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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchSix entries stand out as masterpieces for different reasons: Metal Gear Solid made cinematic 3D stealth a console hit; Sons of Liberty took bold narrative risks; Snake Eater added survival systems; Guns of the Patriots brought Solid Snake’s saga to a close; Peace Walker reshaped the series around missions and base-building; and The Phantom Pain made stealth an open-ended sandbox. “10/10” is an editorial judgment, not a universal score: the critic Metascores below offer one useful reference, while each game’s design and story will appeal to different players.
How to read the scores and choose your starting point
Metacritic’s Metascore is a 0–100 aggregate of professional critics’ reviews, not a score awarded by every reviewer. Scores can change as the aggregator updates its data, and the figures below refer to the named release editions. They help explain the games’ critical standing, but they do not settle which one is best for you. Metacritic’s original release page and its Snake Eater review page illustrate the edition-specific nature of the ratings.
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The list is ordered by original release year, not by a definitive ranking. For a foundational stealth adventure, start with Metal Gear Solid; for survival mechanics, try Snake Eater; for flexible open-area play, choose The Phantom Pain. Players who want the most from the series’ long-running story may prefer to follow the numbered Solid entries in release order.
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The six Metal Gear masterpieces
1. Metal Gear Solid (1998) — the cinematic stealth breakthrough
Metascore: 94. Metal Gear Solid brought the series’ stealth-action ideas into a major 3D console adventure, pairing sneaking through guarded spaces with cinematic presentation and a story built around memorable encounters. Its fixed-camera viewpoints and room-by-room infiltration give stealth a deliberate, readable rhythm: watch patrols, understand the space, and choose when to move.
#1 Best Overall
- GAME LIST: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version), Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. Versions for other regions of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version) can be downloaded separately from the store. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker supports online play for up to 6 players.
- DIGITAL BOOKS: Metal Gear Solid 4: Screenplay Book, Metal Gear Solid 4: Master Book, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Screenplay Book, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Master Book. All are accessible via the in-game Start Menu.
- METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1 SAVE-DATA BONUS*: If a user has saved data for any title included in METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1, you can receive in-game items usable in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version) respectively. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Bonus: Gold Camouflage. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version) Bonus: GOLD Uniform.
Its importance is not just historical. The compact environments make each guard, corridor, and tool matter, while the game’s dramatic tone gives a simple act of avoiding detection unusual narrative weight. Its 1998 design conventions can feel dated to players accustomed to modern camera control, but the focused structure remains a strong introduction to the series’ stealth identity.
2. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) — a sequel willing to unsettle players
Metascore: 96. Sons of Liberty builds on the original’s stealth-action framework while taking unusually bold risks with its narrative and expectations. Its story is famously divisive; that division is part of what makes the game notable, rather than a reason to mistake its critical acclaim for universal approval.
As a stealth game, it rewards observation and careful movement through guarded facilities. As a sequel, it is more interested in challenging what players think they know than simply repeating the first game’s formula. The result is an ambitious entry that may work best for players willing to meet its story on its own terms.
Rank #2
- GAME LIST: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version), Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. Versions for other regions of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version) can be downloaded separately from the store. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker supports online play for up to 6 players.
- DIGITAL BOOKS: Metal Gear Solid 4: Screenplay Book, Metal Gear Solid 4: Master Book, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Screenplay Book, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Master Book. All are accessible via the in-game Start Menu.
- METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1 SAVE-DATA BONUS*: If a user has saved data for any title included in METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1, you can receive in-game items usable in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version) respectively. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Bonus: Gold Camouflage. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (HD Collection version) Bonus: GOLD Uniform.
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) — stealth becomes survival
Metascore: 91 for the PlayStation 2 release. Set in the 1960s, Snake Eater is a prequel that shifts the series’ emphasis toward surviving in hostile terrain. Camouflage, hunting, and healing systems make the environment more than a backdrop: staying alive and remaining unseen are closely linked.
This change gives stealth a more physical feel than the tighter rooms of the earlier games. Players manage their condition as well as enemy attention, and the prequel setting makes the story accessible in one sense while adding context to the broader series in another. Metacritic’s review page lists the PS2 release, dated November 17, 2004, at 91 based on 68 critic reviews; that is a platform-specific figure, not a score for every edition.
4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) — a cinematic farewell
Metascore: 94. Guns of the Patriots serves as a cinematic conclusion to Solid Snake’s saga, combining stealth-action with large-scale set pieces. Its appeal is closely tied to the accumulated story: returning characters and unresolved threads carry more meaning for players familiar with earlier entries.
Rank #3
- Experience the intense thrill of infiltrating undetected. Immerse yourself in the Metal Gear series—the pinnacle of the stealth-action genre—as you infiltrate strongholds and outsmart enemies to complete your missions. This collection is the second installment in the definitive Metal Gear Master Collection.
