“I don’t want to tell tales out of school here, but I was told, and don’t make this a story because this could be nonsense […] The idea would be to do a third [Master Collection] with Revengeance and a cleaned-up version of 5, because that never got a fancy console version. I think it’s still good on PC.”

While Miller noted that it would be great if the “cleaned-up” version of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain also included all of the content that was notoriously cut out of the game before its release, he said that it is likelier to simply be a 60 FPS version of the game running on modern platforms. Interestingly, he also expressed interest in the inclusion of the much-maligned Metal Gear Survive in a potential third collection.

“The third one would be the last one they can do because they’ve done all the games and then they’ll see what they go forward with in terms of like the Delta remakes and stuff, but yeah, I think it’s nice that Metal Gear is in this place again.” He also raises the question of whether Konami would eventually make a Metal Gear Solid 6 at some point.

A third collection that includes Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance would be especially notable since console players can’t really access it aside from backwards compatibility on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for its Xbox 360 version. PlayStation gamers, on the other hand, would need to get a PS3 to play it. When it comes to modern hardware, PC is essentially the only way to experience Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance in all of its glory. There are also questions about the rights for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, since the title was developed entirely by PlatinumGames.

As for Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, a modern console version would likely be a welcome sight for many PS5 and Xbox Series X/S gamers since the original PS4 and Xbox One release has likely aged quite poorly due to it being more than a decade old at this point.

In the meantime, Metal Gear fans who never owned a PS3 can now finally play Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots thanks to the release of Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2. The title was originally released all the way back in 2008, and before last week, it was essentially stuck in limbo due to the difficulties of porting PS3 games to other platforms.

For more details about it, along with the remastered version of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, check out our review of Master Collection Vol. 2.

Tekken 8

The Tekken saga has always been drenched in betrayal that helps it stand outfrom the rest of the crowd, but Tekken 8 pushes that intensity higher than ever. That increase in intensity can be felt across each punch, kick, and slam as these hulking behemoths fight each other to the death. The generational curse of the Mishima family continues, and we find Jin at an interesting crossroads – continuing down the dark path of revenge much like Heihachi or Kayuza, or try to become a better man and break free from the cycle of violence. The fights here carry emotional weight beyond the tournament stage, and that makes this journey a lot more compelling to complete than prior entries in the series.

I’m talking, of course, about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a title that found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons a decade ago. While I can’t believe it’s been ten years already, I also think back to how disappointed I was after my first playthrough, my expectations shattered after finishing a game that I felt was adversely affected by Kojima and Konami’s creative conflicts.

In my haste to paint The Phantom Pain as yet another victim of a clash between corporate interests and creative vision, I was left with a sort of phantom pain of my own. I lamented the game that I felt I deserved, my years of loyalty to the franchise being among the main reasons I felt that way. I was bitter about things, but ten years is a long time to not make peace with a video game.

That being said, I’ve been writing about Metal Gear Solid a lot lately. And I’m glad because in the process of doing some due diligence, I finally found closure, a cure to my own phantom pain, if you will. I’ve finally forgiven MGS5, not because it’s changed in any way, but because it hasn’t.

Sometimes, the game you want isn’t the one you get. And that’s okay. But as far as MGS5 is concerned, I’ve forgiven it because I’ve finally understood how it tells its story.

A Bridge Between Timelines

At this point, it’s a good idea to look at how the run-up to The Phantom Pain’s release had me absolutely itching to finally dive into what I was sure was going to be an absolute narrative delight that was packaged in a superb stealth-action title.

Part of that anticipation was Ground Zeroes, a title that served as MGS5’s prologue, setting things up very nicely indeed in my book. It was a great proof of concept for The Phantom Pain, bringing so many incredible changes that felt like its sequel would be off the charts on both the narrative and gameplay fronts.

Alas, only one of those predictions turned out correct. The gameplay loop on offer was insane for a fan of the franchise ever since I first played it at fourteen. While many of my gamer friends were more focused on other aggressive rampages in other popular games, I obsessed over the stealth-action gameplay loop in any Metal Gear Solid title I played.

