METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE Review Summary

An outstanding game with exceptional music and unique combat, but the unreliable camera, confusing parry, and short length frustrate.

Outstanding overall game quality: Players consistently describe the game as incredible, amazing, and a masterpiece. Many call it one of the best games ever made, praising its gameplay, action, and overall experience.

Exceptional soundtrack and music: The soundtrack is repeatedly praised as outstanding, top-notch, and full of bangers that perfectly fit the gameplay. Many players consider it one of the best soundtracks they have ever heard.

Spectacular and unique combat system: The combat system is described as spectacular, fluid, and satisfying, with an easy-to-learn but hard-to-master design. It is fast, brutal, and highly addictive.

Memorable and varied boss fights: Boss fights are a major highlight, praised for being unique, intense, and requiring players to learn different mechanics. They are memorable, well-designed, and creatively fair.

Top-tier hack-and-slash action: The game is widely regarded as one of the best hack-and-slash titles in recent years. Its high-octane action and fun combat make it a standout in the genre.

Frustrating, unreliable camera system: Many players report the camera behaves erratically, drifting away from enemies, clipping outside arenas, and actively hindering combat, especially against multiple enemies or in tight spaces. This is the most frequently cited issue across multiple clusters.

Confusing, inconsistent parry mechanic: The parry system is widely described as obtuse, poorly explained, and inconsistent, with players noting it often fails even when timed correctly. The tutorial does not adequately teach the mechanic, and it can make proper parrying nearly impossible during camera issues.

Short game length and content: Multiple players report very short playthroughs, ranging from under 6 hours to around 10-12 hours, and feel the game lacks sufficient content for its length. This was mentioned consistently across several clusters.

Divisive as Metal Gear entry: Many players feel the game distances itself from the Metal Gear franchise's soul, has little to do with the series, and features a story that doesn't resonate with fans. Raiden's personality also seems inconsistent with his MGS4 portrayal.

Difficulty spikes and unfair missions: Certain difficulties and missions, such as Very Hard and VR missions, are unreasonably difficult with enemy placements that feel unfair. Some VR missions are considered untested and require many retries with no margin for error.

Memorable boss battles: Boss fights are frequent and memorable, featuring large enemies, named characters, and dedicated music tracks. Encounters include robot bosses and a lengthy final battle.

Multiple difficulty tiers: The game offers multiple difficulty settings, including Hard, Very Hard, and Revengeance, catering to casual and hardcore players. Revengeance mode in particular provides a severe challenge.

Blade Mode precision cutting: Blade Mode lets players freely aim and slice enemies into pieces in any direction. It is a key mechanic used throughout combat and in finishing moves during boss fights.

Hack-and-slash genre identity: The game is widely recognized as a hack-and-slash title rather than a stealth game, unlike the main series. It leans into over-the-top slasher combat with combos and dynamic action.

Action combat core: Combat is a central and heavily emphasized part of the experience, with combos and action mechanics driving gameplay. The title presents itself as an action game first and foremost.

Runs on Low-End PCs: Numerous players confirm the game runs well even on weak or budget hardware, sometimes at high frame rates. Older or low-spec machines can handle it without a dedicated graphics card.

FPS and Resolution Limits: The PC version is locked to 1080p and 60FPS or lower, with 30FPS cutscenes and occasional FPS drops. Mods can unlock the frame rate, but stutters may persist.

PC Port Is Broken: Many players report serious porting problems including launch failures, crashes, and display issues. The PC version appears underworked and requires third-party mods or tweaks to function properly.

Display and Fullscreen Issues: Players frequently encounter windowed mode lock, broken fullscreen, and cut-off displays. These issues make the game unplayable for some and often require mods to fix.

Frustrating Camera Controls: Camera and lock-on mechanics are widely criticized as bad and frustrating. Some players even experience motion sickness or neurological discomfort due to the camera behavior.

Strong Action Game Recommendation: Many reviewers highly recommend this game for action game fans, calling it a must-play and one of the best action games. It is often described as a quick, short, and satisfying experience for the genre.

Controller Over Keyboard: Reviewers consistently advise using a controller instead of keyboard and mouse, noting that the camera is awkward with mouse and keyboard. Gamepad input is considered more comfortable and better suited for this game.

