of admiration.

[@supremeworld87]

@@GuyOnAChair yeah...he just likes talking about history and trying to tangentially connect it to MGS. It's pretty hilarious sometimes.

[@DreamyLoops-b6r]

I bought this game on day 1 release. It's almost into 2023 and I'm still playing it. I love this game.

[@MKG176]

The part I liked was where he talked about how the choices.presented are meant for the player to organically build the legend of Big Boss, and by extension, their own. Love when people actually pay attention to what they're playing.

[@Tehgamerstation]

Love the idea of going to Camp Omega as Venom. The layout could be completely different from the previous game because he was never even there originally. Awesome.

[@bluesfrombluesclues4201]

like maybe that he hallucinates it and knows the slight layout from being on the chopper, so its like all weird and changed in subtle ways

[@Bacbi]

Just 5 minutes in. Certain sequences sure I would play action but damn, don't think that I have seen this type of very aggressive playstyle in MGS5 before, gotta say you really make it look cool.

[@johnjohnson6142]

Add some nonlethal weapons to the mix and you can even pick up extra soldiers along the way

[@starghost99]

Hard agree. I've always played slow and stealthy with dynamic combat as a last resort. I'll have to give it a try.

[@zoltanz288]

its shame the game actively punishes you for having anything but a non-lethal stealth play style.

[@Bacbi]

@@zoltanz288 that's sort of been the metal gear solid way of playing after Liquid called out Snake for killing people on shadow Moses. It did seem not just from a gameplay perspective but also like Kojima wanted him to make an evolution. Killing if he has to but preferably not wanting a single person to know that he's been there at all. The only problem is that neither big boss in mgs3 or venom snake in mgs5 should have those problems. But then again it would screw up the entire requirement mechanic in mgs5. I don't really know how you would get around that although in mgs5 I did play more lethal than in any other mgs game with the silent standard rifle a lot since I could just pick the targets I wanted to recruit with sleep sniper or pistol so it doesn't punish killing to the same degree. As let's say mgs3 when you have to meet every person you have killed during the sorrow segment. But still it does incentives you not to kill.

[@stfuomgdude]

@@zoltanz288 that’s the point. these are anti-war games.

[@thisusernamenowtaken]

1:13 "[MGSV:TPP] plays better than [...] just about any single Stealth/Action 3rd-Person Shooter I've ever played." *Still true in 2022.*

[@pepecervantes6813]

still true in 2024 broo

[@thisusernamenowtaken]

@@pepecervantes6813 👍

[@tyo101]

In my opinion, this is possibly the most detailed review of MGSV I have ever experienced. Brilliant assessment and the bookmarks are a delight. Thank you again ✌🏻

[@noahmatee]

If you liked this you should also watch someordinarygamers mgs4 video

[@tyo101]

@@noahmatee Thanks for the recommendation.

[@VinylcoteYT]

i would also recommend Tetramore’s mgs videos he has nice ones

[@Elrond_Hubbard_1]

I love eavesdropping on Soviet soldiers' conversations. In the Red Brass mission, you can listen in to the Russian base commanders talking, and one of them talks with a really worried tone about reports of people 'floating away on balloons'. And me, crouched on a rooftop only a few meters away giggling my ass off.

[@vincentmartineau2006]

Giggling like a goblin while putting another guy on a balloj

[@orangeavenger1597]

I know this is 2 years later but dude, why is Ocelot even in the fucking game? He does nothing that couldnt have been done by ANYBODY else. The audio cassettes are nice but not really what I wanted.

[@Kaya-M]

This was by far one of the best (all-encompassing) reviews I've watched about this game, which has made me go "Yes, exactly!" basically all throughout. But did you forget about my man Peqoud? Who's at our beck and call every mission/side-op, with his insanely acurate aim during cover fires which always obliterates everything, but miraculously not Venom. And seems to be the only man that gives an actual fuck about Venom with his 'Be careful down there, Boss.' Oh, how I love that guy! But honestly, great review! Was a blast to watch and now I wanna dive back into it.

[@Housesider]

Damn, huge video! Awesome that you managed to finish this behemoth of a review finally lol

[@jz9132]

Your love and appreciation for this game clearly shines through - well done 👍

[@foxhound91]

Indeed it does. I have much love for the MG series & this game for sure

[@mattmas6628]

*Best mgsv experience* = turn off HUD including markers (I keep weapon reticle on though), turn off reflex mode, only take a low level Tranq gun and a lethal primary with no suppressor (plus a few basic grenade types) only use D horse, and play no alerts/non lethal . This is the European extreme mode we should have gotten. No markers forces you to actually be aware of the direction and proximity of patrols (as well as opening your idroid often during infiltration to plan youre next move based on gaurd locations) and the lack of weapons forces you to use CQC and other more grounded tactics Also, get some headphones because you’re gonna be operating based on basic sight and sound. The sound design is immaculate.

