As far as video games go, there is an outlying trend. You start the game you’re given, you win, and you have fun between point A and point B. This is how it was with Pac-Man, this is how it was with Dig-Dug, with Donkey Kong, with Super Mario Brothers and any other game that stole our parent’s youth while they happily slammed quarters into arcade machines in the 80’s. There is a model that worked then, and the same model works now- that produces successful games. Enter stage left, weighing in at 25.1 gigabytes, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain arrives to smash the mold with gusto not yet observed in the video-game scene.

This is the 6th installment of the Metal Gear Solid. It is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami. You play as a man named Punished Snake, referred to by his soldiers as “Boss”. You run a mercenary group called “Diamond Dogs” and venture on covert missions into Afghanistan and later, parts of the Congo for money and revenge. The story takes place nine years after “Boss” was put into a coma (due to events taking place at the end of the previous installment).

In terms of game-play, MGSV:PP really does an amazing job. Remember when I mentioned about breaking the mold on the usual formula for good games? Imagine you’re at a 5 star restaurant, and you order a nice, thick steak. If this transaction is a metaphor for a traditional game, the waiter brings you your steak, you eat it, and you enjoy. If we’re talking about this metaphor in terms of this game, and it’s grueling game-play that punishes mistakes and makes you learn- it’s more like you order a steak, and your waiter brings it out with a 6-foot-4, 250 pound heavy weight boxer. The only way to get your steak? Cream the boxer. You’ll get your lights knocked out, over and over and over, but you’ll learn his weaknesses, you’ll see where you can get an edge, and maybe you’ll get lucky and finally get him down. Then you get your steak, and it’s tender and delicious, and you know what? It tastes even better because you’ve earned it. Seeing the ‘mission complete’ screen pop up after an hour, like it’s being caroled by a dozen harped angels, is a euphoria that I can’t really describe.

You will play the same mission over and over, seeing where the guard patrols go, learning from trial and error which air ducts are best to climb through, where you can find important documents to help you along the way, et cetera. You will lose along the way, believe me, but when you finally complete the mission you will have acquired a feeling of indescribable accomplishment.

Another thing that I enjoy about this game is how it allows you to take a variety of approaches to objectives given. If you have to blow up a shipment of weapons you can do it dozens of ways. Get into the compound from a break in the fence. Get into the compound from sewer access. Get into the compound from the front door. Then what? You could strap C4 to the shipment. You could find Thermite in a nearby warehouse. You could just blow it up with a rocket launcher- Metal Gear Solid 5 doesn’t really care.

There’s a distinct freedom that you don’t usually get in video games, and this game really nails that. You’re allowed to do whatever you want, while still keeping you immersed in an emotional story of redemption that tackles mature and controversial themes with ease. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is truly a gem, and lead designer/director Hideo Kojima really created something amazing. The game is available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Windows, currently costs $59.99 across the board.