Where to Start · Metal Gear
Where to Start with Metal Gear
Metal Gear is Hideo Kojima's stealth action franchise running since 1987 — the series that invented the stealth game genre and produced some of the most ambitious, strange, and emotionally resonant storytelling in gaming history. The franchise follows Solid Snake and later Raiden and Venom Snake across decades of Cold War paranoia, nuclear deterrence, and the shadowy organisation known as Outer Heaven.
The story is notoriously complex — clones, nanomachines, memes as weapons, a villain who gives a 45-minute speech — but the core games are extraordinary experiences and the complexity is part of what makes them unlike anything else.
If you only play one Metal Gear game
Play Metal Gear Solid (1998). It is one of the greatest games ever made — Solid Snake infiltrating Shadow Moses, Psycho Mantis reading your memory card, the Codec conversations, Sniper Wolf, and a story about nuclear deterrence and the nature of heroism that gaming had never attempted before. Metal Gear Solid set the template for cinematic game storytelling and holds up completely. The original PS1 version is delisted — physical copy required. The PC version via GOG is available. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GameCube remake) is also an option with updated graphics.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater — the best in the series
MGS3 is widely considered the peak of the franchise — the Cold War Soviet jungle, the Cobra Unit, the Boss as one of gaming's greatest characters, and an ending that recontextualises the entire game. You play as Naked Snake (Big Boss) in 1964 — chronologically the earliest mainline entry and the foundation of the entire Metal Gear mythology. The story is self-contained enough to serve as an entry point, but MGS1 first gives you the full context for why the Boss matters. MGS3 is available in the Master Collection Vol.1 on PS4/PS5/Xbox/Switch/PC.
The Master Collection
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1 (2023) includes MGS1 (in an emulated form), MGS2: Sons of Liberty, and MGS3: Snake Eater on PS4/PS5/Xbox/Switch/PC. It is the most accessible way to play the classic trilogy today. MGS1's emulation has some issues but the game is playable. MGS2 and MGS3 are in better shape. Vol.2 covering MGS4 and beyond has not been released as of 2026.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
MGS2 (2001) is the most controversial and the most intellectually ambitious entry — you play as Raiden, not Snake, for most of the game, in a deliberate subversion of player expectations. The themes of information control, identity, and the nature of digital reality are more relevant in 2026 than they were in 2001. MGS2 is a challenging game to appreciate on first playthrough and rewards replay. Play MGS1 first — MGS2's impact depends on knowing what you expect.
Metal Gear Solid 4 and 5
MGS4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) is PS3 exclusive and was delisted from PSN in February 2026 — physical PS3 copy is now required. It concludes the Solid Snake saga and is essential for series completionists despite its excessive cutscene runtime. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) is the most mechanically accomplished entry — open world Afghanistan and Africa, the best stealth gameplay in the series, and an unfinished story that Konami released without Kojima completing it. MGSV is available on PS4/Xbox/PC and is the most playable modern entry despite its narrative incompleteness.
The chronological vs release order debate
Chronological story order: MGS3 → Peace Walker → Ground Zeroes → Phantom Pain → Metal Gear 1 → Metal Gear 2 → MGS1 → MGS2 → MGS4. Release order: Metal Gear → Metal Gear 2 → MGS1 → MGS2 → MGS3 → Peace Walker → Ground Zeroes → Phantom Pain → MGS4. Release order is recommended for newcomers — MGS1 is the better entry point than MGS3 despite being chronologically later.
First run — The plot is dense on purpose. Stick to release order until you have a baseline; you don't need every wiki footnote to feel why these games matter.
What platforms you need
Master Collection Vol.1 (MGS1, MGS2, MGS3) — PS4/PS5/Xbox/Switch/PC. MGSV: The Phantom Pain — PS4/Xbox/PC. MGS4 — PS3 physical (delisted Feb 2026). Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes — included with MGSV on some editions or available separately on PS4/Xbox/PC.
Recommended order
MGS1 → MGS3 → MGS2 → Peace Walker → Ground Zeroes → Phantom Pain → MGS4. That order gives you the best narrative experience — start with the best game, follow with the best story, then fill in the connective tissue.