[@mattmas6628]

@sleeping bear woah big tough guy here

[@Garcia1995]

@@mattmas6628 It's true, there's no real right way to play the game, for me i like to use all the tools to my disposal. If you noticed, this is probably the only metal gear game where being discovered is not frowned upon, in previous MG games the support characters tell you throughly:"The point of this mission is to not be spotted" or "Avoid combat wherever possible", things like that.

[@maeton-gaming]

Eh.

[@spyrochrisgaming]

Or just play at 300% guard vision and hearing distance with Infinite Heaven. It becomes a right nightmare then.

[@GuyOnAChair]

The game is indeed perfectly playable with even more of the UI tuned off. It's how I've played it for a long time. :)

[@jackhamm760]

Saw your review featured on J'S Reviews and gotta say you really made some great points. Obviously there's a lot I don't agree with here and am not as big a fan of MGSV, but I also fully admit to not considering a lot of factors you did. One of my biggest problems with MGSV was how easy it was and how every boss fight felt the same. But when you look at it from the lens of how every mission can end up going, then it makes sense it wouldn't be the hardest game in the world. If it were, then all the action wouldn't be as viable a gameplay approach as you state. There's also a lot of stunts you do that I never thought to do because I'm someone who always wants to play a mission as stealthy as possible. Whereas you seemed to adapt to getting caught and just made it part of the fun. So that might be why you enjoyed the game a lot more than I did and I can admit that might just be a 'me' problem since GZ felt a little harder for me and that's what I was expecting from MGSV. I agree that Skullface should have been fought and a fight like Clifford's fight sounds fitting for him, but I think the boss problem extends further than you comment. I don't think the Skulls should have been bosses. To me, they should've just been minibosses like the haven girls or ocelot unit bois. They're mechanically extensive like bosses but don't have as much resilience. If they were just minibosses who turned up a lot with more XOF assassins like Quiet or Volgin showing up as proper boss battles, then that would've solved everything. It isn't that the bosses of MGSV are bad or even boring. They're just so repetitive and so underwhelming when you compare them to the sheer depth of MGS3's bosses which even you acknowledge. I was even more disappointed because the concept arts showed some cut bosses like Chico or Scorch, who was an XOF assassin with full body armor that had weakpoints on his suit and flamethrower you had to target. That sounds like a lot of fun and I wish MGSV had deeper bosses like that, especially since actual antagonists are always so much more entertaining than monsters. The point I never considered was with Eli aka Liquid Snake. I'll admit that I'm someone who is still sore about KotF, but I also never considered what that entire ending would've been like if Eli never showed up at all. Because you're right, his introduction is completely unrelated to everything going on up to that point. If anything, Eli's story even feels like he would work better as DLC since it really doesn't have anything to do with MGSV's plot. Reserving that whole story as a separate chapter sold separately could've saved Kojima Productions a lot of hassle and even worked out for Konami, because they would've made serious money off of that chapter which most of us would've certainly purchased, and that could have have covered the development costs. You just earned yourself a new subscriber, dude. Even if I personally wouldn't rate MGSV nearly as high as you did, the points you raised were really sound points and have got me thinking. So keep up the great work!

[@KeivReviewsThings]

Thanks for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful and insightful comment! I appreciate posts like these a lot! I've actually never believed GZ to be harder, because while you do have fulton and way more toys in V, you also don't *need* anything else in GZ beyond your assault rifle. Experimentally, I've done runs where I do nothing but knock everyone out or kill everyone, either quietly or maintaining high alert from start to finish. And while guards give you a run for your money, you tend to feel like you're in control a lot of the times. The instant you unlock the rifle with the grenade launcher attachment, it's pretty much over. Same with if you hop into a tank because guards and other tanks are powerless to stop you. As you said, I'm very much of the mind that if a game is stealth action, then both aspects should be viable. It's why I enjoyed MGS3 so much more than the other linear games. You can go guns blazing for the same result, but still have a fun time with it. And in V's case, the mechanics are so good that I genuinely have more fun with its combat than any third person shooter I've ever played. I don't personally mind the Skulls being classified as bosses because, functionally, they do what a boss fight should do. But I also wouldn't have objected to your idea either of more colorful human enemies like Quiet to add to the fray. And I couldn't agree more on Eli's segment being better off as DLC. Anything would've been better than how Kojimbo approached it.

