Before I get into this review, a quick summary of me so you can understand what kind of grain of salt to take from this review. Like most people, I got into this game for the memes. But unlike most people, I managed to stay completely away from any spoilers. I didn't even know the game was a hack n slash! I'm an achievement hunter, but this review is after my first run on Hard difficulty. If there's enough interesting stuff with the achievements, I may come back and edit this but for now, let's begin the review.

Story
This is technically the last game in the Metal Gear Franchise from what I can tell, so a double edged sword for new comers. I personally have never played a Metal Gear game, knowing bits and pieces from random wiki dives and Youtube videos. That being said, the story (atleast the emotional part of it) gets through to you pretty well with no background knowledge. I will admit, some characters and topics seem to be referenced, so I recommend having a friend that has played metal gear so you can ask them a few questions like I did. Otherwise, you'll be just fine, blind or not, as the story is mostly self contained.

Soundtrack
The Soundtrack is easily one of the best parts of this game, hands down. Every single song is a banger. I'm not joking. The music is also dynamic, changing depending on the bosses health, if ripper mode is activated, amount of enemies left, ect, ect. I've never seen vocals done as background music before, and this 100% did not disappoint. If you don't end up giving this game a try, atleast listen to the soundtrack. Half of the story imo is told via the OST, so not listening to it gives the game a massive disservice.

Gameplay
Gameplay is fun, but the skill ceiling is MASSIVE. Think Batman: Arkham with swords instead of fists. The controls are admittedly not well explained and it'll take a while or even a whole play-through to understand how certain mechanics work (like when Raiden dashes by tapping W and Attack, or what the hell the box means in blade mode), but once you do get it, it is SUPER rewarding. I recommend learning blade mode early though. 2 boss fights later on in the game heavily rely on the mechanic, and the final one is one of them. It was a super painful learning curve having to learn the mechanic over again right before the game ended.

During my Sam Very Hard run, one of the VR missions were complete bull (i'm talking about #4), but by the end of it I came out being a master of the perfect parry and finally rebinded my dodge key so I can use it more frequently. Rebinding helps alot, but this game is definitely a hard one to learn, especially on higher difficulties where everything one shots you.

Miscellaneous
I screenshared this game to a friend and he thought it was a remake because of how nice it looked LOL. It definitely holds up well in terms of graphics.
The message/theme of this game is scarily accurate to current day society. There's even a few things they straight up predict, and considering this game came out in 2014, the message holds up as if it came out in 2021. Definitely worth listening to the characters and trying to understand them on a philosophical level.
I like almost all the characters, but some of them feel...underdeveloped. Sam mainly. If there was one complaint I did have about this game, is that there isn't enough. I want so, so, so much more, bc of how amazing this game was. The emotion behind Samuel's post-fight scene wasn't really there until later on in the story during the Final Boss fight. (See below)

Conclusion
Defintely worth a buy. I think through this playthrough alone made it jump to my #3 favorite game, and even when the rose tinted glasses wear off (like I said, I do feel like the game was painfully short. It took me...like 7 hours in game time) it will 100% stay in my top 10. I am so glad that the memes for this game existed so I could experience it, and despite the fact that we'll probably never get another Metal Gear game again (...atleast a good one), this...was enough for me. Solid 8/10. (Post DLC, I'll give it a 9/10.)

Post DLC Edit: I didn't know this game had DLC! What a dummy! That being said, I beat Jetstream Sam's Campaign on Very Hard and Blade Wolf's on Revengance. With that out of the way, let's do a spoiler free review!

I mentioned in the original review that the main problem I had with Sam was his underdevelopment, and man did this DLC deliver. It really shows that Raiden and Sam are no different from each other, a concept I failed to get during the course of the main campaign. There are several questionable parts of his design how in gods name can he use zandatsu if he's not a cyborg?!, it fixed ALOT of the issues I had with the character and I like him way more now.

Gameplay wise, Blade Wolf, Raiden, and Sam all play completely differently, which after a 15 hour play-through of Raiden is a breath of fresh air. While Raiden is a customizable combo king, Sam is a heavy hitting charge character with much better air mobility and burst damage. Blade Wolf on the other hand, is a limiting moveset, requiring stealth to be successful, especially on higher difficulties. The cutscenes are amazing and learning more about my favorite characters is so rewarding.

To end off this review, I think the 100% for this game is gonna be hard. All S ranks, high scores on VR missions, ect. It's scary. But All I know is one thing: by the end, there will be blood.

