I think it’s relatively safe to say that anyone who’s a fan of video games to, like, any degree has either played or at least heard about the Metal Gear franchise. And if you’ve heard about the games before, then you’ve certainly caught wind of the upcoming ‘Master Collection’, a bundle of the original 3 Metal Gear Solid games along with the original Metal Gear games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, that will be released late this October. For many gamers, this release has been a long-awaited dream come true.
But we still have over a month left until the Master Collection actually releases, so if you’re anything like me, the anticipation of its release has been eating away at you ever since it was announced, and you’re just dying for a way to scratch that Metal Gear itch. This is why I’ve taken it upon myself to present to you a list of the Metal Gear games that currently are available on the PC!
Obviously, by the end of this October, there will be plenty more Metal Gear games for fans old and new alike to experience on their PCs, but the selection is a bit on the limited side as it stands currently. That being said, there’s still a good chunk of the Metal Gear franchise’s games to play on the PC.
So let’s quit the small talk and jump right into today’s Top 5 list.
#5: Metal Gear Survive (PC/PS4/Xbox One)
Metal Gear Survive Official Trailer - Gamescom 2016
Metal Gear Survive is a strange spinoff title set in an alternate universe, where MSG: V’s standout and original stealth action gameplay is combined with a new mix of survival game elements. You will create your own character to survive in this new yet familiar world, gathering food and equipment while combating enemy humans who have mutated crystalline features that make them the next worst thing to the undead.
Now I know a good few of those who read this will likely be annoyed to see this game anywhere on this list, but even so, it still deserves a spot here nonetheless. While yes, there was a good bit of controversy surrounding the game’s release, due to series creator Hideo Kojima’s release from Konami a few years prior, combined with new gameplay elements never before seen in a Metal Gear game, the game itself is still a decently put together survival action game to its defense.
Survive’s core gameplay is almost one-to-one with The Phantom Pain’s, only this game changes the focus from stealth action to survival game elements mixed with a tower defense game. You’re set loose in this alternate reality to explore a world covered by a toxic cloud called “The Dust”, gathering necessary resources and weapons for survival so you can prepare to defend Wormhole generators around the map, which you need to safely traverse this hostile world, that will attract hordes of the crystalline zombies, called “Wanderers”, whom you must fight for your life against. Survive also introduces thirst and hunger elements, further adding to the stress you will face.
Many of the players who are on the positive side of this game’s “mixed” reception will attest that this game does serve well as a decently enjoyable survival game that’s best played with a few friends using its available 4-person co-op features. Some have said that, despite this being a list for Metal Gear games, looking at Survive as if it were its own standalone game helps make it feel all the more like a fairly enjoyable game. And to its credit it very much is, seeing as it utilizes much of the gameplay of the fantastically designed MGS: V.
Ultimately I think it’s fair to say that this is nobody’s favorite Metal Gear game in the 30+ years this franchise has been around. But if you ever are willing to give this strange blended-up mix of a game a chance, then I recommend that you get it whenever it goes on sale and see if you can get a few friends to tag along with you, as that will surely help make your experience all the more enjoyable for you when playing this odd little addition to an overall legendary series.
Likely the most controversial game under the Metal Gear banner, Metal Gear Survive pits Big Boss’ lost soldiers against zombie-like mutants as they fight for survival in an alternate dimension.
#4: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PC/Mac/PS3/Xbox 360/Nvidia Shield TV)
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Official Trailer
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is set four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Private Military Companies have splintered into numerous smaller factions after the fall of the Patriots, many of whom are using new cybernetic technologies running rampant through the world to develop their very own super soldiers using cyborg enhancements. In this world, you play as Raiden, the surprise hero from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, who returns all these years later as a sword-wielding cyborg who fights for peace and to protect those who can’t protect themselves.
You face off against a group of villainous cyborgs working for rival PMC Desperado Enforcement LLC, who seek to destabilize peaceful nations across the globe to profit off of the ensuing wars. This unique Metal Gear title strips away the stealth action and puts you in the forefront of combat, using Raiden’s enhanced strength and high-frequency blade to slice through the world in any way you see fit. Using the game’s highly advanced “blade mode”, you can precisely slice through virtually any object or enemy along a geometrical plane at will, further adding to the top-quality game design that fans can expect out of Metal Gear. Game design which varies from the mainline style in this game, but in a still very well-executed fashion.
It’s up to Raiden to stop this murderous plot to bring chaos and destruction to the world. Along his quest, he will face many trials and roadblocks that range from over the top to utterly insane. The very first boss fight in the game pits you against a Metal Gear RAY, and in that very first boss fight you will have to suplex the robot with nothing but your strength, jump across a series of hundreds of missiles that the RAY is shooting at you, and run down the side of a massive clock tower to slice it in half as it fires everything it has at you. In Revengeance, you will experience that and much, much more in just the first hour alone, so you can be assured that Revengeance is an adrenaline rush from start to finish.
