Metal Gear Solid had been a staple in gaming for decades. Despite Hideo Kojima’s departure from Konami and its attempt to continue the franchise without him, players just can’t seem to get enough of the legendary soldier Snake. The main entries have evolved over the years, going from retro top-down pixel visuals to cinematic masterpieces. That said, not every title has been a home run.
Every main series Metal Gear game is important to the story, but some offer a better experience than others. By averaging score data from Metacritic and Internet Games Database, we’ve rated and ranked each game. Unfortunately, some of the series’ early titles — Metal Gear, Snake’s Revenge, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions — did not have enough data available to score and are, therefore, excluded. Here’s how the rest measure up.
9. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – 76.63/100
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was the prologue title that accompanied The Phantom Pain. Wanting to give players a chance to experience the FOX engine and next-gen Metal Gear before TPP‘s proper release, Kojima opted to convert a section from Metal Gear Solid V into Ground Zeroes. Unfortunately, the gambit didn’t pay off. The game acted as a glorified tech demo that showcased the new open-world design and combat systems. While critics generally responded well to the gameplay and graphical changes, many were soured by Ground Zeroes‘ concise playtime. It would later come packaged in definitive versions and re-released editions of Metal Gear Solid V.
8. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes – 83.5/100
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a GameCube remake of Metal Gear Solid. The title was rebuilt from the ground up, offering far more than simple retextures or additional content. Twin Snakes made massive improvements to the original’s visuals, incorporating detailed cinematics and updated character models.
The GameCube Metal Gear also borrowed from the then-recently released Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, letting players experience Solid Snake’s most iconic mission in stunning new details via a first-person aiming mode. Critics were fairly pleased with Twin Snakes, stating that it offered a convincing reason for players to Shadow Moses and gave newcomers little excuse to avoid. That said, some have criticized the game’s increased length compared to the original.
7. Metal Gear Solid – 87/100
Metal Gear Solid was unlike anything players had experienced before on PlayStation. The title offered a then-unparalleled cinematic narrative experience and let players play out all their James Bond fantasies in a dark, near-future thriller. Players were taken in by Shadow Moses’ oppressive atmosphere and the cast of unique characters.
Metal Gear Solid‘s story immersed players in Solid Snake’s mission to infiltrate Shadow Moses Island after the renegade FOXHOUND unit seizes control of a nuclear weapons disposal facility. Things get personal when Snake uncovers his clone-twin, Liquid Snake, is leading FOXHOUND and has obtained a new Metal Gear. Though it earned praise from many major outlets, Metal Gear Solid did receive criticism regarding its length, among other minor flaws.
6. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops – 88.25/100
The series’ first portable main series game, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops offered a unique, pocket-sized Metal Gear Solid experience. Set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Big Boss is tasked with stopping a military coup in Columbia. It was the first to introduce the recruiting and PMC growing elements that would become series staples.
Many critics found the game to be among the best that the PSP offered, making true on its initial promise of providing a pocketable console-level experience. Players loved that they got a complete Metal Gear experience on the go, but the PSP’s limited controls did leave some wishing for better.
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – 88.5/100
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is canonically the first title in the series, focusing on Big Boss’ infiltration into Russia during the Cold War. When his mentor seemingly defects and aids in kidnapping a weapons developer, Snake is sent in to rescue the scientist and stop his teacher.
MGS3 supplemented the series already-great stealth gameplay with new camouflage and medical systems. As players procured equipment on-site and engaged enemies, they could paint Snake’s face, change their clothes or treat any injuries they’d sustained. Critics were blown away by what many called the best Metal Gear entry to date. They loved the villains and new stealth features added since MGS2, but sometimes found the dialogue reminiscent of a cheesy action film.
4. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – 91/100
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was initially released as a PSP game but has since been re-released across various physical and digital platforms. Peace Walker picks up after Portable Ops, with Big Boss having inherited a PMC. The group begins investigating a military group that’s set up shop in Costa Rica and is believed to be manufacturing nuclear weapons.
Developing ideas introduced in Portable Ops and later fully realized in The Phantom Pain, Peace Walker allowed players to recruit personnel in-field and manage them as well as their base’s operations. Despite dwindling support for Sony’s first handheld, critics fell in love with Peace Walker. They’d never seen better visuals squeezed out of the PSP and felt its new systems perfectly complimented the genre.
3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – 93/100
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was the series’ first entry on Sony’s PlayStation 2 and its release coincided with massive graphical and narrative shifts from its predecessor. Instead of Solid Snake, players go through the majority of the game as a new character, Raiden. Though it was still a Metal Gear Solid game through and through, some players would call this a weakness.
Still, Sons of Liberty‘s gameplay improvements include a first-person aiming mode and improved AI that had squads communicating and working together. Critics and fans gladly took to these changes, declaring Sons of Liberty offered incredible attention to detail and precise, enjoyable gameplay. Even the game’s harshest critics only had the overly bizarre plot to denounce.
2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – 94/100
Many thought Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots would mark the end of the series, covering the final climactic battle between an aging Solid Snake and the Liquid Snake-possessed Ocelot. In a time where the enigmatic Patriots control large swathes of society and war through nanomachine technology, Snake must stop Liquid Ocelot from ousting the Patriots and seizing their power.
The game was the first new Metal Gear title released on Sony’s PlayStation 3 and featured an over-the-shoulder perspective instead of the prior title’s overhead third-person view. Guns of the Patriots also added the OctoCamo, working similarly to the camouflage system in MGS3. Critics immediately fell in love with Guns of the Patriots upon release, believing the game exceeded the hype surrounding its development.
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – 94.5/100
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the last title that involved the series creator, Hideo Kojima, and many see it as the true final entry in the franchise. The Phantom Pain offered the missing link to the series’ narrative, taking place between Ground Zeroes and the original Metal Gear. Big Boss wakes up from a nine-year coma and begins rebuilding his PMC while seeking revenge against his enemies.
The title fully realizes the recruitment and base-building systems introduced in Portable Ops in addition to bringing Metal Gear to an open world. With a nearly infinite number of ways to complete missions or explore the locales, players were astounded by the depth present in the game when considering its tumultuous development.
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