Metal Gear Solid - dperry analysis

Written: December 2, 2025 at 12:50 AM
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INTRO

  • What impressed you?

    • "that's a pretty solid intro" (4:32)
    • "this guy's voice is amazing" (2:14)
    • "it's cool I'm just inside" (2:57), "swim it's cool" implied by positive reaction to insertion method (2:57)
    • "I have a lot of respect for the this series" (1:25), respect for tropes/standards set (1:10-1:17)
    • Smooth cutscene transitions "they definitely transition in and out of cut scenes really smooth" (19:43)

  • What would you change?

    • (missing information here)

  • How could it be better?

    • (missing information here)

GETTING GOING

  • What impressed you?

    • Mini map "seems to be important" (7:42)
    • Codec intuitive explanation "when you want to use the codec push the select button" (6:13-6:20), "sounds way better than holding a phone or having an earbud" (6:37)
    • Soliton radar explanation clear (16:27-16:58)
    • Feedback from radio/Colonel guiding "snake looks like the elevator... hide somewhere" (6:01), "there's an elevator there you can take up" (7:55), "snake there's an elevator there" repeated guidance (8:01)
    • Getting better over time "I'm slowly figuring this game out" (49:16), "I'm finally starting to get a little bit better at this game I'm not doing quite as many dumb things" (1:57:08), "I've just gotten used to the unintuitive parts of the controls" (1:57:20)

  • What would you change?

    • Steep learning curve/not intuitive "getting used to the snappiness of how this works" (8:15), "lack of confidence in what the controls actually are what I have available" (13:17), "trial and error Style game" (36:47), "unintuitive" controls (1:24:30 sequence, 1:57:20), "your one run through that you did well is a good run through" implied repetition needed (36:58)
    • Not knowing goals/where to go sometimes "I don't know how to use things" (37:31), "not really sure how to deal with those security cameras" (47:10), "not sure if I should be" (38:20)

  • How could it be better?

    • More forgiving initially "if I weren't playing this for the sake of... I would have walked away" (53:29), "you can lose players" if not sold (53:22), nuance "needs to be more forgiving but then once they're in... trust them" (54:03)

FUN

  • What impressed you?

    • Excited/stressed by unforgiving deaths "really really unforgiving that's cool good to know" (9:29), "they're unforgiving but at least they're dumb" (27:08), many "oh man" (8:51), "crap" (11:45), "oh my gosh" (25:02, 38:43), "ah" reactions (39:41, 43:25)
    • Laugh/excitement "epic shot" (34:20), [Laughter] at Raven "that's right you belong on the ground you should crawl... like a snake" (2:21:17-2:21:24), "I love this game it's so stupid and it takes itself... seriously" (1:31:52-1:32:06)
    • Boss fights "pretty good just what I'd expect... long time since I had such a good fight" (1:30:57-1:31:03), "I like you" implied (1:31:35)
    • Overall "I do enjoy this one though" (2:31:04), "game that I'm going to play to the end" (2:31:04)

  • What would you change?

    • Not fun dying/restarting "it is not fun to die in this game cuz you have to start over so early" (2:00:27), "this is not a very fun fight I'm not enjoying this one" (Raven tank 2:30:42), "die so much" (2:22:29)
    • Getting lost "being lost when I shouldn't be lost is not fun" (2:11:26), "I am so bad at this stuff" (2:10:52), "great I just I am so bad" (2:10:47)

  • How could it be better?

    • (missing information here)

VISUALS

  • What impressed you?

    • PS1 nostalgic "PS1 graphics and the texture mapping is just so nostalgic I love the way that it wiggles" (12:42-12:55)
    • Cinematic "The Mysterious stuff feels very uh I don't know cinematic in what it's attempting to do it's doing it well" (33:49), "it definitely doesn't feel like an arcade game" (34:02)
    • Face portraits "really like the art style of these um his little face portraits" (1:52:33)
    • Dynamic angles "the way they handle the camera for when you see stuff down at this angle way down here you can see the the bottoms of the walls" (1:12:32)

  • What would you change?

    • Tight/restrictive "very very tight camera angle spending a lot of time looking at my um at my mini map" (8:37-8:51)

  • How could it be better?

    • (missing information here)

INTELLIGENCE

  • What impressed you?

    • Unforgiving awareness "environments matter" (10:06), hear noises "what was that noise" (11:52), "I can hear my footy foot tip tapping along that bridge" (48:23-48:30), "return to your position" repeated (23:52, 25:36, 26:55, 2:01:46)

  • What would you change?

    • Dumb behaviors "at least they're dumb" (27:08), "dumb video game characters" implied by contrast but not directly stated

  • How could it be better?

