METAL GEAR SURVIVE

I'm not gonna tell you that Metal Gear Survive is a hidden gem, or that it's a 10/10 game that you need to play. It won't change your life, and some of the criticisms thrown at it are justified. What I will say is that this game is proof that a huge portion of the gaming community can't be trusted to think for themselves, because I still see people crawl out of the earth every time this game gets mentioned to call it a stick poking simulator, having absorbed their entire opinion of the game from that one Dunkey video (you know the one). Between Kojima's departure, the late 2010s seeing zombies as played out, and the microtransaction drama, Metal Gear Survive had basically everything stacked against it, and it's no surprise that it flopped. But at the end of the day, it's still a survival crafting game using the FOX Engine.
The review could honestly end there; if "survival crafting in the FOX Engine" lit up some part of your brain when you read it then you will probably at least somewhat enjoy this game, and if you see gathering resources as a "grind" and just want to shoot zombies, you won't. But it's the MGSV at its core that really carries the game. You can CQC shoulder toss zombies off cliffs, you can blow them to pieces with Walker Gear, you can make big goofy swords out of helicopter blades, and along the way you get loads of pointless, stupid gadgets like the fulton balloon trap or a cardboard queue line that the zombies obediently follow along that turn a zombie survival situation into a prank TV show ran by people who understand that just because shooting them is easier doesn't make it funnier. You spend most of the early hours of the game building your base into a cozy homestead and relentlessly bullying zombies, and while it stops short of exceptional it is fun.
This all changes when you enter the Dust, though. Most of the map is covered in a thick fog, which aside from hiding that it's MGSV's map again has a number of gameplay twists. The game's map starts out totally blank, only filling out where you've explored and then returned to base, and when you're in the dust you lose all GPS capability early on. Your visibility plummets, your stamina costs rise, and you become reliant on a limited tank of air that constantly ticks down. They fully commit to the idea, and I love it; you're forced to navigate through it with nothing but natural landmarks, player-placed objects like flags, and the rare but welcoming green light in the distance that usually means shelter. All it takes is one fight for you to end up turned around with no exit in sight and your oxygen draining, and it makes exploring it feel pleasantly stressful at times. It's a feeling you don't get from AAA games often, especially these days when most devs are afraid to not have a stanley adventure line somewhere in the UI.
I genuinely think if this game had a higher budget and more time it could've been a hilarious co-op classic, but as-is it does stop short of its potential. The game starts too slow and ends too quickly, drip feeding you the base building features one mission a time and then cutting the story short just as it's getting good. It takes too long to learn how to even boil water, but the plot leaves you feeling like it's missing its middle act, with most of the cast feeling like they were supposed to get more exposition than they do. The game isn't necessarily short, since even if you rush through it with a stick and ignore all the exploring and crafting you'd probably get at least around 10 hours from it (I finished the story at around 25, I think), but I wish it were longer. The parts that are present are interesting enough that it makes you want to know and see more.
That feeling carries over to a lot of the game, really; the UI design and items lead you to expect that there are going to be various developments that were probably planned but cut. Your fulton device and air tank both have an equipment slot, implying that you might get upgrades for them to swap out later (especially since you get to put together an R&D team again), but you don't. You can find cars and Walker Gears out in the environment sometimes, but you never get to bring them home or deploy your own. You can build a cute little broadcast station that plays your walkman cassettes (of which there are plenty, though it's all konami music now) across the base so that everyone has to listen to Calling to the Night with you, but it turns off whenever you're doing a base defense, and you never get a way of listening to them on the go or in co-op. Occasionally you find metal storage containers that can be transported back to base with the wormholes, but unlike in MGSV you can't ride them home, which would've been nice in many cases. That isn't to say Metal Gear Survive doesn't have funny ideas of its own, but considering all of this was practically already there for them to just take and stick in the game it feels like a long list of missed opportunities, and an especially sad one considering MGSV itself is also conspicuously unfinished despite its ingenuity. It has all the bones of MGSV, but it's missing the endgame of wearing a box with Paz's picture on it while playing Love Deterrence through your iDroid on speaker to distract guards from the tank being airdropped on top of them.
The more dubious side of the game is if you know anything about the game beyond stick poking, you've probably heard about its always-on nature and, more likely, its microtransactions. They aren't even good ones; you have to pay extra for a second character slot, but you can customize your character any time and change classes at will, and if you have a sibling or something they're probably playing via family share on their own profile anyways. You have to pay for more exploration teams, but compared to the previous games they're not even very useful, and basically just passively farm resources that take a long time to actually be worth the resources you have to put into even one team. And you can pay to skip various real-world timers, which otherwise work exactly the same way that they worked in Peace Walker and MGSV. It's all so pointless that even having dabbled into them once to see what the purpose was I was just left with the realization that there isn't one, and I don't know who would ever buy them. If anything, once I got into the postgame I kept holding out hope for a big button that would just let me pay $20 for a mountain of rare weapon lootboxes or something more egregiously beneficial.
On that note, while I can't really call it a good or bad aspect of the game, something I'm very neutral about is that most of the game's more outlandish content is in the post-game. After you beat the story the game suddenly adds more enemy types, more bosses, more crafting stations to build, etc, and every time you reach a certain milestone it piles on even more stuff you didn't realize was even in the game. There are goofy weapons like jet axes and drill hammers, gadgets like automated turrets, and entire base expansions that are hidden away until the credits have rolled. I get that it was all added after the game released, but I can't help but wish they'd integrated it a little better for new players. A lot of it is locked to the multiplayer mode, which is also fun but obviously dead (though games can be found, through its steam chat and discord) and usually peaks each day at under 30 people. You can even pilot a metal gear, depending on the event you show up in time for! It's possible to solo by stuffing your pockets with every type of auto turret and building your own friends, but the S ranks needed to actually unlock things consistently are pretty hard to manage solo on higher difficulties. Of course, you could just bring your own friends, theoretically viable because the game goes on sale for under $5 nearly every sale. But first you have to convince them that the game isn't just 20 hours of poking zombies with sticks.

