is a fictional character and one of the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

s of

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

's ''

Metal Gear is a Media franchise, franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear (video game), Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX, MSX home computers. The player often takes con ...

'' series, created by

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...

. He was first introduced in the 1987 ''

'' game as the commanding officer and father of

Solid Snake , real name David, is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of Konami's ''Metal Gear'' series, created by Hideo Kojima. He is depicted as a former United States Army Special Forces, Green Beret and highly skilled special operations so ...

, featuring in a twist as the game's main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'') as , an American

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

Operator and decorated war hero. Political manipulations cause him to be disillusioned when facing his own

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

, and he gradually develops his own private mercenary company while growing into the original Big Boss persona and being referred to as simply . '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'' featured a different character as a body double of Big Boss known as / . The concept of Naked Snake was an attempt to distance him from Solid Snake, despite both being physically similar through their characterizations. He has been voiced by

Akio Ōtsuka is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is attached to Mausu Promotion. The astringent and calm quality of his deep voice has landed him many roles in films, dubbing, animation, and video games. He i ...

and

Chikao Ōtsuka was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He was most known for the roles of Captain Hook ('' Peter Pan: The Animated Series'' and '' Disney's Peter Pan''), Dick Dastardly (''Wacky Races'' and ''Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machine ...

in the Japanese version, and by

David Hayter David Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Big Boss (Metal Gear), Naked Snake in the ''Metal Gear'' video game series. He wrote the fi ...

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 20 ...

and Richard Doyle in the English translation. Critical reception to Big Boss has been positive, due to his role as a villain and his enmity with his son. His younger persona has been praised as likeable, with critics generally enjoying the execution of his character development in the series designed to shape him into a villainous icon.

Creation and design

In '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', Big Boss's visual appearance was inspired by actor

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

, but for the ports of the game's re-released version, the original design was replaced by

Yoji Shinkawa is a Japanese artist. He is best known as the lead character and mecha designer for the ''Metal Gear'' franchise. He has collaborated with Hideo Kojima on many of his games. Biography Shinkawa was born in Hiroshima on December 25, 1971. He be ...

's design. During the making of '' Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'',

asked Shinkawa to make Naked Snake similar to Solid Snake, but with the differences that unlike Solid Snake, Naked Snake was a rookie and thus acted more naive. Shinkawa stated having no difficulties in designing Naked Snake as basically a revised version of Solid Snake. As a result, Naked Snake is virtually identical to Solid Snake from the previous ''Metal Gear Solid'' games in terms of appearance. The love scene between Naked Snake and EVA was inspired by the first ''

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film ''The Pink Panthe ...

''. Kojima and Shinkawa watched the movie but the former stated it might have come different from the original version. Since the game's trailers did not state that Naked Snake was Big Boss, Kojima often gave vague answers to the character's true identity. Although the ending of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' reveals Naked Snake was given the Big Boss title, Kojima stated "he's not really the Big Boss yet". With '' Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'', he wanted to explain how Naked Snake turned into the man who appeared in the original ''Metal Gear'' games as Solid Snake's enemy. Naked Snake as portrayed in ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' is voiced by

Akio Otsuka is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is attached to Mausu Promotion. The astringent and calm quality of his deep voice has landed him many roles in films, dubbing, animation, and video games. He i ...

in the Japanese version and

in the English version. Hayter, despite voicing protagonist

in previous entries, was forced to re-audition in order to secure the part of Naked Snake. Hayter told ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' that Kojima had hoped to hire

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor before transitioning to leading roles as an adult in various genres such as action adventures, science-fiction, westerns, romance films, co ...

to voice Naked Snake, but that Russell declined the role. Both actors would return to provide the character's voice in '' Portable Ops'' and '' Peace Walker''. The elderly version of Big Boss who appears in '' Metal Gear Solid 4'' was voiced by

Chikao Otsuka was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He was most known for the roles of Captain Hook ('' Peter Pan: The Animated Series'' and '' Disney's Peter Pan''), Dick Dastardly (''Wacky Races'' and ''Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machine ...

