Metal Gear Solid cover art

Game entry

Metal Gear Solid

1998 · Action-adventure, TPS, Survival, Strategy · PlayStation, PSP, PlayStation 3 · Konami

Metal Gear Solid is ranked no. 5 among the best video games of all time by GameForever voters, with an ELO score of 1,951 and 78% of duels won.

World rank

no. 5

ELO score

1,951

Wins

78%

Duels played

788

Join the debate · 48

About Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is a stealth game created by Hideo Kojima which follows the MSX2 video games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Despite a transition to 3D, Metal Gear Solid's gameplay remains similar to his predecessors. The game utilizes a traditional top-down view and the player must navigate the protagonist Solid Snake through the game's areas without being detected. Detection will set off an alarm which draws armed enemies to his location. Conversations with Snake's allies and cutscenes are used extensively to advance the plot and gain more insight into it. Metal Gear Solid is regarded as one of the greatest and most important video games of all time, and helped popularize the stealth genre and in-engine cinematic cutscenes.

The community says

Would it even hold up in a straight stealth duel against RESIDENT EVIL 4 today, or does everyone just assume it wins because of reputation?

ELO progression

Score moved from 1,500 to 1,951 ELO points over the last 123 days.

Head-to-head

Direct record on the most played match-ups.

In the same genre

All Action-adventure games →
  1. 3 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild2017 · Action-adventure 1,961
  2. 9 Red Dead Redemption 22018 · Action-adventure 1,928
  3. 19 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas2004 · Action-adventure 1,912
  4. 20 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past1991 · Action-adventure 1,911
  5. 25 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater2004 · Action-adventure 1,900

Keep exploring

Ranking of action-adventure games Ranking of PlayStation games The best 1990s games The best games of 1998

Around this spot

The games Metal Gear Solid sits between in the world ranking.

  1. 2 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 1,983
  2. 3 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 1,961
  3. 4 Final Fantasy X 1,960
  4. 5 Metal Gear Solid 1,951
  5. 6 Bloodborne 1,935
  6. 7 Mass Effect 2 1,930
  7. 8 Half-Life 1,929

More games from Konami

Released in 1998

The community

The debate

48 comments

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  1. CosmoSniper3

    Would it even hold up in a straight stealth duel against RESIDENT EVIL 4 today, or does everyone just assume it wins because of reputation?

    Cortez_1998

    Reputation carries it into the duel, sure, but does it actually hold the lead once people vote on the fight itself?

  2. GhostWolf

    Third place feels generous when half the fanbase votes on nostalgia alone and never touches it again. It's a museum piece getting propped up by memory, not by actual replays.

    GlitchSniper98

    Mon frère y jouait, moi je regardais, souvenir intact.

    heller_brain

    Fair point, I've felt the same doubt watching people vote without touching the thing in years. Still, I replay it myself so I can't fully agree.

    ArcadePhoenix2

    Ça se joue encore très bien aujourd'hui

  3. Brice_86

    number 3 feels about right honestly, not saying its the goat but the win rate speaks for itself, 778 duels and still holding

  4. Matteo_2007

    The camera angle forces you to read the room instead of the enemy directly, which sounds like a limitation but it teaches spatial awareness in a way most modern cover shooters skip entirely, the radar compensates just enough without holding your hand fully, and honestly the animation priority on Snake's movement still reads clean frame by frame

    NeonRider

    No sé, cada duelo repetimos lo mismo, ¿de verdad hace falta comparar la cámara con todo lo que sale ahora

    GhostKid27

    Le radar j'ai jamais su m'en servir correctement, du coup je jouais un peu à l'instinct, pas glorieux mais efficace.

    Irma_76

    I got stuck on that same fight for what felt like forever, my roommate walked in, watched five minutes, and just started laughing at me.

  5. ArcadeLegend3

    I still remember the codec calls late at night, no idea why they stuck with me

    GlitchBard

    Yeah those calls stuck with me too, I'll defend that soundtrack forever.

    Kihn76

    Replying to GlitchBard

    Funny you mention the codec, mine crashed once mid call and I thought I'd broken my save, panicked for a solid minute before realizing it was fine.

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