Before I get into this review, a quick summary of me so you can understand what kind of grain of salt to take from this review. Like most people, I got into this game for the memes. But unlike most people, I managed to stay completely away from any spoilers. I didn't even know the game was a hack n slash! I'm an achievement hunter, but this review [b] is after my first run on Hard difficulty. [/b] If there's enough interesting stuff with the achievements, I may come back and edit this but for now, let's begin the review. [b]Story[/b] This is technically the last game in the Metal Gear Franchise from what I can tell, so a double edged sword for new comers. I personally have never played a Metal Gear game, knowing bits and pieces from random wiki dives and Youtube videos. That being said, the story (atleast the emotional part of it) gets through to you pretty well with no background knowledge. I will admit, some characters and topics seem to be referenced, so I recommend having a friend that has played metal gear so you can ask them a few questions like I did. Otherwise, you'll be just fine, blind or not, as the story is mostly self contained. [b]Soundtrack[/b] The Soundtrack is easily one of the best parts of this game, hands down. Every single song is a banger. I'm not joking. The music is also dynamic, changing depending on the bosses health, if ripper mode is activated, amount of enemies left, ect, ect. I've never seen vocals done as background music before, and this 100% did not disappoint. If you don't end up giving this game a try, atleast listen to the soundtrack. Half of the story imo is told via the OST, so not listening to it gives the game a massive disservice. [b]Gameplay[/b] Gameplay is fun, but the skill ceiling is MASSIVE. Think Batman: Arkham with swords instead of fists. The controls are admittedly not well explained and it'll take a while or even a whole play-through to understand how certain mechanics work (like when Raiden dashes by tapping W and Attack, or what the hell the box means in blade mode), but once you do get it, it is SUPER rewarding. I recommend learning blade mode early though. 2 boss fights later on in the game heavily rely on the mechanic, and the final one is one of them. It was a super painful learning curve having to learn the mechanic over again right before the game ended. During my Sam Very Hard run, one of the VR missions were complete bull (i'm talking about #4), but by the end of it I came out being a master of the perfect parry and finally rebinded my dodge key so I can use it more frequently. Rebinding helps alot, but this game is definitely a hard one to learn, especially on higher difficulties where everything one shots you. [b]Miscellaneous[/b] I screenshared this game to a friend and he thought it was a remake because of how nice it looked LOL. It definitely holds up well in terms of graphics. The message/theme of this game is scarily accurate to current day society. There's even a few things they straight up predict, and considering this game came out in 2014, the message holds up as if it came out in 2021. Definitely worth listening to the characters and trying to understand them on a philosophical level. [strike]I like almost all the characters, but some of them feel...underdeveloped. Sam mainly. If there was one complaint I did have about this game, is that there isn't enough. I want so, so, so much more, bc of how amazing this game was. The emotion behind Samuel's post-fight scene wasn't really there until later on in the story during the Final Boss fight.[/strike] (See below) [b]Conclusion[/b] Defintely worth a buy. I think through this playthrough alone made it jump to my #3 favorite game, and even when the rose tinted glasses wear off (like I said, I do feel like the game was painfully short. It took me...like 7 hours in game time) it will 100% stay in my top 10. I am so glad that the memes for this game existed so I could experience it, and despite the fact that we'll probably never get another Metal Gear game again (...atleast a good one), this...was enough for me. Solid 8/10. (Post DLC, I'll give it a 9/10.) [b]Post DLC Edit[/b]: I didn't know this game had DLC! What a dummy! That being said, I beat Jetstream Sam's Campaign on Very Hard and Blade Wolf's on Revengance. With that out of the way, let's do a spoiler free review! I mentioned in the original review that the main problem I had with Sam was his underdevelopment, and man did this DLC deliver. It really shows that Raiden and Sam are no different from each other, a concept I failed to get during the course of the main campaign. There are several questionable parts of his design [spoiler]how in gods name can he use zandatsu if he's not a cyborg?![/spoiler], it fixed ALOT of the issues I had with the character and I like him way more now. Gameplay wise, Blade Wolf, Raiden, and Sam all play completely differently, which after a 15 hour play-through of Raiden is a breath of fresh air. While Raiden is a customizable combo king, Sam is a heavy hitting charge character with much better air mobility and burst damage. Blade Wolf on the other hand, is a limiting moveset, requiring stealth to be successful, especially on higher difficulties. The cutscenes are amazing and learning more about my favorite characters is so rewarding. To end off this review, I think the 100% for this game is gonna be hard. All S ranks, high scores on VR missions, ect. It's scary. But All I know is one thing: by the end, there will be blood.