(Akio Otsuka's real-life father) in Japanese and by Richard Doyle in English. On June 6, 2013, during Konami's third annual pre- E3 show, it was announced that

would be replacing Hayter as the character in '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.'' Sutherland was assigned the role after a suggestion to Kojima from Hollywood producer and director

Avi Arad Avi Arad (; ; born August 1, 1948) is an Israeli-American studio executive and producer of film, television and animation. He became the CEO of Toy Biz in the 1990s, was the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment and is the founder, ...

; Kojima's reason was to "have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than words", and that he "needed someone who could genuinely convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late 40s". Sutherland plays the original Big Boss (who serves as the playable character in the stand-alone prologue '' Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes''), as well as Venom Snake (a new version of the character who serves as the protagonist in the main game ''The Phantom Pain''). In addition to the voice, Sutherland also provided facial capture for the character. Akio Otsuka reprised his role, voicing the character again in both ''Ground Zeroes'' and ''The Phantom Pain,'' additionally portraying Venom Snake in the latter.

Appearances

Naked Snake

Big Boss is introduced in the original game ''

'' as the Special Forces Unit

FOXHOUND A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their barking, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on ho ...

's leader and

's commanding officer. He initially acts as a radio contact who provides Snake with information about mission objectives involving

Outer Heaven The Metal Gear, ''Metal Gear'' franchise, created by Hideo Kojima and featuring character and mecha designs by Yoji Shinkawa, features a large cast of characters, several of whom are soldiers with supernatural, supernatural powers provided by s ...

, a mercenary nation in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. After Snake destroys the TX-55 Metal Gear, the villain confronts Snake, acting as a twist villain. The leader is defeated and Outer Heaven is destroyed, but Big Boss vows revenge. Big Boss reappears in the sequel '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', where he has taken control of Zanzibar Land, a fortified nation in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. Snake confronts Big Boss once again while escaping from Zanzibar Land's detention camp, with Snake incinerating Big Boss. Despite his apparent death, Big Boss features prominently in '' Metal Gear Solid'' and '' Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'' where his DNA was revealed to have been used to create genetically-altered clones as part of the secret "Les Enfants Terribles" government project, with Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Solidus Snake The

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

'' Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'', set in 1964, depicts a younger incarnation of the character, under the codename of Naked Snake, as a member of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

special forces unit

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

headed by Major

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

. Snake is sent on assignment in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to thwart the uprising of

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

colonel Volgin, rescue weapons researcher Nikolai Sokolov, destroy the Shagohod prototype, and kill The Boss to avert a nuclear war while having a rivalry with

Ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...

and receiving assistance from fellow spy EVA. Snake completes his mission and kills The Boss, but learns that the defection was orchestrated by the US government and who had ordered his mentor's death to prevent war. The political motives behind the operation do not sit well with him, especially after he is awarded the "Big Boss" title for his actions which he initially rejects, and prompts him to retire from active service. In '' Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops'', he is still under his former codename, believing that he has yet to surpass The Boss as a warrior. Having spent six years wandering the globe, Snake finds himself involved in an armed uprising caused by

Gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

's rogue FOX unit in the San Hieronymo peninsula in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and learns that he has been convicted for instigating the revolt. Hoping to clear his name, Snake forms his own team of specialists by recruiting both old allies and defecting enemy soldiers to his cause. He faces not only the members of the FOX unit, but also Metal Gear's first prototype. After he learns that The Boss's death had been planned all along, Snake eventually defeats Gene and obtains the funds for Army's Heaven. '' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'', set years after ''Metal Gear Solid'' and ''Metal Gear Solid 2'', reveals that Big Boss and Zero were divided over how to realize The Boss's final will: a world where soldiers are free to choose and fight their own battles on their own terms, and not at the whim of a government. Big Boss initially sided with Zero before being discouraged Zero interpreting the will as imposing order and control over the world. Big Boss further despises his role as a figurehead since Zero's vision places no value on loyalty to ideals and people, which The Boss treasured above all else. Big Boss ultimately leaves when he learns that his own DNA was used for the "Les Enfants Terribles" project, and later stages the coup d'état with Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land against Zero's organization. Big Boss survived and was placed in an artificially induced coma with his genetic code used for an ID recognition system, the use of which allows access to the AIs that make up the Patriots. His body is recovered and reconstructed using parts from the bodies of both Liquid and Solidus, and he awakens from his coma after the fall of the Patriots' AIs. Big Boss appears before Old Snake with the elderly catatonic Zero to reveal the truth about the Patriots, before shutting off Zero's

