Review: Metal Gear Solid 5 is cliched, confused, and utterly brilliant

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain arrives under so much hype, expectation, and otaku-fever that it’s almost destined to fail. In true Kojima fashion, this is a polarising game, one where the highest of highs is offset with lowest of lows. It distorts much of what has made the third-person stealth action series so revered, replacing the heavily structured levels of old with an open-world setting that allows for a more flexible approach. The series' latest iteration presents greater opportunities to succeed spectacularly and fail wretchedly. An RPG-like system of unlocking and upgrading weapons requires you think four or five moves ahead, while an AI-controlled "buddy" option provides the kind of obliging assistance that many would consider sacrilege in a game of this type.

Despite the distortion, however, MGS V never feels like anything less than Metal Gear Solid. It's this—the way the game drastically alters series tropes while simultaneously staying true to the essence of a Big Boss adventure—that singles out Kojima as a master designer. Partly, it's thanks to the core mechanics remaining largely the same. Playing as the special operations soldier Punished "Venom" Snake (aka Big Boss), you creep around hallways, bushes, crates, or whatever other conveniently placed bits of cover are lying around, quietly taking out soldiers with a choke, slam, or a smooth disarm. There are a few minor differences—a day and night cycle introduces different patrols, while interrogations look a little different—but this is very much a Metal Gear Solid game at heart.

Where Kojima's design chops come into play are in the differences. The open-world descriptor, for instance, hints at a Grand Theft Auto or Skyrim-like expanse to explore. But while you can travel through the opening Afghanistan region to your heart's content—coming across enemy outposts and bases, hunting the fauna, gathering the flora, and enjoying the way the light dramatically alters the desert horizon as day turns to night—the majority of important locations can only be found by following a set path through a closed canyon or along a narrow ridge.