Recent reviews by Happy ☂

Released in 2014, Ground Zeroes serves as a bridge between Peace Walker and The Phantom Pain. The game's dark tone and Controversial subjects combined with it's short length make this game a unique and very different experience in the Metal Gear Solid franchise.

The game takes place one year after the events of PW in 1975 in camp Omega (based on a real place). We are tasked with rescuing both Chico and Paz after we find out that Paz survived the events of PW. While all of this is happening, MSF is going through a nuclear inspection to prove the world they don't have a nuke, clearing thier name in the process (they hid thier nuke). Eventually we learn that it was all a ruse and that saving Paz (who had 2 bombs planted inside of her) and Chico was just a distraction so XOF could attack and destory MSF while Big Boss is away. These events eventually lead to TPP and are a big reason for the player's action in that game.

When it comes to gameplay, the game is very much TPP but on a smaller scale. This means that the gameplay is almost unmatched (just like TPP) in the stealth genre. The controls are tight, the level design is top notch and allows the player to aproach the missions in numbers of ways which adds alot to the replay value, and the gunplay feels great.
The game has 7 mission in total (the main mission,4 side ops and 2 bonus mission that only unlock after you collect the 9 XOF patches) those missions are diverse and offer tons of replayability. In my opinion, to fully enjoy this game you need to 100% the game. It's one of the only games I ever bothered doing it because this game is stractured in a way that makes doing it really fun. Completing every mission couple of time on all difficulties, collecting the tapes, getting the S rank on all of them, speed running the missions and completing challenges is super fun and rewarding. Doing this gives you much more information about the story and what really happened in camp Omega and it also gives you rewards in TPP. Obviously the game wouldn't have worked if it weren't for it's superb level design, which makes replaying the mission fun, unique and interesting everytime you do it.

On a technical level the game might not be as polished as TPP but it's still great and holds up really well. The graphics are great, especially the rain and light effects and the game runs at 60 fps with no frame drops even on the highest settings. There are some minor bugs however, first person with a keyboard (works well with a controller for me) feels junky and the draw distance is pretty bad but outside of that it's all great.

For some people the game is tone deaf and not really a Metal Gear Solid game but for me it's what makes this game stand out on it's own. For me this is not a demo but an actual entry in
the franchise. The game is dark because the themes it tackles are themselves very dark and presenting them in a light way would do them a disservice.

Overall, I highly recommend playing this game and not skipping it. Just make sure you buy the definitive edition, so you'll get both this and TPP.

An atmospheric, well written and gorgeous looking game with a compelling story (so far) and awesome music. I've been waiting for something like this for a long time, definitely on my whishlist now.