Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a short but dense prologue to the sprawling The Phantom Pain – playing as Snake, the player infiltrates the Cuban military base Camp Omega to rescue two prisoners, getting a first taste of the more open, sandbox-style approach to stealth action the series would take going forward. The game launched simultaneously on several platforms in March 2014 and served as both a technological and gameplay showcase of what the full sequel would bring.

The PlayStation 4 version ran at full resolution and with the highest graphical quality of any platform at the time, and on top of that was the only one to include, as a timed exclusive, the bonus mission Déjà Vu, in which the player infiltrates the base disguised as Solid Snake from the original Metal Gear Solid, carrying the same pistol and referencing lines from the 1998 game. This mission was a purely nostalgic detour with no connection to the main story, but for series fans it was a notable bonus the other versions lacked at launch.

Ground Zeroes also introduced the new FOX Engine, on which the following Phantom Pain would also run, and thanks to the power of the new hardware generation, the PS4 version was able to show off its capabilities – dynamic weather, time of day, and a more open mission design – in the best possible light. For Kojima Productions, this was the first major test of the engine ahead of the full sequel. Critics praised above all the atmosphere, sound design, and the freedom to approach the single mission in several different styles, though many players were put off by a price disproportionate to the game's length, which could be completed in a matter of hours.

Why play: The PS4 version is the obvious choice for players who want to experience Ground Zeroes in the best available graphical quality and also enjoy the exclusive Déjà Vu mission as a small treat for fans. Even as a short prologue, it's a solid taste of the more open stealth action that Phantom Pain would go on to develop.

Why play: Despite its short length, this is a solid taste of the more open stealth action later developed in Phantom Pain, and the PS4 version additionally rounds it out with the exclusive Déjà Vu mission.