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Parents' Guide to

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

By David Wolinsky, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Violent, mature, powerful game on grim realities of war.

Game PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Windows , Xbox 360 , Xbox One 2015
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Game: Screenshot #1
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Game: Screenshot #2
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Game: Screenshot #3
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Game: Screenshot #4

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 23 parent reviews

Filled C.
Filled C. Parent of 2-year-old
November 18, 2023
age 14+

Who knows? Not me. We never lost control, your face, to face. With the man who sold the world.

concernedteacher
concernedteacher Adult
July 8, 2022
age 16+

Words that kill

If you are easily disturbed by war, murder, violence and other topics, this isn't your game. This game is poetry, and it uses it's elements to tell an amazing anti-war and anti-nuclear story that rivals the likes of 1984, and Citizen Kane. It's also only as violent as you are, a point that truly makes you think of your moral actions.
See all 23 parent reviews

What’s It About?

In METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN, supersoldier Big Boss awakes from a nine-year coma to find that his troops and base of operations have been completely wiped out. Nothing remains of his old regime aside from a few allies who, like him, have been badly hurt, injured, or emotionally scarred by the ravages and tragedies of war. So they seek revenge, little by little rebuilding their strength. Most of the game takes place in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan in the early 1980s, where players gather intel, perform operations, and manage their new base.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (23 ):
Kids say (49 ):

This is an exceedingly massive and ambitious game that can seem daunting with its scope but ultimately provides more and more wrinkles on the same basic action. Unlike previous entries in the series, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is truly an open world that you're free to explore and play in as you see fit. You're encouraged to play as stealthily as possible and avoid detection to successfully complete your missions; if you try to go rushing into bases and outposts with guns blazing, you'll frequently be gunned down. It behooves you to take your time, use your binoculars to study guard patterns, and notice all the possible ways infiltration could backfire. It might sound repetitive, but it's exciting and so challenging that it feels as if you're given more and more chances to prove your skill, not your patience.

Thanks to this being an open-world video game, you can evacuate wild animals, gather resources, and grab audio tapes (both for intel purposes on missions and also just to listen to music). There's also your burgeoning base to defend and explore. The more people you recruit out in the field (by "fultoning" them, or parachuting them into the sky for retrieval by plane), the more weaponry, gear, and items you can craft for yourself. This sparks a constant tension between these two open worlds. What do you want to do? How would you like to do it? These are the questions the game asks, and then it gets out of the way and lets you enjoy. It's a great title that asks a lot of thought-provoking questions, but it's definitely for mature audiences only.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the impact of violence in media such as Metal Gear Solid V. Is there a justification for content such as realistic warfare or torture? Does the inclusion of this content add weight to the philosophical arguments raised in the game, or is it solely for shock value?

  • Talk about revenge. Is there ever a justification to seek revenge? Why?

  • Have you ever realized you did something wrong that hurt others? What did you do to make amends?

Game Details

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