    • (missing information here)

IMMERSION

  • What impressed you?

    • Time flew/engaged long stream, cinematic music "I think the music is good... ambient droning soundscapes... punctuated by the intense music" (33:09-33:29), "60 minutes just fly by" implied by continued play and final enjoyment (2:31:04)
    • Freedom to choose paths "I'll let you decide the best COA" radio (19:29), air duct choice "I think I want to take the air duct on the left given the choice" (20:05)

  • What would you change?

    • Lost/spatial issues "my spatial awareness is pretty pretty hard to do in this game cuz the camera is so restrictive I'm having a hard time finding where I should be looking" (44:52-45:05), "being lost when I shouldn't be lost" (2:11:26), "when everyone seems to know where I'm supposed to be except me not my favorite feeling" (2:11:42)
    • Responding to player vs game leading "Did you feel freedom? Did you feel able to play on your terms? Was the game responding to you, or were you responding to it?" implied player responding (many deaths/trial error)

  • How could it be better?

    • Better navigation "everyone seems to know where I'm supposed to be except me" (2:11:42)

CAMERAS

  • What impressed you?

    • Dynamic/back to wall "sometimes you can back up against a wall and see it stuff like that is cool" (28:01)
    • Isometric "isometric camera perspective uh okay" neutral-positive (7:16)

  • What would you change?

    • Jerking/snappy "the Dynamic camera not having any control over the camera except... is cool but difficult" (27:55-28:01), "don't snap to the wall" (11:45), "the way they jerk that camera around but then your controls keep going the same direction is not super great" (2:01:10), "this camera I take you back everything a good I said about that camera I no longer like it" (37:48)

  • How could it be better?

    • More control "not having any control over the camera" (27:55), avoid jerking while moving (2:01:10)

CONTROLS

  • What impressed you?

    • D-pad precision "d-pad is a better experience" for precision/no drift (30:06), "started just using the d-pad more and more" (1:22:08-1:22:15), stick for running (29:53)
    • Action button "the action button does a thing" (51:46), ladder "press the action button by the ladder" (53:37)
    • Interface mini map/radar good, save spamming (51:03), elevator timing adds tension "having the elevator timed so it's doesn't open immediately... adds to... needing to learn how to sneak" (1:13:17)
    • Mistakes player's fault once learned implied by improvement (1:57:08)

  • What would you change?

    • Frustrating/snappy "snappiness of how this works" (8:15), "SO Snappy" (28:16), "loud too Snappy" (2:14:44), "come on SO Snappy" (28:16), "want to like Vault over that wall just hop down but that's not the kind of game" (49:34)
    • Unintuitive "unintuitive controls" (1:57:20), "I don't know how to use things" (37:31), aiming "once I start aiming can I not not shoot" (1:08:41)

  • How could it be better?

    • Less unintuitive, get used to it but initial frustration high (1:57:20), genre-specific arcade stealth (2:32:25 implied)

IDEAS

  • What impressed you?

    • Codec/radar "unique storytelling" implied by radar (1:06:42), faces visible "I like that uh we can see each other's faces" (2:04:58)
    • Pan card "this is cool stuff" (1:01:46)
    • Cardboard box "a cardboard box" noted positively (1:58:35, wants it 2:00:45)
    • Trap doors "there are trap doors in this game that seems pretty awesome completely stupid" (1:12:20-1:12:26)
    • Sneaking suit/radio guidance fresh (13:47-14:05)

  • What would you change?

    • (missing information here)

  • How could it be better?

    • (missing information here; no customization mentioned)

MEMORY

  • What impressed you?

    • "I do enjoy this one though it's very difficult um My overall impressions are that it's uh it's very well done cinematically um it's it rides this this really weird balance between just being dumb enough and taking itself seriously enough to sell it" (2:31:11-2:31:29)
    • Want more "this is a game that I'm going to play to the end in the future" (2:31:04)

  • What would you change?

    • Controls/camera vs Splinter Cell "I liked Splinter Cell better... felt much more like I was sneaking around whereas this one it's like... hide and run and watch your little mini screen... most... arcade stealth game" (2:32:06-2:32:31)

  • How could it be better?

    • Context of release "I would like to see in context what uh what other games were released around this time... was this game like blow your socks off amazing uh for its time" (2:33:07-2:33:23)

High-point in 50 words: Cinematic OG stealth with cyber ninjas, psycho powers, epic bosses like revolver Ocelot; unforgiving but dumb enemies, codec/radar genius, arcade-fast hide-n-seek balance dumb/serious perfectly.(2:31:11-2:32:50)

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