[@Mr_G87]

I love this analysis, although I completely lost it at the "Red Skull's discoloured cousin" lol

[@sandpaperseat3228]

Stealth games: oh no alert everyone knows my every move Mgs v stealth: oh no I’ve broken line of site and the guards aren’t blocking my path to a objective because they’re investigating my last known position 👌 Mgsv open world is basically Valhalla (mythology not the game) nothing to do but fight, just another day in a war without end

[@NourishedPsyche]

"D-Walker, the answer to Johnny 5 is alive." Subbed immediately.

[@DEDManGamingWins]

30 seconds in and I LOVE this video so far. No preamble, no bullshit you just get straight to the point! Gonna very much enjoy the next 2 hours!

[@supremeworld87]

I cannot understand why people were expecting a villain turn in MGSV when Peace Walker already did that, explicitly. Did people not hear David Hayter putting on an evil voice whilst Big Boss talks about his willingness for MSF to become terrorists and criminals? Or when he armed himself with a fucking NUKE? Or when he was like FUCK THE BOSS because he realised her sacrifice was an act of pacifism and to him that was a betrayal? The guy had turned NUTS by the end of PW. MGSV making us the player his victim was genius and the only way the fans were going to get it into their heads that's he's a prick

[@bennybeck]

Needed a video like this, tired of seeing videos on how disappointing of a “metal gear” game. As a huge fan of the series I was blown away w the in-depth gameplay and I actually like how the story was handled

[@bencarlson4300]

There are a lot of videos praising it, especially in the last couple years. Futurasound is a channel that is basically dedicated to MGS, especially TPP

[@thespiritofhoxhawell4413]

​@bencarlson4300 it's his religion, his "meme" so to say lmfao.

[@arkhamslayer7265]

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, for the timestamps in the description. Now my quick laugh or that section I wanna look over in this over-2-hour review is just a click away.

[@HugoStiglitz88]

No one will ever convince me this didn't deserve to win GOTY over witcher 3 and bloodborne.

[@vicwaters87]

TPP is more fun than those two games but Witcher 3 is a once in a lifetime accomplishment of having this vast open world game full to bursting with so many well crafted quests and secrets. I think TPP earned the right win of Best Action Adventure TBH because its gameplay was so infinitely fun.

[@Jmfox96]

As someone who enjoyed mgsv and Witcher 3, Witcher 3 had a lot more unique content, a better story, and was a technical feet for its time. The only part that sucked was the long beginning that has little replay value

[@moist_cabbage8472]

@ 1:38:00 “If you care more about making some misguided unnecessary point than you do writing a satisfying story, then maybe your priorities as a writer are a bit fucked up.” Most hilariously vicious and accurate stab at Kojima being a writer. And the delivery was spot on 😂 I wish someone would say that to his face.

[@TheBlueLink3]

While I agree with the point made, I don't think this applies to Kojima very well at all. Obviously this is subjective, but I never felt like his points were misguided or unnecessary, and I've definitely enjoyed his stories. I've never felt unsatisfied from a Kojima game. Maybe parts of his games, but never the game as a whole.

[@moist_cabbage8472]

@@sufferingmp4102 that’s because kojima left the project in someone else’s hands. They delivered his messages and vision better than he ever could. mGR was fun

[@frogglen6350]

This is weird because MGS 1, 2, and 3 are all very satisfying. And MGS 4 has one of the happiest endings for a franchise, showing every character finally living a better life.

[@frogglen6350]

That criticism belongs to the last of us 2. Because nothing about that game is satisfying

[@Moister356]

@@moist_cabbage8472 The delivery there was actually satisfying

[@cr3d294]

It's crazy. This game came out over 7 years ago now and it still has the best free form third person action/stealth combat to this day. I remember playing Sniper Elite 5 wondering how is it the designers of this game took nothing from Phantom Pain after all these years? I really hope we see something like this from Kojima again. Of course it won't be Metal Gear Solid but Kojima and his team are the masters of stealth action.

[@TheIrland09]

It really doesn't. The shooting is kind of wonky. You need to be very close to your target otherwise your guns will be horribly inaccurate. The stealth is just crawling around in front of enemies that can't see you ten metres in front of them and tranqing them in the head. There's tons of other games that do the gameplay better.

[@Luna_tiko2403]

I mean middle earth had a great stealth action gameplay. if you disregard you're using bow It's still a solid stealth shooting game with magic.

[@jeffreymarksworld534]

Probably more Death Stranding

[@cr3d294]

@@TheIrland09 Always a contrarian. Name one.

