Pacing is easily one of the most vital aspects of a video game, and nailing it can be a dreadful task for a developer. It’s a medium that requires balancing elements of narrative and gameplay mechanics for the entirety of the experience, and when that is not done right – things can quickly start to fall off track. Of course, that doesn’t mean that games that exhibit such tendencies turn out to be objectively bad but having pacing issues does leave a sour taste in the mouth. With this feature, we will be taking a look at 10 such games that do start out strong, but tend to get a lot less interesting as you inch towards the end credits.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Kojima Productions delivered one of the best stealth experiences of recent memory with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. The game meshes together a great story filled with underlying themes along with an open world that’s quite literally a playground of possibilities. It’s one of the best games that use the concept of systemic world design to the fullest extent, and it’s really fun to bend these systems to your will and come up with interesting solutions to a variety of problems.
The game starts out really strong, and Kojima ensures gradual progression as new tools start to open up and missions get more complex with new enemy types and labyrinthian designs – forcing you to use everything in your arsenal to get through it all. But once you get past Mission 31, you notice that the “new missions” are actually just rehashed older missions with new mission clear constraints tacked on top for good measure. It’s still fun to clear out these missions, but stripping away the freedom to cause chaos can also turn some people off – and that coupled with the fact that it’s all essentially rehashed content built to pad out the game can tamper with the enjoyment.