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...

system, killing the latter. He comes to terms with his feelings regarding The Boss, and reconciles with his son before dying from exposure to the new strain of FOXDIE virus. '' Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'', set after ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' and ''Portable Ops'', establishes Naked Snake founded the mercenary force Militaires Sans Frontières with Kazuhira "Kaz" Miller. He intends to use MSF to live out The Boss's final will. Student Paz Ortega Andrade and Professor Vladimir Zadornov seek to hire MSF to remove Coldman's CIA Peace Sentinel unit that has established bases in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Snake reluctantly accepts the mission, to which the MSF takes over an offshore research platform in the Caribbean as a "Mother Base" in a bid to expand the group's capabilities. Snake comes to learn about the true purpose of Coldman's Peace Walker prototypes and accepts his Big Boss identity. Big Boss has Huey Emmerich create Metal Gear ZEKE as a weapon to defend his interests before Zadornov makes several escape attempts and is killed in self-defense while Paz takes control of ZEKE which Big Boss defeats and continues his operations with MSF. ''Ground Zeroes'', set in 1975, sees Big Boss sent to rescue Paz and ally Chico from a U.S. Naval prison facility in Cuba, believing that Paz can be converted to MSF's cause to reveal more about Cipher (a precursor to the Patriots). Snake rescues Paz and Chico but the XOF paramilitary force led by Skull Face attacks Mother Base. A bomb secretly planted in Paz results in injuries which puts Big Boss in a coma. ''The Phantom Pain'', set in 1984, shows Big Boss awaken in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and works elsewhere on the true Outer Heaven's development.

Venom Snake

Venom Snake, also known as Punished Snake, is a doppelgänger of Big Boss who most notably appears as the protagonist of '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''. He was originally a medic serving Big Boss in MSF until the helicopter explosion following the destruction of Mother Base. In the accident, Snake lost his left arm and suffered shrapnel injuries, including having a large protruding piece embedded in his cerebral cortex. While in a coma for nine years, he is subjected to subconscious brainwashing and facial reconstruction by Cipher in order to become a body double meant to draw attention away from the true Big Boss' activities. Seeking revenge for his fallen comrades, Snake takes command of the mercenary unit Diamond Dogs with a new "Mother Base" near

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

. Snake engages in missions in

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-controlled

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and the

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

border of

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

while recruiting several companions against Cipher's remnants before facing off against Skull Face and the White Mamba. Afterwards, he's

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned as Outer Heaven's mercenary leader featured in the first game in the series who fights and dies against Solid Snake.

Reception

Big Boss has been well-received. Game publications described Big Boss as one of the best video game villains. Jesse Schedeen of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' found the character one of the most important characters from the franchise to the point his "influence is felt in every ''Metal Gear'' game, even if he isn't always present in the flesh". Ken Gagne of ''

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is a computer magazine published since 1967 aimed at information technology (IT) and Business computing, business technology professionals. Original a print magazine, ''Computerworld'' published its final pr ...

'' named Big Boss as one of the most creative villains in video games, citing the complexity and importance of his betrayal of Solid Snake in the original game. Naked Snake's transition to Big Boss was praised, especially in conjunction with his character development throughout the series. Various gaming sites such as '' 1UP.com'', ''

'' and ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' placed his character as one of the worst fathers in video games due to his poor relationship with Solid Snake and the attempts to murder his own son. ''

VG247 Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'' wrote that while Big Boss appeared identical to Solid Snake, the former was more vulnerable and fallible, and driven by personal ideals. They also compared Big Boss' villainous turn and relationship with Solid Snake to the character of

