Metal Gear Survive Review - Say goodbye to the Metal Gear you know

Reviewing a game like Metal Gear Survive makes me - as a fan of the 30-year-old franchise - the devil's lawyer. The survival game is easy to hate, whether or not you have played it. The reason for this is no secret, so we do not have to turn around the hot knit. The break between publisher Konami and Metal Gear author Hideo Kojima has not earned Konami the best reputation and fans seem to have no appetite for a Kojima-free Metal Gear game. The question is therefore whether Metal Gear can survive without input from Kojima. Konami thinks so, and therefore presents Metal Gear Survive, a survival game that has no problem breaking the ties with the famous storyline without looking or blushing. But, is the iron still strong without masters Kojima, or does metal fatigue occur?

Say goodbye to the Metal Gear you know

First of all, the first name is to get a thing out of the way; Metal Gear Survive has nothing to do with the Metal Gear stories as we know them. Despite the fact that the game bears the name of the franchise, it could just as well have been omitted, something Konami could have done better in my eyes to give the game a little more chance of survival. Konami spares - especially in the beginning - a very thin thread to Ground Zeroes by coming up with an alternative end to it. With the glimpse we get from Big Boss, it keeps up with the Metal Gear story. The only references that we find later are the recognizable sound bites (when you are spotted) and the countless lens flares during cutscenes.

Instead of Snake, in Metal Gear Survive you will follow in the footsteps of your own male or female soldier, who is referred to as Captain. After the famous escape attempt by Big Boss and Miller by helicopter, the shit hits the proverbial fan when a giant wormhole pulls about half the Mother Base to another universe. That you escape that hole does not mean that you are 'in the clear'. A certain man and Lawrence Fishburn impersonator named Goodluck (I do not invent this) will send you half a year later to that alternative universe to hang out the rescue missionary, given that a previously controlled team is in favor. Oh yes, whether you want to mine Kuban Energy, given that the power of the future must be. That the alternative universe is full of (literally) brainless infected people named Wanderers is also reported, as well as the fact that you are infected and their fate awaits when you die. So it is an ordinary working day.

There is a snake under the foliage

So survival is pretty catchy in Metal Gear Survive, something that naturally gives away the title. Provided, survival is - in the campaign as well as in the online co-op - a big job, albeit that it differs per mode in what form it is. In the campaign, it is not so much the threat of the Wanderers that provides the necessary tactical approach. Captain has quite a few meters to keep an eye on during his hikes through the harsh desert landscape. Hunger and thirst ensure a constant supply of water and food, as you stumble around within minutes and eventually die from dehydration or malnutrition. Water is generally not such an issue, though most of it is polluted and you have to cook it so that it does not go horribly wrong with the shit and the cunt rite. Eating is a bigger problem. You do not take long on a handful of berries, so you'll have to hunt for wildlife and cook it on your home base to stay strong and healthy. The biggest problem is that the hunting and traveling to your base burns almost as much energy as you pay for it. This means you have to repeat this joke (too often) to build a buffer before you go on a mission.

After all, you will need that energy when you fulfill your objectives, given that the majority of them go somewhere in 'The Dust'. Again, it is not difficult to guess what 'The Dust' is, because it is literally a toxic dust cloud in which Wanderers stay with masses at the same time. In this fog bank you take your stamina out even faster and you have one meter to keep an eye on; your oxygen tank. This during your raids in the Dust to supplement with accumulated Kuban Energy, although your tank eventually goes to the fuck. Back to your base for automatic filling is always the best. Unfortunately, that is often not an option, given that your destination is defeated by hordes of Wanderers and you have to sneak a la Snake there. Obviously, the meters kill you faster than the rest.

Look before you begin

If you can keep the meters under control, then the real work can begin. The way back to your own dimension does not arrive and a new wormhole will have to be made. A two-part AI machine called Virgil - a terribly dull AI by the way - can get the necessary information about such a wormhole and the team you're looking for, but that mess is everywhere and nowhere. The chance that you are eligible with quite a few Wanderers is therefore quite large. Packed with your own made weapons - crafting is one thing in Survive - is it up to you whether you sneak or fight. Sneaking often seems the best option, until you make one mistake and thus get a flood of brainless people on your neck. In view of a blow of such a case, taking a nice bite out of your health bar - to keep quiet about ailments to be treated - caution is always a priority. And all while all your meters empty.

