5 Best Video Games by Hideo Kojima

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)

Platform: PlayStation 2

Often considered Kojima’s masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is both a thrilling stealth-action game and a tragic Cold War espionage story. Set in the 1960s, the game follows Naked Snake on a covert mission that gradually evolves into a personal and ideological reckoning.

What sets Snake Eater apart is its thematic maturity. The story explores loyalty, betrayal, and how governments rewrite truth to suit political needs. The relationship between Snake and The Boss is one of the most emotionally powerful in gaming history.

Gameplay-wise, survival mechanics—hunting food, treating injuries, camouflage—enhance immersion rather than distract from it. The game proves Kojima’s belief that mechanics should serve narrative meaning.

2. Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Platform: PlayStation

This is the game that changed video games forever. Metal Gear Solid brought cinematic storytelling, voice acting, and complex themes to a medium still dominated by arcade sensibilities.

Players control Solid Snake as he infiltrates Shadow Moses Island to stop a nuclear threat. What begins as a straightforward stealth mission quickly evolves into a meditation on genetics, free will, and the cost of warfare.

The game famously breaks the fourth wall—forcing players to think outside traditional game logic. From boss fights that require unconventional solutions to direct communication with the player, Metal Gear Solid redefined what interactive storytelling could be.

3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)

Platform: PlayStation 2

Initially controversial, Sons of Liberty is now widely recognized as one of the most prophetic games ever made. The game challenges player expectations by replacing Solid Snake with Raiden, a deliberate move meant to critique player identity and media manipulation.

The narrative dives deep into information control, digital censorship, and the construction of reality in the internet age—years before these topics became mainstream concerns.

What makes this game exceptional is its courage. Kojima intentionally alienated players to force reflection. Metal Gear Solid 2 is less about enjoyment and more about awareness, cementing Kojima’s reputation as an uncompromising auteur.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

Platform: Multi-platform

The Phantom Pain represents Kojima at his most mechanically refined—and emotionally restrained. Set in an open world, the game offers unprecedented freedom in stealth gameplay, allowing players to approach missions creatively.

Narratively, the game is fragmented and haunting. Themes of loss, identity, revenge, and endless war dominate the experience. The game intentionally feels incomplete, mirroring its themes of absence and trauma.

Despite its controversial development and unfinished elements, The Phantom Pain stands as a powerful statement about how war erases meaning—and how obsession consumes identity.

5. Death Stranding (2019)

Platform: PlayStation 4 / PC

Death Stranding is Kojima unfiltered. A game about delivery, isolation, and human connection in a broken world, it defies conventional genre classification.

Players take on the role of Sam Porter Bridges, tasked with reconnecting a fragmented society—not through violence, but through logistics, patience, and trust. Multiplayer elements allow players to help each other indirectly, reinforcing the game’s central theme: connection matters.

Narratively dense and emotionally strange, Death Stranding reflects Kojima’s post–Metal Gear philosophy. It asks players to slow down, endure, and consider the emotional cost of rebuilding humanity.