Is Metal Gear Solid 5 A Misunderstood Masterpiece?

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain released to a mixture of rave reviews and endless criticism of its inconclusive resolution and seemingly absurd plot twist. The concluding chapter in the Metal Gear Solid saga is said to center on themes of revenge, but there are deeper thematic elements at play too.

Most notably, the theme of loss is explored at length in the game’s 50+ hour narrative. As with much of Kojima’s output, this is a story open to interpretation, but this feature argues that MGSV has a sense of incompleteness because it’s one point in a circular story. Most notably, the endless cycle of war as portrayed in Venom’s choice to carry on Big Boss’s legacy support this notion, but there are other thematic elements discussed in the feature too.