Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an open world action–adventure stealth video game developed by Kojima Productions.

Co-produced and co-written by Hideo Kojima, The Phantom Pain serves as a sequel to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. The game carries over the same tagline, Tactical Espionage Operations, as used in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

The game is set in the year 1984 during the Soviet War, and players will follow Venom Snake as he ventures to Africa and Afghanistan – along with a new mercenary group called the Diamond Dogs – to take revenge on people who destroyed his forces during Ground Zeroes.

In terms of gameplay, the same elements are basically carried over from Ground Zeroes, which means that players will still have to sneak their way undetected and avoid enemies in order to carry out objectives. Snake’s arsenal also includes his trusted binoculars, maps, pistols, and other weapons.

Being in an open-world setting (the game is said to have 200 times the map size of Ground Zeroes), players will also have to navigate the game world using vehicles. AI companions are also available to assist Snake, with their abilities and effectiveness in combat depending on the player’s relationship with them. Developing weapons through its base-building feature is also making a comeback similar to how it was done in Peace Walker.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain also includes a multiplayer mode through the newly developed Metal Gear Online.