My friends, my associates, they come to me, years ago, when this Metal Gear: Survive first appeared, and they say, "Vito, this game, it’s a disgrace, a cash grab, a betrayal of the family name of Metal Gear." They curse it, they spit on it, they say it’s no good, nothing but a shadow of what came before. And I, Don Corleone, I listen. I nod. I respect their opinions, for loyalty and friendship are the foundation of our world. But in my heart, I am intrigued. This game, this strange child of survival and stealth, it calls to me, like a favor asked in a quiet room.
A few weeks ago, I make a decision. I acquire a copy, a simple transaction, and I load it onto this... this Steam Deck, a marvel of our modern times. And what do I find? I find a world that demands respect, a world of strategy, of cunning, of survival against odds that would break lesser men. The mechanics, they are tight, like a well-tailored suit. The base-building, the scavenging, the thrill of defending what is yours—it’s not the old Metal Gear, no, but it has its own honor, its own strength. I play, and I am not disappointed. I am, dare I say, having a blast.
The hype, this noise, this chorus of complaints—it’s like a storm that passes. People, they forget to look with their own eyes, to judge with their own hearts. They hear "spin-off" and they think "betrayal." But I tell you, this game, it’s not perfect, but it’s far from the garbage they claim. It’s a soldier that fights for its place, and it earns it.
So, I, Vito Corleone, say this to you: do not believe the hype. Do not let the whispers of the crowd sway you. Pick up Metal Gear: Survive, give it a chance, and you may find, as I have, that it’s a game worthy of your time. And if you cross me on this, well... let’s just say, I’m a man who values loyalty. Capisce?

It's not as awful as people made it out to be, but nothing amazing either. Konami's plan after firing Kojima was to shift their focus to mobile games, and it shows heavily here. I give it a 'mid' out of 10.

WARNING: This is a game that requires a constant online connection, even in single player. I completely understand if that is a deal-breaker for some. It would be for me too. At best it's inconvenient.
The best phrase to describe this game is, "Metal Gear: Isekai". You do literally get transported to an alternate dimension with zombies. I love zombies and the fact I get to essentially play MGS5 with zombies is phenomenal to me. The story is actually very engaging and the combat is anything but boring, it can become repetitive but I like to have fun trying out new things and experimenting with traps and specific structures. You manage a base too, albeit much smaller than Mother Base but it's a survival game. It's actually really engaging building up your base defenses and managing resources.
This game did not do great and the online scene is completely dead so you will have an incredibly difficult time trying to get all the way to the post-end game content. You need to join a Discord server in order to consistently find online matches. The online mode is where this game really takes off. I'm sad that the special infected in the online modes aren't present in single player, meaning you will need to play online to experience the entire game.

