Should Metal Gear Solid V Win Game of the Year?

It’s hard to deny that Metal Gear Solid V is perhaps the best installment in the franchise. It took many chances and gamers love it. The open-world and smart AI made every mission like an unnerving challenge, encouraging players to experiment and play using their own strengths. Despite the fact that the story is well written, it still fumbles at times and this is in part because the story is incomplete.

At the end of the game , the player finds out that Venom “Punished” Snake is not Big Boss, but the Medic from the ending of Ground Zeroes. The collector’s edition of Metal Gear Solid V came with a behind the scenes documentary and trailers Blu-Ray disc that revealed a third-act of the game was missing. Because of time constraints, along with Konami and Hideo Kojima’s falling out, this final act was omitted. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube everyone was able to see what was supposed to be the final mission. This mission, called Kingdom of the Flies, had Venom “Punished” Snake going to a new location to bring back the children who escaped Mother Base, eliminate what remains of the English variant of the Vocal Chord Parasite, and bring the surviving children back to Mother Base. Things don’t go according to plan and,after successfully finding Ellie and surviving all the hidden traps scattered throughout the island, Venom would fight Sahelanthropus one last time.

After defeating Ellie, and learning he’s been inflicted with the parasite, Snake leaves Ellie with a gun and a single bullet. Ellie, now about to commit suicide, is saved by Psycho Mantis who not only removes the parasites from his throat and taking him to safely before the island is destroyed by Mother Base. This was supposed to be the true ending of The Phantom Pain, giving Ellie new life and establishing his reasoning behind the events of Shadow Moses.

Many, including myself, complained about Metal Gear Solid V’s strange ending. While not the most stellar conclusion, it offers closure, allowing Metal Gear Solid V to make the transition leading up to the events of Metal Gear. Without it the game feels incomplete.

It’s easy to dismiss these claims, after all Metal Gear Solid V’s crowning achievements are found in the gameplay. A wide open world and diverse mission structures allowed players to construct their own plan to complete each objective. Access to many different types of weapons and unique companions gave players absolute control in every aspect of the game.

This is true, as Venom Snake we create Big Boss’s army that will eventually lead up to the events to Metal Gear. As the player though we are unable to play that final portion of the game still. We’ll never experience the Kingdom of the Flies portion of the game despite it being canon. That entire third act isn’t playable but is part of the game, making it incomplete.

Judging from all the data extracted from the collector’s edition new additions, such as hidden traps and another battle with Sahelanthropus was planned. This couldn’t been added to other environments, as we’ve seen in The Phantom Pain enemies became armed with new weapons and tools as the game progressed.

This new additions would have been added to the other environments, changing them dramatically. New traps could’ve been added to the existing landscapes, adding another challenge to overcome in future missions. It wasn’t only the story that was missing, it was a large portion of gameplay.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is still a fantastic game. One of the best gameplay experiences of the year and an extraordinary conclusion to a legendary franchise. Even with the third act omitted it far exceeded expectations, despite it being still unfinished.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
Twitter | YouTube | Facebook