The goal that guides every level (and every Metal Gear) is to sneak through environments without being caught by the enemy-if they spot Snake (or Big Boss), an alert phase ensues until you can lose his attackers. Like Ground Zeroes, though, the lack of mouse control in the menu screens means this is better played with a controller. Dropping a couple of the settings here makes a consistent 60fps easy to attain. My PC’s specs are pretty decent, but my GTX 780 is two years old, and even with every setting on ultra high I didn’t notice a framerate drop beneath the low 50s, and even going below 60 was pretty rare. Like Ground Zeroes, The Phantom Pain’s PC port is really well-optimised. Graphics options: 4K resolution, V-sync, motion blur, depth of field, model detail, texture settings, texture filtering, shadows, lighting, post processing, effects, ambient occlusion, volumetric clouds Nothing boring ever happens when it does. But when the controls are this good, when your tactical options are so extensive, it’s in no way a bad thing to be part of these escalating, huge-scale battles, which offer the sort of moment-to-moment thrills most action games would struggle to script.

Some hardcore players will never want to find themselves in that position: Metal Gear has always been a stealth-focused series, after all. I’ve had to hide from swarming troops and mortar fire behind buildings, patting my dog for reassurance while I call in more ammo drops, preparing for my second wind as the night turns into morning. Nighttime battlefields fill with smoke, flares and explosions. I’ve had weird and wild battles of unending nightmare gunfights across giant bases, battling reams of soldiers, mechs and even a chopper as an ill-equipped one-man-and-a-dog army. The punishment for a stealth mission going wrong is an exhilarating set piece in a constantly surprising open world.

Forbes metal gear solid v review