Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 Xbox One
Metascore
95

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. Impulsegamer
    Sep 13, 2015
    100
    Metal Gear Solid V Phantom Pain is an interactive piece of art that truly pays homage to the original game and successfully expands the franchise into an open-world game.
  2. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Sep 9, 2015
    100
    Long-term fans might feel sad that Kojima doesn't go out in a hail of meta-bullets, but his restraint lets those magnificent ideas breathe, resulting in one of the finest stealth games ever made. [Oct 2015, p.89]
  3. Attack of the Fanboy
    Sep 7, 2015
    100
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will go down as the best-looking, best-playing, and most ambitious game in the series -- one that utilizes the new-gen hardware and the incredible Fox Engine to deliver both a visual masterpiece and more robust gameplay experience than its predecessors.
  5. Guardian
    Sep 3, 2015
    100
    Metal Gear Solid V is a game-changing triumph. It is comfortably the best stealth game yet made. But that accolade sells the game short. This is the final evolution of a video game director’s singular vision, one first painted in the crude pixels of the 1980s and now fully realised, fully resplendent.
  6. IGN
    Sep 1, 2015
    100
    Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is a gameplay marvel, rewarding intelligence and creativity in a way few games do.
  7. GameCrate
    Sep 9, 2015
    98
    This is the Metal Gear universe as it was always meant to be.
  8. MondoXbox
    Sep 19, 2015
    90
    Kojima managed to create the perfect open-world stealth game, giving the player an incredible freedom coupled with great depth and variety. MGS fans will probably dislike its sparse and somewhat unsatisfying storytelling, but it undoubtedly is a masterwork of game design.
  9. ZTGD
    Sep 11, 2015
    90
    On one hand I love the game play. Building up Mother Base, the missions, the stealth and gunplay all feel so refined. The open-world sandbox is endless fun. The Metal Gear portion though sadly disappoints. The boss fights are lackluster, the cut scenes are not as wacky and outlandish as I expected, and the story never really grabbed me.
  10. Gamestyle
    Sep 30, 2015
    80
    With The Phantom Pain, Metal Gear has had its arm removed and replaced with something technically far more impressive.
  11. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Sep 1, 2015
    80
    A fantastic stealth action game that offers an insane amount of ways to play, just don't expect it to feel like your typical Metal Gear experience.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
12
#12 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
6
#6 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1315 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 906 out of 1315
  2. Mixed: 181 out of 1315
  3. Negative: 228 out of 1315
  1. oxXBLADEZXxo
    Sep 1, 2015
    10
    Dont trust the trolls giving this game a rating of zero. The game has just been released. There is no way that someone has already goneDont trust the trolls giving this game a rating of zero. The game has just been released. There is no way that someone has already gone through and completed the game.… Full Review »
  2. partyintheback
    Sep 7, 2015
    3
    As a fan of the Metal Gear series, particularly 1, 2 and 3, this game has left me disappointed. Why is that? First, it's an open world game.As a fan of the Metal Gear series, particularly 1, 2 and 3, this game has left me disappointed. Why is that? First, it's an open world game. Now mind you, I have nothing against open world games. Open world games can be a blast if done right. Since this is the first time Metal Gear has gone open world, I had high expectations that they'd not only meet but exceed their competitors when it came to creating a world that you actually want to explore. I mean, what is the point of making an open world game if it's not interesting to traverse? If you're not going to do that, just make it a linear game like prior games in the series and perfect each space by littering them full of interesting things to see and do. And here is my first complaint with Metal Gear Solid 5: the open world is uninteresting. You have Africa and Afghanistan - both overly brown, void of much life, and little to hold your interest while moving throughout the world. While there are side missions sprinkled throughout the world, the side missions are, sadly enough, entirely filler content that does little to add to the game. Actually, they sort of detract from the game overall. Instead of creating a linear, narrative-driven Metal Gear Solid, they've created an open world, one that doesn't have anything interesting going on in it, and then try to throw in some copy & paste side missions that are incredibly uninteresting and by-the-numbers in their design. But, then, the story must be good, especially if you're a Metal Gear fan, right? Wrong. For whatever reason, Konami replaced their old voice actors with new, more recognizable actors. For example, instead of David Hayter, we get Kiefer Sutherland. Not only does his performance fail in comparison to Hayter's, he rarely even talks throughout the game. And here's another issue: there's barely any cutscenes compared to the prior Metal Gear's. While I'll concede that prior Metal Gear's may have been overkill when it came to cutscenes, but they've swung the pendulum so far from that that there's not enough now. I do agree that the gameplay here is solid and enjoyable, but when the world it takes place in, the narrative that surrounds, and the extra content is so poor, I can't give it praise that it simply doesn't deserve. If you're a fan of open world games, this will disappoint you. If you're a fan of Metal Gear Solid's past, this will disappoint. As a fan of both, I'm floored that people are giving this game high marks. I can only surmise that it's because people were really hyped about it and now they're forgiving issues that they'll soon come to dislike. As is the case very often with people who play games and people who write about them, they sometimes overlook glaring issues when they release and then only come to grips with the fact that the game wasn't all that years down the road. Metal Gear Solid V is one such game.… Full Review »
  3. Silverbow
    Sep 1, 2015
    10
    Even if you have not played MGS before, play this one. If you like Splinter Cell, Far Cry, Hitman, Deus Ex then you will surely like this asEven if you have not played MGS before, play this one. If you like Splinter Cell, Far Cry, Hitman, Deus Ex then you will surely like this as it's better than all of them

    The open world nature gives you unparalleled freedom in approaching missions as you see fit. It's not a question of guns blazing vs stealth, it's more like you have 10 stealth approaches and 10 guns blazing approaches, at least.

    The base building and research components are so well developed. you really feel like you can direct an army of people to help you achieve goals the way you want to achieve them.

    The variety in guns and other tools boggles the mind.

    Game of the year guaranteed.    … Full Review »
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