Before playing this, the only other games I’d played in the franchise were both Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But after years of hearing people nag on those games for being “underwhelming” and lacking in the story, I can finally see why.

Now, this certainly isn’t a masterpiece of a story, but it’s so unbelievably dark, detailed and unique that I can’t help but love it, packed to the brim with colourful characters and abrasive plot twists. It can get silly, but nothing can ruin how genuine, and how important this game feels, and the great thematic heights it aims for. Even the voice acting alone puts this game far ahead of its time, but both the story and gameplay have barely aged in many aspects. The mechanics that feel like the developers stole them from the future. Creative levels that reward the player for exploration. Art direction that leaves the game feeling like a fever dream. All of these elements, coming together with unique bosses, great pacing, and rewarding mechanics, give you all the things you’d want in a game like this, and more.

Now, there are a few “lacking” aspects, but I’d primarily put them down to age, e.g. stiff movement controls. But here are a couple of features that annoyed me: For starters, the checkpoints are a little annoying. I wish it would spawn you closer to the area you died in, mainly regarding the bosses. Sometimes their patterns are so unpredictable/specific that you’re simply forced to die and go right back to, you guessed it, those lame checkpoints (cough Gray Fox fight). It relies a little too much on trial and error for my liking. Which ties into a lesser issue - backtracking. It was irritating whenever the game made you traverse half the map to obtain/configure an item, but thankfully, those moments were scarce throughout.

Ultimately, this game, both then and now, remains an essential and near perfect experience. Metal Gear Solid is a game that thrives on constant surprises. Just as you think it’s pulled all of its tricks out of the hat, even past the end, it always reaches for one last go.