50 Best Xbox One Games Right Now

Best Xbox One Games #16 – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Developer: Kojima Productions

Synopsis: Venom Snake awakens, almost a decade after the events of Ground Zeroes. With Revolver Ocelot and Kaz Miller helping rebuild the broken shambles of a once great man, the three establish Mother Base. It works as a paradise of freedom and home of the Diamond Dogs militia, recruited through the use of the Fulton recovery system. Snake undergoes several sneaking missions to establish capital before antagonist Skull Face makes his introduction known. Bring home recruits, rescue wildlife and procure materials using the Fulton system, all while roaming the Afghani and African wildlife in an open-world stealth atmosphere.

Why it’s one of the 50 best Xbox One games: Despite the cut corners to finally get the game out, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain manages to play like one of the more complete packages in series history. Storytelling monologues aren’t comically long, as all facets of gameplay have been expanded to balance things out. The world Snake immerses himself into feels as if it was a fictionalized version of our past. As if 1984’s Phantom Pain was really a living documentary of a folklore legend.

Hideo Kojima must be congratulated for his efforts, most under the strangest of derision by publisher Konami. If hints left over from Ground Zeroes are to be understood as metaphor, this 100+ hour title, complete with optional online FOB invasion-style multiplayer, dozens of playable square kilometers of assets and tons of hidden secrets is a testament to the human spirit.

A fitting game for a fitting end.

Next: #15 - Dishonored 2