"Metal Gear Survive" Review

Following the awkward 2015 departure of "Metal Gear" impresario Hideo Kajima, Konami took its time putting out the next game in the series. In concept, a survival-minded, open world-set saga seemed like a savvy move.

In practice, the laborious, stilted effort seems like a rush-job, unworthy cash-in unworthy of the Metal Gear name. Even more awkard and less compelling than the awkward 2013 hack-and-slash spinoff "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance," "Metal Gear Survive" is best left forgotten. Its only hope is that its controlled online-always nature -- even in single-player, you need to maintain a connection with the server at all times -- will yield gradual improvement.

There is some hope on that front, with a promised update in March set to deliver the co-op entry Rescue Mission -- as well as daily missions that pump out every day at noon to keep things fresh. The commitment to adding fresh content to the game-as-service is laudable, and it seems that something interesting would be added to the drab morass if only by happy accident.

As things stand, though, "Metal Ger Survive" is a largely vacant, uninspiring bore that's more like virtual babysitting than a tense game of stealth combat. With a nagging ecosystem, sprawling and empty environments and uninspiring weapon selection and combat, there is just not enough here to merit a full purchase. The product feels more like a free-to-play lark than a full-figured commitment, and its survival prospects at this point seem dubious.
Publisher provided review code.