Renowned game designerHideo Kojimaforever impacted the industry when he created theMetal Gear Solidseries. Though the original 1987 releasewas not the first stealth game, it popularized the genre and refined it through the use of pacing, espionage gameplay and storytelling. Nowadays, when players think of stealth gaming, Metal Gear Solid always comes to mind.
Each major release always added something new to shake up the formula, but what made this series great has always remained the same: sneaking around in cardboard boxes, exclamation points popping over the heads of alerted enemies and battles with giant nuclear firing mechs. By now, the Metal Gear Solid franchise has had so many releases that newcomers tend to get chronologically confused about where the series truly begins or ends. But for players only interested in the games for their stealth, this list is loaded with enough cardboard boxes for everyone.
8Metal Gear (1987)
The True Beginning of Stealth Gaming
Metal Gear
Before there was voice acting, 3D cutscenes, or a Solid attached to the title, there were just 8-bit and sprites. In Solid Snake’s first debut adventure, he takes on the forces of Outer Heaven in an adventure that will forever define his life. You start with nothing but a pack of cigs and have to find weapons and gear along the way as you roam the base, defeating bosses until you may complete your ultimate objective: destroy Metal Gear.
The basic core mechanics longtime fans are familiar with all started here: avoiding detection, the Alert Mode when caught, starting with little to nothing and controlling a character who’s not invincible. As the grandfather of the series, the gameplay has unfortunately gotten rusty over time. The gameplay boils down to moving, shooting, or using an item. Plus, it can get troublesome shuffling through your ever-growing inventory to find the correct item you need.
If detected by a single enemy soldier, only the enemies on the current screen will go on alert. However, if detected by more than one enemy, by a surveillance camera, or a sensor, then enemies on and off-screen will go on alert.
7Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
The Sequel that Crawled So the Series Could Run
Metal Gear 2
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake might seem archaic compared to its 3D successors. The gameplay can be challenging to get into, and a lot of backtracking is required to progress, but overall, Metal Gear 2 can be considered the best of the 8-bit games.
The levels you sneak around and explore feel more varied and colorful, and several common stealth mechanics players take for granted nowadays started here. You can crawl under fences or sneak through vents, can punch a wall to attract enemy guards’ attention, and you even have an on-screen radar to show enemy locations. The mechanics and combat might be tricky to master for new players, but when compared to the first game, it feels like you have a bit more freedom.
6Metal Gear Solid (1998)
The Game-changer
Metal Gear Solid
When the series crossed over into 3D for the originalPlayStation, it instantly made a huge splash, becoming a bigger hit than previous releases. Everything felt bigger. Even the boss fights remainsome of the best in the series. Metal Gear Solid (1998) remains a flawless example for its focus on stealth, action, and classic Kojima-style melodrama. However, to play Devil’s Advocate, groundbreaking as the game was, some things haven’t aged well.
Those who missed out will probably have difficulty adjusting to the limited controls. The bulk of the gameplay focuses on moving cover to cover, being swift to evade detection and trying to avoid combat; newcomers will struggle. However, there’s no lack of options when it comes to approaching each situation, and the original Metal Gear Solid remains the first game to give players a gun with a suppressor.
5Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
From the Tanker to the Big Shell
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
If you love the Metal Gear series for sneaking around solid steel environments, MGS 2 stands on top, having not one, but two unique locations to explore. In the prologue, you play as Solid Snake as he infiltrates a massive tanker to capture visual confirmation of a new Metal Gear, while in the main story, you’re Raiden, sent into the Big Shell to stop a terrorist threat.
Besides expanding the story and world, MGS 2 was also the first game to introduce the tranquilizer gun, a pacifist weapon that would become a mainstay of the series. Though the controls might be tricky to navigate, players will discover they have a bit more maneuverability than in previous games. Besides a more detailed environment to sneak around in, players have the option to hang and climb on rails. The game’s main hindrance is its annoying swimming sections, including a long and troublesome escort mission. YOU know the one.
4Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
V For Victory
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Peace Walker is often labeled as the easiest game in the series. Though it has been ported to other consoles, since it was once aPSPexclusive, there are limitations to what players can do. There’s no crawling, and the enemy AI is less sophisticated compared to other games. However, what shakes up the stealth is the abundance of gear you can unlock.
Once you begin recruiting specialists for R&D, you’ll be able to research and upgrade better gear. Sneaking through jungles, abandoned villages, and steel research facilities will be a breeze. Plus, not only can you team up with others in onlineco-op, but Peace Walker also has Extra Ops, short missions that offer challenges and rewards. These can range from new camouflage, unique weapons, better items, even new forms of cardboard box research, like the Carboard Tank. Yes, it’s a cardboard box shaped like a tank, and yes, you can fire it.
3Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
War Has Changed, So Has Stealth
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Solid Snake is back for his final mission. Or perhaps Old Snake would be more apt. Our hero may have aged poorly, but Metal Gear Solid 4’s gameplay and graphics have aged like fine wine. The game still looks just as jaw-dropping as it did in 2008. Besides possessing the coolest UI in the series, it features the best gadget ever used in a stealth game: OctoCamo.
This smart stealth suit lets the player replicate the surface of any texture they come into contact with. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dirt road, a grassy field, or a steel wall—the suit will mimic the pattern and camouflage you. And with how big the levels can be, MGS 4 gives players more freedom to explore and sneak around. The only downside is there’s so much story packed into the game that you’ll be sneaking for about twenty minutes before a thirty-minute cutscene plays.
2Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Try to Remember the Basics of CQC
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
Compared to other Metal Gears, where eating rations was all it took to restore your health,Metal Gear Solid 3is more detailed, using the Survival Viewer to keep track of Snake’s health and hunger. The medicine you administer will vary depending on the injury. You’ll also have to hunt and capture animals to feed Snake and keep his stamina meter from depleting.
Instead of just one suit, you’re given multiple as you can freely swap out camouflages and face paint to better blend into the world. MGS 3 also introduced CQC mechanics to the franchise. Though the controls for it can be tricky, it’ll prove useful in stealth when interrogating enemies for information or disarming them in combat. The game makes you feel like a true spy and survivalist. Along with having thebest story in the series, MGS 3 is still considered one ofKonami’sbest video games.
1Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Open-World Tactical Espionage
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
The franchise has come a long way, going from being confined to a single screen with sprites running around to detailed 3D environments. MGS 5 takes the series to a larger, new direction, into open-world stealth. From the sands of Afghanistan to the jungles of Africa, players have two large maps filled with missions and opportunities. Rescue POWs, capture enemy soldiers, steal high-value information, supplies, and resources, whatever you’re able to get your hands on in a world that feels alive.
There are enemy patrols that change depending on day or night, enormous bases crawling with dangers, and even the weather can impact missions for better or worse. How you approach each mission is up to you. Sneak on horseback, with an intelligent canine, on a miniature Metal Gear, or a superpowered sniper, and best of all, you’re able to customize your weapons and loadouts before each mission. In terms of stealth gameplay, MGS 5 remains utterly flawless.