Ground Zeroes upped the ante in so many ways! The visual and audio cues that replaced the stealth detection tools from the previous games were a very immersive touch, as was having the ability to use Snake’s binoculars more seamlessly. The ability to monitor enemy movements after marking them with a very handy iDroid was also welcome. The Reflex System was a personal favorite of mine since some players might be prone to being found quite often in stealth games, and having the option to respond quickly and salvage the situation was an excellent addition.

The story was similarly good, setting up a very explosive narrative involving Snake, Skull Face, Cipher, and other important characters from a very talented cast. It was the perfect stage for a sequel that would bring the franchise full circle, and finally bridge the gap between Snake’s journey to taking on the mantle of the monster that we would come to know him by in Metal Gear 1.

But a prologue that supercharges expectations for the rest of the story placed a heavy burden on The Phantom Pain. It now carried the weight of both an incredible gameplay loop as well as the need for its narrative to give its players some catharsis after a long wait.

Promises, Promises

That brings me to the promotional campaigns for The Phantom Pain. I couldn’t wait to dive into a larger, more ambitious open-world sandbox than the one in Ground Zeroes. And then there were those jaw-dropping trailers that I happily dove into along with the rest of the game’s community of fans.

They had me convinced that we were going to see a younger version of Solid Snake, and perhaps even be taken directly to the events of Metal Gear 1 as a result. Of course, none of that was promised outright, but the discussions were quite convincing, in my defense.

With all of those expectations, my first few hours in The Phantom Pain were spent just revelling in how its stealth mechanics were Metal Gear Solid at its finest. I was so thoroughly entertained that the story kind of took a back seat for a while. I loved every minute of those first few hours.

But, with a lore as elaborate, deep, and complex as the one in this franchise, I did eventually start focusing on the story. My curiosity to see how the events I expected to see would unfold made me prioritize the narrative, and that’s where the metaphorical chinks in the game’s armor began to show themselves. For starters, the distinct reduction in cutscenes struck me as an oddity, especially considering how brilliant those cutscenes had been over the franchise’s many titles. Keifer Sutherland taking over from David Hayter as the voice of Snake was a jarring oversight in my opinion, as was the tangible lack of dialogue from the character that made me wonder why the cat had his tongue.

Getting to the end of the story, Venom Snake’s true identity was a twist that I kind of saw coming, but nevertheless found flat considering my limited perspective at the time. I failed to consider that Kojima was an expert at the bait-and-switch tactic, something he had already done in MGS2. Not many people would have guessed we’d be playing Raiden instead of Solid Snake, after all.

I’m going to revisit why The Phantom Pain’s Venom Snake reveal made a lot more sense in just a moment, but at the time, it was a reveal that I saw as a let-down instead of a clever way of integrating the very expectations that made the story feel incomplete by Kojima, a storyteller who continues to astound me ten years down the line. I felt like I was an unwilling volunteer, pulled on stage to participate in a magic trick I never asked to be a part of.

It’s a good idea to look at Mission 46 and the idea that “you are the legend you created,” and its impact. Personally, it’s one that I believed could have worked better had the overall narrative been more cohesive as a whole. The game felt disconnected from its story as well as from the meta-narrative that the franchise had spent years establishing. And don’t get me started on my sentiments about Episode 51!

So What’s Changed?

I’ve spent a long time trying to make sense of my phantom pain. I tried the game again in 2018, and didn’t even get through the entire thing. My complaints about it continued to endure despite the game feeling better, but not complete. Mods and community fixes, and even an attempt to find Episode 51 mods, didn’t help either. Unlike other MGS titles that I would play over and over, The Phantom Pain was one I was simply not interested in revisiting.

But in a post Death Stranding world, and of course, my time spent working on the recent Metal Gear Saga story recap video, the chance to dive deeper into the Phantom Pain was something that has finally parted the curtains on Kojima’s vision for the game.

A better understanding of the developer and his game has led me to the conclusion that The Phantom Pain is a title that needed a more nuanced examination and a maturity that extended beyond a fanboy’s excitement to see his favorite stories come to life.

Diving back into the stories of Snake, The Boss, Volgin, the Cobra Unit, and, of course, a more detailed analysis of the saga made me see things differently. Deep diving into the lore of Peace Walker, and so many other important story beats, showcased just how much of the exposition I had missed during my time with The Phantom Pain. The solution to my problem was so simple, it was staring at me right in the face the whole time.