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

. The inclusion of Naked Snake's role in ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' has also received praise from critics. Prior to the game's release, Naked Snake was often called 'Solid Snake' or simply 'Snake' by critics due to his resemblance with Solid Snake, although some still were not sure about his true identity. Benjamin Turner of ''

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

'' further noted that various fans started making theories about Naked Snake's identity before the game's release, as while they thought it was Solid Snake, the setting from the game made it impossible for Solid Snake to be the game's main protagonist due to their difference of years. Finding the revelation of Naked Snake's identity was considered by Benjamin Turner of ''GameSpy'' as "the single coolest thing Kojima could have done in ''MGS3''" because of aked Snake'sdifferences from olid Snakein regards to their personality as well as because it made fans wonder how Naked Snake would become the series antagonist Big Boss. Despite the similarities between Naked Snake and Solid Snake, Rich Stanton of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' praised how different they are from each other in terms of experience, particularly highlighting how Naked Snake looks after The Boss despite the game placing them as enemies. Dave Meikleham of ''

GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...

'' placed his relationship with EVA in his top list of disastrous game romances due to how it was ruined by the two's different roles in the story. ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' editor Nick Jones described Naked Snake's final fight against The Boss as the second best moment from the franchise, citing the emotional focus on their characters. Joe Dodson, writing for ''

Game Revolution Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male ...

'', disliked Big Boss's character in ''Portable Ops'' due to his process of kidnapping and indoctrinating enemy soldiers through "confusing rants" about the idea of loyalty. Rob Fahey of ''Eurogamer'' found that Snake remained likeable due to carrying over traits shown in ''Snake Eater,'' and praised Hayter's performance. Charles Herold of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described him as a tragic character based on the events shown in ''Snake Eater'', and with ''Portable Ops'' had been forced to face a new conflict despite retirement. Greg Kasavin of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' praised the handling of the character in ''Portable Ops'' due to his interactions with his former partners from the FOX unit. Jeff Haynes of ''IGN'' noted how the game presented major plot twists and exposition that would affect his characterization and lay the groundwork for important items shown later in the series. Oli Welsh of ''Eurogamer'' criticized Big Boss's characterization in ''Peace Walker'' as confusing in the wider context of the series, with mixed comments being given to Hayter's performance. Jonathan Holmes of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' enjoyed how ''Peace Walker'' further developed Big Boss's character from ''Portable Ops'' by completing his journey from lone soldier to leader and cementing him as the series icon he would become. Greg Miller of ''IGN'' also found the game's story was one of the most enjoyable and least-convoluted by focusing purely on Big Boss's emotions and his quest to discover more about his fallen mentor, The Boss, similar sentiments of which were shared by Randy Nelson of ''

Engadget Engadget ( ) is a technology news, reviews and analysis website offering daily coverage of gadgets, consumer electronics, video games, gaming hardware, apps, social media, streaming, AI, space, robotics, electric vehicles and other potentially ...

''.

Jason Schreier Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is an American journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several Investigative journalism, investig ...

of ''Kotaku'' disliked the plot twist in ''The Phantom Pain'' which revealed that the player character Venom Snake was not Big Boss, feeling it cheapened the emotional crux of the story and failed to explain Big Boss's motivations for becoming a villain. ''GamesRadar+'' writer David Roberts similarly cited that the reveal was a "strange" ending and "a bizarre bit of fridge logic that makes less and less sense the more I think about it," believing it to make the ending of the game feel hollow. However, he felt that the customization aspect of Venom Snake was "purely and distinctly ''Metal Gear''". Conversely, ''Destructoid'' praised the reveal for its logic in the grander scheme of the series' timeline. Samuel Roberts of ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' stated the twist left the player with "no backstory other than the one heyve just created" which removed the character's identity of Big Boss, reflecting the player's own unique experience and being "a perfect thematic match for hegame". The repetitive nature of the quest system in ''The Phantom Pain'' was highlighted by ''

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' writer Cameron Kunzelman as helping to show Big Boss's role as someone who simply does work rather than acting as a hero. Sutherland was praised for his performance, though the character of Venom Snake was criticized for his lack of dialogue.

References

Notes

Footnotes