Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 301 sampled Steam reviews (265 positive / 36 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing16% mention it
- World & exploration6% mention it
- Visuals & art5% mention it
- Controls & UI4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing22% mention it
- Grind & repetition14% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
76%
25 reviews
5-15h
86%
35 reviews
15-40h
93%
58 reviews
40-100h
90%
87 reviews
100h+
88%
96 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 92 | 30 |
| Creator reviews (5 tracked) | – | 90 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 92% | 86 | 1033 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 85 | 74 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 87% | 81 | 145 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 413 total reviews in window · weighted 220.8 up / 32.5 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (152)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“That I can be so critical of it, that it can have damn microtransactions in it, and still get one of my highest recommendations, speaks volumes about what Kojima's done. Because this is a game in which I made a tank fly away on balloons and then rode a horse that pooped whenever I told it to. Yes folks… this truly is a Hideo Kojima game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“An impressive epic, even if it falls several steps shy of the open-world grandeur realized by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“In conclusion, here’s what can be said about Metal Gear Solid V: it’s a perfect game that is, at the same time, enormously unfinished, even at an advanced stage of development. It’s one of the best action-spy thrillers in gaming history, with no real competition, yet it’s still up to three years away from being fully completed. A breathtaking story, interesting characters, superb audiovisual presentation, and fantastic gameplay that lets you play through the game several times in a row without it ever feeling repetitive. Kojima didn’t know how to handle his boss; he refused to make any concessions or compromises, and KONAMI released the game while it was still in an advanced stage of development, which was a huge mistake. In any case, it was absolutely necessary for them, because they didn’t know if the title would pay for itself. Kojima’s arrogance and the publisher’s hard-nosed business approach turned the game, on the one hand, into a video game hit, and on the other, into a crippled product that can’t hold its own against its competitors the way it promised, and the way it really should. Since its release in 2015, I’ve been constantly wondering how to rate it and what to make of it. The first half of V is perfect; the second half is rehashed drivel; and the third half never even materialized. Everyone expected the relationship between the developer and the publisher to calm down, for Kojima, with his (justifiably) inflated ego, to come back down to earth, and for the publisher to stop being such a cold-blooded businessman. When you create art, your heart must come first, and money second. Here, money and a wounded ego took precedence, and V suffered indescribable damage as a result. You can still see the effects of that even after these nine years.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“As it stands, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a great game hampered by some niggling concerns that can thankfully, be rectified with an update or two if Konami deems it fit. Nonetheless, if you persevere and you'll be treated to a slick open-world adventure that few can match.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you compare it to the previous installments you might feel disappointed. If you compare it to the rest of the gaming industry, then you’ll experience the ingenious excellence. The mixed feelings between an unfinished story and premium gameplay fail to ruin the greatness of what The Phantom Pain really is. But you won’t be able to shake off the regret of great not being even greater.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Hideo Kojima with the release of The Phantom Pain is likely to say goodbye to the Metal Gear Solid series. He does it in a very good way, although it is difficult to find an understanding of many mistakes made on this occasion.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The game as a whole is obviously unfinished but what's there is incredibly fun and shockingly creative. Online multiplayer is well balanced and exciting but the netcode still relies on host based connections, which can have serious drawbacks when playing with random players.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“It's a game that's often obnoxious and clumsy in the handling of its subject matter and the treatment of its own characters, but it's also that rare game that showcases the treasure of undying delights to be found within meticulously crafted interactive worlds.”
read full review ↗ - 90
- 100
“Dear Kojima, thanks for giving us this sophisticated engineering machinery. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is simply a revolutionary product and probably the best stealth game in recent years. It's not afraid of the sandbox genre, it draws a vast and open field full of hours of gameplay, freedom, unlimited fun and a constant desire to know what will happen next. Kojima, you are the real Big Boss. ”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It's the final Kojima-led Metal Gear Solid game, and while the story falls apart, the gameplay is surprisingly enjoyable. It's worth checking out just for that gameplay experience.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a forgettable and shallow Metal Gear experience, and fans expecting this to be on par with any of the previous mainline releases will be disappointed, and, quite possibly, drop the game altogether before the lacklustre story decides to show up. It looks and plays fantastic, and the freedom to apply weapons and items to effective strategic use is second to none, but after hours of similar, tiring missions, with no incentive to drive forward or even return to once it's all done and dusted, it can't help but be wondered how on earth this turned out the way it did. This is no phantom pain, it's a physical one.”
read full review ↗
The Jimquisition
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Gadgets 360
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
FourFaceButtons
Paste Magazine
The Angry Joe Show
Kinglink Reviews
Cubed3…and 140 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
No patch announcements found on Steam yet.