The absence of the series’ traditionally long cutscenes and the more usual form of revealing important story beats were the whole point of The Phantom Pain. Every major question of mine that went unanswered was already resolved. I just had to work for it, considering that most of the story was hidden away in tapes, intel, interrogations, and even eavesdropping on soldiers.

These seemingly disparate, for lack of a better word, unlockables, were simply collectibles or nice to have entities to me back in the day. But I now know that they were crucial arteries in a very creative narrative delivery system, a showcase of Kojima’s genius. They reframed missions I had already played, while relocating important exposition from cutscenes to player-driven discovery. It’s frankly something that I’m only beginning to see replicated in the current generation of games.

It made me see Skull Face and his attempt to create linguistic control as a kind of new warfare tactic in a new light. It made me see Big Boss as the one who betrayed me, just as he intended, and not Kojima, like I thought.

Indeed, Venom Snake is simply an extension of the player, a way for Kojima to weave his players into his plotline as the “phantom” of Big Boss. It locked the game’s purpose as a bridge to the first title in place, and in doing so, let me finally accept how its story was delivered to me.

The Pain Fades

These realizations are the reason why I now rank The Phantom Pain high among my favorite Metal Gear entries. It was meant to be incomplete to a player who refused to engage with it completely, a sort of way to convince said players to look past the “git gud” gatekeeping in other titles and truly engage with the games they wanted to play.

Although I still wish for a playable Big Boss segment in the game, and of course, the restoration of all the cut content from Episode 51, I can safely say I’m over my phantom pain. Those additions wouldn’t have mattered in the long run, considering that my closure came not from new content but from a new perspective.

I can’t say that the hurt I felt ten years ago wasn’t real, but looking back, it’s probably going to be what has convinced me to truly enjoy the games that I play. My phantom pain was a necessary step in my journey towards more fulfilling video games.

By finally understanding what The Phantom Pain was trying to teach me, I know that I’m going to look deeper into every future game that I play, and probably be extra alert if it’s one from Kojima! It’s time for me to dive back into The Phantom Pain and experience it the way that Kojima intended.

I just wish it hadn’t taken me ten years to get there.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organizati

But within the context of modern gaming, two of Kojima’s works stand out from the bunch – namely, 2015’s Metal Gear Solid and the recently released Death Stranding 2. Both of these games are the pinnacle of Kojima’s biggest franchises, so we thought it’d be a great idea to pit them against each other in different aspects and see which of them comes out on top.

Storytelling & Themes

Starting out with storytelling, Kojima has always resorted to an exposition heavy narrative structure where characters tend to take their merry time delivering monologues and introductions, and the complexities of the mission. Both Metal Gear Solid 5 and Death Stranding 2 employ this very style of storytelling, which comes with its own set of flaws. Death Stranding 2 feels like the right candidate for such a treatment rather than The Phantom Pain.

The primary reason for that disparity is that the world of Death Stranding 2 holds a long history with unique phenomena such as Beached Things, Timefall, and Extinction Entities, and explaining these things along with the technology involved, is absolutely necessary to make sense of what’s going on. On the other hand, Metal Gear Solid 5’s story revolves around the usual military stuff, along with a strong focus on discerning one’s identity, which could have been narrated in a more convenient manner. Don’t get us wrong, Metal Gear Solid 5 features a great story but unfortunately, most of it is hidden in tapes or is left up to the player’s interpretation so the way the plot unfolds is rather inconsistent.

Death Stranding 2 also does a great job of crafting a story where the themes resonate with the story on both a surface level and beyond. Embarking on long treks in a desolate land devoid of hope rekindles the feeling of being alone in a huge world, and as you slowly bring communities together, the fruits of your labour start to show in the form of new structures appearing throughout the world, new relations being built, and NPCs who often unexpectedly, begin to matter.

Metal Gear Solid 5, on the other hand, doesn’t have that strong of a synergy between what’s being told through the story and what’s being played in the open world. According to many players, the story actually suffered when the series made its shift to an open world setting. Death Stranding 2 feels much more connected in this regard with the story gelling well with the open world mechanics, resulting in a tighter narrative. This is a clear win for Kojima’s latest game.