Hack and Slash Appeal: Fans of hack and slash games find this game ridiculously fun and highly recommend it to others who enjoy the genre. The fast-paced combat is a major draw.

High Review Scores: Reviewers frequently give high scores such as 10/10 and 9/10, calling it a gold standard for character action games. These ratings indicate strong overall satisfaction.

Worth the Price: Multiple reviewers agree that the game is worth its price, including full price. The value proposition is a common theme in positive feedback.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 7.0h.

Story completion: 7.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Endgame: 30.0h.

Metal Gear Rising often starts as a slog because parrying, lock-on, and pacing are poorly taught, but many players report it becomes fun once the combat clicks, especially after the first couple of hours. A minority report immediate enjoyment, so the dominant time-to-fun profile is early friction followed by a satisfying click.

Friction: Poor or non-existent tutorial for parrying and lock-on; Steep and infuriating learning curve; Early-game slog with cutscenes and exposition; Slow, imprecise movement and poor pacing; Enemies and bosses have too much health, making fights long; Port issues make the experience tedious.

Hack-and-Slash Combat Veteran: Plays aggressively with light and heavy combos, Blade Mode, parries, and higher difficulties; seeks fluid action and memorable bosses. Motivation: Mastering fast, stylish combat and chasing adrenaline through combos, parries, and boss fights. Stance: buy.

Metal Gear Lore Pilgrim: Plays for story, codecs, lore, and over-the-top Kojima-style presentation, while adapting to a different action-focused formula. Motivation: Exploring the Metal Gear universe, its lore, and this game's canonical place in the saga. Stance: buy.

Meme-Driven Spectacle Seeker: Plays casually or for laughs, enjoying ridiculous set pieces, music, and viral moments more than system mastery. Motivation: Chasing internet memes, absurd over-the-top moments, and an unforgettable soundtrack. Stance: buy.

Across the provided cohorts, most hardware tiers report positive performance, mainly with caveats about 1080p/60fps limits. The Windows 16GB+ VRAM cohort is mixed, with crashes and 4K/60 limitations alongside successful 60fps reports.

Windows <8GB VRAM / <16GB RAM: positive. Both included reports are positive, with one noting the game runs well on a very weak computer.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. Most included reports are positive and maintain 60fps, though some note limited 1080p support and a few report crashes or needing mods.

Windows <8GB VRAM / 16-31GB RAM: positive. The included reports are positive and do not mention major performance problems.

Steam Deck: Audit of Steam Deck feedback for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance shows a generally playable experience with default Proton/Linux support and several positive Deck impressions. However, friction is significant: cloud saves fail to sync across PC and Deck, PS controller support needs Steam Input adjustments, the game is capped at 30 FPS with community patches used for higher performance, and one user reports continuous crashing in a Chapter 2 section. Under the supplied scoring criteria, the reported continuous crashes meet the Broken threshold, so the final friction score is 70.

Linux and Proton: The provided reviews contain only positive Linux/Proton compatibility signals. Users report the game runs on Linux with default Proton and requires no special tweaks or workarounds. No Linux-specific launch, performance, anti-cheat, DRM, or stability problems are described.

Monetization: The reviewed title is a single-player action game. User feedback centers on traditional paid DLC that adds weapons and mechanics, an in-game shop for skins, abilities, and weapons (with no mention of real-money spending), and praise for the game's fair base price compared to other publishers. No review provides direct evidence of real-money microtransactions, paid gacha, loot boxes, battle passes, paid power, or a real-money cash shop. The only monetization-adjacent elements are standard DLC and an ambiguous in-game currency store.

Short Game Length: Many players note the game is very short, with playtimes ranging from a few hours to around 10 hours. This is a common complaint that affects perceived value.

Not Traditional Metal Gear: The game differs from other Metal Gear titles with barely any stealth and a different gameplay approach. It is often compared unfavorably or noted as not a typical Metal Gear Solid game.

Available on PS3 and PC: The game is available on PS3 and PC, and supports Steam Deck. PC requirements are low, making it accessible.

Meme Culture Icon: The game is renowned for its memes and legendary lines that have persisted for over a decade. It is often called a meme game and credited with predicting meme culture.

Kojima and Platinum Games: The game was made under Hideo Kojima's supervision and developed by PlatinumGames. This collaboration is a key aspect of its identity.