METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

Best gameplay out of all them, still prefer the console version, story was not bad but some of the main missions just felt like they could be side op missions, overall what a great game, sadly we never got chapter 3

Kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, this is the best game in the series mechanically. On the other, it is by the worst narratively, and your mileage on that will vary depending on how big a fan of the rest of the series you are; ironically, the clearly unfinished nature of the back half of this means that casual fans and newcomers will probably get the most out of this. Still, chapter 2 is straight up terrible. Hours upon hours of transparent padding (literal repeated missions! That are not optional!) in a slow trudge to an ending that is genius in theory but woefully miscalculated in execution -- this exact heel turn was so much more effective and disturbing in Sons of Liberty, which this is clearly quoting (Mother Base looking exactly like the main setting of MGS2 is clearly no accident). The AU version of this game where Kojima didn't spend the last third of development in an uphill battle with Konami is probably the greatest video game ever made. The one we have is still a very fun stealth game, and probably the best game to ever be released in a clearly unfinished state.

MGSV is among my most played games. Other stealth games I've enjoyed include Splinter Cell, Dishonored, and Hitman. MGSV absolutely hits the spot as a giant open-world stealth sandbox. Even 10 years after its release, it still holds up—both the gameplay and the graphics.

The freedom to complete missions however you like is unmatched. You can go full stealth or guns blazing if you want. You unlock a lot of weapons, gadgets, and tools which make replaying missions lots of fun just trying out new approaches. Different companions support different playstyles too, whether you want to zip across the map or have combat support. After playing for a bit, I'd encourage you to look up how others play because you'll have these "aha" moments all the time learning how to make full use of the kit the game provides.

At times, it's a wonderfully silly game too, and one that doesn't take itself too seriously. The cardboard box, for example, being a totally valid stealth tool. You can also put posters of women on the outside of the box to lure guards to you, then knock them out. Or you can request supplies via parachute and drop them directly on an enemy's head. Just look up videos on YouTube of people doing funny things in MGSV and you'll get what I mean.

I didn't play any previous MGS games and just jumped right into this. As a result, the story was confusing at times. I'm not sure how much of the confusion is just it being a Kojima game though. In any case, some major story beats probably didn't hit as hard because I didn't play the previous games, but it's still an enjoyable and interesting. Cutscenes are very cinematic. There's a lot of underlying messages and themes in the story.

I've gotten 2 long playthroughs of ~80 hours each, once at launch and another more recently. And I still haven't unlocked everything or replayed every mission the way I wanted, so there's a lot of game left for me still. So if stealth games are your thing, you'll probably get a lot of mileage out of this game.

A classic, great gameplay, the freedom to tackle missions form different angles is really fun!
If you can get it with a discount do so, be careful with mods though as some of them may get you banned from servers, however some of them really improve the quality of life, gameplay and replayability of the game.

While Konami harmed the story greatly by shoving it out the door, it's still top-notch stealth and action gameplay.

I was INVISIBLE during these stealth missions. The walls of the soviet facility were made out of METAL for some reason. I wonder what more of tactical GEAR I missed out on. SOLID game, 5/5. Soviet soldiers thought I was PHANTOM during one of these missions. It did leave me in PAIN after I found out that DURAN DURAN's song was really hard to find.

MGSV is a fundamentally unfinished game that contains brief glimpses of a world where it is the best video game efur made. i recommend it, but i recommend the chip and ironicus let's play over actually playing it. the latter is free and does a good job of exploring REALLY thoroughly what this game has to offur. if you're a sicko though, absolutely get this game. there are things this game does well that modern video games are still despurrately trying to recapture a decade later.

Fabulous game, and one of the greatest of the 2010s. As the last installment in the Metal Gear franchise before Kojima left the studio, he masterfully weaves themes of war, leadership, and the everlasting struggle of humanity's duality.

It's hard to truly express its impact without diving too deep into the story, but I'm sure that anyone who has played this game will understand its general ethos.

