I'm afraid it's been six years.

Incredible stealth action gameplay and a sophisticated story that ties together themes from throughout the series to capstone one of the greatest series in all of gaming. Replaying this six years later I have little doubt that Kojima Productions succeeded in crafting the game they wanted to make. It's a shame that the discourse surrounding this game has been haunted by the phantoms of behind the scenes drama and thwarted expectations. Audiences wanted more of Kojima the film maker, and were left bewildered by Kojima the game designer.

Bennett Foddy has a lot of insight and perspectives to share here on all manner of things; art and how our relationship with it has changed in the age of the internet, of streamers, of lets plays and having everything at our finger tips, the benefits and costs of making your art either abrasive or accessible and how this applies to videogames, about finding worth in aesthetics beyond those that we would typically consider beautiful or appealing, about frustration, and loss, and pain, and starting over. This was all just in the first half of the game, I never could get past the game's mid-point that fans refer to as Orange Hell, and even just that half of the game is full of compelling insights and a lot to chew on.

I don't know, though. I've tried playing this game twice now and have ultimately had to give up not out of frustration or upset or whatever, but just out of the eventual sheer and complete boredom that sets in. Foddy's commentary is in many ways the real meat of the game to me, and at the end of my most recent attempt I'd gone over an hour and a half without hearing any commentary from him, any music, or anything, as I'd repeatedly get up to Orange Hell again only to fall back down. It's not that I'm even upset over all this, but it's just such an immensely under-stimulating experience when you get caught in that grind like I did.

Cold War. The birth of era where the world is extensively controlled by flow of information. War is fought with information more than ever before. Military prowess is no longer the key to stay at the top of the world.

While Sons of Liberty was a propitious tale about perseverance of one's individuality in this array of hyperreality, Snake Eater, on the other hand, is a tragedy that portrays the downfall of one's individuality. Both mirror each other brilliantly.

Accompanied by one of the densest and most well-crafted gameplay, with some of the best Ludonarrative harmony in gaming, for it's time and even today, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is nothing short of a masterpiece.

“Adapting yourself to society is essentially being brainwashed to match societal requirements. The only difference from your situation is that the source of it is not clearly defined. There are no humans who have not been brainwashed. Now the problem: within that context - within your brainwashed, restrained psyche - what do you value the most? Bound tightly by the world, what do you still desire?” - Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 2

MGS2 is one of the most romantic games I’ve ever played. Not really in terms of the relationship between Raiden and Rose, which I still do really like and I feel like Rose gets unnecessarily shat on a lot for having the audacity to be openly worried about Raiden and communicating her feelings which is (shockingly!) necessary for a successful relationship. But moreso in terms of its approach to life. MGS2 is at once both keenly aware of how artificial our reality is, yet still holds the highest regard for our emotions: not seeking to crush them with facts and logic, but instead reinforce just how essential they are as one of the few things we can trust.

What I’m saying is that Raiden is an absolute chad for listening to a 10 minute lecture on how the concept of self is meaningless, even fallacious, and simply going “no thanks”.