How Much Of Kojima's Games Are Actually Cutscenes? We Did the Maths - IGN

How Much Of Kojima's Games Are Actually Cutscenes? We Did the Maths - IGN

Are Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid too reliant on cinematics? We worked out just how much of Hideo Kojima's games are cutscenes.

ign.com

Kojima’s games clock in anywhere from about 8% to 40% cutscenes versus total playtime, with the original Metal Gear Solid trilogy hovering around the 20-25% mark, MGS4 skyrocketing to 40%, and MGS5 dipping to just 8%. The Death Stranding duology sits at roughly 16% cutscenes—more story-heavy than MGS5 but not as film-long as MGS4—showing Kojima can balance narrative and gameplay depending on the project.

While MGS4 leans so hard into cinematics it sometimes feels like watching a movie, MGS5’s open world delivers plenty of gameplay but leaves the plot feeling thin. Death Stranding strikes a sweet spot with its theme-driven missions and well-placed cutscenes. Compared to peers like The Last of Us Part 2 (15.5%) or GTA 5 (12.5%), Kojima’s blend of storytelling and gameplay remains unique—and proving he shouldn’t “just make a movie” anytime soon.