After replaying with the context of the entire series, I found The Phantom Pain roughly as great and flawed as I remembered.

The story is oozing with thematically rich nuances, exploring the loss of identity in the face of war in that unique Kojima style of storytelling, but it's at the cost of presenting an unfinished narrative that detracts from its purpuse and message.

Gameplay is just a blast. Unlimited possibilities to complete missions of ample enough variety to keep things fresh, with satisfying gunplay, simple but effective area design, and very competent enemy AI. This really feels like the culmination of the team's years of experience with the series, and it really pays off. Although the game does looses its shine in the second half, where main missions dissapointingly start being reused.

The presentation is top notch, the mastery in both the visual and sound direction give the game a great cinematic feel to it, while still feeling distinct from other AAA games thanks to its creativity.

While I always will wonder what kind of game we could have gotten if Kojima was given the time he needed to finish his vision, what we got is still an engrosing stealth game that offers a unique gameplay experience unlike any other of its kind.