a rare piece of art, the kind of thing that is simultaneously so on the pulse of the moment in which it was released and so prescient of everything that will come after it. metal gear solid 2 is one of those pieces that is just about absolutely everything, containing comments on the sociopolitical machinations of world governments and the conspiratorial nature of politics, questions about who we really are as individuals and what our true duty is to those around us, analysis of the very nature of the gaming medium and what it means to be a player acting out violence for enjoyment, and tales of grief and loss and how we can try to move forward from crushing depression. it might be trite to say but this is the end of evangelion of the gaming sphere, constantly subverting expectation at every single turn and making the player complicit in every action that takes place before asking them to question what it is all for in the end. there's obviously so much more that can be said about this deeply layered and beautiful piece of art, but it's also the type of game that makes you want to replay it immediately the second it's over, so i'll save more detailed thoughts for my next run through. suffice to say this is not only a new all-time game for me, but one of those things that will latch itself on to my brain and i won't be able to stop thinking about it for months or even years after it's over.