The Metal Gear Solid game series is highly political and to say that is not is laughable. I remember around the time of the release of the fifth instalment, that was a heated topic for some odd reason. While there are many topics the game covers throughout its life-time; the flaws of nuclear deterrents and the affects of the world fueled by a war economy has on people is the over-arching topic of the series. Just last year a game released five years ago at the time, the fifth instalment in the series, made news as the ps3 online player base succeeded at unlocking a secret cutscene. The cutscene is a reward for one-hundred percent of players disarming their nuclear weapons that contradicts the events of the series as nuclear power remains an issue. The cutscene tells the player about the dangers of nukes, it shows an alternative timeline that would change the series for the better, as it closes with Venom snake recounting to Big Boss about how the future can be changed.
Metal Gear as a series is narrative driven, god the fourth game in the series had cut scene lengths that went long than some movies. Ian Bogost speaks about the merits of games that do the opposite “Playing such games can have a political impact because they allow players to embody political positions and engage in political actions many will never have previously experienced”. Well lets take that and apply it to MGS. The game rewards players for a pacifist run, where you cannot kill any opponent even boss’s who must be defeated using the tranquillizer. Is that enough though, does the game “embody their commentary in their rules”. Though the game is overt with its narrative I would say no. The series always had an underline fetishization of a military life, its weapons, and methods to kill.
Sources
“View of Playing Politics: Videogames for Politics, Activism, and Advocacy: First Monday.” View of Playing Politics: Videogames for Politics, Activism, and Advocacy | First Monday, firstmonday.org/article/view/1617/1532.
Sentoso, Andrew, director. MGSV. Youtube, 2021, youtu.be/MimPsO_20yQ.
“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain — Nuclear Disarmament [Hidden Cutscene].” Youtube, 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4uSkAACoHc.