Yet successfully completing a mission provides a sense of satisfaction, especially when it is hard-fought. Reaching your home base in many cases is literally a matter of survival. It is that feeling of satisfaction that makes the wafer-thin story and the somewhat uninspired missions worthwhile. Your objectives are not very varied. It is often a case of 'data recovery', defending against enemy hordes or a combination of them. The fact that you are assisted at your home base by pretty nonsensical NPCs that you have picked up along the way, adds almost nothing to the experience. In the end your destiny lies in your own hands. That may not be bad either. You want to keep the sweet taste of victory in the campaign for yourself.

One for all...

When you are tired of surviving in your Remy, you can always consider doing it with three other survival experts. When I can be very honest this is a lot more fun - and especially more challenging - than the campaign that can not be played in co-op. The definition of survival is therefore very different in the case of the online co-op. Forget about thirst and hunger and focus more on increasingly tougher hordes of Wanderers who are targeting your 'precious mining gear'. You and your three random other online players (not with friends ...) are busy enough to ward off that scum, which is a lot more annoying than those half dead Wanderers in the campaign. As with every horde-oriented multiplayer game, the difficulty of the waves increases, which also results in nicer rewards that can also be used in the campaign. Incidentally, this concept works vice versa. Raw materials that you have found in the campaign can be used in the co-op mode to build your defenses.

The biggest advantage in the co-op mode is perhaps the possibility to supplement your inventory at any time with all kinds of attack and defense items, which you can fabricate with a workbench with accumulated raw materials. Where you in the campaign well thought-out and well prepared on the road with minimal packing, you in the co-op mode before, during and after waves in seconds Heras Fencing from your back pocket. This definitely provides much better dynamics, more interesting gameplay and a much more enjoyable playing experience. For fans of base defense, the multiplayer is the mode to invest time in, even though the single player offers these activities from time to time. There is only a gravelfest of that I have in advance.

The 'Snake' among the grass

And so Konami had almost got me to say that it is doing fine, even without the help of Kojima. The company came so close to this hymn, until it showed the implementation of microtransactions. I know, I start more often and it is not always useful, but in this case I have to ask: Konami, WTF?! Requesting money to use a second save slot is by far the most stupid thing I expected in a Metal Gear game and I have seen a lot of hazy trading - thanks to Kojima's ridicule brainfarts. Here too the story goes that it should not happen and that it can also be unlocked with the in-game currency called SV, but come on. That I have to patch for instant weapon tickling, soit. That I may draw euries to not fall down acutely because I have taken nothing to eat, meh.

It is a stain for me on the new Metal Gear blazon, one that old school Metal Gearheads initially want to look at with the neck. When you ask me, Konami makes it more difficult than necessary. Metal Gear Survive is not a bad game at all. A solid base is present and after some blood, sweat and tears of frustration one can speak of an excellent online survival / defense game and an uninspiring but amusing campaign. I insist that Konami could have omitted the name Metal Gear better. Then the run-up to the game would have placed one in a more positive light. I also argue that the microtransactions - or at least the implementation as it is now - with gait from the game demolishes. The name can no longer be changed, the blatant money-making is.

Conclusion

Despite the hatred that Metal Gear Survive enjoys right from the start, I must admit that Konami managed to create a nice survival game. The campaign is flat and might have too many hooks and eyes for some to get enough fun out of it, but the multiplayer is splendidly chaotic hordes. The name Metal Gear did not have to carry it as far as I am concerned and the microtransactions are, in my view, absolutely shameless. There, Konami is not alone in harnessing the hard Metal Gear fans, but the rest of the current gaming community as well. With some much needed adjustments, I give Metal Gear Survive a nice chance of survival.

Pros

➕ Wanderers mowing down is always fun, alone or with celebrating
➕ Multiplayer is definitely the better mode

Cons

➖ Storyline campaign is what irritates
➖ hungry and thirsty up to and including in Campaign
➖ Docks for a second save slot

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