Gameplay & Mechanics

Moving on to the gameplay and mechanics, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is literally a playground of possibilities. It’s a sandbox that gives you certain tools and a goal, but how you achieve that is very much up to you. You could be a madman and use brute force to stop anything in front of you, or be a ghost in the dark, or anything in between. The sheer breadth of tools at your disposal can be daunting at first glance, but experimenting with them is the core part of what makes Metal Gear Solid 5 so special. The game thrives on its systemic nature, meaning if you can conjure up any wondrous solution in your adventures, it’s very likely that with proper execution, it is quite possible.

When it comes to Death Stranding 2, many of these factors take a backseat as you are just a simple porter transporting cargo across places. But the beauty of Death Stranding 2 lies in how Kojima is able to make that simple act of going from A to B such an interesting affair, right from the ever-looming threat of BTs to environmental hazards and much more. But it’s a very slow burn, and that coupled with a mostly flat difficulty curve can make it a bit monotonous when compared to the dynamic and gratifying gameplay of Metal Gear Solid 5 and that puts this point in Metal Gear Solid 5’s favour.

Stealth Execution

In terms of the stealth execution, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain features a vast breadth of mechanics that intertwine with one another to create some stellar experiences. You can crawl through long grass, hide in cardboard boxes, or use tranquilizer darts to stun enemies – and much more. You can Fulton extract guards, shoot your rocket arm into your enemies, and mix and match different tactics to create the ultimate stealth strategies that are almost a form of player expression.

Death Stranding 2’s stealth mechanics also improve upon its predecessor in meaningful ways, but they still pale in comparison to the genius of Metal Gear Solid. Death Stranding 2 introduces new tools that help tailor your playstyle towards being stealthy, but it doesn’t manage to deliver the ultimate stealth experience as it doesn’t really align with its core vision. That said, it still provides a decent offering of stealth action with some amount of flexibility in how you choose to approach the situation. But in this case, it’s a clear win for MGS5.

Presentation & World Design

The world design of Metal Gear Solid 5 is all about enclosing different enemy encampments and facilities in a tightly constrained map, and while it works for the most part, it’s not the most engaging open world of the last generation. It serves its purpose, and the sandbox part of the world is absolutely amazing, but visually, it just pales in comparison to the post-apocalyptic beauty of Death Stranding 2.

The Decima Engine produces some stunning visuals, creating a visual dichotomy of a world that’s devoid of life yet somehow brimming with character. The map seamlessly transitions from grasslands to different terrains like tall peaks and deserts and much more, and everything from just the atmosphere to the level of detail is higher than what the 2015 classic offers. Clearly, Death Stranding 2 excels in the open world department.

Cast & Characters

Coming over to the cast and characters, it’s definitely going to be a break neck competition between the two. Kojima has a very distinct style when it comes to characters in his works as they operate on a precise wavelength between caricature and psychological depth, often blending over-the-top personalities with surprisingly human vulnerabilities, making his characters feel both surreal and deeply relatable.

These traits can be seen in both Death Stranding 2 and Metal Gear Solid 5, but Death Stranding 2 does take a slight lead thanks to a star studded cast that has done justice to the script. Metal Gear Solid 5’s story was a bit disjointed due to the way it was told, and one can see the cracks in how the character development arcs were laid out. You don’t play as Big Boss, and Venom Snake is mostly a mute character. Ocelot, Kaz and Huey do an admirable job, but Kojima’s latest is filled to the brim with a star studded cast. Thanks to this, we get some great performances captured with stunning attention to detail – and that alone nets a victory for Death Stranding 2.

Legacy and Replayability

Both Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid broke new ground with their respective first entries, with the former birthing an entirely new genre (the Social Strand System) while the latter defining the blueprint of what a modern stealth game should be. Although Death Stranding 1 sold quite well due to its sense of mystery, and Death Stranding 2 will also likely do well thanks to its critical reception, there is no doubt that Metal Gear Solid has amassed a massive fanbase and a strong legacy over the course of almost forty years.

