SolidChamp
Banned
As a longtime fan of the series, MGSV represented the framework for everything that could have been; it was pure potential. The potential to lay the mythology and nuance of the series onto a foundation of fresh new gameplay. MGSV should have been the pinnacle of the series...and unfortunately ended up being anything but. The intricately woven story of past entries was completely absent. Characterizations and complex themes were neutered. The truly interesting easter eggs and hidden "think-outside-the-box" tricks weren't really substantial, and what was there lacked that mind blowing "wow" factor that MGS3 had (e.g. the multiple, unique ways to kill/bypass The End, or turning the stamina system against the enemy by cutting off their food supply, etc).
Okay, so a lot of us can agree that MGSV wasn't really a great MGS game; but what is there makes for a solid action-stealth game. I can live with that. But is it this genre-defining masterpiece that some make it out to be? Not by a long shot. Anyone with two eyes can see a game that is very much incomplete; a barren open world with very little detail or variation. There's a dull lifelessness to it. The hackneyed mission structure just begs to be scaled back and placed into a cohesive and more compelling open world map. There's a glimmer of what could have been, to be sure. In the end, though, this ultimately resigns itself to being one of the most disappointing entries in a series I've ever played.
MGSV would have benefitted greatly from a quest structure similar to that of Horizon. A story that had three solid acts, and a protagonist that was true to the mythology of the series. If you were to add to that a survival and crafting system akin to what we had in MGS3, along with a more interactive and versatile camouflage mechanic, you'd have the culmination of everything MGS has ever tried to be.
Fast forward to the release of Horizon Zero Dawn. Never has any of the above been more apparent to me having played it; it is obvious Horizon is the game MGSV should and could have been, and I think even Hideo Kojima himself might have something to say on the matter. Why do I feel that this is the case?
The Decima Engine. Kojima ended up sourcing the Decima engine for Death Stranding. It's no coincidence that Horizon has a lot in common with MGSV, in terms of how it plays and feels. Horizon's emergent open-world gameplay encourages stealth-action strategies, with a wide variety of tactics and tools at your disposal to approach each encounter in a unique way. This is a game that performs beautifully, and looks insanely good while doing it, a goal Kojima and company have always worked very hard to attain (overall, when you take performance into consideration along with visual fidelity, Horizon runs laps around MGSV. It's more impressive in what it does at 30fps than MGSV is running at 60fps).
It is my theory (along with my opinion) that Kojima played Horizon and felt like this is exactly what he wanted to achieve with the FOX engine, but couldn't due to the situation with Konami. Maybe the Decima engine proved to be even more suited to his needs, who knows? What I do know is, playing Horizon and taking it in as a complete package, it feels like everything I wanted from MGSV: outstanding visuals and gameplay, a varied and detailed open world, all wrapped up in a satisfying story with fully realized characters.
I think Kojima looks to create the game he set out to make in the first place using the Decima Engine, free from constraints, with Horizon having set the bar so very high.
But that's just pure speculation, on my part. I have no idea what the man thinks. So I may very well be talking out of my ass.
Okay, so a lot of us can agree that MGSV wasn't really a great MGS game; but what is there makes for a solid action-stealth game. I can live with that. But is it this genre-defining masterpiece that some make it out to be? Not by a long shot. Anyone with two eyes can see a game that is very much incomplete; a barren open world with very little detail or variation. There's a dull lifelessness to it. The hackneyed mission structure just begs to be scaled back and placed into a cohesive and more compelling open world map. There's a glimmer of what could have been, to be sure. In the end, though, this ultimately resigns itself to being one of the most disappointing entries in a series I've ever played.
MGSV would have benefitted greatly from a quest structure similar to that of Horizon. A story that had three solid acts, and a protagonist that was true to the mythology of the series. If you were to add to that a survival and crafting system akin to what we had in MGS3, along with a more interactive and versatile camouflage mechanic, you'd have the culmination of everything MGS has ever tried to be.
Fast forward to the release of Horizon Zero Dawn. Never has any of the above been more apparent to me having played it; it is obvious Horizon is the game MGSV should and could have been, and I think even Hideo Kojima himself might have something to say on the matter. Why do I feel that this is the case?
The Decima Engine. Kojima ended up sourcing the Decima engine for Death Stranding. It's no coincidence that Horizon has a lot in common with MGSV, in terms of how it plays and feels. Horizon's emergent open-world gameplay encourages stealth-action strategies, with a wide variety of tactics and tools at your disposal to approach each encounter in a unique way. This is a game that performs beautifully, and looks insanely good while doing it, a goal Kojima and company have always worked very hard to attain (overall, when you take performance into consideration along with visual fidelity, Horizon runs laps around MGSV. It's more impressive in what it does at 30fps than MGSV is running at 60fps).
It is my theory (along with my opinion) that Kojima played Horizon and felt like this is exactly what he wanted to achieve with the FOX engine, but couldn't due to the situation with Konami. Maybe the Decima engine proved to be even more suited to his needs, who knows? What I do know is, playing Horizon and taking it in as a complete package, it feels like everything I wanted from MGSV: outstanding visuals and gameplay, a varied and detailed open world, all wrapped up in a satisfying story with fully realized characters.
I think Kojima looks to create the game he set out to make in the first place using the Decima Engine, free from constraints, with Horizon having set the bar so very high.
But that's just pure speculation, on my part. I have no idea what the man thinks. So I may very well be talking out of my ass.
