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Though Hideo Kojima's MGSV has been out since 2015, many of its secrets remain hiding in plain sight. In this video, Jorin explains an unexpected yet vital 'missing link' concealed behind the drapery in THE PHANTOM PAIN: how the antagonist Skull Face comes to haunt the entire series, via the cipher of Eli, aka Liquid Snake. Along the way, we also discuss the concept of memes in the Dawkinsian sense, how Skull Face and Liquid are parallel characters, and how MGSV uses them to explore concepts like race, fate, and more!

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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a thirdperson actionadventure game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 1, 2015.

The tenth and final main installment of the Metal Gear series, Phantom Pain follows legendary mercenary Big Boss (now known by his codename "Venom Snake") as he awakens in 1984 from a nineyear coma following the destruction of his private military company "Militaires Sans Frontières". With help from his old business partner Kazuhira Miller and rivalturnedally Revolver Ocelot, Snake must rebuild his mercenary army (now called "Diamond Dogs") while plotting revenge against the shadowy organization "Cipher," as well as its XOF paramilitary unit led by the enigmatic Skull Face.

Similar to its standalone prologue Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Phantom Pain focuses on executing mission objectives in open world environments set in both Sovietoccupied Afghanistan and the AngolaZaire border region of central Africa, complete with dynamic weather and daynight systems. Stealth is a major component of gameplay, but often optional thanks to Snake's arsenal of combat gear. Players can also upgrade Diamond Dogs' new "Mother Base" in a fashion similar to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, allowing them to develop new weapons and items. In addition to its singleplayer campaign, the game includes two playervsplayer multiplayer modes, as well as optional microtransactions and other paid downloadable content.

The Phantom Pain is notable as the final game in the series with involvement from series creator Hideo Kojima and his Kojima Productions team. Several months before the game's release, Konami began a major restructuring of its games division, ultimately leading to Kojima Productions being treated more as a contractor rather than an internal studio. Unlike prior Metal Gear titles from the same team, Kojima Productions' logo and branding is absent from promotional materials and packaging for the final game. After leaving Konami, Kojima would go on to establish a new independent studio with the same name in 2015.

The Phantom Pain was bundled together with Ground Zeroes and all DLC as Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience in late 2016 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Phantom Pain's gameplay and graphics engine were later reused for the 2018 survivalfocused spinoff title Metal Gear Survive.
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