Beyond the artistic aspects, the game is also tons of fun. At the time of its release, Kojima had been perfecting his take on the action-stealth genre for the better part of two decades since 1998, and it shows. Brilliant stealth mechanics, a truly diverse range of gadgets that allow you to tackle situations in whichever way you want, and a detailed world that feels fleshed out.

Incredible game.

Out of the MGS games i've played this is my favorite. It's story is kind.. ok... but the gameplay makes up for it imo. While MGS 1-3 all have better stories none of them have me coming back like this one does. I still want to finish 100% this game despite the amount of content it has. Alongside Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom this game is one of the few open world games I have truly loved.

very swagger game i punched kids for 3 hours once i popped into africa (im not racist it was just funny)

Such an epic game that just makes you yearn for more. It is truly epic

I never had thought that I would find this game a masterpiece which went under my radar for 9 years.. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is damn solid and wholesome gaming experience and the way that how it succeeds to invent itself over and over again chaining me to my chair for hours and hours, made me realize how addicting and destructing the gaming can be to busy adult life. ^^

Jokes aside, the thing which makes it even more amazing is that its almost a decade old game and technically nothing becomes even close to the features that let's you to be an ultimate commando going guns and cannons blazing like Rambo or wiping an entire village of enemies in silence like a Predator. Stealth is one of or even the hardest genre to create properly for it needs so strict and delicate work to provide an outcome that gameplay won't feel too frustrating or too easy. The experience should be hard to master, but yet again so easy to learn and rewarding. This is the thing where the game shines like a diamond thanks to features like Reflex Mode and eternal freedom to choose your tactical approach on big wide open areas that gives you just the right amount of freedom and mercy to fix a mistake, but yet again won't forgive you much more than that. Although even if you should mess up bad you are usually gonna be okay for Snake can take a bullet or two, especially if you have handled most of the enemies at breaking point. In my whole playthrough I cursed unfairness only few times while messing my well proceeding stealth and all the rest of hundreds of times I knew that blowing was on me and only my own mistake. While stealth gets a bit more complicated when the game proceeds this is compensated by achieved technology making the game even more entertaining! By unlocking even better assets and weaponry with money achieved throughout main missions, side missions and sold resources you'll find yourself taking the enemies quicker and badassier and just when you might feel satisfied the game provides you with something even better. All this huge variety of tactical approach is set into big open world of two large areas welcoming you always with something fresh.

In addition of doing missions and earning money you also manage your base that is pretty straightforward, but adds a nice features to fill it by volunteers and enemies you extract from battlefields. Each recruited has different skills and especially in the beginning it is always exciting to be able to extract some very talented enemy to your ranks, especially after you have risked the whole operation to neutralize that one guy non lethally. The safest and most stable way is to kill enemies of course, but getting some specialist to your team can be that crucial it'll be wothy to take the chance. The better your staff is the better your stuff is - shortly describing this is about your gear, support, intel gathering tools, and medical assets. After certain point getting enemies extracted and volunteers become so easy that this is no longer so huge deal, but especially in the early missions the talented specialist or elite among normal soldiers is like a rare Pokemon waiting to be tamed.

After spending over 90 hours with it and beating the main storyline, only thing which bugs me could be described as phantom pain for the feeling that something is missing and was cut out - a flaw in the game which despite of this ranks so high in my book. The storyline is odd and unfinished and while it delivers some epic cutscenes with twists and turns somehow the execution dryes out a little bit, but just enough that it is obvious that devs and Hideo Kojima might have ran out of time to transcribe the plot and rearrange/recompose some scenes. Knowing that many mock this game for the story I therefore add that I am not claiming that the story would be bad, but rather a disappointment of the lost opportunity that had made this an ultimate game with a plot which the rest of the game's majesty should have deserved. On the other hand knowing Hideo's nature to create mysterious phenomons like P.T. it could have been a plan all along to leave the player wondering "whatta feck" time to time. Although there is some material of deleted scenes which prove that something was meant to be attached and this have made a fans all over the world to theorize and speculate how the things would have wrapped originally - some even say that the missing chapter is still hidden in the game never to be discovered and this just underlines how epic this game is and how its legend lives on. Lives on in Tabula Rasa, for Kojima got actually fired for the game, as ridiculous it sounds, but game industry is business like any other and this game took 80 million dollars to make, which technically shows, but the selling numbers did not match nearly with this.

