## Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – Review
*Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain* was actually my first proper MGS game, and honestly, it was one hell of a way to get introduced to the series. I went into it knowing very little about the overall story, but the game immediately got me interested in the bigger picture. Who are these people? What happened to them? Why does everyone seem to have some sort of history with everyone else? The more I played, the more I wanted to understand what was actually going on.
The gameplay is easily one of the strongest parts of the game. The open-world approach gives you a ridiculous amount of freedom in how you approach missions. You can sneak through an area, snipe enemies from a distance, go in guns blazing, use your buddies to help, or come up with some completely stupid plan that somehow works. There are plenty of tools and weapons to experiment with, and the base-building and recruiting systems give you plenty to do outside of the main missions.
What really impressed me, though, was how much the game made me want to learn about the wider MGS universe. Since this was my first game in the series, I was constantly looking up characters, events and references to figure out what the hell was happening. Instead of putting me off, it had the opposite effect—it made me want to go back and experience the older games to understand the full story.
Hideo Kojima did a great job bringing everything together, especially considering how complicated the MGS storyline can get. The characters, twists and overall mystery kept me invested throughout the game.
The biggest shame is that the game feels unfinished. Knowing what happened behind the scenes with Kojima and Konami makes it even more frustrating, because you can clearly see that there was more planned. Some story elements feel like they were cut short or left hanging, and it leaves you wondering what the finished version could have looked like if Kojima had been able to complete his vision.
Despite that, *The Phantom Pain* is still an incredible game. It got me hooked on a series I had barely touched before, and for that alone, it deserves a lot of credit. The gameplay is fantastic, the freedom is ridiculous, and the mystery surrounding the characters and story kept me playing long after I probably should have stopped.
For a game that was my introduction to MGS, it definitely did its job. It made me want to know more—and that's probably the biggest compliment I can give it.
**Overall: 9/10.**
Fantastic gameplay, tons of freedom and a story that got me completely hooked on the MGS universe. It's just a shame Kojima never got the chance to fully finish what he started.