[@TheIrland09]

@@cr3d294 I know with that smartass remark that you're just going to disagree anyway but I'll name a couple. Far Cry has a very similar gameplay loop but it actually has competent shooting mechanics and the world is much more lively. Hitman is a way better sandbox with way more options and Ghost of Tsushima has way more fun stealth and combat.

[@thelaw11]

The amount of killing I have seen in the first 10 minutes of this video is ACTUALLY more than the amount of soldiers I had to kill in both of my playthroughs . Keep in mind I have completed the game twice on different saves and I am a more tranq/stun style gamer , only because I don’t want to grow the size of the horn on my head and that killing is a bit more inhumane than tranquillising and fultoning an enemy

[@KeivReviewsThings]

I'm already a demon

[@thelaw11]

@@KeivReviewsThings*woah-hoooooooooooooooo*

[@mateosanchezaquino3829]

Im fine with growing the horn in Venom Snake. What im not fine is the fact that im left fucking caked in blood like goddam Carrie at the end of her movie. At least mods can come in clutch for that, i guess

[@thelaw11]

@@mateosanchezaquino3829 *sad playstation noises*

[@lazersoupe]

How is there still no game that nails gameplay this tightly? The controller layout and animations are so perfect

[@enclaveleader6245]

11:35 - everyone follows the path to extract the kids. But I got annoyed and neutralized everyone in the outpost of the mine. What I didn’t realize is I blew up the anti air radar so.. I tranqualized the kids and called the chopper pretty easy and simple

[@Oatlis]

Interesting I avoided D-Horse and D-Walker for my entire playthrough once I got Quiet and D-Dog. Also the amount of editing in this video is really impressive!

[@Tanner_Shelton]

This needs way more views for the time and effort it obviously took to make. Also this is some of the best gameplay I’ve seen of this game, how do you play like that

[@Yeshua_is-Cool]

By playing it in a semi lethal experimental way also changing up loadouts helps too

[@supremeworld87]

Running around shooting and diving and rolling? That's no way to play MGS lol.

[@Tanner_Shelton]

@@supremeworld87 I don't think any mgs game has a strict "way to play", especially this game

[@perfectcell_]

​@@supremeworld87also in mgsv ur not special agent naked snake, ur the bearded maniac war criminal big boss so I feel like it works in this context

[@retali8MGSV]

for context on 45:00, sally is indeed designed to always be around the player on hellbound, during boss fights using the AIs from mission 31, it always knows where the player is too

[@vetteboy1982]

I put in 1500 hours on this game on the PS3 when it first came out. I refused to play any online crap, so it was offline only. A month ago I rebought it and started from scratch on the PS4. About 275 hrs in and 75% done and it was just as fun as the first time. Was just taking a break when your video popped up. I can’t believe I sat here and listened to the whole thing….great job. You talk just like I do renaming characters and such. I always called Jonny Sasaki Jonny poo pants. At any rate, thanks for the hours of entertainment . You made me laugh out loud multiple times, and I rate you right up there with Futura Productions and Python Selkin. Great Metal Gear channels and btw…I just subbed you 👍

[@tdistel]

I still only have a PS3. About halfway through currently. First play through. It's been one heck of a fun game so far. You can get lost in side missions for hrs if you're not careful!

[@vetteboy1982]

@@tdistel the side missions never end. 😂😂🤣I’m a little over 400 hrs in on my 2nd play thru . Just as fun as the first time.

[@tdistel]

@@vetteboy1982 oh, I know. I just enjoy jumping from one to another snagging resources and skilled soldiers

[@aaronsound]

This video was phenomenal, i LOVE your voice, the script and editing. I hope you will ever attempt to make another review at least once more, from your words i feel like you don't want to make more and that's fine, sadly you don't have ads on ur vids (i hope you will turn them on someday, i watched this video a few times now and you're not making a single buck from me) but still, i think this video is phenomenal and i can only wish for you to do this once more someday. Thanks again, happy new year and stay healthy!

[@KeivReviewsThings]

I'm already working on my next review and side videos. My goal is to grow this channel so I *can* start making money off of it. I just won't ever make a video that's as long as this one is because it's just too much work and too much stuff gets lost between the cracks. Most of my work will typically be between twenty to thirty minutes long. I made the exception for MGSV because I simply had so much to say about this one video game that I almost certainly won't have to say about other games. Happy New Year to you as well!