Though Revengeance did get panned originally for seeming too different from the original Metal Gear games, over the years it has become its own sort of cult classic due to fans developing a deep love for the insanity that stems from the gameplay, story, and voice acting present in the game. On top of that, it’s well worth mentioning that the game’s unique soundtrack is a beloved part of this game all on its own, with boss fight music that can get you so invested in the fight you’ll be left at the edge of your seat the whole time.
Compared to #5, I’m sure many long-time fans are happy to see Revengeance on this list, as many view this game as a spinoff done right. It continues the overall story of the franchise further beyond the main games, while still managing to possess its own identity when viewed side by side with them. Though it is almost nothing like the original games, I assure you with every fiber of my being that this high-octane adventure across the world of Metal Gear is 100% worth playing through at least once, whether you’re a franchise veteran or a new face in town. You can trust me when I tell you that you won’t regret getting on this roller coaster of a game.
Protect the innocent from those that would do the world harm as the cybernetic super-soldier Raiden in this standout 2013 addition to the Metal Gear Saga.
#3: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PC/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One)
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Launch Trailer
In 1975, a year after the Peace Walker incident, the legendary soldier and mercenary leader of Militaires Sans Frontières known as Big Boss infiltrates a maximum security prison facility on the southern tip of Cuba to rescue two prisoners: Ricardo ‘Chico’ Libre, a former FSLN child soldier, and Paz Ortega Andrade, a double agent for the mysterious Cipher group who infiltrated MSF. Big Boss, better known to some as Snake, must infiltrate the Camp Omega prison facility to rescue Paz and Chico, lest they reveal sensitive information about MSF to their captors. But little did Snake know that by the end of this fateful day, things were going to change for MSF, and for the legend of Big Boss, forever…
Ground Zeroes was originally meant to be released alongside the full MGS: V game as a mission, but due to extended development times, series creator and director Hideo Kojima decided to release Ground Zeroes as a standalone title to give players an early taste of what’s to come. And what they got was the first-ever true open-world experience in MGS history, filled with various new features that gave the game an entirely distinct feel in the franchise, on top of incredibly done new graphics that made players actually feel like they were crawling through the rain across a Cuban prison camp.
Comparatively, Ground Zeroes is the shortest game in the Metal Gear Franchise, a fact that many fans of the series were vaguely annoyed about when the game was released in 2014. But to that point, Ground Zeroes served its purpose wonderfully of both being the dramatic prologue to the full MGS: V game that would release the following year and as being an incredible first glimpse at the overall groundbreaking new stealth action gameplay that players could expect out of Phantom Pain later on.
Despite its overall shortness in the main mission, and even though the several additional side-ops to complete still only take place within the same overall area, Ground Zeroes is a well-done prelude to things to come in the full Phantom Pain game, and it still gives you that masterfully built Metal Gear Solid experience fans of the series have come to know and love.
So if you’re a fan of the series and haven’t tried it yet, I can assuredly recommend getting this particular title whenever it goes on sale. Especially since it’s pretty much a necessity to ‘open the doors’ for what’s to come in The Phantom Pain’s story.
In this 2014 release, the legendary Big Boss returns to infiltrate an American Black Site and rescue a crucial pair of prisoners in this prelude to the Phantom Pain that awaits Snake.
#2: Metal Gear Solid (PC/PS1)
Metal Gear Solid - E3 1997 Trailer
In 1998, gaming fans across the globe were blown away when Metal Gear Solid was released, a game that many named one of if not the best games ever made when it was released. Metal Gear Solid was seen as the main reason to own a PlayStation for many gamers, as its unique stealth action gameplay in a fully realized and highly immersive 3D setting was something never before seen, and when combined with the phenomenal story and voice acting present in the game, Metal Gear Solid quickly cemented itself as one of the best of all time.
Putting players in control of a highly trained soldier codenamed Solid Snake, it's up to you to infiltrate the nuclear weapons disposal facility on a remote island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago codenamed "Shadow Moses" as it’s being held hostage FOXHOUND, a group of renegade genetically enhanced soldiers who plan on using the newly developed Metal Gear REX, a massive bipedal weapons platform, to launch a nuke on American soil if they do not receive one billion dollars ransom… and the remains of the legendary soldier Big Boss.
This mission falls on Snake and Snake alone to infiltrate the facility, avoid detection from the guards, defeat the rogue members of FOXHOUND, and destroy Metal Gear REX before it’s too late.
