Review of Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game

The journey to bring the Metal Gear Solid Board Game to life is almost as intricate and thrilling as the storyline in a Metal Gear game itself. Imagine a saga full of delays and licensing hurdles, where all odds seemed to point toward the game never being released, only for it to be pulled from the brink — much like how Solid Snake saved Gray Fox. This time, its savior was none other than CMON Games. After all the drama, this cardboard version of Hideo Kojima’s classic has finally debuted to eager fans. Featuring signature elements like sneaky movements in cardboard boxes and intense boss battles, the game’s strategy-driven stealth gameplay has transitioned from screen to tabletop quite successfully. Yet, despite its triumphs, there are parts of the experience that left me both thrilled and a touch disappointed.

Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game cleverly mimics the original 1998 PlayStation title, unfolding its narrative through a campaign-style format. It’s crafted for one to four players — though as we’ll explore in a bit, that’s debatable. You get to bring figures of beloved characters like Meryl, Otacon, Cyborg Ninja Gray Fox, and the legendary Solid Snake through a series of 14 unpredictable scenarios packed with memorable gaming moments. These range from the gripping face-off with Ocelot and the tricky use of the PAL Keycard, to the epic takedown of REX.

However, one glaring omission sticks out — the iconic final battles between Solid and Liquid Snake are absent. The climactic barehanded fight on top of REX, as well as the wild Jeep escape, didn’t translate into the game. Perhaps replicating a 4v1 showdown on REX or orchestrating the escape with all characters present proved challenging. Instead, the game concludes with a high-intensity team effort against Metal Gear REX. Fortunately for die-hard fans, the community hasn’t left this gap unaddressed. Over on BoardGameGeek, a user named @Geoff907, along with their spouse, created and shared a custom Stage 15 so you can dive into all that shirtless brawling goodness you’ve been craving.

For those willing to splurge on the “Integral Edition,” any narrative threads not woven into the gameplay itself are captured in a striking 109-page graphic novel featuring artwork by Kenneth Loh. It’s a wonderful nod to the cinematic vibes of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker or the PSP Digital Graphic Novels. Of course, what would MGS be without its quirky CODEC calls? These iconic conversations have found a new home in the Codec Book, complete with in-game prompts directing players to reenact these memorable exchanges. A big thumbs up to the developers for retaining the quirky yet informative tone of the game calls, like Snake touching on his action capacity or revealing tricks to beat enemies like Psycho Mantis.

When it comes to gameplay, players select up to four actions during their turns, using character-specific options on their player boards. As you progress through scenarios, new tools emerge, like Snake’s trusty Socom or the infamous cardboard box, all of which deepen each character’s toolkit, embodying the game’s “procure on-site” excitement. Enemy turns follow player actions, guided by action cards that dictate movements and reactions based on player visibility, while a separate reaction deck dictates responses to unexpected events like a guard spotting a knocked-out ally.

Boss battles demand adaptive strategies, drawing players out of their trusty boxes with their unique challenges. Each boss showdown is distinctive — from Revolver Ocelot ricocheting bullets off walls to the Hind D’s exposed target areas for attack. The game’s modular tiles make each boss fight visually compelling, setting them on dynamic, large-scale boards with unique mechanics to turn the tide. For instance, in Ocelot’s arena, accidentally harming Kenneth Baker is a game-ending mistake — a detail that heightens the stakes and requires players to stay sharp.

The unpredictable nature of enemy moves and their direction kept me engaged constantly. The dice rolls determining whether my movements were too noisy, or if enemy gunfire would hit, struck a delicate balance between strategy and chance. Each time I picked up a guard movement card, I found myself holding my breath, eager to see if I’d remain hidden. Despite the element of unpredictability, the game felt neither unfair nor overly forgiving. This deft mix of strategy and luck is true to Metal Gear’s spirit.

Although advertised for up to four players, playing the campaign mode with more than two characters often proved cumbersome. In my opinion, tackling it solo offers the richest experience. Campaign scenarios define which characters can participate, with many early missions limited to Snake alone. Throughout the entire campaign, only five scenarios accommodate four players, with no missions suitable for three players. The first opportunity for a four-player setup doesn’t arrive until the ninth scenario.

From a storyline perspective, it’s logical. You don’t expect Gray Fox side by side with Snake during Shadow Moses or Otacon wrestling with Vulcan Raven solo. But as a board game, this limitation was a letdown, making it a tough sell to my Metal Gear fan friends, where only one person could participate fully while the rest spectated until later missions. It would have been thrilling to see optional rules to introduce additional characters in two-player scenarios or alternate perspectives for varied player counts.

To their credit, the developers recognized this limitation by opening up the “VR Missions” mode to four players. Featuring exclusive unlockable equipment cards, this mode sounded promising yet falters due to a lack of variety. The VR Missions book lays out six mission types, from Recon to Sabotage; yet each type comes with a singular map layout. Although you can shake things up with different tokens, traps, or a boss model for extra excitement, the repetitive setups mean this mode loses its allure quickly. I hold out hope that either CMON or the game’s vibrant player community will release fresh maps and missions to keep the challenge alive.

For those interested, you can explore our latest reviews of other board games inspired by popular video games like Dead Cells, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and Elden Ring.