Death Stranding 2 is without a shadow of doubt a fantastic game but it would likely appeal to a very specific set of audience. Metal Gear Solid 5, on the other hand represents the pinnacle of stealth genre, the last Kojima directed Metal Gear that pushed the series into new directions. MGS5’s replayability is also quite high especially with the systemic nature of the open-world and how the narrative starts to make a lot more sense on subsequent playthroughs.

So, another point awarded to Metal Gear Solid 5.

Conclusion

If you have been following along with the score line up until now, you would have noticed that we are sitting at a total of three points for each game – meaning no game turned out to be objectively better than the other. And that’s to be expected, of course, when comparing such excellent games coming from the same director.

Metal Gear Solid 5 is a lot more palatable to the average gamer thanks to an action-packed gameplay loop and the fun that comes from experimenting with the different tools on offer, while Death Stranding 2 leans more into creating a holistic experience with its philosophical themes in the narrative and the signature Strand-type gameplay. Each game has proven to be a very important piece of gaming technology, and deserves to be appreciated on its own terms.

Returnal

Rogue-like third-person shooter Returnal is relentlessly unforgiving, a game in which time is an agonising loop for astronaut Selene after she crash lands on the hostile alien world Atrophos. Otherworldly creatures stalk cadaverous biomes, hurling bioluminescent bullet hell between Selene’s scavenging for artifacts, resources, and ether. Its challenge can put players off but stick around and the accumulated muscle memory makes subsequent playthroughs a breeze. Returnal’s emotional narrative weighs heavier on successive runs too when the unfolding of events has already been discovered.

Cyberpunk 2077

Stuffing an open world with overabundant icons and waypoints usually hinders immersion, but Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City is such a superbly designed game, that constant signposting doesn’t affect the experience. It’s dense, labyrinthian, a steaming cesspool, gorgeous and bleak; its a city with many mysteries. Night City teaches us that regardless of cyber-genetic augmentation, its citizens are still people with thoughts and feelings. The same can be said of V, who through companions met during Night City’s plentiful and varied main missions often displays tenderness and empathy beyond their chrome. How V resolves side quests and the choices they make, it all impacts the conclusion to their story too.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/15-games-everyone-wants-sequels-for Tue, 10 Dec 2024 19:19:19 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=606230 For whatever reason, there are numerous games with unresolved narratives. Others harboured neat ideas but executed them poorly. Perhaps, in this era of remakes and remasters – as welcome as it is – game developers should look to some of their existing IPs for inspiration. This feature aims to highlight 15 such games that deserve follow-ups.

The Order: 1886

Despite its frustrating overreliance on then-outdated QTEs, The Order: 1886 oozed style and atmosphere. It’s steampunk story set within a vampire-enriched Victorian London expressed deep imagination too. Perhaps its sky-high expectation was ultimately it’s undoing but there’s enough here to warrant a sequel. Interestingly, developer Ready at Dawn have since been acquired by Meta, and Sony themselves renewed the IP as recently as December 2021 – a VR sequel, then, surely isn’t out of the question.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/metal-gear-series-sells-62-1-million-units Thu, 31 Oct 2024 16:00:49 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=602964 The Metal Gear franchise is on the comeback trail, but even though we’re still not quite at the point of its comeback just yet, the series is continuing to see sustained sales, as per updated sales figures shared by Konami on its official corporate website.

As per Konami, as of the end of September, the Metal Gear series has collectively sold 62.1 million units. As of August last year, the series’ sales stood at 60 million units, which means it has sold an additional 2.1 million units since then. One would assume that the majority of those sales were for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, which launched in October last year.

Metal Gear fans also have upcoming MGS3 remake Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which is in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but doesn’t yet have a release date. Additionally, Konami also seems to have plans for a second Master Collection. Read more on that through here.

“I edit and create the promotional videos myself,” wrote Kojima. “Trailers, key visuals, package, I do all of that too. Concepts, layouts, checking, all that. I worked directly with Kyle on the MGSV logo. I always work in-house, without outsourcing to PR agencies or outside agencies. For me, the ‘game’ I create is not just the game. It includes everything. That’s my style.”

Kojima then followed this post up with another one, describing all of his work on Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain as being part of his role, including “not all, but most of the merch too.”

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain was the last mainline entry in the Metal Gear series, with later releases being either spinoffs like Metal Gear Survive, or remasters of older titles, like Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1. The Phantom Pain had an infamously difficult development period, leading to various side-effects, including cut content, and Kojima’s departure from Konami.