[@quajay187]

Great Vid. You weren't kidding about running away from the skulls on D horse...that part was unbelievably almost PTSD tense for me. I'm sure you wouldn't look at it this way but..I like to believe that Venom Snake embraced his new identity

[@filipic12]

this review... gave me the closure i needed and explanations i needed to finally understand it thank you for making this review, you earned a new sub

[@CEOofBoneitis]

People don’t talk enough about how absolutely amazing the gameplay is and how it’s leagues ahead of GTAs dry follow map in corner BS

[@Remix36720]

Very impressive, you weren’t kidding when you said this would be a video with a lot of new insight on this game, keep up the good work!

[@MsGhost06]

Amazing this has got to be THE best MGSV review and discussion ever, I'm on the side that love this game and so far as an overall it is the best MGS game and it went out with a bang, I'm also to this date keep coming back to this game over and over hell I re installed it again completely both Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain, love it your passion for this divisive game among the fans is admirable

[@Usualsf]

Best review i've seen on this game. Also i love that short intro.

[@adamjohnston6154]

There's some parts I agree with and some parts I don't agree with. Your comments about the gameplay are on point. What I took away from your video is that you know how to play this game the right way. You use every option available to you and really play this game for all its worth. I've never seen gameplay that looked this exciting in any review I've seen on youtube. I wasn't a fan of the boss fights because Quiet and the Skulls are level capped so if you play with high level weapons they go down like chumps. And Volgin dies in one hit if you just push him in that obvious pool. Eli and Metal Gear were the only fights that worked for me and I agree that the game needed more fights like Eli's. I feel like the Skulls should've been reduced to mini bosses and the game should've had proper boss characters like Skullface and a squad of superhumans with personalities like the Cobras. Especially since Phantom Pain reveals that the cobras were powered by the parasites. So it would've made a lot of sense. Where I mostly disagree is the story. You can argue that Phantom Pain may have been technically better in the writing but it wasn't as engaging. Snake is just way too quiet and too much of the game feels like it happens around him instead of him participating. You mention that and I agree with you but you didn't mention that the other games had more satisfying storylines. Even if there's a lot more exposition dumping the end of each game always felt like a complete journey that left me satiated regardless of the nonsense. Phantom Pain felt like it left me hanging. Skullface's storyline ended on such an abrupt and unsatisfying note, Eli's story didn't even get an ending and Snake's story is too ambiguous to be satisfying. I know you mention all of those and I agree with those points but I think the big difference is that I really didn't like the story much for it or find the mysteries it was building up particularly interesting because so much of the story development comes in these static radio calls of Kaz and Ocelot talking over slideshows. And no matter it's framed, "Vocal Cord Parasites" is just a really stupid plot device in my opinion. I agree that swapping from the same Metal Gears to bio-weapons is a fun spin but this was taking oceanic amounts of piss for me. But even despite my disagreements I really liked your review. I've never seen a video like this where someone wasn't a fan boy just blindly dismissing valid criticism or an openly hostile hater who just wants to dump on everything and exaggerate all the issues. You approached the game very fairly from the perspective of a person who clearly knows what they're talking about and very clearly loves the thing they're reviewing. I respect this kind of dedication enormously and really enjoyed hearing your perspective on this review. So much so that I'm going to watch all of your other MGS videos as well. Thank you for sharing something that didn't waste my time and kept me engaged the whole way in, even if I had to watch this in batches instead of all at once. Keep up the great work.

[@zoltanz288]

the right way to play the game is a non-lethal stealth style. the game will actively punish the player for lethal play styles. did this loser seriously not mention this once in this garbage pile video? i couldnt agree more on the story being utterly stupid and unsatisfying.

[@itsmejinxfromleagueolegendsrea]

Man I liked the criticisms, I too longed for more story and I think Eli was the one who gave us the phantom pain

[@orionp2227]

I just got to say that this is one of the best MGS5 reviews I've seen out there and mad respect for keeping up the rhythm throughout the video some people can't do that but you did A plus review

[@thegriff8095]

I've recently played through the entirety of MGSV. I have played it before, but never all the way till the end. I always loved the gameplay, but only until my last playthrough has it shot up to one of my favorite games of all time. I look at a lot of the videos from when the game first came out and it is all painted over with "Screw Konami" rhetoric, but I don't think they actually looked at the core game and the sheer variety and depth that this game has to offer. Thank you for bringing to light how incredible this game is in this video, it was worth the watch, I give this a Kaz Burger out of 10.

[@SeanCMonahan]

Code Walker's voice actor out of ten

[@kebabfoto]

I played this game in 2015 and didn't get all the weapons, started playing 2 months ago and i'm getting there now. I totally agree with this review. Feels like a lot of people slept on this pearl and never gave it a shot

[@ImInGoodNick]

The rhythm you maintained through this video is incredible. Probably one of if not my favourite video on the platform.

