Open-World Games Failed to Learn From Metal Gear Solid 5

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In a nutshell, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain was an exceptional open-world game, but other titles in the genre have struggled to learn from its many insights. Hideo Kojima is renowned for his storytelling prowess, crafting captivating characters and intricate narratives brimming with symbolism, surprises, and jaw-dropping moments. Moreover, he excels at designing unparalleled gameplay experiences – think about traversing a post-apocalyptic wasteland in Death Stranding or hiding in a cardboard box during Metal Gear Solid escapades. Simply put, there’s no one else in the gaming industry quite like Hideo Kojima. He’s a creative visionary, but unfortunately, many developers continue to rely on tired formulas rather than pushing the boundaries as he does.

Despite some criticism about an allegedly incomplete storyline in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, its gameplay exceeded expectations and delivered on the impressive promises made by Kojima and Konami prior to its launch. They had hyped up the game as the first fully open-world Metal Gear title with numerous appealing features. While gamers are often cautious about marketing hype promising more than a game can deliver, Metal Gear Solid 5 offers outstanding stealth-action gameplay that ranks among the best in the genre.

Why Metal Gear Solid 5‘s Gameplay Is Still So Good 10 Years Later

When considering great gameplay, I always start by evaluating the controls. How intuitive are the movements? How much freedom do I have to make decisions about actions, and so forth. In essence, does the game allow for a seamless response to events just as quickly as if I were actually Big Boss in a real combat scenario? That’s my benchmark. Metal Gear Solid 5 truly enhances the player’s control through its gameplay mechanics.

You can move across the ground in various ways, such as rolling, which helps you avoid danger or slip out of an enemy’s view without having to stand up and expose yourself as a larger target. It’s not like you’re stuck to the ground and forced to contort your body in unnatural positions that no one would do in real life. The shooting action is fast-paced and exhilarating, particularly when you manage to pull off a dramatic slow-motion headshot at the last second to take out an enemy before they can sound the alarm. The driving portion is also enjoyable, as it allows you to spin your Jeep around corners while enemies shoot mortars and bullets at you.

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The game offers a finely tuned control experience that’s both engaging and entertaining, and this sense of command extends to its customization features too. You’re able to arm and equip all your weapons, stock up on various gadgets, and even bring a vehicle or ally along every time you set out. In many ways, it resembles the game Death Stranding. Before embarking on a mission, you meticulously prepare, but the real excitement lies in adapting to situations as they unfold.

In the expansive open-world of Metal Gear Solid 5, the environment responds dynamically to your gaming style. For instance, if you prefer taking down enemies with precise headshots, they’ll start donning helmets for protection. If you enjoy using heavy weapons, they’ll equip themselves with tough armor. The AI even gets cunning by planting decoys that can be difficult to distinguish from real individuals at a distance. Shooting one of these decoys will alert the enemies. Consequently, you must stay agile and ready to adjust your strategies since the AI adapts according to your playstyle. It’s like playing an interactive game of chess where each move is met with a countermove by the opponent.

Gratefully, this game offers a vast playground that allows for some creative mayhem. You can summon a helicopter to unleash devastation, camouflage in a supply truck to infiltrate bases undetected, or charge in with a tank or mech. I’ve witnessed players using Fulton balloons to levitate an enemy, then drop them onto another to incapacitate them. Intriguingly, enemies can stumble over you if you’re ascending a ladder while they’re descending, causing them to plummet to their demise.

Replaying Metal Gear Solid 5 is always enjoyable due to the intricate blend of various game mechanics. The unique combinations of these systems enable a multitude of creative approaches during missions or outpost clearance. It’s not just about blasting your way through with an assault rifle or silently taking down everyone via stealth. You can kidnap enemies for interrogation, crush them under a car, or even have your canine companion perform deadly knife attacks on them. The sheer variety ensures that the game remains engaging and full of surprises.

How Other Games Failed to Learn from MGS5

In Metal Gear Solid 5, there’s a hint of Ubisoft’s method where numerous bases scattered across the map can be cleared out. These bases serve various purposes: some are for side missions, others merely for additional activities. But unlike in other games, Hideo Kojima didn’t simply replicate this formula. Instead, he made the AI learn from your actions, resulting in altered bases each time you return. This means that strategies and tactics used previously may not work every time, compelling players to explore different game mechanics and engage with all aspects of the game, rather than relying on the same weapons or strategies repeatedly.

One intriguing video game that explores the concept of an interactive open-world is Dying Light 2. Depending on the story decisions you make, it can significantly alter aspects of the world and even introduce fresh hazards. The developers at Techland mentioned that approximately half of the game would remain undiscovered during your initial playthrough due to the vast array of choices available. Regrettably, these features were not included in the final release, leaving many players disappointed, despite Dying Light 2 still being a highly-rated game overall.

Kojima clearly aimed high with Metal Gear Solid 5, and managed to hit the mark in terms of gameplay, where many other open-world games have fallen short. These days, it seems like most open-world titles just involve running around and ticking off tasks, but this could be avoided if there was more freedom within the sandbox gameplay and a world that felt more alive. Maybe it’s time for some developers to focus less on creating bigger worlds and instead think about how they can make a smaller map feel incredibly replayable by adding depth to the gameplay, like in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes.

In the Metal Gear Solid series, Hideo Kojima has been innovating and pushing gameplay boundaries for years, offering some of the most immersive gaming experiences. However, due to other games that are more commercially popular, it seems like we’re focused on following trends rather than choosing games based on quality. Even in Metal Gear Solid 5, there is potential for improvement, but it appears that developers are more concerned with keeping up with the latest open-world game trends instead of refining and enhancing the existing gameplay.

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2025-09-10 01:15