Nevertheless, buy this game! I don't care in full price or in sale, for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a classic and it's value priceless and solid like a platinum even with its loose end! Just remember to pick The Definitive Edition to pick the short, but vital introduction chapter Ground Zeroes.

MGSV is my first Metal Gear game so I don't really understand the story, although I hear nobody does anyways. The game play is very fun and dynamic though, with a ton of tools you can use to accomplish fun missions.

the feet models and textures are insanely detailed holy kojima another masterpiece in story telling bravo

With regards to the story, it is one of the weakest MGS titles, but gameplay-wise it is top-notch. Tons of weapons, items and battle gear to upgrade and configure so one can very easily spend 100-200h on this gem. Even with it's (very few) shortcomings, it is a must-play for most gamers.

Walking by the wall
The shadows will not fall
Is silently ignored
Discouraged by the noise
Living without choice
Is a life without a voice

When you can't even say my name
Has the memory gone? Are you feeling numb?
Go and call my name
I can't play this game, so I ask again
Will you say my name?
Has the memory gone? Are you feeling numb?
Or have I become invisible?

It's sad that the story wasn't finished properly, but the game and the game-play are peak for the Metal Gear Solid franchise.

A good game but it is VERY long to complete. Good graphics, sound, and combat.

A decade after its release , there still isn't any military open world stealth game. I've 100% this game on ps4 back in the day. But bought this game on pc as this is a MUST HAVE for stealth fans. This game is a TIMELESS MASTERPIECE. Is it perfect ? NO !!! Its an INCOMPLETE GAME, WITH INCOMPLETE STORY due to the abrupt exit of KOJIMA. But what's here is UNMATCHED TACTICAL STEALTH ESPIONAGE GAMEPLAY. Every mission can be completed in how much ever varieties you can think of. Fox engine offers great performance and solid visuals. 10/10 for gameplay !!!

This is in my top 5 best games. more than a decade later I still play it. Matter of fact there's no other game with the same quality as this one. Peace walker maybe you get the mechanics and sandbox but nothing as well put together as this masterpiece. Also 'she needs to be half naked because she feeds through photosynthesis' is one of the best plot points ever fabricated

What a game!

Build your own army and take on missions using a candy shop of toys and tools. While this isn't a traditional Metal Gear game in terms of story, what it is, is incredibly immersive and engaging. One of the best stealth games of the modern era.

Set during era of the cold war you sneak around collecting resources to build your base of operations, and recruit soldiers of various talents by putting them to sleep or holding them up, and attaching a giant balloon to their backs. hahaha. It's a wild ride.

Pros. for a 2015 game, it still goes as smooth as the games until now
Cons. literally chapter 2 was unfinished, it was great until then. (story and gameplay)

Absolutely perfect, down to each and every minute detail. Venoms story was sad, the end had me staring at the screen for a good 5 minutes. Love the game play, side content is standard and the harder versions of the story missions are excellent. Weapon variety perfect. When you can't even say my name
Has the memory gone? Are you feeling numb?
Go and call my name
I can't play this game, so I ask again
Will you say my name?
Has the memory gone? Are you feeling numb?
Or have I become invisible?

Truly a staple in stealth games

ive been playing this game on xbox since release, been on and off pc through the years and the game never disappoints me. the replay value is 10/10 and the FOB missions are what keep me interested. im sad the story never got finished but i love the mgs franchise and love this game to the end. if you havent ever played this, definitely give it a shot, you wont regret it. just keep your gmp out of the red.