[@batmanstrike8287]

You make an excellent point about putting in secret bosses in the open world, I think it absolutely would have benefited from it. Like imagine if there was another HARDER secret sniper fight, or a CQC type fight that would keep you on your toes

[@billmurray3264]

Other than the fact that your assessment, criticism and pinpointing were highly detailed, justified, discussed and objectively proven. But your fast jokes and out-of-nowhere witty remarks and sarcasm left me chuckling while keeping a focused eye on the different subjects you brought up. Excellent review my guy, video games SHOULD be reviewed thoroughly and in-detail EXACTLY LIKE THIS! I wish you all the best in your future works!!

[@MisterGoose]

I feel like the breaking up into chapters and only having 2 was kinda smart if you look at MGSV, not as a movie, but a TV show. A lot of shows do end after 2 seasons and because each main mission is labeled an “episode” my theory doesn’t feel too off the mark.

[@TescoBrandHeroin]

That's really a smart idea!

[@TheDrunkLawyer]

Honestly it was the fact you said you could never Fulton anyone and still be fine that got me to replay this game. Where I would attempt each mission with stealth, but almost always take only lethal weapons.

[@lantrodijosh6224]

The checkpoint system is so bad during "Listen to all conversation" objectives. So many times i listened to all conversations, then died and it put me again at the start of the mission. Or maybe the guy i was tailing stopped talking for no reason. Or maybe he saw D-Dog, D-Horse or the D-Walker and stopped talking. It's way too easy to break the scripted dialogs and if you listen to all conversations and don't get the luxury of an autosave, most of the times you will need to redo everything if you die/break the script. I wanted to snap the game in half when this bullshit happened. Also why in the f do i need to redo these stupid objectives on the repeated missions from Chapter 2!? I love this game, but seriously the guy who made the "Listen to all Conversations" objectives needs to be fired.

[@jarredlucas4000]

Cringe babbey whaaaa

[@Stealthybat39]

sorry 4 years late, but you can just use the scope to listen to them, you dont have to stay near them, just go to somewhere high and zoom in when they are talking, theres a mic bar too.

[@TechNoir90]

Great review man !! Just discovered this game series a few years ago and no doubt Phantom Pain is my favorite no contest and I will play it forever.

[@identity__thief]

I think what you missed about mother base is that it's the perfect training ground. I practiced melee combos, movement techniques, how the two interact, and so much more there. And then I used them to destroy the enemy. Plus the shower, which incentivises regularly returning and the cutscenes which reward that return.

[@NoName-cz3wn]

I can't believe I never thought to use D-Horse whistle-warping on rescue missions.

[@discountwhiskey]

Love this video, really illustrates a lot of how I feel about this game even years after its release. A great game with some flawed execution but I cant stop coming back to to it.

[@InReserveProductions]

OK, so Demon Snake does affect gameplay, enemies can spot you from much farther away. To the point of it being unfair.

[@KeivReviewsThings]

I didn't know that, thank you for the info! That's just another reason why Demon Snake was a terrible idea then.

[@jharju2352]

That begs the question, does hugging the ground (triangle/Y when prone) hide your horn from the enemies' collective view in a situation where it would otherwise get you spotted?

[@InReserveProductions]

@@jharju2352 That does absolutely nothing, I tried that and got spotted by a helicopter 1km away in the middle of the night.

[@InReserveProductions]

@@KeivReviewsThings Exactly, I would actually recommend trying it out to see how downright ridiculous it is.

[@jharju2352]

@@InReserveProductions That's fucked. Now I'm glad that I preferred nonlethal anyway.

[@jonathancooper8589]

I love how as you progress the game gets wise to your actions. Do mostly headshots? they wear helmets. fluctuate where you shoot them? They wear thicker armour lol

[@huskycruxes7232]

I love all the different approaches to the man on fire gimmick fight. My favorite way is placing c4 on the water tower supports, leading him over there and dropping it on his head

[@natsuelric2153]

Wow. You did amazing work here sir, good job.

[@enenra6417]

For Quiet why didnt they just have her be a regular antagonist after you beat her in mission 8 she disappears. She appears again a few missions later and attempts to Kill Snake, but is defeated and snake spares her. Same thing happens a few missions later Quiet shows up, gets defeated by Snake and he spares her. A few missions later Snake is ambushed by XOF and is nearly killed, but Quiet saves you and joins you because you soared her two times and she realized she was just a pawn for Skull Face and Cipher. Also Mgs5 didnt make me hate Big Boss nah it made me realize how much of a fraud he really is. A thing im surprised you didnt mention is how this game puts us in the shoes of not just Venom Snake, but how the boss felt in mgs3 and when all of her accomplishments were not mentioned in the history books or given to someone else

[@metaldude55ify]

Holy cow. Bravo. This review was STUNNING! I feel like I developed a friendship and appreciation of your true self just listening to this. You just get me!

