Hideo Kojima is a Japanese game designer best known for the Metal Gear Solid series of games.
Kojima is undoubtedly one of Japan’s most prolific and respected video games designers.
The game designer started his career in 1986 at Konami, where he designed Metal Gear (1987) for the MSX2, laying the foundation for the stealth genre of video games.
Kojima went on to spend more than 30 years at Konami, producing several acclaimed Metal Gear Solid games, as well as mech title Zone of the Enders, plus adventure games Snatcher (1988) and Policenauts (1994).
Kojima founded Kojima Productions in 2005, under the control of Konami.
Konami Split
In 2015 Kojima left Konami amid much speculation. His former employer stated that it was hiring new staff for the Metal Gear series, claiming that Kojima was taking time off from game development.
At the 2015 Game Awards, Kojima did not appear to accept Metal Gear Solid V’s Best Action Game award. It was claimed Konami had blocked the designer from attending the event.
Later the same month, Kojima announced he was reforming Kojima Productions with new staff, backed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The reformed company’s first game would be Death Stranding for PlayStation 4.
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Hideo Kojima, best known for the Metal Gear Solid series, is one of video game’s most eccentric and acclaimed directors. Kojima is well known for his masterful gameplay design as well as his games having some of the most wild, strange, and intriguing stories that could be.
With today also being the release day of the updated version of Kojima’s most recent game in the form of Death Stranding Director’s Cut, we decide to look at Kojima’s Top 5 games that you can play on modern hardware.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Starting off the list is the ending of the Metal Gear Solid series. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released all the way back in 2008. The game was released to major acclaim and is considered one of the PlayStation 3’s best games. The game sees Solid Snake, now called Old Snake, look to end what had been started from the very beginning of the original Metal Gear.
The game has absolute, fantastic moments such as the microwave scene and the ending as well as having tons of callbacks to the rest of the franchise. All this made Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots a perfect endcap to a beloved series. Unfortunately, the game is still natively locked to a console that’s 2 generations old at this point. Currently, the only way to play Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on modern hardware is via the streaming service PlayStation Now on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Probably one of the best collections of games ever. The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection puts Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker all in one place. Each game brings something completely different to the plate as well. Metal Gear Solid 2 feels like an evolution of the first game as well as throwing in a new main character.
Metal Gear Solid 3 puts players at the very beginning of the Metal Gear story with tons of new gameplay mechanics and one of the best endings of all time. Finally, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, originally designed for the PSP, feels unique with its style and base building mechanics. The reason why this amazing collection of games is so low on the list is because it’s only accessible to play on modern hardware via Xbox backwards compatibility or streaming via PlayStation Now.
Death Stranding
First released in 2019 as Kojima’s first game after leaving Konami in 2015, Death Stranding is one of the most unique experiences in video games. Made with a completely stacked cast of characters including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and more, Death Stranding places players in post-apocalyptic America tasked with reuniting society that has been split apart into isolation. Though the game deals with isolation, it also is about connection. Not only are you reconnecting America in-game. You are connecting with other players to build and help each other by stacking and combining resources to build roads or leave items behind to help others. The story of the game is strange yet so enrapturing and emotional that it pulls you through what could otherwise be tedious gameplay.
Death Stranding originally sold over 5 million copies. That number is set to only increase with today’s release of the Director’s Cut. Also, according to Reedus, a sequel may be on the way for one of Kojima’s most unique games. Death Stranding is able to be played on PC as well as on PlayStation consoles.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V, Kojima’s last Metal Gear, released back in 2015 after development was marred with Kojima’s and Konami’s relationship falling apart. The first part of the game was even split off a year earlier in the form of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. However, even with all that, Metal Gear Solid V still ended up being incredible. It is easily one of, if not, the best stealth game ever made.
The game has a near perfect gameplay loop with a wide array of options for you to tackle missions and take out enemies. Each mission starts with you deciding your loadout from vehicles to weapons to partners and everything in between. You’re given so many options because the AI is adaptive. The more you do the same plan of attack, the enemies come up with ways to counter it such as wearing helmets when you constantly go for headshots or wearing night-vision goggles if you keep coming in at night. All this freedom and design easily makes the game number 2 on the list. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain can be played on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles.
Metal Gear Solid
Thanks to a PC release about a year ago, what else would be number 1? Metal Gear Solid is one of the best and most influential games of all time. The original Metal Gear Solid basically brought the stealth game genre to the forefront and made Hideo Kojima a household game. Gameplay felt like nothing else at the time and there are plenty of ambitious ways for how the gameplay worked with the Psycho Mantis fight being like nothing else.
Also, Kojima crafted a story that made people think video games were more than something just for kids. Poignant moments, incredible characters, and cutscenes that felt like a movie made Metal Gear Solid feel like it was something more than just a game; that it was a glimpse into the future of what video games could be. You can currently play Metal Gear Solid on PC via purchasing the game from GOG.com
And with that, you can see Kojima’s unique style and design philosophy he has created over the course of his 30 plus year career. He is easily one of the greatest video game directors of all time and it’s only time before we see whatever new experience he plans to do next.
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