The relationship between the Metal Gear series and its publisher Konami is extremely complicated. Metal Gear Solid V was one of the series’ most celebrated games, but it came amid the controversial exit of Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima from the company. Kojima’s exit pulled Konami’s name through the mud, so any new Metal Gear game made without Hideo was going to have a hard time with fans. And that brings us to Gamescom 2016 and the Metal Gear Survive reveal trailer. Let’s take a look…
So… wow. Technically set right after Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes prologue mission, a group of Snake’s mercenaries are surreptitiously teleported to another dimension where they must work together to battle zombies. The game is described as having a mix of stealth and zombie hunting, built around four-player co-op action in a post-apocalyptic setting.
Metal Gear Survive was likely not what longtime fans were expecting from Konami’s next Metal Gear title, as this initial trailer reminds people more of a Resident Evil spin-off or one of the many other zombie shooters on the market. Were it not for the opening moments of the trailer connecting it to Ground Zeroes, the game would bear little resemblance at all to the franchise.
The trailer didn’t feature any gameplay and beyond saying that the game wouldn’t be a full-priced, $60 release, Konami has been pretty silent on the details. The game is planned for release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2017, so hopefully we’ll get some more details on any possible single-player modes or anything else that might make the game more interesting to MGS fans. Obviously, Konami has a very difficult road ahead of it to sell hardcore gamers on such a huge change to a very respected and beloved series as Metal Gear, especially without Hideo Kojima involved.