[@kyledonnelly8069]

A mission editor... You're a genius! That was all it needed! I hope the modders pick that idea up.

[@Moister356]

They are working to implement a level editor to the game or something like that

[@user-ip3fs9sc5b]

I wonder if you'd do a video on the missions of MGSV. Hardly anyone ever talks about the game's level design and the various ways to do each particular mission. Missions like "To know too Much" for most people would just be: go to desert, blow up robots and rescue the dude whilst completely being unaware that if he gets captured before you get to him, a completely new mission emerges at Lamar Khate palace. So a mission review and ranking video would be something I'd be very interested in.

[@KeivReviewsThings]

I've actually considered a variation of that idea. Not so much ranking each mission, simply because there are some missions that I just have nothing interesting to say. But rather, going into my top 10 favorite missions and elaborating why I keep replaying those missions in particular.

[@user-ip3fs9sc5b]

@@KeivReviewsThings I'll look forward to that! Having replayed "Proxy war without end" revently, I realised that depending on how you play it, it doesn't have to be an inferior "Back up, Back down" clone. If you let the battalion enter Nova Braga air port, you can sneak into the base just like in "the war economy" and capture the commander Miller always about at the beginning of the mission that most people never encounter. After that you can use the roof of the main building in the airport to rain hell on the tanks and helicopter, whilst the base starts swarming you. It's just incredible how much missions can completely change like that. Shame that the checkpoint system in this mission can ruin things though.

[@mattmas6628]

@@KeivReviewsThings do that

[@MrRaznov]

Don't you think that's a show of poor level design rather than good level design though? I mean, if (arbitrary number) 90% of your players never find out how good the design is, is it actually good?

[@user-ip3fs9sc5b]

@@MrRaznov I think that's more to do with difficulty, balancing and game mechanics. Most folks can simply dolfin dive into an outpost's main entry and reflex-chicken hat- rocket punch the guards without ever sneaking around the various sections and ignoring most of the base. So less to do with the level design but more to do with other factors.

[@debabratp]

I love this review. The story analysis, in particular, is on point. You didn't just complain about the cut content, but actually dug into the narrative, and explained what works and doesn't work. Great job, man.

[@itsmejinxfromleagueolegendsrea]

I honestly think Chico deserved more story than Liquid. As much as I love Kojima, I think he went for too much spectacle on the story. If he had a year or two more he'd find a way to fix it up. But...

[@kanekiouma6321]

Late, but the reason Skull Face is trying to saturate the nuclear arms market is to replace the English language as Lingua Franca. A language of war, as it is.

[@horizoniki]

What a phenomenal write up as well as masterful editing.. you’ve just earned another subscriber o7

[@AngrishTV]

At around 1:22:00 you ask: If skull face's goal was to exterminate english language, he had the virus strain. Why not let that virus infect English places. You're wrong there, this part where he's driving with snake, he clearly says, he wants to exterminate all the languages of the world. So people speak the language of nukes only. he says he wants a world where every country respects the existence of other, knowing they all have nukes. This is where his market begins. I'm still listening to entire review. You've done an amazing Kojima tier job xD Good work man. Really good work.

[@rahmounimohamed9632]

i remember when quiet left, i was genuinely sad for days, her humming lingered with me as if i had lost a real close friend or family member

[@dumbyboi-c1d]

Daym I’m finding a lot of hidden gem KZbinrs these days

[@itsjustamaziah9509]

Only game this whole generation that kept me around longer than year. And KH3 I waited 6 years for

[@truegamer2819]

even the head shots feels so smooth in both games

[@rebbeca3097]

Bigg boss was a bastard but people tend to forget that just because he believed in Santa Closs

[@ThePhiloSpheres]

1:25:03 its crazy the 'act structure'' makes this game 100x better than whatever bs kojimbo gave us lmao .. the act sequence makes perfect sense in this matter and a little bit of extra cutscenes between each chapter would literally complete the entire acts .. no 'chapter 3' required.. bravo man you solved mgsv pacing problem 👏

[@Kay-Fresh]

😆 Sally is Sahelanthropus Kojimbob is Kojima Red Skulls discolored cousin is Skull Face Anyone I’m missing?