There is genuinely very little I would change about this game. The missions are excellent, the gameplay is tight, and the graphics hold up super well.

Is the story dumb? Sure. Is Quiet a completely ridiculous character? Yes. Is Hideo Kojima an insane person? You betcha. Still an incredible game.

Love this game use to play it a lot on the old PS3, still great even in 2025.

This game came out almost 10 years ago and its immeasurably better than the vast majority of triple A games that have released since then. Konami may be pieces of isht but Kojima cancels that out and I can't stop playing. This game is fucking amazing. If you've never played Metal Gear before dont let the prologue mission turn you away. I have 52 hours in this game and Im only barely playing through the second region in the game because you can sink that much time into it and still find new stuff to do. It rewards you for taking your sweet time and doing everything perfectly, and the best part is that absolutely none of it feels like a chore.

I love D Dog

buy this game please

Even though Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released back in 2015, it still holds up as one of the best open-world stealth games ever made. The gameplay is smooth, the AI is challenging, and the amount of freedom you have in completing missions is unmatched. The story might be divisive, but the attention to detail and immersive world make up for it.

Even after all these years, few games can match the depth and creativity of MGSV. If you haven't played it yet, you're missing out on an incredible experience.

Thank you, Kojima, for this masterpiece

One of the best game i've ever played, if you're only thinking about buying or playing it i recommend it without thinking even at full price, you have a shit tonne of content, i recommend very strongly

i bet the main story game within 12 days, i already knew all the spoilers from watching game play late of last year. sitting down and actually playing the game myself made me love it 100000% more, its so well written and some parts even made me cry, this has to be one of my favorite games of all time, the only complaints is how hard a "certain" mission is, i wont spoil it but god i had to try a billion times, this game is so beautifully written and i love kojima and the way he writes his games, especially the MGS franchise.

This game made me turn into a kleptomaniac who can only think of stealing anything and anyone that isn't bolted to the ground. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T FULTON A HELICOPTER!!! LIQUIIIIIIIIIIDDD!!!!

Way too repetitive and grindy for a single player game.

Side missions are all the same, and the increasing cost of developing and researching new weapons and tools take way too much money and time to be worthwhile.

And since all these "30h+" of mine I have spent in it is only around 25% of the completion, I am not gonna spend 120h+ to try and 100% it. Not valuing my time.

Outside of that, game is kinda fun, but again, except actually rather capable AI for its time, gunplay is atrocious. Aiming sucks, recoil does not make sense, and unless you are doing quiet one-shot-headshot kind of kills, good lucking doing anything else.

Hideo Kojima's last game in the metal gear franchise and one of the best in terms of gameplay. It took me 126 hours to get all achievements but it was fun through almost all of it. Def one of the better stealth games of the decade, play it 100%.

This game is an absolute masterpiece! Not to mention, this game is extremely well optimized.

Fantastic game, despite the bad story.

Honestly the best gameplay in the entire series, I don’t care if it wasn’t completely finished it is one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had and I’d honestly put it in my top 10 favorite games of all time.

great tactial game with multipale ways to complete a mission, and a rich story. very good game

Such a beautifully made game in so many ways, from the design of the story and how it plays out to so many small details to be discovered, this game was above and beyond what could have been expected of the series. A shame it could not be finished properly, but even then this is still one of the best games I've ever played and my personal favorite of the series (aside from MGRR, but Jack's story was awesome for different reasons)

Regardless, if you are thinking about mayyyybe buying this game, just get it. It's Kojima's beautiful Goodbye love letter to us. You'd be rude not to accept it <3

Has one of the best gameplay and a nice interesting story that adds more to the series.

I thought I beat the game after beating the dumb ahh purple 🥷🏿but apparently it only unlocked nuclear weapons and im a dumb lil birch. 🤷🏻

Game is about a Phantom.

