Really overindulgent and wordy. I don't mind long cutscenes when I don't feel like they're wasting my time, unfortunately this game's cutscenes feel like they could've been about three times shorter and nothing of value would be lost. Most of the longest cutscenes are pointlessly drawn out exposition dumps where they overexplain the fuck out of literally every aspect of the game's world and backstory.
The previous games had this problem too, but this game suffers worse for it since at least the previous games sometimes explored interesting themes during the long cutscenes and exposition dumps. This game doesn't do that nearly as much. Most of the themes it uses are either undercooked (Snake's aging is pretty one-note and his personality and attitude towards people feels like a regression from how he was in MGS2), or reused (Literally everything involving the patriots, information control, and the advancement of technology is just a worse version of something they already did in MGS2).
It's also really fanservicey. This isn't always bad but the reliance on callbacks can be quite annoying and shallow. I particularly can't stand the bit where you press X to show things from the previous games to show what they're calling back to. At least we know they were listening to what people wanted, but there are too many moments that feel more driven towards pleasing fans than fulfilling any kind of artistic vision or swinging for something important to the developers.
It does have a pretty cool dour atmosphere at times (act 1 feels really gritty in ways that I really enjoy), but it's very inconsistent about this.
It's also harder to find the more ridiculous elements entertaining like they previously were since they're so much more in-your-face, drawn out, and kinda overwhelm anything else. It also feels like things are ridiculous in places where they aren't supposed to be, which is harder to find entertaining. It's not as if the previous games were subtle or focused but they handled this contrast a lot better.
The game's story is pretty much an absolute garbage fire but I like the gameplay. With this said, it doesn't do much that the previous games didn't also do. Sneaking around feels quite close to MGS3, with the main differences being crouchwalking and third-person aiming, which are sidegrades to me, and the weapon shop, which is a direct downgrade. I don't like how the designers can no longer control the pace at which you get new weapons and equipment. I pretty much had everything worth having before act 1 was over.
It's not a bad game (though you might not believe it from the amount of complaining i do here). I don't hate it, but it's definitely the worst game in the MGS series. It has most of the negative aspects of previous games. It has some of the good aspects, but it's really hard to recommend playing it over any of the other games in the series.
It's just kind of hard to recommend a game with such a huge emphasis on story to the point of having multiple sequences of cutscenes that last more than an hour on their own, while also having a story that I feel fails so extensively on so many levels.
The previous games had this problem too, but this game suffers worse for it since at least the previous games sometimes explored interesting themes during the long cutscenes and exposition dumps. This game doesn't do that nearly as much. Most of the themes it uses are either undercooked (Snake's aging is pretty one-note and his personality and attitude towards people feels like a regression from how he was in MGS2), or reused (Literally everything involving the patriots, information control, and the advancement of technology is just a worse version of something they already did in MGS2).
It's also really fanservicey. This isn't always bad but the reliance on callbacks can be quite annoying and shallow. I particularly can't stand the bit where you press X to show things from the previous games to show what they're calling back to. At least we know they were listening to what people wanted, but there are too many moments that feel more driven towards pleasing fans than fulfilling any kind of artistic vision or swinging for something important to the developers.
It does have a pretty cool dour atmosphere at times (act 1 feels really gritty in ways that I really enjoy), but it's very inconsistent about this.
It's also harder to find the more ridiculous elements entertaining like they previously were since they're so much more in-your-face, drawn out, and kinda overwhelm anything else. It also feels like things are ridiculous in places where they aren't supposed to be, which is harder to find entertaining. It's not as if the previous games were subtle or focused but they handled this contrast a lot better.
The game's story is pretty much an absolute garbage fire but I like the gameplay. With this said, it doesn't do much that the previous games didn't also do. Sneaking around feels quite close to MGS3, with the main differences being crouchwalking and third-person aiming, which are sidegrades to me, and the weapon shop, which is a direct downgrade. I don't like how the designers can no longer control the pace at which you get new weapons and equipment. I pretty much had everything worth having before act 1 was over.
It's not a bad game (though you might not believe it from the amount of complaining i do here). I don't hate it, but it's definitely the worst game in the MGS series. It has most of the negative aspects of previous games. It has some of the good aspects, but it's really hard to recommend playing it over any of the other games in the series.
It's just kind of hard to recommend a game with such a huge emphasis on story to the point of having multiple sequences of cutscenes that last more than an hour on their own, while also having a story that I feel fails so extensively on so many levels.