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

TL;DR

Crunching the numbers shows Kojima’s cutscene time varies wildly: the original Metal Gear Solid trilogy sits at roughly 20–26 percent cinematics, MGS4 spikes to a hefty 40 percent (hello, 71-minute finale!), then MGS5 drops to just 8 percent. Death Stranding 1 & 2 clock in around 16 percent, a ratio on par with big narrative-driven games like The Last of Us Part II (15.5 percent) or GTA V (12.5 percent).

So, too many cutscenes?

It’s era-dependent. Early MGS balanced stealth and story nicely, MGS4 went full-on movie mode, and MGS5 flipped the script with an open world but a lean plot. Death Stranding strikes a sweet spot, blending engrossing gameplay with just enough Kojima-style cinematics. Bottom line: he’s not making movies—but his flair for big-screen storytelling in games is exactly what keeps us hooked.