A fragmentary, misunderstood masterpiece, meticulously crafted and laced with imperfection; a narrative half-resolved, a broken ouroboros. However its framed, the waves of post-release critique surrounding the ninth and final instalment of Kojima Productions’ techno-stealth thriller series often describes the game as brilliant despite it finding new and creative ways to dumbfound its audience, recontextualise plotlines and retcon character arcs along the way. These points of view are largely at odds with Metal Gear Solid V’s near-universally perfect review scores. For the most part, reviewers praise The Phantom Pain’s immersive open world, its innovative gameplay fostering player freedom.

This feature isn’t an attempt to demystify MGSV’s discombobulating narrative though; there’re already plenty of feature length analyses and series-spanning deep dives dissecting Metal Gear’s tapestried narrative floating round the internet. No, instead, this feature places MGSV’s prowess as a stealth title firmly between the crosshairs, taking aim at the strengths propping Big Boss aka Venom Snake’s final foray as the zenith of stealth games. So, let’s get started.