Where it counts, though, the game tells its story deftly. It treats the issue of child soldiers as the complex, seemingly intractable problem that it is. That it does this without exploitation by re-contextualizing the roles of existing characters is particularly impressive. It does this with many of its existing characters, respectfully and believably building upon them, which in turn subverts years of hard-fought series convention. As someone who has followed the series with interest, if not always love, these fascinating revelations filled my head for days. Plenty here for the newcomer as well. You can leave much of the story locked in collectible audiocassettes, if you like. With or without context, the interactions offered in The Phantom Pain are arresting. A “stealth action” game, The Phantom Pain peppers wide swaths of Afghanistan and Central Africa with espionage missions: eliminating high-value targets, recovering prisoners, gathering resources. Every mission is different, and the number of approaches to any situation feels limitless. But because most every mission also begins with incomplete intelligence, any strategy, no matter how well executed, could fail.
The game provides multiple opportunities to compensate for failure, and the result is constant, palpable tension. A typical mission for me involved a long pre-planning phase—gathering recon with the binoculars from a distance, which allows for “painting” enemies so you can see them through walls—and plotting the path most likely to be undisturbed by guards. But then I’m there, and I’ll eke too close to a soldier in the shadows or wade into the path of a security camera I had completely overlooked. At this point, the game slows for a moment, providing precious time to perform the one move that will maintain cover: a quick knock-out slam, a bullet to the temple. Fail this, and Big Boss’ location is broadcast to everyone, and survival options change again: a protracted gun battle, a mad dash for a hiding spot, calling in an air strike. Or maybe just call in an air strike immediately and see what happens