Metal Gear Solid
Ranked 3 of 6 stealth games by recommenders
Recommended for its deep storyline and pure stealth mechanics that reward avoiding violence; some critics flag long cutscenes and a goofy plot in the first game.
9 people recommended Metal Gear Solid in Hacker News comments, 6 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 14 comments.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- mixed feelings
- 6
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 4 of 12 months
In 7 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 7 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 22% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 14 of the 18 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Deep, well-told story
“90s and early to mid 2000s seems like was the peak for 3D games with deep storylines and pure stealth mechanics”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Splinter Cell veteran says realistic modern lighting has screwed up stealth game” “Half the fun is creating a coherent narrative out of the sheer number of random postmodern happenings.”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “Metal Gear Solid 2's Source Code Has Been Leaked on 4Chan” “I think the original MGS should get more praise as it has the better story”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “PlayStation cancels Kojima's PHYSINT, Xbox steps in” - Comment from 4 May 2026 in “Metal Gear Solid 2's Source Code Has Been Leaked on 4Chan”
Pure stealth mechanics
“Everything else is all hiding around corners or inside/under furniture, like Metal Gear Solid.”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Splinter Cell veteran says realistic modern lighting has screwed up stealth game” “The games' mechanics reward less violence.”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “The Melancholy of Slaying Monsters”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Frustrating loss of control
“I find it annoying that I know Snake shouldn't pull the lever or whatever but the moment I lose control of him Snake is going…”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Video Games as Art” “as the main draw and, especially, from the jump I just found it to be frustrating and annoying”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn”
Other stealth games people recommend
The four most recommended other stealth games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thief: The Dark Project | 12 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Thief video game | 10 | 0 | 2 | 83% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Metal Gear SolidThis page | 9 | 6 | 2 | 82% | 4 | — | — |
| Metal Gear Solid V | 7 | 1 | 3 | 70% | 3 | — | — |
| Splinter Cell | 7 | 4 | 2 | 78% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
14 of the 18 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“There are timeless early 3d games too.”
“I think the original MGS should get more praise as it has the better story”
“Kojima has a history of overspending by trying to make grandiose but weird games.”
“The games' mechanics reward less violence.”
“Everything else is all hiding around corners or inside/under furniture, like Metal Gear Solid.”
“90s and early to mid 2000s seems like was the peak for 3D games with deep storylines and pure stealth mechanics”
“Half the fun is creating a coherent narrative out of the sheer number of random postmodern happenings.”
“The first one gets a bit goofy with the evil twin stuff”
“I thoroughly enjoyed them both times, even rewatching the story unfold.”
“except for metal gear solid psx and gears of wars”
“some are good because they pushed the medium forward (Metal Gear Solid, Warcraft, The Sims”
“I find it annoying that I know Snake shouldn't pull the lever or whatever but the moment I lose control of him Snake is going…”
“as the main draw and, especially, from the jump I just found it to be frustrating and annoying”
“MGS-4 though is has ridiculous cutscene length.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.