The first 5 hours are boring as hell. Once you unlock some weapons and tools, the game becomes very fun to play

Fun and challenging, a interesting open world type game. I think the only thing I disliked was that the game was meant for controller and I dont play controller so having to do the opposite direction to turn right or left was challenging. I did also have a hard time not laughing when I hear "Why are we still here? Just to suffer" because that is such a funny meme and it was interesting to play the game where the meme came from. Overall fun but the same map over and over does get annoying. And shout out to TheRussianBadger for making a video of the game and making me interested in playing it for myself.

This is one of the best metal gear solid games out there in terms of the gameplay and mechanics ofc, the story is a bit strange but i really enjoyed everything about the gameplay, best part about the game is how you get to use a wide variety of gadgets,weapons and the buddy system is also a really cool feature, thanks mr kojima

This game's gunplay is unmatched, the movement is grounded but not to the point where it feels restrictive, the missions have high replay value, the base management elements give you a reason to not just kill everybody you see and the game is incredibly well optimized while still looking good 9 years later

Its just a shame that if you don't play/read up on MGS1, Snake Eater, Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes the story will be utterly incomprehensible like the campaigns of several COD games got mixed in with Silent Hill and GI Joe all told from the prespective of a man tripping off enough hospital grade Morphine to kill a whale

I personally enjoy this game maybe too much and all the previous metal gear players say it sucks and you would have to play the others to understand. I have never played all the others and , I love it. From the fluidity of how it runs to the array of things you can do, this game is a true masterpiece. I mean think about it this way, what other game can you ride around Afghanistan in a vehicle freshly stolen from an enemy base, with a sniper shooting things and people on your command, a rocket arm that you can detach and fly around to hit people with at your leisure, with your attack helicopter reigning hell on an enemy base, all while listening to "take on me"? And the main story and dare I say the only reason this game has so much hate is because of the ending (which they kind of smoothed out with four different possible endings . So I emplore you, now that you have this knowledge at hand, go get metal gear solid 5, play it and love it like I have, and when you do get to the ending, don't throw the game away, replay it or go to online or do some FOBs but above all else, help me make sure this game goes down as a great game and an even better metal gear game.

Great game

Despite its narrative flaws and the disappointingly misleading trailers prior to its launch in 2016 (poor 16 year old me), this game is one of the strongest installments in the Metal Gear Franchise and perhaps the strongest stealth game in terms of gameplay still today. Great mechanics and very fun. Narratively awkward.

One of Kojima's finest, and misunderstood masterpieces.

The FOX engine provides one of the smoothest and crisp gameplays you'll ever receive out of the Tactical Stealth Espionage genre, with satisfying movement, gunplay, and graphics that still hold up in 2025.

The Story:

The story is one of the most misunderstood parts of the game, and this is largely due to people either not being well-versed in Metal Gear lore, or simply lack story comprehension, which in this game, is told a lot more differently compared to previous titles.

Instead of CODEC calls, most of the conversations that are important to the story are contained in cassettes, which you have the option of listening to. I believe this to be something that Kojima implemented, as a means to not cause people to complain or be bored if these were done as CODEC calls, because there is a LOT of conversations, way too many to fit into CODEC's.

The story is crushing, it is a representation of veiling evil as "good", with pursuit against "evil" being an act of revenge, veiled as "justice".

[SPOILER]

The biggest part of this "good" veiling as "evil" is the way the real Big Boss turns his most trusted lieutenant to be a phantom of himself, to uphold Diamond Dogs while he works in secrecy to develop his own plans. He uses his phantom the same way the US government used Big Boss in the end of Metal Gear 3, a pawn for a bigger picture in the war economy.

Metal Gear Solid V is more than a game, it's a message, which has stood the path of time for 10 years, in being the quality that all games should look up to being like.

Once you complete the game completley. You get so compelled to reset and go again. Something allways brings you back.