The Phantom Pain was critically acclaimed upon release, with its gameplay drawing praise for featuring a variety of
mechanics and interconnected systems which allow a high degree of player freedom in approaching objectives. While the story drew criticism from a few reviewers for its lack of focus, others acknowledged its emotional power and exploration of mature
themes. The game received perfect review scores from several publications, including
Famitsu,
GameSpot and
IGN, and was described by some critics as the best stealth game ever made. A complete edition, titled
Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience, which bundles both
The Phantom Pain and
Ground Zeroes together, was released in October 2016.
In
The Phantom Pain, players take the role of
Venom Snake (also referred to as
Big Boss), in an open world environment.
[1] The gameplay elements were largely unchanged from
Ground Zeroes, meaning that players will have to sneak from several points in the game world, avoiding enemy guards, and remaining undetected.
[2] Included in Snake's repertoire are binoculars, maps, pistols, assault rifles and explosives.
[2][3] Following one of the series traditions,
The Phantom Pain encourages players to progress through the game without killing, using non-lethal weapons such as tranquilizer darts to subdue enemies.
[4] Players may traverse the game world with vehicles such as cars and tanks, in addition to traveling on foot or on horseback, and as certain locations are mountainous,
[5] players can opt to
scale a rock face as a short cut.
[6] They may also call for friendly helicopter support against enemy soldiers in a combat alert or send commandos to scout a target area.
[7] Snake can also call on AI companions—including
Quiet, a silent female sniper with supernatural abilities; D-Horse, a horse with a customizable saddle for carrying more equipment in the field; D-Walker, a manned, highly agile mobile weapons platform that can provide heavy weapons support; and D-Dog, a wolf pup raised and trained on the new Mother Base to assist him in the field.
[8] The companions' abilities and their effectiveness will depend on the player's relationship with them.
[7] There is a large emphasis based around tactics in this game, and many are unknown to most players.
[9]
As in
Peace Walker,
The Phantom Pain features a base-building system that allows players to develop weapons and items from their home base.
[10] Recruitment of enemy soldiers and
prisoners has also returned for this purpose, allowing the base to grow through organization. The player is given the option to access their base from their real-life smartphones and other devices via a companion app.
[11] Unlike in
Peace Walker where players can only see Mother Base from the air, they can control Snake as he explores the complex on foot. The
Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, an item introduced into gameplay in
Peace Walker, returns as well, with players now able to transport captured soldiers and other objects such as animals and vehicles back to Mother Base.
[12] Money for upgrading Mother Base's defenses and technology can be collected from objects found all over the map, such as diamonds, shipping containers, and special blueprint boxes,
[13] as well as sending recruited soldiers on combat missions around the world. The income is invested on upgrades to the appearance and abilities, weapons and equipment of Snake, his AI companions, and vehicles. For example, Snake's prosthetic arm can be modified with a taser, echolocation function, or remote controls that allow it to fly as a drone.
[14][15]
The enemy AI has also improved in terms of situational awareness. If players frequently use particular weapons or tactics to subdue enemy soldiers, repeats of the mission will see the enemy increase in numbers and be outfitted with better equipment; for example, the frequent use of headshots will see enemy soldiers don metal helmets to make targeting the head harder.
[16]
Kojima also revealed that the game has a new day-and-night cycle that runs in real-time, and that the time taken to travel from one location to another will affect the time of day when the player arrives at their destination.
[17] The cycle also fasts-forwards when Snake lights a "Phantom Cigar", a type of
electronic cigar; a digital silver
Seiko watch panel appears on screen to denote time.
[18] The passage of time enables players to analyze the movement of marked enemy forces in the area, such as shifts in sentry patrols and individual patrol routes. Weather effects, such as sandstorms and rain, will also affect the gameplay environment by, for example, reducing visibility or masking the sound of footsteps.
[19]
A new game design direction allows the player to choose in what order the story events take place by selecting missions in any order they like, and yet still "understand the encompassing message by the end".
[20][21]
Kojima spoke about the restrictive nature of previous
MGS titles, saying that they "set [the player] on one rail to get from point A to point B, with a certain amount of freedom between". In stark contrast, Kojima's team instead offer the player new ways of traversal and sneaking methods, such as taking a plane, helicopter or motorcycle to the mission area. Players are able to traverse the game world or deploy directly to landing zones that allow for different approaches. A video published after the E3 2015 convention showcased this, with the same mission played four times in a number of different ways: with the player opting for stealth, launching a direct assault via helicopter gunship, attempting to assassinate a target with a sniper rifle, and smuggling an explosive device into an enemy base by way of an unsuspecting patrol vehicle crew.
[22] The player's actions will affect the wider game world; for example, sabotaging a radar installation will open up new entry points. This is in order for Kojima to accomplish a "true open world experience".
[23] According to
Famitsu, Konami confirmed that the playable world in
The Phantom Pain is two hundred times larger than that of
Ground Zeroes, featuring a variety of climate conditions and environments.
[24] This allows the players to freely roam the map while proceeding to either story missions or sidequests, as in other games with
nonlinear gameplay. In addition, players who have previously played
Ground Zeroes are able to import save data into
The Phantom Pain and gain special perks.
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