A rare combination of just the right elements from the direction, gameplay, voice-acting, and story to satisfy what I simply call “DeadCore”. This is easily one of the most tightly designed and coolest gaming experiences I’ve had the immense satisfaction of just digging through. What caught me completely off guard going into this very blind with no real expectations of Metal Gear as a series was how well this entry aged like fine wine. I’d even go bat to say this is aged way too well because of how even games made over a decade later that follow similar approaches flew too short by comparison while Metal Gear Solid still grabbed on high and tightly. It does an amazing job of putting you into the shoes of a stealthy action hero caught amid a global threat shrouded by colorful yet human characters, unbelievable twists and turns, and real world conspiracy while undergoing a deeply interpersonal journey about what it means to be alive and be in the moment. Now there’s definitely some goofy vibes here but never ironically presented to flatline the dramatic weight given by the vocal performances and direction. Solid Snake is a rough-and-tough badass who like the others you come across are taken fairly seriously but it never forgets the humanity these guys still have buried underneath themselves. He isn’t completely afraid to mellow out, to have some funny moments himself, and even grow beyond just a military grunt who would only live for himself and his primal instinct to survive in a world always at war with itself. There’s a cinematic grace to how this is all done that really makes Solid Snake into one of my all-time favorite protagonists easily, especially joining the Club of Badass Meme-Worthy Vidya Game Protagonists like Jack Garland, J.C Denton, Adam Jensen, and The Nameless One. The moment-to-moment pacing is pretty rock solid, always keeping me engaged through stealthing my way around the levels. The controls, barring how bad sniping is, are surprisingly really tight and snappy given the lack of analog movements. I have to give attention to the boss fights in this game though. Besides maybe Sniper Wolf, they’re all so creatively fun especially Psycho Mantis which took unique meta advantage of the PlayStation 1 to deliver a memorable all-timer of a boss fight in gaming.

This shit just cuts deep into me creatively and inspirationally in a way that only certain games have done. It’s such a deeply impactful game for all the right reasons, going beyond just the legwork it did to become arguably the best game on the PS1, or at least a challenging contender for the top spot of that generation. I’m only excited to see how Kojima and company elevates this in further with the following next entries.