Metal Gear Solid’s current PC incarnation might have gone unnoticed for many of the gamers out there today, as this version of the game was released way back in the year 2000, and it was only available in CD format until 2020 when you could purchase the game digitally, but only on GOG.com and nowhere else. Along with its current limited availability, the PC port of MGS has a few notable omissions and technical errors, such as the Psycho Mantis boss fight no longer having the memory card reader cutscene and a few audio and visual errors that occur throughout the game.
On the other side of the coin, however, the PC port adds in new features like being able to quick-save whenever you please and the option to toggle moving and shooting in first-person mode whenever you desire regardless of difficulty. So if you’re expecting this experience to be one-to-one with a PS1 copy, you’re in for a bit of a mixed bag.
That being said, it’s still Metal Gear Solid, one of the most legendary video games ever released, regardless of the platform it's on. So if you absolutely just can’t wait for the Master Collection to release and you want to play the original Metal Gear Solid that started it all, then you absolutely can go over to GOG.com and pick up a copy of it for a steal of just $9.99. No need for you to be kept waiting any longer, huh?
The original groundbreaking title that defined a genre when it put Solid Snake into the 3D world for the very first time was released on a PC port in late 2000.
However, I’ve still opted to put the original Metal Gear Solid only at #2 because of the handful of errors and a few pieces of missing content within the game along with its limited availability. While it’s not the end of the world if you want to play MGS, it still does in my opinion bump it down just a tiny, little bit below the game in our #1 spot here today…
#1: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One)
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN | E3 2015 Trailer [Long] (EU)
Nine years after the events of Ground Zeroes, after the destruction of Mother Base, and the ruination of Big Boss’s Militaires Sans Frontières, Snake wakes up from a coma to discover that everything he once had has now been lost. Even his left arm had been lost.
After escaping the hospital he wakes up in and joining forces with his old frenemy Revolver Ocelot, Snake sets out to exact revenge against Cipher, the group responsible for destroying his old Mother Base, and their leader, known only as “Skull Face”. To fully exact this revenge, Snake will have to rebuild his mercenary army from the ground up under a new name: Diamond Dogs. From here the player will explore Metal Gear Solid’s first fully open world, using stealth and the equipment they’ll develop to complete numerous missions, expand their army, and ultimately exact their revenge.
The latest and most likely last entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise was a universally acclaimed success that sold over 3 million copies in the first five days of release. The gameplay is cited as not only one of the best Metal Gear Solid games but also one of the greatest stealth games ever. Along with praise for the gameplay came even more high praise for the game’s cast and their performance, the incredible graphics, the open-world design, the level of player freedom, and more praise beyond.
But along with the praise, people have also given fair criticisms of the game’s story and overall plot, with some even feeling it was unfinished due to a few outside factors, such as Hideo Kojima being forced out of Konami around the same time as the game’s release. But for me personally, The Phantom Pain is my favorite Metal Gear Solid game. This iteration of Snake is my favorite in the franchise, along with the characters and writing for the supporting cast and his enemies, combined with gameplay that’s absolutely marvelous in terms of technical design, Phantom Pain has pulled me back in more than most Metal Gear games.
Unlike the current PC port of MGS1, you can go out and get Phantom Pain on Steam today for just $19.99 at the lowest, or for $29.99 if you buy the “Definitive Experience” pack that includes extra cosmetic features and Ground Zeroes.
For what’s currently available on the PC at the time of writing, if you’re looking for the biggest and the most ‘true’ Metal Gear Solid experience out of all the games on this list, then I can safely assure you that The Phantom Pain will not leave you disappointed once you’ve gone and played it for yourself. Whether you’re a diehard Metal Gear fan or just a casual one, MGS: V is a game that any gamer should sit down and play at least once. Though that can be applied to the entire series, really. They really are all just that great.
After waking up from a Nine-year coma, Big Boss returns as Punished “Venom” Snake to seek out revenge against the group that stole everything from him.
Conclusion
And that’s our list ladies and gentlemen. Normally I try to make these a bit longer, but as it currently stands this is actually pretty much all the Metal Gear games available on PC at all. So you can see why so many others, myself included, are waiting in high anticipation of the Master Collection’s October release.
So, while normally I would ask you to comment on what you’re favorite game that wasn’t listed is regarding the topic of the blog, instead, I’ll invite you to comment about your favorite Metal Gear game in general, what your favorite moments are from each game, and how you’re all feeling about the Master Collection’s imminent release?
The Metal Gear franchise is one of my favorites out there, so I’m always happy to be able to nerd out about it whenever I get the chance. Plus I also always love hearing from the readers, so if you have anything you want to say, please feel free to leave a comment about it!
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