The year 2015 was not a year of endearment for long-time fans of Konami.
In the course of one year the company went through a notoriously ugly breakup with their star director, and one of the most recognized and beloved figures in the industry, Hideo Kojima.
That break-up led to the cancellation of the highly anticipated reboot of Silent Hill, the announcement that they would no longer focus on “triple A” titles, and a smutty pachinko game based off of the Castlevania series – which was notable for featuring the phrase “erotic violence” in its trailer.
They then rounded out their 2015 with allegations of a totalitarian work environment with their offices, where work computers were not even hooked up to the internet, as well as being publicly shamed for the steps they took from preventing Kojima from appearing at the 2015 Video Game Awards Show to accept an award.
Despite their extraordinary efforts to eviscerate the reputation that they had built over the course of three decades, the company still held out hope that the general public would eventually forgive them. Earlier this year, a social media manager for Konami, known only as “Ben“, took to Reddit to answer criticism regarding the recent behavior of the company, presumably echoing the sentiment of the corporation when he stated “I hope we earn you back.”
Cool – we get to play as nameless soldiers in Metal Gear Solid Survive.
Whether or not Wednesday’s announcement of Metal Gear Survive was a first step towards earning back the good will of gamers, or just a way to cash-in on their property, will be a subject up for debate up until the title’s release.
What’s not up for debate is just how odd and out of place Metal Gear Survive is within the lexicon of the Metal Gear Solid story line.
This new entry in the Metal Gear Solid saga has been billed as a co-op survival game, which follows the events that occurred in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.
Soldiers that were left behind at Mother Base following the incidents of Ground Zeroes find themselves sucked into an alternate reality thanks to a number of wormholes that start popping up over their base. In this new, alternate dimension, they must work together in order to fight off zombie hordes and find their way back home.
Former series director, Hideo Kojima always exhibited a penchant for advanced concepts and social commentary, wrapped within a tangled web of often outlandish narrative. It was Kojima’s forward-thinking philosophy, along with a belief that video games could deliver sophisticated stories and themes that made the Metal Gear Solid series so special.
However, wormholes randomly popping up to transport no-name soldiers to an alternate reality is well beyond the parameters set forth in Kojima’s vision.
The reaction garnered an expected array of bewildered criticism from the popular gaming message board, NeoGaf, along with a measure of concern from Kojima’s friend, and producer of the Video Game Awards Show Geoff Keighly:
Thinking of my friend @Kojima_Hideo today 🙄🤔😐😐
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 17, 2016
Keighly’s thoughts for his friend are understandable. After all, Kojima is an artist and it’s difficult to make the argument that Metal Gear Survive is keeping within the artistic vision of the Metal Gear series laid down by Kojima.
Konami has touted the continuation of the “high quality gameplay” that was found within Metal Gear Solid V, as well as peppered their press release with lovely-sounding terms – “fresh take” and “fresh spirit“. They also have expressed their excitement over launching this title during the 30th anniversary of the Metal Gear series, yet, it’s natural to be skeptical just how “fresh” and “exciting” the title will be considering it will be offered as a budget release for $30.
Instead of offering an olive branch to the fans that once loved Konami, the announcement of Metal Gear Survive creates the perception of a thinly veiled attempt to reuse and recoup the time and resources that went into developing Metal Gear Solid V’s Fox Engine. It also, perhaps inadvertently, invokes the idea of an uncaring company, heartlessly trampling upon the artistic work of one of the greatest talents in the industry.
But, we must remember that first and foremost, the video game industry is just that – an industry, and Konami is well within their rights to do whatever they want with a property that they own.
However, if Metal Gear Survive is indeed the first step on Konami’s mission of public redemption, then that mission might just be a suicide mission.
Konami will be unleashing Metal Gear Survive on the public in 2017 at the low price of $30 and it will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Do you think you have what it takes to survive in Metal Gear Survive? Let us know in the comments section below.
Written by The Watchman
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