Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

2015 · Video Game

More advocacy-driven than 73% of Adventure titles →
Research evidenceResearch evidence — scores and sourced research

Scored entertainment-first on WhatSphere's content-balance model 2

Its game_director stated on the record that "what I'm really trying to do is create unique characters, I wanted to add that sexiness to her, Once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will…" 1. Taken together, the content-balance model places it entertainment-first at 5 of 100 2.

The receipts — every claim above is sourced
  1. 1
    Creator statementgame_director: "What I'm really trying to do is create unique characters. I wanted to add that sexiness to her. Once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will feel ashamed of your words and deeds."GameSpot, September 2013 source ↗
  2. 2
    Content balanceAdvocacy 5 of 100, tier entertainment-first.WhatSphere content-balance model, score_version 1

WhatSphere presents the sourced record; it does not cast the judgement. Every statement above is drawn from a stored, sourced row — shown beside it — and nothing is asserted beyond what those receipts support.

Verified May 31, 2026Scores accuracy-checked against current data.Think a score is wrong? Submit a correction.

Synopsis

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the sequel to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and a prequel to the original Metal Gear. The game has a complex story with long cut-scene sequences, but there are fewer and they are shorter compared to earlier Metal Gear Solid titles. Most of the gameplay mechanics introduced in Ground Zeroes are carried over: it is still an action game and stealth oriented but replaces the linear corridor design from most earlier titles with large open world environments that offer the player unrestricted freedom for the approach. The world has now a real-time day and night cycle and various weather effects that influence enemy behaviour, visibility and sound. Sabotaging or destroying certain structures can also influence other parts of the map.

Young MaleYoung FemaleMature MaleMature Female
Primary audienceOlder Men
Targeted

Quadrant Scores

Young Men
90
Young Women
0
Older Men
100
Older Women
10
Advocacy5
Entertainment

Audience Representation

LGBTQ+
0
Score version: v1Data confidence: 85%How are scores calculated?

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Advocacy Over Time in Adventure

The average advocacy score of Adventure titles by release year, with this title marked. Higher is more advocacy-driven.

25507519522026
Average advocacy score of Adventure titles by release year
YearAverage advocacyTitles
195202
195942
196002
196313
196603
196832
197214
197312
197515
197802
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198102
198204
198313
198418
198502
198603
198704
198802
198915
199003
199122
199202
199303
199414
199524
199603
199719
199804
199909
200019
200138
2002110
200338
2004311
2005111
2006111
2007112
200817
200938
2010410
2011210
201266
2013312
2014411
2015612
2016612
2017613
2018523
20191027
2020719
2021833
20221127
20231131
2024735
2025123
2026912
This title (2015)51

This title (2015): advocacy 5 · explore Adventure

Cast & Crew

Kojima Productions (game director)