An anonymous source, claiming to be a QA tester, has leaked storyline and gameplay details for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Interestingly, he has decided to hold out on details connected to the ending. He also reconfirms that David Hayter is not connected to the project in any form. He also claims the game is coming the end of this year, with the announcement coming this TGS 2014. (A separate report claims the game will release for sure before April 2015.)
The E3 demo shows the game at around 80 % completion. It has been heavily edited to avoid story spoilers. Case in point, the hospital scene in the trailer uses a different camera angle than in the game. This is a deliberate misdirection.
Liquid is in the game. He is the blonde kid. This is connected to the ending, so the source shares no further details.
Ocelot is also in the game, and he will rescue you. Ocelot is wary of you and acts distant. He is not sure you are the same person he once knew, and so he seems to be testing you. You invariably get to train with him or bring him to missions. The source recounts training with him by fighting him, an armored vehicle and a Russian with heavy armor simultaneously. Our source claims he is the best part of the game.
Quiet is a former Soviet soldier captured twice by Big Boss and trained by him. She was selling information to Kaz until she was discovered. She will eventually die in the events of this game, but she also saved Diamond Dogs’ base.
Venom Snake refers to himself as Punished Snake. Some characters will call him Venom, and some will call him Snake. The ending will reveal a twist related to Venom/Punished Snake.
Skull Face was rescued by The Boss and Big Boss once. He used to be with FOX, but was brainwashed by the Soviets. Skull Face’s organization, XOF, is itself a side project created by Zero, intended to divert and confuse Big Boss into joining Cipher.
Code Talker was The Boss’ father. You will look for him in Africa to get the third part of the Philosopher’s Legacy, which he stole. After you beat Code Talker, you will recruit Talker’s guard, Ham, who will sell you weapons in the base.
Ishmael is a memory that Big Boss has mixed up. Big Boss has trouble recounting memories of when he saved Skull Face and The Boss in the hospital. In his mind, he invented Ishmael, who happens to have Snake’s voice.
Those who don’t exist are cyborg prototypes controlled by a hivemind. Cipher used to be that hivemind, but when Skull Face went independent, he stole the project and took control.
Skull Face killed Chico in front of Big Boss after the chopper got damaged. The chopper does land and they are surrounded by XOF when this happens.
Amanda will not be back, but Cecile will, and she will have an important role in the game.
The XOF Metal Gear is called Zeke.
Eva may also appear in the ending.
The source was able to play Big Boss going to two countries.
Kaz knew about the attack on mother base in Ground Zeroes.
Whatever splits Kaz and Big Boss up is related to the ending.
Big Boss did not spent all of the nine years between Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain in a coma. He actually fought a lot of wars for Skull Face, and the trauma eventually put him into shock, and this is what puts him into a coma. When he wakes up, he does not remember any of this.
The moment Snake ‘becomes a demon’, as Kojima put it, was when he hijacks a missile launcher to destroy a Soviet owned base in Africa. The base is in the middle of a town with a lot of innocents.
The Diamond Dogs will eventually merge with Foxhound and XOF will become Outer Heaven.
Big Boss custom options include four outfits, a desert camo, green camo, Ground Zeroes, and naked. These were in the commander’s room, and there may be more in the final game.
Mother base customization includes colors for the base and the soldier uniforms. You need to collect all the colors and patterns. The bases will essentially retain their look, but you can change how the colors and patterns are distributed.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain will release between Q4 2014 to Q1 2015. It will be released on Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