The trade-off is pacing. The game’s extended film-like storytelling can interrupt the action and is not for everyone. If you are new to the series, it is generally more rewarding after earlier Solid games; if you want a focused stealth experience with minimal narrative downtime, another entry may suit you better.
5. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) — a portable campaign built from missions
Metascore: 89. Designed for PSP, Peace Walker organizes play into shorter missions, with co-op, boss encounters, and base development shaping the experience. That structure is a substantial departure from a single continuous campaign: players can tackle objectives in discrete sessions and develop a growing operation between missions.
The mission format and management systems give the game a distinct identity, and its story bridges toward The Phantom Pain. Its portable origins are also relevant when choosing an edition: newer collections may change how it is accessed, but the PSP-era assets remain part of the game’s presentation. Metacritic quotes PlayStation Universe reviewer Adam Dolge describing it as “an ambitious PSP game, and a worthy follow-up to previous entries.”
Rank #4
- Title Lineup:Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid (Including VR Missions/Special Missions), Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (HD Collection version), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (HD Collection version), Metal Gear (NES/FC version), Snake's Revenge
- Video: Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, Metal Gear Solid 2: Digital Graphic Novel
- Digital book: Metal Gear Solid: Screenplay Book, Metal Gear Solid: Master Book, Metal Gear Solid 2: Screenplay Book, Metal Gear Solid 2: Master Book, Metal Gear Solid 3: Screenplay Book, Metal Gear Solid 3: Master Book, Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2: Screenplay Book, Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2: Master Book
- Soundtrack: Metal Gear Solid: Digital Soundtrack
6. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) — stealth as an open-ended sandbox
Metascore: 93. The Phantom Pain moves the series into broad open areas where players decide how to approach objectives. Its stealth is less about solving a fixed sequence of rooms and more about scouting, selecting equipment, responding to patrols, and adapting when a plan goes wrong.
This freedom gives missions strong replay value and supports multiple approaches. The cost is a story that many critics found incomplete or unsatisfying, so it is a better fit for players drawn to systemic, player-directed stealth than for those seeking a tightly resolved narrative. Its design shift is one of the clearest contrasts in the series: a mission can become a personal plan rather than a prescribed route.
Which game fits the way you want to play?
| What matters most | Best fit among these six | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Classic, compact stealth | Metal Gear Solid | Fixed-camera, room-based infiltration emphasizes reading patrols and spaces. |
| A formally adventurous story | Sons of Liberty | Its narrative takes risks rather than simply repeating the original’s approach. |
| Survival systems and a prequel setting | Snake Eater | Camouflage, hunting, and healing connect survival with stealth. |
| A story-heavy conclusion | Guns of the Patriots | It pays off prior Solid-series threads, with substantial cinematic storytelling. |
| Short missions, co-op, and base development | Peace Walker | Its mission-based structure and operation-building distinguish it from the console campaigns. |
| Flexible approaches and replayable objectives | The Phantom Pain | Open areas let players shape how they infiltrate and complete missions. |
These are design differences, not a universal ranking. Metacritic’s franchise guide also cautions that the earliest games predate its scoring system, so the absence of a comparable Metascore for those titles should not be read as evidence that they are inferior.
Best Value
- This innovative game series was born from the idea of avoiding combat and infiltrating enemy territory undetected
- Title line up: Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metal Gear (NES/FC version), and Snake’s Revenge
- Digital books: Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metal Gear, and Metal Gear; Screenplay and Master Books included
- Video: Metal Gear Solid; Digital Graphic Novel and Metal Gear Solid 2; Digital Graphic Novel
- Includes Metal Gear Solid: Digital Soundtrack
How to find the right edition
The exact game and platform matter, especially for entries originally tied to older hardware. Konami’s archived Legacy Collection page lists a PlayStation 3 collection released in Japan on July 11, 2013, containing Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Peace Walker, plus two digital graphic-novel works and a 100-page booklet. That archived listing establishes what the collection included, not its current stock or availability on other platforms.
The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection is split across volumes, so do not assume one purchase contains all six games on this list. A TechRadar review first published in August 2026 discusses Master Collection Vol. 2 as including Metal Gear Solid 4, Peace Walker, and Metal Gear: Ghost Babel; it reports that MGS4 ran at 4K/60 fps on the PS5 version it tested and notes that Peace Walker retains PSP-era assets. Those are review-specific observations, not a guarantee for every platform, edition, or region. Check the exact volume, platform, regional edition, and current listing before buying.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a remake of the 2004 Snake Eater, not the same product as the original release. It is an alternative if you want a modern remake; choose the original if you specifically want the 2004 game and its original presentation.
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