Time passes through everyone, even for legends. Today, June 12, 2025, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots turns 17 years old.
Published exclusively on PlayStation 3 in 2008 (and still sightable on Amazon), the title directed by Hideo Kojima still represents one of the highest moments ever touched by the entire metal Gear saga – and, without exaggerations, one of the most exciting peaks ever achieved by the modern narrative video game.
It was 2008 when Solid Snake, now aged and sick, dragged us with him in a race against time, in a world where war had become industrialized routine and where the lines between good and badly became more and more blurred.
MGS4 was not only the closure of an intricate plot that began in 1987 with the first Metal Gear on MSX: it was a felt, moving, almost lyrical farewell to one of the most iconic characters that the medium has ever known.
With its mix of interminable cutscene, breathtaking action moments and twists worthy of a cyberpolitical novel, Guns of the Patriots was – and remains – a divisive work.
There were those who loved him madly, those who criticized his almost cinematic structure, a bit like the most recent Death Stranding. But nobody could deny the technical and narrative scope of Solid Snake’s last greeting.
After 17 years, MGS4 is unfortunately still confined to that old PlayStation 3, without a remaster, a porting, nor a modern re -edition – a mocking destiny for a title that closes one of the most important chapters in PlayStation history.
Fans have invoked him for years, but Konami seems to systematically ignore the request. Perhaps something will change with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, but for now the return of Guns of the Patriots remains only a desire. Because some wars never end.