Konami itself is currently working on a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. For more details on the remake, here are 10 things we recently learned about it.

I edit and create the promotional videos myself. Trailers, key visuals, package, I do all of that too. Concepts, layouts, checking, all that. I worked directly with Kyle on the MGSV logo. I always work in-house, without outsourcing to PR agencies or outside agencies. For me, the… pic.twitter.com/ue8pLnu2AD

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 1, 2024

It’s tough to do all these while making the game at the same time, but I believe these are all part of my works. Not all, but most of the merch too. https://t.co/202srsIENL

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 1, 2024

There are, of course, major spoilers ahead for each of the games featured in this rundown, so skip a section if you want to discover the game’s conclusion for yourself.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar’s wild west opus has four endings (three as Arthur Morgan, one as John Marston) but owing to your inevitable attachment to Morgan during the 50-hour-or-so campaign none are especially uplifting. The ‘good’ – in inverted commas – ending sees Morgan assisting Marston in a shootout against Dutch’s gang and the Pinkertons. High honour: Arthur succumbs to tuberculosis watching the sunrise; low: he takes a bullet to the head. Abandoning Marston for the bad ending sees Morgan lose a knife fight to Micah Bell. Each ending elevates an already engrossing story, but it sure does suck for Arthur to lose his life no matter what you choose.

Ghost of Tsushima  

Jin’s defence of Tsushima from Mongol invaders culminates in the ultimate moral quandary, and players are divided on which direction is most canonical. On the one hand, killing Lord Shimura – his surrogate father – is most honourable for Shimura but distressing for Jin. Sparing his uncle dishonours the family, spitting in the face of samurai code. Opt for the former to poetically symbolise Jin’s full transition to ghost, severing any remaining connection to the samurai code he once adhered, no matter how much Shimura demanded it. Either way, Jin is left a lone wolf, his heroism reduced to villainy in the eyes of the Shogun.

Shadow of the Colossus

Yeah, you’ve slain sixteen colossi to revitalise your lady love Mono, but at what cost? The scheming Dormin doesn’t reveal their identity as annexed demon until the game’s very end, but by that time it’s too late, the damage is done. Shadow of the Colossus has a way of making you feel sorry for the fierce-now-slain colossi, even though your actions as Wander were in good faith; to be fair to Dormin too, they do uphold their end of the bargain in reviving Mono. Agro the horse survives too, at least.

Limbo

Enigmatic Limbo, the odyssey of a boy in search of his sister. This silent, dark ambient masterwork is open to interpretation, but the presiding theory is that the boy is dead and that the game is an allegorical retelling of his life right up until the moment he checks out. With all the gravitational flailing during the game’s final moments it seems the boy died in a car crash, but the gut punch here is that he clearly doesn’t know he’s already dead. Maybe his sister was never in Limbo? Or maybe she died in the crash too? The two never clap eyes on each other at the end, despite the sister sensing the boy’s presence. Tragic.

Braid

An ending which re-contextualises the narrative, during Braid we play as Tim during his attempts to rescue a princess from an evil monster, although maybe Tim is the monster all along? This blatant switcheroo is not as trivial as it first appears. Tim, as revealed via in-game texts, was instrumental in The Manhattan Project, with the princess being a manifestation of his guilt surrounding his part in the atom bomb’s development. The flip-reverse finale whereby we believe we’re rescuing the princess only for time to switch backwards to reveal she’s running away cements Tim’s legacy as wrongdoer. It’s a beautiful, bittersweet full circle.

SOMA  

Say what you will about SOMA, but it’s got one of the heaviest existential crises in all video games. Uploading consciousness to digital formats is conceptually and morally nebulous; SOMA asks just what it is to be human. Is it someone’s thoughts, personality, memories? If so, is it the same person if you extract these thoughts and implant them in a carbon-copied body? Experiencing this first-hand through the eyes of Simon, we feel a sense of triumph as his fourth iteration is deposited into the ARK before its voyage to interstellar sanctuary, but our eyes stay with Simon3 as he’s left behind in dark, subaquatic abyss, abandoned and alone.