[@CowboyRibeye]

Mr Fiddler

[@Real-jp7lm]

AWESOME review bro!

[@mattb1]

Hot damn dude this was well worth the wait. You hit every point clearly and directly. Your editing was fantastic. The script was great. I loved everything about this review, especially the personal touch about your family and grandmother. Well done.

[@KojiMadarA333]

37:33 how do you fight the Skulls Mist Unit on this location? this is where you do Over The Fence

[@drdurry7536]

I'm torn on many parts of this analysis but your video is so comprehensive that I not only really enjoyed it, but felt the empty gap of appreciation towards this game's story was filled and I loved your interpretation. This game has had my head spinning for 3 fuckin years since I first completed it and it is great to see smaller creators like yourself covering the game with this level of passion.

[@VenomKeenerYT]

36:20 Battle Gear can be used in Dispatch Mission over time if done many you’ll be able to see it’s icon and can be used in the mission. Just a side hint about it.

[@MariaYuri-qo8jy]

huey says that the battle gear is so powerful is changes the battlefield forever yet it can't get the later dispatch mission over 85%...

[@Hack_The_Planet_]

Going fully prone isn’t useless because it actually increases your camo index

[@scottpearson9846]

@1:03:01 you ask about a quote. the entire funeral scene, where the boss refuses to bury them at sea, because the cruel indifference of it is too similar to how the world treats soldiers. he has them made into diamonds, so they can carry their fallen into combat.

[@MOJOE85]

I wish u could send your metal gear on missions to gain supplies etc. Like the Peacemaker (PSP) game

[@DALLAS_1985]

U mean Peace Walker?

[@TheSeaBaer]

honestly we really have to give peace walker such amazing praise for being the guinee pig to all of the amazing systems but i still wish we had metal gear zeke style boss fight where we got to make a monster metal gear of our design and customize and then properly fight and destroy, even use in the unit deployment mechanic or even defend mother base and have random players fight our metal gears. would have been so cool shit i typed this early into watching, glad to know it was a dope idea

[@RemnantCult]

I really appreciate your take on the game and your views on it. Now I want to give it another run even after doing everything I'm interested in and feeling a tiny bit burned out by the ending, even after all these years (I bought my first gaming rig just to play this game). Thank you.

[@gpgrocker]

I'm making this comment early in the video and mostly using it as background audio while I do other stuff. For me, my biggest gripe with TPP is the resources system. If not for how *terribly* it is handled, with being completely unable to AFK the resources being refined and the pain that grinding them is, the game would likely be a 9/10 for me, with a point knocked off due to it being incomplete. But because of how much they fucked up the resource system (along with the weird insistence on online gameplay for resources, those resources being separate, etc etc) it drops to a 6/10 for me. I've been in a mood lately to replay it again bc the main story and gameplay _is_ fantastic, but my ADHD brain just hates the need to grind out resources or mindlessly run around just because I want to be able to develop stuff.

[@daneman8619]

Stick with this. Invest as much time, money and self respect as you can. You've got something. It will work. Can't say when, but if you go all in, it'll pay off.

[@ImInGoodNick]

Such a fantastic review I find myself rewatching it every couple of months.

[@pjf674]

02:03:47 Very good point regarding Eli and the "missing" chapter. Also, we already know where he came from. We know that he lives. And we know what he goes on to do.

[@astrokimball6128]

Honestly the game has some awesome charm, It makes you think outside the box to make it more fun like stealth can be boring but rewarding or you can fist fight an entire base to complete a mission like some MMA fighter on drugs. The game has some insanely funny mechanics to it that just bring out the hilarity in it

[@EplusNis4ever]

i know this video is 2 years old but i would like to add: while kojima has said he wanted to put in an unsatisfying ending on purpose, he has also later admitted that he didnt convey it very well and wish he handled it better

[@vicwaters87]

Source?

[@kingnro1]

I'm seconding Mike here, is there a source? This sounds very plausible, but I don't remember seeing this information ever before.

[@crashbash8549]

Still no source?

[@EplusNis4ever]

@@crashbash8549 oh hi everyone, i didnt know this was getting commented on until now. i just saw it on an article or an interview sometime ago and then saw a bunch of other people on the internet basically say the same thing soon after, so i believed this to be relatively well known. i dont know where i saw it. its probably been a year or more. if i misrememebred and sent you on a wild goose chase, im sorry guys

[@raisklose6785]

Excellent review. Probably the best I've seen on MGSV. I'd love a review on Death Stranding. If you loved this game then there should be quite a lot about DS that you also enjoyed.