The story is great, but it blatantly gets in the way of the rest of the game

[MiaShino]

EDIT: There's also this bizarre idea people have that they need to rush to end game, which... again, the story is the game. Why would you cut out a huge chunck of it to experience a (comparatively) minor part of it? Doesn't make sense to me. This just isn't that sort of game.

Metal Gear is pretty darn story heavy. I doubt you will encounter many who would say they played only for the story and not the action stealth elements. Unlike books a video game is interactive entertainment so requiring player input. When I stop to read a book the book does not arbitrarily force me to stop reading - go to spot - talk to five people - fight one enemy. When you start wasting player time like this you had best be delivering on the story part.

Cannot imagine MGS would be nearly as popular if prevented you from doing the sneaky beaky bits until you finished reading two hours of dialogue. Sure sure characters can talk a lot in those games but the moment to moment is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. It has pacing. Ten minutes of cutscene? Alright! Now go sneak around Shadow Moses for an hour and have a blast!

Now if you are like my friends and happen to be excited to see what the next fight/dungeon has to offer mechanically, try new class ability, etc that the story has been hyping only to be sidelined by hour of derping about Little Ala Mhigo you may not be happy. You miiiight feel that this plot thread could have waited or been moved, that the moment is incorrect. We go fight dragon now, yes? Please? No? No.. Back to Gridania again.. Something about Imperial spies, I suppose. Darn I was really excited to see the Ishgard plot move forward and fight the big dragon.

A story should be narratively consistent especially when you tack a game onto it. It must focus on main plot threads or risk overwhelming the player with side plot tangents that resolve so late you forgot what you were even doing. ARR and post ARR are chock fricken full of narrative dissonance and it has nothing to do with poisoning the well. Some people just do not jive with tell tell tell tell story telling and find it boring. Lying to them does not help. Deluding new players into thinking it is not a slog will not make them suddenly enjoy it. They may even resent you for lying in first place.

Had multiple near "I quit" moments during ARR and post ARR. Many thanks that the hype around Heavensward proved true because am happy I stuck with the game. Yes I did resent those who I felt tricked me into thinking it was "the best story since sliced bread" because it really was not. Now I warn others that the early game is a fricken slog. Watched many friends nearly quit because it is a slog. It had nothing to do with my saying so, they were not having fun.

Good thing there is fun game underneath! Nothing like wishing to take White Mage into Stone Vigil because it is getting close to fifty but you must now stop to listen to the Padjals blather endlessly about the elementals again.. then go collect your outdated gear because it is locking your aoe. Friends reeeeeaaaallly enjoy doing that.. not.

[Kemiko]

Metal Gear is pretty darn story heavy. I doubt you will encounter many who would say they played only for the story and not the action stealth elements. Unlike books a video game is interactive entertainment so requiring player input. When I stop to read a book the book does not arbitrarily force me to stop reading - go to spot - talk to five people - fight one enemy. When you start wasting player time like this you had best be delivering on the story part.

Cannot imagine MGS would be nearly as popular if prevented you from doing the sneaky beaky bits until you finished reading two hours of dialogue.

Just gonna say, yes, MGS does in fact do the thing you're saying it doesn't. In order to sneaky beaky bits in certain areas of the game or against certain opponents in the game you do, in fact, have to progress through its story to get there. The game has sneaking, for sure, and I can sneak certainly anywhere much in the same vein that XIV has combat and you can combat anywhere - but you want to do a specific thing that isn't available until later in the story and unfortunately, you're just now arriving in a game whose been developing a story for nearly a decade.

[MiaShino]

Just gonna say, yes, MGS does in fact do the thing you're saying it doesn't. In order to sneaky beaky bits in certain areas of the game or against certain opponents in the game you do, in fact, have to progress through its story to get there. The game has sneaking, for sure, and I can sneak certainly anywhere much in the same vein that XIV has combat and you can combat anywhere - but you want to do a specific thing that isn't available until later in the story and unfortunately, you're just now arriving in a game whose been developing a story for nearly a decade.

Yes I can begin sneaking about after roughly five minutes of introductory cutscene perhaps few minutes longer listening to initial codex dialogue. Everything I can do half way through MGS1 I can do in that very first room with the two patrolling guards. Each encounter is threatening and has potential to kill Snake. Resolve the first room and be treated with 007 inspired cutscene showing Snake ascending the elevator where after relatively brief dialogue sequence, oh more gameplay now with new footprint mechanics!

Cutscene > gameplay > codex > gameplay > cutscene + codex > gameplay. Interesting story too because you are being shown events not simply talked through them. You see how this terrorist cell could be threatening because getting detected by them is almost always lethal. Gameplay weaves together with narrative which fuels intrigue.

Now compare this to hmm, let us say the Toto grind.

Mysterious man in red armor appears through echo vision > Empire plotline begins to thicken as you wonder how much of a threat these guys are > go faff about doing pointless favors for Buscarron and his merry band of Qiqirn?? > experience confusion

Gameplay pre Toto mostly involves interacting with something or fighting one perhaps two completely non lethal hostile mobs followed by exposition dump.

Look look here I get some of you enjoyed the ARR experience but many of the extended family struggled to make it through. I struggled multiple times making it through that hot mess. Everyone playing now is fricken lucky because I got to experience the pre culled version and whoooooo boy it was hot stinky doo doo.

Some enjoy five hours of exposition dumping meandering plotlines with nonsense elements while others just do not. This is okay! I did not enjoy it and no amount of telling me I played it wrong or they are playing it wrong will change that. I took my time. I did the things everyone said. I did the mini games. I leveled alt jobs. I went off to do side plots like Hildy (enjoyed the heck out of that!). None of this made me feel ARR - Post ARR was any less garbage and nothing will. Of the fifteen+ people I invited to FF14 land none have been happy about the story blocking them from playing the actual game.

Also if you are really not feeling the codex dialogue or cutscenes in MGS you can skip them easily and be right back into the action. Goooood fricken luck doing that in FF14. Many apologies for my many walls of words and letters but even the lengthiest cutscene in the MGS series pales in comparison to five hours of let's go Ala Mhigo in Rhalgr's Reach. Jeeeeezus Jimmeny I forgot how bad that arc was until I watched best friend go through it with their partner... She currently despises Alphy and wishes to and I quote; "Punch this dumb kid"