On February 22, 2018, Metal Gear Survive will be released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. But who exactly should keep an eye on this game? Die-hard Metal Gear fans or even newcomers to Metal Gear?
I’m no hero. Never was. Never will be. I’m just an old killer … hired to do some wet work.
Who doesn’t remember that statement, which comes from the most famous soldier in video game history? We’re talking about Solid Snake from the successful series Metal Gear Solid, which has thrilled fans since 1987.
Now Metal Gear Survive is hitting the market, but who is this actually suitable for? Our reader DevilRon1989 shows in this article what lies behind Metal Gear Survive.
“The Quentin Tarantino of the Video Game Industry”
Game designer Hideo Kojima created with Metal Gear Solid, or MGS, a story revolving around soldiering, militarism, honor, wars, brotherhood, patriotism, and various nuclear dangers. This was combined with science fiction, fantasy, and all sorts of manga elements like cyborg ninjas and massive robots, the mechas.
Like no other, Hideo Kojima managed to tell a cinematic story full of twists and cliffhangers. Often, players had to put down the controller and take in breathtaking cutscenes filled with action or exciting dialogues. These often lasted half an hour or longer.
No wonder that Kojima is referred to by some fans as the “Quentin Tarantino” of the video game industry. But even gameplay-wise, MGS has always convinced, as the games were full of innovative ideas and implementations. No matter if graphics or gameplay, MGS has always been at the forefront!
The End of Metal Gear Solid
In 2015, “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” did not only conclude the story of Solid Snake, but also an important chapter in Hideo Kojima’s career: He parted ways with Konami after alleged disputes and founded his own studio Kojima Productions.
The MGS license remained with Konami, and just a year after MGS 5, the company showcased a trailer for Metal Gear Survive at Gamescom 2016.
Where does Metal Gear Survive fit in?
This is where it gets a bit complicated. For one thing, Metal Gear Survive does not bear the designation “Solid” in its name. This means it won’t focus on Solid Snake. Whether he somehow makes it into the game is unknown. It wouldn’t be entirely impossible, as Metal Gear Survive takes place after the events of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.
Ground Zeroes is considered to be the prologue of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
In short: In the prologue, Snake was supposed to start a rescue mission. Initially, it went quite well, but he and his team were ambushed and had to flee. Some managed to escape, others died, and some, where Metal Gear Survive picks up, were thrown into another dimension through some sort of wormhole.
In this dimension, you find yourself as a soldier and are attacked by zombie-like troops with red crystal skulls. Metal Gear Survive can, therefore, be classified as non-canonical – just like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the own game of cyborg ninja Raiden.
Although Metal Gear Survive connects somewhat to the main storylines of the Solid series and also plays in the same universe, it probably will have little to do with Solid Snake, instead telling an independent story.
What’s new in Metal Gear Survive?
Gameplay-wise, Metal Gear Survive is heavily oriented towards MGS 5. This means that the player enters an open world and does not have to traverse linear levels like in earlier MGS titles.
Furthermore, the game was created using Konami’s in-house Fox Engine, which was also used for MGS 5 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, for example. So those who have played MGS 5 will recognize a large part of the controls in Metal Gear Survive.
At this point, the similarities stop, and Metal Gear Survive goes new ways:
- Metal Gear Survive features a campaign that can only be played in single-player mode.
- Outside of these missions, there is also a multiplayer mode for up to four players. This is a co-op mode. The game does not have PVP functions like in MGS 5.
- As it stands, the story of the game revolves around a zombie infestation and no longer about military or political power intrigues.
- Whether the latter will still make it into the game is currently unknown, as only a few details about the campaign have been revealed by Konami. Metal Gear Solid fans should, therefore, not expect too many intelligent enemies like elite soldiers, tanks, or helicopters.
- As the name suggests, numerous aspects from the survival genre have been adopted.
- At times, the game is more reminiscent of genre representatives like DayZ. Characters get hungry, need to acquire food, cook meat to protect themselves from diseases. Similar approaches were also present in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but these served more as collection tasks, while the sustenance of the character is now expected to be among the core elements of the game.
- Typical for survival games, a comprehensive crafting system is a must!
- In Metal Gear Survive, players can collect various ores, plants, and items. They can build a base, expand and improve it, and craft a variety of melee and ranged weapons. Here, too, the success formula applies: The more resources you have, the better items you can craft.
- Metal Gear Survive has also borrowed elements from the role-playing genre, namely skill trees.
- The zombies leave behind “Kuban Energy,” with which you can unlock new attributes or abilities for your character as you like. Such a system has never existed in the Metal Gear universe before.
- You can also find elements of tower-defense shooters in Metal Gear Survive.
- The zombies in Metal Gear Survive move relatively clumsily and usually try to find the direct way to you. With the help of your resources, you can build entire mazes of fences and then deal with the pests from a safe distance.
Conclusion: Successful Survival Game with Little Metal Gear
One thing is clear: This game was not developed for hardcore fans of the Metal Gear Solid series and all adventures surrounding Snake! If you expect a profound military plot full of twists, then you are probably in the wrong place.
Although the game bears the title “Metal Gear,” MGS fans agree. They can find no good aspect in all information regarding Metal Gear Survive and believe that this game does not deserve its name. The differences to the main series are simply too significant.
However, if you enjoyed exploring the world in MGS 5, liked researching and collecting animals, missed a deeper use of flora and fauna, and always wanted to build a camp with friends, you can catch up with Metal Gear Survive.
When you set aside the name of the game, Metal Gear Survive turns out to be quite an attractive representative of the survival genre for survival fans. Especially since there aren’t too many survival games on the market for PS4 and Xbox One. Metal Gear Survive can certainly fill this gap.
Metal Gear Survive will be released on February 22 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This weekend, a free open beta is running, which you can participate in.
This guest article is from our reader DevilRon1989.