Wormhole Detected
Metal Gear Survive gets a bad rap, and honestly, I get it. As a Metal Gear game, it’s terrible. But as a weird, janky survival game built on the bones of The Phantom Pain, it’s surprisingly fun and addictive once you stop comparing it to Kojima’s work.
The story is a mess. The presentation is all over the place, and the tone lands somewhere between “cheap sci-fi spinoff” and “fan mod gone wrong.” You’ll go from a proper cutscene to static character portraits with voice-over and text boxes because the team probably didn’t have the time or budget to animate full scenes. It’s jarring and weird. The writing tries to mimic Kojima’s style without any of the nuance, and the result is mostly forgettable. The AI companion, Virgil, is annoying as hell, and the cast doesn’t leave much of an impression.
But once you stop thinking of it as a Metal Gear game, it starts to click. The survival loop is actually fun. You’ll manage hunger, thirst, oxygen, and gear durability while scavenging supplies in hostile environments filled with crystalline zombie-like creatures called Wanderers. Base building is satisfying and meaningful. You’ll craft fences, farms, workstations, and water purifiers, then assign rescued survivors to jobs to keep your camp running. Scavenging runs are tense and rewarding, and the crafting and upgrade systems give you a steady stream of new toys to chase. Early on you’re poking zombies through fences with a spear (which is goofy as hell), but as your arsenal expands, you’ll be setting traps, upgrading gear, and building defenses.
The core gameplay is solid because it uses the Fox Engine, the same one from Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain. Movement, aiming, and stealth all feel tight and responsive. Combat is simple but satisfying, and exploring “The Dust” (low-visibility areas where your oxygen slowly drains) adds a sense of tension and danger that works surprisingly well. The game even throws in tower defense-style horde sequences that can be chaotic but exciting.
The always-online requirement is pointless and frustrating for a primarily single-player experience. The microtransactions are downright offensive. Charging players for extra save slots is abhorrent and inexcusable. The early game can be a grind, and the story never really recovers from its half-baked presentation.
Still, once the systems and mechanics open up, Metal Gear Survive is genuinely fun. It scratches an itch I wasn’t expecting, and the Fox Engine makes everything feel great to play. It’s unique, oddly charming, and unlike any other survival game out there.
Metal Gear Survive:
As a Metal Gear game, you suck.
As a survival game, you’re pretty good.
Recommended, if you go in with the right expectations.

Spoiler-free review
Metal Gear Survive is an amazing game but it’s not a “Metal Gear” game. Unlike the core Metal Gear games, this game doesn’t have a captivating story with movie-like presentation. Its ties with the Metal Gear saga are anecdotal. Metal Gear Survive’s short story and handful of characters are “bland”, especially the generic main player character.
What elevates this game for me is … it’s multiplayer co-op mode : Salvage.
Salvage can be played solo but it requires preparation and knowledge of the game’s mechanics. Playing Salvage with a team (or just one more player) is an amazing experience. With a limited amount of gadgets and ammo of your choosing, you get to challenge your loadout, trap layout and techniques against increasingly bigger waves of Wanderers (Metal Gear Survive’s zombies). Figuring out efficient trap placement is a long term goal that’s really rewarding.
The best experiences I’ve had are on the hardest difficulty setting : Extreme. It takes some time to reach the requirements to play Extreme Salvage but it’s worth it for the sheer intensity of the last waves. There are daily and weekly Salvage missions that have different modifiers. Everyday, you get a “new” challenge !
The single player game can be seen as a tutorial for the multiplayer mode as well as a relaxing and active way to farm materials to maintain your character's efficiency in Salvage mode. You also get to passively farm materials with your single player base layout and crew. Once the initial grind is over, it only requires you to login some minutes every day to get a worthy payoff !
Improving my arsenal, my knowledge of the game and my bases’ productivity are my main motivations to continue playing after beating the story.
Issues
Now the sad part … the game doesn’t have a big player base … It’s hard to rely on the QuickMatch function to find teammates. It’s better to join the Metal Gear Survive Discord and play when others are actively playing the co-op mode. Add the people you see to your Friend List and it’s easier to join their games in the future (through an in-game menu) ! The community is great and helpful. New players join all the time ! The game is still active at the right times.
The game is online only. Your character data is stored on Konami’s servers. Multiplayer is not fully server based (one player is the host and the others are the clients). Depending on your connection with the host, you can experience some delays (lags).
If Konami’s servers are busy for maintenance, you cannot play the game (not even the single player).
There are some small bugs left but nothing truly bothersome or game breaking.
The game received criticism for its in-game shop (using real money to purchase Survive Coins). I’d like to add that :
you don’t need to purchase more character slots (story missions can be replayed) → character slots (up to 3 extra) are worth it if you want to have multiple bases passively generating resources at the same time
you don’t need to buy any Kuban or BattlePoint time limited boosters → these boosters are worth it to unlock the higher tier cosmetics nameplates during time limited events
With enough patience, you can also acquire Survive Coins for free (from weekend daily login rewards and the event shop).
Should you buy it ?
Metal Gear Survive is definitely worth it during a sale ! Don’t think of it as a Metal Gear game but as a multiplayer Tower Defense game with Survival elements (durability, hunger, thirst). If you join the game’s Discord, you’ll get into online games pretty fast. Check out some gameplay videos of Co-op Salvage to see if you like it !

metal gay survive - this game could have been great if they polish it. It's just okay, chaotic and messy but not terrible game