The Last of Us

The pinnacle of moral middle ground, you play the majority of The Last of Us as grief-stricken smuggler Joel, and you’ll endear yourself to him principally due to the tragic loss of his daughter some two decades prior; a heinous tragedy, with unshakeable grief hanging over him like a dark cloud. Ellie is his chance at finally conquering his sorrow, of blowing this dark cloud away, so his actions – as abominable as they are for the rest of humanity – are explainable. There’s no denying his selfishness though; The Last of Us has us believe we play the good guy, but our nobility is shattered at the very end.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

A game about working together to overcome insurmountable challenges, little brother Naiee heavily relies on older sibling Naia, until he can’t. Ingeniously exemplified via in-game controls, the loss of thumb-stick functionality for the older brother symbolising the very real loss Naiee experiences when Naia is no longer his guiding light. Together with Naiee, we’re forced to adapt, to learn strength, and live without help. It’s a bittersweet ending to an emotionally charged story.

A Way Out

Two endings are possible in dual-protagonist prison break drama A Way Out, yet the deaths of seasoned criminal Leo or undercover agent Vincent don’t bring any significant gratification to the player. Canonically, Leo killing Vincent makes more sense. After all, he’s the real criminal here despite his final actions motivated by betrayal than bloodlust. Vincent killing Leo is the easier pill to swallow but implies a failure to morally resolve his sting operation. Both share kinship, both have families outside of the drama, there’re no winners at the end of A Way Out.

L.A. Noire

Despite L.A. Noire adhering to the tragic finale trope of film noir, numerous players find the game’s ending dissatisfactory. Centring on Cole Phelps’ humdrum death at game’s end, Phelps’ quest for redemption ending on a damp squib, with little recognition for the man he is, for his uneventful funeral, it’s easy to see this resolution as a rushed job by the developers. Thing is, Phelps spent his life seeking redemption for his failures as a soldier, police officer, and husband. The fact he was on the cusp of reclamation before his untimely death is plain tragic.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Sure, there are endless clues throughout MGSV: The Phantom Pain that Venom Snake isn’t in fact the real Big Boss, but The Medic whom Zero imparts skills, wisdom, and memories of Big Boss to act as decoy. By the end of the game, it feels like we’ve been playing as a lie. We eliminate the bad guys, but do we feel fulfilled? Aren’t we left with a feeling of emptiness – a Phantom Pain?

Inside

Monochromatic side-scroller Inside plunges a boy into a dangerous world, intriguing, otherworldly, hostile, and mysterious. He’s forging towards something, but that something is totally unexpected. Is the globule mass calling him? That point is up for interpretation, but once he’s enveloped, and the hulking mass escapes from the tight-knit facility all hell breaks loose. We escape, but to where? Was this whole thing orchestrated? One thing worth mentioning: when we reach the grey shoreline come the game’s very end, there’s a sense of tranquility. Of peace. Inside’s a strange one.

It Takes Two

Struggling couple Cody and May are forced to cooperate in It Takes Two, overcoming obstacles together in miniature toy-like form initially as a means to reach their daughter back in their human form, but then growing as a way to save their marriage. However, together they must torture and kill a stuffed elephant toy; a toy that, yes, whilst stuffed and not real is begging for mercy. It’s challenging, disturbing, quease-inducing, but come games end the trio of husband, wife, and daughter have a new perspective on their life and relationship. It’s just that getting there takes monumental challenge – kind of like true life.

Telltale’s The Walking Dead

Yes, an obvious pick for this feature. There’re question marks over saviour Lee’s fate – does he die in both the game’s possible endings? Sure, he’s bitten, so in one ending you shoot him out of sympathy, but in the other you can spare him. The tragedy here is that in saving your bullet you condemn him to becoming a walker. You’re left broken either way, a true example of survival but at what cost.

Gears of War 3

The ending of Gears of War 3 centers on sacrifice. It’s revealed player-character Marcus Fenix’s father Adam infects himself with Lambent cells in order to test his Locust eradicating machine. The machine works, sweeping a shockwave across Sera and completing the mission for Marcus and his team. They’ve won, but of course Marcus has lost his father, and perhaps greater, he mournfully ponders the remnants of humanity – was it all worth saving?